2012 – The Year It All Changes, Again
25,969 years in the making – change on a galactic scale, transformation guaranteed. The shift from “copier dealer” to CopierVAR – or should that be “VAR copier”? – is upon us.
Will this shift be as impressive as the analog-to-digital move or monochrome to color? No.
The paradigm shift has been building for decades. The machines were churned out over three shifts and distributed to every corner of the world. Once landed, like a sleeping horde, they sat, innocuous, silent, mundane – moving paper and melting plastic by the millions. Too many machines; something had to change.
Over the past five years, we’ve seen our share of change, with MpS leading the way. Some have made the jump, others only pretend, and still others don’t care. In 2011, business models were upended, partnerships made, consolidation unavoidable; it was a tumultuous year. How could there be any more upheaval?
This is what I see for 2012:
2012, the rise of the VAR
Technology VARs have taken notice of MpS; in 2012, they will start getting in. We have eAutomate and OMD. The typical VAR has infrastructure software like ConnectWise, Kaseya, TechLab, Level Platforms, etc. In 2012, most of these packages will offer upgrades or partnerships, adding visibility into printers, into the MIB. VARs will then be able to see into our printers like we do with FMAudit, PrintFleet, MiraCom, etc. The IT community will hold their noses and jump into the fray, adding MpS to their managed services portfolio.
While at World Expo this year, it was revealed that the imaging world has around 1,500 dealers/providers. The IT community boasts 15,000. How are you feeling now?
2012, the fall of the VAR
The IT channel will hit the same challenges we did four years ago, only worse. They will be fooled into thinking that software creates an MpS practice. They will continue to think selling managed services is as easy as adding it to the website and that responding to an MpS RFP is a marketing plan. VARs will find out how difficult it is to deliver a simple thing like toner – every day. Their technicians will see what it’s like to have 18 calls and live up to a real, next-day SLA.
They will miscalculate trunk stock, parts ordering, warranty and dispatch and try to unlearn “trip fees.” These new MpS providers will learn that printers, under a CPI service agreement, have one level of support, not three tiers. The accounts receivable department will shift from billing for every second to billing as an insurance policy. Work orders will drop through the cracks. They won’t collect meter reads for the first three months.
Then, they’ll overbill and not understand why their customers want to cancel their MpS contracts, NOCs and help-desk agreements. VARs will have difficulty dealing with adds/drops and will fear selling MpS into their existing client base. They will implode along the way, chasing that mystical 48 percent margin. And then they will get rid of the MpS practice – unless the organization is smart enough to put all the managed services under the MpS practice.
Fat chance.
2012, the rise of the “copier VAR”
That’s right, I said it, and I meant it. I’m here to represent it.
As much as those traditional VAR-supporting software packages now see printers, the more advanced and forward-thinking copier dealers now see switches, desktops and servers, and they want in. We’ve proven ourselves in the imaging industry; can it be that difficult to get some swagger out of the IT realm? We can dispatch and bill for meters or assets in our sleep. For our technicians, servicing cartridge-based devices is a breeze; we cut our teeth on Minolta and Ricoh. We also realize the little boxes don’t require as much service as our Canons or Toshibas (shhhhhhhh!).
One hurdle we may face is not having as solid a relationship with the IT team as their current VAR does. This means we would need to sell ourselves and our ideas. Huh? Of all the things I know copier people aren’t, it isn’t that we are afraid to sell ourselves, is it? We make it up as we go. We craft deals. We don’t see walls; we see ways around or through them. We tell stories. We make friends and we close deals. Do you want to be a “copier VAR”? Imagine the possibilities.
There is, of course, one more thing …
2012, the return of selling, and the rise of the sales star
We’ve forgotten how to sell. We pitch value props and elevator speeches and spend hours pricing configurations. We make .PPTs and print lists. We feel that because we secure the appointment, we get the deal. We think that RFPs are opportunities. We put prospects through a process, never getting to know them. We are cold, shallow and compensated not to care. Selling is not some dark art or a mystical craft. Selling is changing because buying has changed, and buying has changed because everything has changed. In 2012, we will remember to let go of the past and sell into the future.
Good selling.
Posted on 12/19/2011