For instance, what if each time we had to write something—no matter how tedious—we treated it like art? How would that change our mindset towards the project? This isn’t a question of whether or not what we’re writing is art, it’s about whether we treat it like art.

At ESP/SurgeX, we write plenty of product pages, brochures, technical documents—the kinds of things most people probably would not consider to be art. But perhaps treating projects like these as if they were each pieces of art might add some fun to our daily tasks, kind of like Twain’s Tom Sawyer did with painting a fence. If we treated what we write like art, at least to a certain extent, it might make writing for a business a bit more enjoyable—and maybe doing so would inspire others to have fun doing it, too.

ESP/SurgeX asks: What is another common business task you think could be treated like art?

A couple of things stood out for me in this year’s survey beyond the obvious salary figures, including the average age of technicians responding to the survey and the number of women who are serving as technicians. I’ve made reference to this aging industry a number of times of late and noted how I’ve heard that this industry is not attracting young people yet the technician salary survey finds that the average age of service techs is 35.5 years old, down from a high of 37.2 in 2011. What’s going to be interesting to see next year is whether or not that number will continue to scale downward as aging techs exit the workforce and younger, more IT-savvy techs climb onboard.

Also notable is that 19 percent of respondents are women, a three-fold increase since the early 2,000s, according to Copier Careers.

As far as the numbers, the average salary is $42,031 and the number of hours worked per week is 51 hours compared to 53 in 2011. Those hours potentially reflect a couple of things, fewer techs responsible for a greater number of customers or a more complex workload resulted from the connected workplace.

Another interesting nugget is that that just 4 percent of respondents feel that traditional break/fix techs will still be around five years from now while the majority see those traditional break/fix techs will be supplanted by techs with more diverse skill sets, particularly skills suited to an IT environment.

For those who are looking for service techs with these skills, expect to pay more for techs with those skills although you’ve probably already figured that out already. But what’s particularly interesting is that of the techs who are working for you now, 74 percent feel that their employer does a poor or totally unsatisfactory job of attracting new employees.

That might be another reason why young people aren’t flocking to this industry.

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Copier dealers are coming to get HP partner’s MPS customers and their IT spend.

As more office technology dealers enter the managed print services (MPS) space, HP channel partners who have been providing managed print services under the HP Partner Managed Print Services program are feeling the pinch. In response, HP has announced the HP Managed Print Specialist Resell Program, a program that provides partners with access to HP’s cloud-based network tools and infrastructure to manage the selling process and retain direct contract ownership with their customers. The program includes various sales options and tools to partners who are more invested in a MPS business and sales force without requiring them to make a substantial investment in infrastructure.

HP’s Partner Managed Print Services was introduced 18 months ago, built around the acquisition of Printelligence, a print management software company, along with additional investment. Under this agent model, HP assists its partners by providing sales support, break/fix services, and toner replacement and delivery at what Bill Avey, vice president of HP Partner Managed Print Services, calls “very high service levels”.

HP and the partner jointly handle account planning, call on customers, provide quotes and proposals, and when successful, close deals. The partner receives an agent fee over the course of the contract for the revenues that are generated.  “The contract is between HP and the customer even though they’re still very much that partner’s customer,” emphasizes Avey.

This new program is somewhat of a defensive measure. “We have a lot of legacy HP partners that we’ve worked together with to build a strong printing business together over the last 25 years,” notes Avey. “We have partners that drove on the hardware sales, that drove on the software sales, and that drove on services, and in each case these folks were finding that managed print was a tremendous opportunity, but also a real threat as copier companies began entering into the [MPS business] and looking to take more dollars out of the IT channel and into a direct operation.”

Under the reseller model the contract is now between the customer and the partner. “This enables the partners to not only get the operating profit that flows out of the agent fee, but the top-line revenue recognition that goes along with that as well,” says Avey. “Behind that is the relationship between HP and the partner, enabling that partner to still take advantage of HP’s infrastructure and delivery capabilities. We believe that will provide our resellers with a simple model to drive overall growth in their business.”

Avey points out that it doesn’t have to be one model or the other and that some partners will operate under both models depending on the customer and customer location.  For example, an HP partner may use the resell model when dealing with local customers and the partner model when working with customers in another geography.

The HP Managed Print Specialist Resell Program has two primary components. The first is HP Bundled Page, which includes all the components of a managed print service engagement from break/fix, to toner replenishment and delivery, to remote monitoring, to management reporting. Those components comprise the click that HP sells to the reseller. The reseller can then mark up those clicks and resell them to the customer.

The Bundled Page offering is powered by the Express Decision Portal, which allows partners to contact HP and receive on a contract-by-contract basis a custom quote for each individual customer. “This will be customer facing content and they can use that to either feed it into their own proposal generator or add their own branding and bring it to the customer,” says Avey.

HP will allow its resellers to choose their level of integration and programming and will provide them with management tools so that over time the customer can go in and see what’s happening with their fleet. Additionally, the partner will have an appropriate view of their customers and the total fleet they manage.

“And with the appropriate privacy restrictions in place, HP will be able to view that as well so we can deliver great service and supplies fulfillment to that customer,” states Avey.

The initial rollout of the reseller model is here in the U.S. with a roll out of the program in Europe and Asia Pacific to follow.

The service is designed to bring clarity and confidence to the sourcing of commercial multifunctional copiers for small to mid-sized businesses. The site is free to use, no personal info required, and it takes less than a minute to complete the four-step process on the Website and receive a copier pricing analysis and recommended terms. This information can then be leveraged in existing and future contract negotiations. Crean, who has a background as a copier procurement specialist, just completed a soft launch in Western Washington and plans to go national with the service later this summer.

One of Crean’s goals is to clarify the acquisition process by helping buyers identify the best contract terms available and the process to achieve successful negotiation outcomes. There’s also a snapshot of the best pricing available on the market. FRSourcing will then request quotes on behalf of its users to facilitate competitive pricing and terms from leading providers.

The target market is SMBs with 1-5 copiers who only do this once every five years. Something that Crean noticed when he was a sales rep was that a lot of the individuals in SMBs don’t always have all the information or knowledge to make an informed decision.

“They usually wear ten different hats and this is something that comes up once every five years,” explains Crean. “They don’t know the ins and outs of leasing buyouts and what terms to look for. I’ve been doing it for a while with small businesses and non-profits, and there was a common theme when I looked at their [copier] contracts, and that was it wasn’t necessarily in their best interest or what was best for their business environment.”

That experience lead to Crean’s original business model about three years ago, which was an offline consulting model where he worked directly with clients. To date he’s done more than 50 deals for clients under that model.

With so many copier models and configurations, putting together a site where one size fits all has been quite the challenge. “Companies have different standards for the equipment and I wanted to go right down the middle,” says Crean.

By providing unbiased information and a snapshot of what’s available and at what price, the service almost places the copier buyer on even ground with the copier sales rep who some instances might be leading the charge for them to upgrade even if it’s not in the customer’s best interests. “Now they see a third-party perspective of what’s going on and what else is out there without having to call three or four different vendors.”

Still, not all copier buyers will be able to handle the negotiations on their own, and that’s the next step for some, bringing in Crean to obtain that best pricing for them. “I’m not trying to go in and beat the vendor or change the manufacturer they have unless they want to do that,” says Crean. “I help them decide if this is a good time to upgrade, should they take this meeting with the copier sales rep, and identify their options. I know the right questions to ask so there are no surprises, and hopefully I have a happy client because they got the best price or the best term as opposed to going in blind.”

Until now he hasn’t spent any money marketing and has been focusing primarily on the greater Seattle area. A lot of existing clients are the result of traditional sales efforts and referrals from satisfied clients under his previous consulting model.

The upside to the copier dealer or manufacturer with this service is that Crean serves as a middleman of sorts by bringing them highly knowledgeable, qualified clients who are usually ready to buy. “I only bring realistic opportunities to the table,” states Crean.

Crean emphasizes he’s not out to convince clients to switch vendors or brands. “The majority of my clients stay with their current vendor. If they’re happy, there’s no need to switch if they’re getting a fair price across what they’d be paying if they switched vendors.”

What’s the reaction of the dealer community when Crean is involved?

“There’s sometimes frustration if the [dealer] thinks the upgrade is a slam dunk,” notes Crean who will sometimes recommend that the client wait to buy because the upgrade isn’t in their best interest at the time. “All I’m doing is making a more educated client through my expertise.”

Although the site is free, Crean explains that if he gets involved in the deal and manages the process there’s a nominal fee paid directly by the dealer. “It’s a flat fee structure based on the equipment and complexity of deal,” he says.

Does he think copier dealers are going to go for this?

“I’m managing the process and bringing them revenue,” responds Crean. “If it gets a [qualified] client in the door, it’s well worth it to them.”

Surprisingly, I had a better time than I thought I would. I also found myself answering the inevitable question, “What do you do?”

I sometimes joke that one of the biggest conversation killers at a party is when I used to answer that question by saying, “I’m a writer.” Their next question, “What do you write about?” And I reply, “The office technology industry.”  That would usually be when the conversation comes to a standstill.

As one of the last true journalists covering the office technology imaging industry, I don’t care when that happens anymore. I take a lot of pride in that, especially when one sees what’s happened to print publications over the past decade. Sometimes I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth to still be standing after 27 years in the industry. And that’s what I told people who asked me what I did last Saturday night: I’m one of the few true journalists still covering the office technology space and I love what I do, writing about office technology, services and software, and the people who sell it.

And for those of you reading who are still earning a living in this space whether you’re a dealer, an OEM or a solutions or services provider, I hope you can answer that question in social situations as easily as I can now without killing the conversation. After all, many of you are still standing after all these years.

Don’t forget to give me a holler if you’ve got a good story for me to cover.

Thanks for reading and please support our sponsors.

What’s hot?

Manion: Wide format. There there’s a ton of construction going on and real estate development out here so that’s picking up a lot.

What’s not?

Manion: Monochrome [devices] and Fiery [controllers]. Because of the color [quality] produced on the regular copiers, we just don’t see the need for Fiery that much anymore.

The new MC780fx color MFP, one of the many new products announced by Oki Data Americas, will be available on June 17.

OKI Data Americas has been very busy of late on the product front, culminating with the announcement earlier this week of new monochrome single-function printers, monochrome and color MFPs, and label and receipt printers. It was truly an output device frenzy. Here’s a look at each of those new product introductions.

Single-Function Printers 

An enhanced series of monochrome printers for high volume applications – the B721dn and B731dn are the latest iteration of OKI’s B700 Series printers. These new printers deliver a higher toner yield of up to 36,000 page capacity with a one-piece consumable; 250,000-280,000 monthly duty cycle on the B721dn and B731dn, respectively; increased paper input capacity of up to 3,160 sheets; faster print speeds of up to 55 pages per minute; and standard high-speed USB and 1GB Ethernet connectivity – all with the lowest cost per page among competitive devices in their respective categories, according to an OKI press announcement.

Both models feature standard 630-sheet paper capacities which can be upgraded to a maximum 3,160 sheets with additional optional paper trays plus a large capacity feeder. Beyond standard media handling capabilities, the B721dn and B731dn can print banners up to 52 inches in length. In addition, the devices’ straight-through paper path allows users to manually feed individual sheets of up to 140 lb. index bristol. Both models offer standard duplexing. 

Color Single-Function and Multifunction Printers 

The C331dn, C531dn, MC362w, and MC562w models offer an array of features with large paper capacity, fast print speeds, duplex printing capabilities, high-definition color technology, and a compact design. At a competitive acquisition cost with a low total cost of ownership, OKI says these devices are ideal for demanding small workgroups, offering economical and versatile printing capabilities.

The C331dn and C531dn color single-function printers are network ready and offer print speeds of up to 27 ppm color and 31 ppm monochrome. Paper capacity is 350 sheets via a 250-sheet paper tray and a 100-sheet multi-purpose tray for labels, envelopes, thicker media, and banners up to 52 inches.

The MC362w and MC562w offer wireless capabilities and high print speeds of up to 27 ppm color and 31 ppm monochrome pages. They offer duplex printing and copying, plus four-in-one (print/copy/scan/fax) multifunction capabilities along with a paper capacity of 350 sheets, expandable to 880 sheets maximum.

The user interface of the MC362w and MC562w MFP models includes a 3.5-inch graphical panel display with tilt mechanism. The MC562w has a QWERTY keypad along with one-touch fax capabilities. In addition, the MC362w and MC562w MFP models support PaperPort and Omnipage software from Nuance for converting documents into PDFs and JPEGs.

In addition, the C331dn, C531dn, MC362w and MC562w models support OKI Print Job Accounting software, enabling administrators to prohibit unauthorized printing as well as to track printed output costs for bill-back to individual users and groups.

The C831 A3 color printer from OKI Data Americas.

Color Tabloid/A3 Printer Series 

The C831 Series, including the C831n and C831dn, are described by OKI as the tabloid/A3 color printers with the smallest footprint available in the market today. They build off of the success of OKI’s C830 tabloid/A3 digital color printers and feature a new design that provides easy access to the black toner cartridge.  Additionally, the C831 Series offers eco-friendly attributes including deep sleep mode, auto power off, ENERGY STAR compliance and toner save function, plus standard duplex capability within the dn model.

Each C831 model outputs at speeds up to 35 pages per minute for color and monochrome letter sized documents, and 20 pages per minute for tabloid sized documents. The C831 also provides high-definition color printing technology that is ideal for a variety of media from heavy card stock to polyester film to 52-inch banners, and includes an advanced control system that checks for alignment, registration and color balance. Users can also take advantage of larger paper capacity with two additional trays for a maximum of 1,460 sheets, and a multi-purpose tray which handles envelopes and custom sizes.

Each model includes a LCD display, intuitive menu system, and an alphanumeric keypad. The keypad enables quick retrieval of password-protected documents with secure print features that encrypt job data, store it on the optional SD Memory Card, and purge it when the job is printed. In addition, the C831 Series is compatible with OKI Print Job Accounting software which enables administrators to track printed output costs for bill-back to individual user and groups, and can also be used to prohibit unauthorized printing.

Mid-Workgroup A4 Color and Monochrome MFPs 

The color MC770/MC780 Series and monochrome MB760/MB770 Series MFPs are four-in-one devices that deliver print, copy, scan, and fax functionality with print speeds of up to 42 color pages per minute and up to 55 monochrome pages per minute.

Each of these new MFP series offers four configurations to meet the demands of busy work environments. These MFPs offer expanded paper capacity up to a maximum 3,160 sheets, plus wireless functionality as a special order. Stapling and finishing capabilities are also available on most models. Beyond standard media handling capabilities, these devices are able to print banners of up to 52 inches in length. In addition, these new MFPs allow users to manually feed individual sheets of up to 140 lb. index bristol.

All models in these series feature a 9-inch touch-screen control panel plus the smart Extendable Platform – an open application programming interface platform for which an expanding suite of solutions is available through OKI Data Americas. Using this platform, customers and solution partners can integrate these MFPs into their work environments, adding customized solutions to meet their specific business needs.

The lD630 Series of thermal label printers from OKI Data Americas are available now.

Label Printers 

The LD630/LD640 and LE840/LE850 Series of thermal label printers are part of OKI’s portfolio of high-performance Label/POS products. Each of these printers is designed to maximize productivity within demanding work environments, including courier, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, distribution centers and receiving departments, and are backed by a two-year advanced overnight exchange warranty.

The LD630/LD640 Series is a desktop solution for mid- to high-volume label applications where space is at a premium. Offering advanced features and functionality, including easy media handling and high-resolution printing, the LD630/LD640 Series delivers print speeds among the fastest in its class, according to an OKI press release. These new printers support both 203 and 300 dpi, direct thermal and thermal transfer printing.

The LE840/LE850 Series of thermal label/tag printers is designed for high-productivity industrial printing environments that require fast print speeds for both on-demand and batch label printing. The LE840/LE850 Series is built with a steel chassis enclosed in a durable steel cabinet, making both models sturdy and reliable, according to OKI. These new printers offer resolutions of 203 to 300 dpi and extensive ribbon capacity, providing increased productivity and operational efficiency. Both models are available in direct thermal and thermal transfer technology.

The LD630/LD640 and LE840/LE850 Series are designed for use in the following applications: shipping and receiving, logistic and asset tracking, warehouse management, service bureaus, retail and compliance labeling, and laboratory needs. The label printing devices provide an ideal solution for on-demand printing of shipping and receiving labels, item re-pricing and shelf labeling, among others.

Thermal Receipt Printer 

As a new addition to the RT322 Series, the RT322SK direct thermal receipt printer offers advanced features and functionality including 2D barcode printing, “Drop-In & Print” paper loading, and 203 dpi output. Additionally, the RT322SK is enhanced to support the repositionable thermal label supported by MAXStick, which can stick to virtually any surface, and is easily removable leaving behind no residue. The liner-free labels are an alternative to using silicone-lined labels or tape.

The RT322SK is designed for use in the following applications: reserve hold labels, transfer labels, book sale price tags, shipping and receiving, logistic and asset tracking, drive-through services and self-service delis, warehouse management, retail and compliance labeling. Notably, the new liner-free, repositionable label printing devices provide an ideal solution for on-demand printing of food labels in quick service cafés and restaurants.

Availability 

With the exception of the thermal receipt printer introduced in early May and two of the label printers, which became available on May 30, availability for the remaining products ranges from June 17 through August 5.

Oldsters are about yesterday.

Youngsters are about today.

Documenting your entire life history, building a timeline, a shrine to yourself, so that the people you grew up with will be impressed? That’s for baby boomers. Their children want nothing to do with it. Kids are for living, oldsters are for dying.

Baby boomers didn’t start the texting revolution… Want to communicate with your millennial in college? Then you’d better learn how to text, the younger generation barely e-mails. Talking on the phone? Who’d want to waste so much time! The oldsters are rarely early adopters. They know the value of money, they’re set in their ways. For all the old bloviators bemoaning the loss of privacy online, it’s the kids who got the memo, that if they post pictures of illicit activity they might not get a job in the future. Kids believe in evanescence, oldsters believe in the permanent record. Ergo, the growth of Snapchat.

Kind of like the Facebook phone. The business media did not stop trumpeting its arrival. But the truth is a kid has no problem employing Facebook on his phone, assuming he wants to use it, it’s only oldsters who have this problem, oldsters who are not about to switch providers who are still lamenting the loss of physical keyboards. Want to know how someone’s technologically toast? If they still use a BlackBerry. You’re wiping out utilization, because it’s all about apps. E-mailing and texting back and forth is for business people who miss the future, as they plot where to have lunch.

Here’s another interesting comment:

We live in a fluid society. If your result comes up on the second page of Google, it might as well not exist…hell, if it’s not one of the first two or three hits, if not the very first. Bury that information on Facebook, soon no one will see it.

Makes you think and maybe feel old and out of touch?

Read the full blog post here.

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The General Session at Lexmark’s 2013 dealer meeting.

Last month Lexmark hosted a dealer meeting in Lexington, KY. The two-day event with the theme, “Bridge Beyond,” was a non-stop educational experience for attendees bordering on information overload, albeit in a good way for the 125+ Lexmark dealers in attendance. There was plenty of information about trends, new initiatives, strategies, products, and solutions presented at the General Session and the various breakout sessions. Here’s my Top 10 take homes from the event.

Solutions, solutions, solutions - If I had a dollar for every time I heard the word “solutions” during my two days in Lexington, well, to be honest, I’d have a lot of dollars. Solutions signify a change at Lexmark. As Ron Binkauskas, vice president & GM, North American imaging solutions and services, noted in the General Session, “We are no longer a printer company, we’re a solutions company.”

Mike Johnson, vice president North American Business Channels & SMB, underscored those words by talking about how this transformation into a solutions company will be one of Lexmark’s key success factors and that Lexmark wants to take dealers along on that ride. “We want you to make that transformation with us,” he said. “We want to transform you with more areas to go into the account with solutions and have pricing power.”

Lexmark values dealer feedback – Lexmark has never been shy about soliciting their dealers for advice, ensuring that they can more effectively work together going forward. The message from Lexmark executives was loud and clear at every corner of the event and that’s that they want and value dealer feedback. That’s not idle talk either. While attending some of the breakout sessions I noticed Lexmark personnel listening to their dealers and taking notes. You don’t see that at other OEM dealer meetings. As Binkauskas told dealers in the General Session, “It’s about your feedback, I don’t want you to hold back, I want you to share insights with us as to what’s going to work, what’s not going to work…”

Lexmark is outspending the competition in the percentage of money devoted to R&D – One interesting nugget of information I left Lexington with was that as part of their commitment to innovation, Lexmark is the leader in money reinvested to bring new technology to market. According to Brock Saladin, vice president & general manager Global Channel Sales & Marketing, compared to the competition, Lexmark spends 10 percent on R&D to bring new products, new solutions, and new services to market in order to differentiate and bring value to customers.

Lexmark’s worldwide BSD channel is growing as is its hardware revenues – On a worldwide basis Lexmark reports that it has grown its BSD partners by more than 650 worldwide while hardware revenue growth is exceeding the market at just under 40 percent. At the same time, in the large workgroup space, a space critical to Lexmark and its dealers because it drives supplies sales and service opportunities, grew by 19 percent.

The time is right to embrace A4 – It shouldn’t come as an surprise that Lexmark is bullish on A4, still that message was emphasized throughout the event and was one of the take homes for Kurt Snouffer, president of Office Concepts in Fort Wayne, IN. “A4 has arrived, no question about it, we’re seeing a lot of activity there, but it’s not enough to just go out and market A4,” he acknowledges. “That can be death by a thousand cuts for any dealer that falls into that game. The takeaway is A4 is here, but you better be bundling A4 with customizable solutions. That’s going to give us stickiness into the accounts and also give us the repeating revenues at the margins we need to survive.”

Smart MFPs – In keeping with the solutions theme, Lexmark emphasized the need for dealers to embrace the smart MFP. “Smart MFPs are the core to our success and key to total solution delivery,” said Saladin. “A game-changing dealer that seizes on this trend that knows how to deliver device-based solutions [will find the Smart MFP] allows him to create new revenue streams by implementing both professional services as well as asset management tools. To wrap all of that around this managed services agreement, we think this creates a position of strength and differentiation in the marketplace.”

New and improved programs for 2013 – Johnson outlined Lexmark’s initiatives for 2013, some the result of input from dealers on Lexmark’s Advisory Board. Those include quarterly purchase incentives, which enable dealers to add dollars to their program by selling down-the-street business with Lexmark and a new solutions program that provides incentives to dealers who sell Lexmark solutions. According to Johnson 50 dealers have already signed up for the program. The goal is to raise that total to 100 by the end of June. In addition, Lexmark Add to that a National Service Program that will allow dealers to provide service to some of Lexmark’s larger accounts.

New products, etc. – According to Johnson, Lexmark’s top-selling product the past couple years has been the XS463, an entry level mono MPF. Based on the success of that product, dealers have asked Lexmark for a color version and the result is the XC2132. Johnson revealed that the reception by dealers to this product has been off charts. He also expects the XC2132 to further drive Lexmark’s color leadership in the A4 market. As a result of dealer feedback, Johnson announced that as of July 1, the XS795/798 Series, originally introduced last summer, will now ship with starter cartridges back in the box, something that Lexmark had removed from the units when they were first introduced. “We truly try to listen to our dealer network and Advisory Board on the input you give us and now we just need you to go out and sell this product. This is a flagship product for us and we need you to get behind this product as we move forward,” noted Johnson.

Lexmark is growing its solutions portfolio – Lexmark has made eight acquisitions across a variety of areas over the past few years that encompass such solutions as enterprise content management, workflow, intelligent capture, medical imaging content, and video. “These acquisitions allow Lexmark to offer end-to-end solutions for the entire life cycle of content,” observed Sean Endicott, senior manager North American Channel Business Development. “Our solutions portfolio allows you to tell that end to end story.”

Lexmark wants to go wider and deeper with their dealer network – Emphasizing again that Lexmark values dealer feedback, Johnson reported that Lexmark ranks #1 in the sweet spot of the A4 MFP market, but that they’re not satisfied with this current advantage. “We want to make this lead larger. This shows we’re winning and having success. We want to go wider and deeper, and usually when people talk wider and deeper, they’re talking about going wider and deeper with their customers. We want to go wider and deeper with you our dealer network and get more wallet share of the dealers we’re in. We want to earn that right to have more of your business.”

“My pipeline is always 100,000k+ and I’m required to do 12-15 appointments per week. I’m finding the opportunities, but not winning competitive deals. (I have a small base list of 10 accounts).”  

That was one of the statements e-mailed to me by a Print4Pay Hotel member in Canada this week. I thought this would make a good topic for this week to see if I can help.

OK, I’m thinking if you only have a base of 10 accounts and you’re not winning competitive deals that means all of your business is net new. Here’s a few things that I try and do with net new business.

1. Find out what brand of equipment they have now and who is servicing the product.

2. Once you’ve found out what brand they have, ask them what brand they had before their current brand along with who was servicing the equipment. If they had a different brand and servicing dealer this can tell you that they have no brand or service loyalty. If they have the same brand and the same servicing dealer or direct branch, then you’ve got a tough road to hoe since they have brand and service loyalty.

3. I will dig deep with the customer to see if there is some type of lockout feature or software that will position my company at the top of the pack. I’ve often found that many reps are lazy and won’t take the time to explain many of the features, advantages and benefits of their systems.  Thus you may mention something as simple as embedded scanning to create searchable PDF’s and this could swing the decision in your favor. Try not to leave any stones unturned when you are in a competitive situation. If you’re selling MPS, make it more about the service, the reporting tools, and your fleet software advantages.

4. Make sure you meet with the DM, if not you need to put your best foot forward with the quality of your presentation and proposal. Many times the DM may leave the decision making up to the person you met with, in this case the cheapest/lowest price may not be the right choice for the person you met with and most likely they will not select the highest price, nor the lowest price.

5. Ask “When will you be making a decision on acquiring the system and what is the process for choosing one vendor over another?” Make this one of your first few questions.

6. ABC, Always be closing, if a closing opportunity comes up, don’t pass it buy. The worst that can happen is you’ll get additional info on how the process will transpire.

7. I’m not sure of your market, however in large markets you’ve got to be prepared and I hate to say this, is to “offer your best deal” in order to get the business. If you’re in this for the long haul and your company services the product well, you’ll be able to have an upgrade or additional units in the future that you’ll be able to hold margin.

These are just a few items that came to mind. What I can also tell you is that you need to remove yourself from competitive situations and you need to find the prospects that are NOT in the market. This means that with your skill set you’ve been able to secure an appointment, assess their pain or challenges and offer a solution that will help them NOW. Hard to do, but the opportunities are out there, all you need to do is find them.

Good selling!