1. Subscribe Digital Edition eMPS eSource Advertise Resources Blog Contact Us
Subscribe Today Stay Connec ted
Delivering on the MPS Promise
Newsletters
I have read articles recently and also in speaking with the independent dealer
community have heard firsthand accounts a groundswell of negative pushback
Archives regard MPS’ failure in delivering on its promises of increased revenues and
margins. Questions and doubts regarding profitability, market positioning, and View Archives
Resources sales structure abound. eSource
eMPS
First, you have to put a specialist in place when launching the initiative because imageSource
Editorial Calender the general line needs to continue to focus to hardware sales so that revenue
stream doesn’t disappear. New initiatives, in order to be successful need 100%
focus. Second, you need to have a compensation plan that rewards net-new
Events contracts and compensates on clicks captured. Third, your team needs sound
training on the sales process related to MPS. Of note, they need to be really
good at assessments, because there are no shortcuts in an MPS sales cycle.
Advertis er Profiles
MPS converts unknown variable costs into known fixed costs, reduce help desk
MWA Intelligence, Inc. calls, eliminates multiple vendor and department involvement tied to supporting
Printer Essentials the fleet, reduces hardware downtime and efficiently controls the printer
supplies. The result is freed up IT resources, elimination of the need for a
Greater Philadelphia company to inventory printer supplies, it extends the useful life of the fleet, and
Equipment
www.imagesourcemag.com/industry-news/delivering-mps-promise?utm_source=eMPS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eMPS_08_… 1/6

2. InfoTrends - Office Document there is an improvement in end user satisfaction.
Solutions Conference
Today, most companies have undocumented and/or fragmented budget costs for
Miracle Service by Nexent printing and imaging, which are the result when IT, Purchasing and Facilities rely
Innovations on multiple vendors for their printing assets and multiple manufacturers for their
DocuWare hardware needs. They receive multiple invoices per month for consumables and
KATUN Corporation services, and the IT staff, which is increasingly understaffed and over tasked in
these tough economic times, is tied up in non-value-added maintenance tasks.
Hytec Dealer Services
Information Week publishes an annual Top 10 for CIO focus areas and of note is
NWRS Nation Wide Repair the fact that 80% of IT spending is likely to be focused on “keeping the lights on.”
Service, Inc. Basically, managing the existing infrastructure, if you will. Yet at the same time
Digital Gateway/e-automate the CEO is looking for IT to contribute to improving business results.
Esha Corporation So what improves business results, dealing with output devices? Gartner
BEI Services, Inc estimated that 23% of IT help desk calls are printing and copy related. That is
valuable IT time taken up in a non-value add a reactionary issue which takes Our Contributors
away from more strategic projects.
When prospecting for MPS opportunities, you focus on an understanding of the Rob Gilbert
existing environment and seek agreement from the prospect of the
Rob Gilbert, Sr. is an
inefficiencies/problems they currently face with managing their printer fleet. The experienced industry
value proposition focuses on the advantages of managed print services and how consultant with decades of
with an effective MPS provider the pain points will be addressed. You also are experience in office technology
focused on validating the ability of the party you are meeting in effecting and and the imaging...
approving change withintheir organization. Without this it is pointless to move to
the next phase, the assessment.
read more
This article assumes you have, at this point, gained support of a decision making
executive (when I taught MPS during my time at Strategy Development we would
call this person your “advocate with juice” or your “champion” /
http://www.strategydevelopment.com) and have agreement from that executive
on the pain points of an unmanaged output fleet. With your advocate in place
Educ ation and agreed upon pain points, you have built your business case for moving
forward with the assessment phase of the sales process…and here is where it
InfoTrends eLearning all goes wrong.
ITEX 2013 Expo & Conference
The mistakes frequently made by managed print specialists when conducting
Solutions Summit 2012 assessments, and the reasons for their low close ratios on contracts are:
1. They want to use a non-disclosure before doing an assessment. If you have
an advocate with juice and have built your business case through pain, why
would you put an obstacle in place for getting the assessment completed?
2. They take on doing an assessment for the 200+ printer installation with their
ImageSourceMag largest customer first. There is a learning curve involved, learn on the smaller
Twitter Feed installations and work your new process for service and back office operations
3. They believe by using ONLY a Data Collection Agent – (DCA) they will collect
the data faster and more accurately.
4. They believe DCA software will give them 100% of the information needed to
create a financial proposal.
www.imagesourcemag.com/industry-news/delivering-mps-promise?utm_source=eMPS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eMPS_08_… 2/6

3. imagesourcemag: eSource- 5. They miss key data by not conducting an effective walk-thru of the prospects
September 26, 2012: environment. A walkthrough of the facilities helps identify connected printers not
http://t.co/HqY41GpF scanned by the key, local printers, the remaining imaging and print devices such
as faxes and stand alone copiers and looks for redundancy in technology i.e.
printers, faxes, scanners and copiers all in the same workroom or office
location. It also allows you to talk to end users about how they use the printers
imagesourcemag: RT in their area and where they store their “local” supplies.
@itex_show: due to many 6. This isn’t a slam on software companies, my point is, the software is a tool
requests we have extended
but isn’t a replacement for doing the walk-thru.
the #itex13 call for papers
deadline to this friday the The points mentioned happen all too often and are the result of either
28th! submit today at http: ... overcomplicating or trying to simplifying the process by skipping the walk-thru
and missing key data necessary to ensure a high close ratio on contracts.
Remember the key goal of MPS is to manage then optimize your prospect’s
imagesourcemag: get imaging and printing environment, and to balance cost, ratio of employees to
today's eSource w/news assets, and technology.
from @itex_show
@Okidata @CompassSales It is critical to assess the entire imaging and printing fleet, not just the printers,
@EOJohnsonCo many specialists lose sight of that and focus on desktops only. This speaks to
@MSETONER @MBSDEVinc the level of detail you need in your walk-thru. In an initial walk-thru assessment
@konicaminolta of an imaging and printing fleet of 50 to 60 assets it will take between 90 to 120
http://t.co/HLnPMhyW minutes to complete, and there are variables like the level of security in a
building, the layout but the 90 to 120 minutes is average. You want to identify
scanners, fax units, copiers, data center printers, digital duplicators, etc.
imagesourcemag: RT Quickly, let’s identify the tools to conducting the assessment and an effective
@itex_show: clock is walk-thru to identify their imaging and printing environment.
ticking! deadline is today to
submit #itex13 call for 1. Rapid assessment key (RAK) or data collection agent (DCA) tool.
papers! submit today if a. You can make the assessment process easier with tools like FM Audit’s
you'd like to speak at WebAudit. WebAudit is a perfect complement to the managed print services
#itex13! ht ... sales process. Conducting a print assessment with a USB key requires two
visits to a client: one visit for the initial meter readings and a second visit for the
final readings. While the first meter reading is typically conducted on a sales call
imagesourcemag: eSource- where the rep proposes an assessment, the second meter reading is often an
September 19, 2012: inconvenience to the client. FMAudit enables one call assessments. Simply use
http://t.co/DNhwwtYd the USB key to take the meters on the first visit. For the second meter reading,
simply email the WebAudit link.
2. Guide to pulling a device’s meter count manually for local printers and faxes.
3. Digital camera or cell phone with camera, this data is very effective in
imagesourcemag: RT communicating their situation when you get to the financial proposal. Visuals
@itex_show: deadline help communicate the story to everyone involved, from finance, to facilities to IT.
approaching this friday to
submit to #itex13 call for At the conclusion of your assessment process you should have all the data you
papers! submit today if need to work through a strategy with the prospect and create a compelling
you'd like to speak at proposal for closing the contract.
#itex13! ht ...
You can be successful in MPS; you can realize increased revenue and margins.
It requires dedication and focus, the same dedication and focus that made your
www.imagesourcemag.com/industry-news/delivering-mps-promise?utm_source=eMPS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eMPS_08_… 3/6

4. company successful in hardware sales. You want to close more MPS contracts
and build up your MPS program? Ensure your specialist know how to conduct
thorough assessments. Don’t allow them to overcomplicate or simplify the
process; be thorough but flexible as each situation will be slightly different. And
remember, it will be impossible for anyone to justify MPS on a Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO) basis without the necessary information so you have to work
hard to get it.
Article by by David Ramos, Industry Consultant. Formerly with
IKON, Strategy Development, Inc., and other organizations, Ramos has key
experience in dealer and vendor sales management, consulting and
training, including on MPS. Contact him at David_Ramos@infotrends.com.
About the Author: David Ramos
About David Ramos
Articles by David Ramos
Add Com m ent
eMPS Articles
NEWS
BTA Southeast to Host Fall Colors Retreat Oct. 26-27 in Waynesville, N.C.
NEWS
ESP Announces New Management Team & Sales Structure
NEWS
DocuWare Announces Alliance With Brooks Internet Software, Inc. to Transform
Data for Document Management
NEWS
MSE Expands Color Production Capabilities
NEWS
Ricoh PCS Director Embedded and GlobalScan NX Single Sign-On Coming Soon
NEWS
LEAF Announces Securitization of $221 Million of Leasing Assets
NEWS
BEI Services to Offer MPS Cost Control Solution from Preton
www.imagesourcemag.com/industry-news/delivering-mps-promise?utm_source=eMPS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eMPS_08_… 4/6