Mosaic Business Solutions
As part of our
ongoing series of interviews with dealers who are sharing their
MPS experiences, ENX spoke with Grant Sadowski from Mosaic
Business Solutions in Southern Florida and Gregg Mader from
Printer Essential’s home office in Reno, Nevada.
Grant Sadowski shares
his MPS experience
Having worked in the supplies selling arena for several years, we
decided to make a move into the MPS market two years ago. We
participated in multiple seminars, read all we could on how to get
into the space and networked with “experts” to leverage their
experience. We started approaching smaller companies, typically
with 20-50 pieces of equipment. We completed several assessments
and wrote a lot of proposals. We did not have success in closing a
single opportunity. We did not know what we were doing wrong.
Taking the approach we had learned in seminars wasn’t working.
Our
frustration level was increasing. Our success in this sales motion
was non-existent. If it were not for the success of my supplies
business, we would have had no revenue or margin to show for our
efforts.
Grant
Sadowski
During the two year period that we initially started going after
“Managed Print” we put out over 20 full-blown MPS proposals,
requiring hundreds of hours of work and did not close a single
deal. We were working very hard with no success to show for it.
Our failure in closing MPS sales was devastating.
We made a decision to completely change our approach to the way we
help our customers as it relates to developing a MPS program to
mirror the success we have experienced in supporting our
transactional supply business. By that I mean we focused on not
only supporting the customers immediate needs but going beyond
that with the little things that the customer never expected. For
instance as we built our supplies business we would follow up an
order with a cookie bouquet or if we knew of their affiliation
with a particular sports organization we would send them some
items from that sports organization as a way to say “Thank you for
the business”. These actions have always proven to be a great
investment in our client, resulting in long-term mutually
beneficial relationships.
We took that same kind of mindset to the customers that would
benefit from a Managed Print Solution. We listened to the client.
We would ask: What do you have? What do you need? The discussion
is always looking for the customer’s need, not what we are trying
to sell. Our goal is the unique delivery of the specific product
designed just for that client. There is no cookie cutter program.
We are NOT trying to make the customer fit in to our program. The
program is always
designed around the customer’s needs.
We also quickly discovered looking only at the financial side was
sometimes a negative. Too many companies try to make their money
on MPS by concentrating on selling equipment and charging for more
pages than are actually being printed or copied. Before we ever
did an assessment, or wrote a proposal, we actually took a lot of
time getting to know our clients. We realized that we were
probably being too aggressive, focusing on presenting the
proposal, rather than understanding the client’s needs prior to
that presentation.
Now, before we ever present a proposal, we confirm all of our
facts from the appraisal. We make sure our findings are correct
and accurate and we make sure that our numbers are the customer’s
reality. This allows us to be able to get a common agreement up
front based on the facts of the situation, not industry standards.
We never get locked into depending on the same approach or
packaged solution. Sometimes we have to change our method on a
daily basis. We spend a lot of time with the client before we ever
get around to sharing assessment. When we make the proposal, we
make sure that it is worthy of a long-term commitment. Our goal is
an appropriate savings for the client and a reasonable profit for
us.
As an example: for
one of our customers under our MPS program, we were able to save
them $8,000 a month. We knew we could get the deal by offering
them a $5,000 savings but we presented the proposal offering the
full savings because it was the right thing for the client. We
wanted to make sure that in the future, if the competition came
in, our price was fair and our service was outstanding. Our goal
is not to just get their business for 3 years. We wanted a viable
long-term solution that would provide high value and keep them as
a client for at least 6 to 10 years. Our goal is long-term
business security, built on competitive pricing and a strong
ongoing relationship.
Another big change we made was to start selling at the top. We
would look at a specific vertical and identified the top 25
players in our area. Once we sold to the biggest company in the
area, moving downward was extremely easy. There is natural
competition among people within the vertical. We learned to use
the envy factor in our vertical marketing. The smaller companies
figured that if the big guys were using us, they should take a
look. We were able to go back and revisit many of the customers
that had refused our proposals over a year ago.
We are very proactive once we get the deal. We stay in contact
with the customer on a regular basis. In the beginning we contact
the client weekly via phone call or e-mail. Once we are sure
everything is running smoothly we look at the account weekly or
monthly. We always try to have at least quarterly face-to-face
meetings. We continue to review and analyze what is actually
happening. We make sure the client continues to meet their
projected savings. We discuss any change in usage and make
appropriate adjustments to the client’s MPS program.
How Printer Essentials Helped
We have been a long time client of Printer Essentials on the
supplies side and they have supported us from the beginning of our
business start up. At the peak of my frustration with writing
dozens of non-selling MPS proposals, Gregg Mader was hired by
Printer Essentials as Vice President of Managed Print Solutions.
Once we started working with the Printer Essentials ESP Managed
Print Solutions program the momentum seemed to turn. The approach
that Printer Essentials takes in supporting their resellers was in
direct alignment with how we support our customers. Printer
Essentials worked with us in a way that was in lock step with how
we were approaching the opportunity. I can honestly say Gregg and
Printer Essentials were a great asset in turning our proposals
into sales. They enabled us to take the next step. With their
support, we went from closing zero MPS proposals to closing 70% -
80% of our proposals during the last 9 months.
Printer Essentials believes in taking the same approach to
supporting their resellers as we do to our customers. Gregg has
come out to the Mosaic office for a couple of in-person visits. In
retrospect, Gregg was practicing what we preach in regard to
gaining a full understanding of what the client needs. He was
getting to know us, figuring out exactly what we had a need for,
before he tried to sell us anything. This is the exact strategy we
use when implementing our MPS program.
Printer Essentials listened to our concerns and needs and then
offered solutions to get us to our end goal. They take an entirely
new approach with MPS selling techniques
Gregg’s perspective on the relationship with all the team members
at Mosaic is that “We created a win-win for both of us. By
supporting them in gaining success selling MPS, Mosaic Business
Solutions has increased the amount of business they are providing
Printer Essentials. We are big believers in the principle of
investing time, effort, knowledge and friendship in a customer or
potential customer just as Mosaic takes that same approach to
their client base. I feel honored to have gained a strong
relationship with the team at Mosaic and to have earned their
trust.”
Grant said, “We find that the MPS selling cycle can take anywhere
from 1-6 months which is a long time, but it is much more
satisfying knowing that our efforts in supporting our customer
create long lasting, high value engagements. Since we actually
started using the relationship selling for MPS, as we had been so
successful with on the supply side, we truly gained knowledge and
insight into our customers’ needs. The snow ball effect of success
has been enormous.
Grant Sadowski
Mosaic Business Solutions
Ultra Laser Imaging Supplies
6600 NW 20th Ave • Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
email: grant@ulis.cc
tel. 954.577.8473
Gregg Mader
Printer Essentials
5190 Neil Road Suite 205 • Reno, NV 89502
email: gmader@printeressentials.com
www.printeressentials.com
775-850-2626 • 214.535.7063