Looking at Production Printers? Be Prepared to Change the Way You Sell

Selling production printers requires a more consultative, solutions selling approach, and the decision maker is likely not the same person as for a copier sale. “The prospect is looking to the dealer or the vendor for business services. ‘How are you going to help me make money with this device. How are you going to streamline my business. How are you going to improve my workflow,’” said Amy Machado, research manager for imaging, printing, and document solutions at IDC. (For a more in-depth look at the production print opportunity for the dealer channel, read “Production Print Growth Drivers: Why Some Dealers Are Cashing In.”

Amy Machado, IDC

For many solutions, “It’s not just about the box,” said Machado. If a dealer is selling a prospect on using a system for a publishing application, for example, then the prospect needs to understand the finishing capabilities, workflows, and total investment required. “ROI, ROI, ROI! That is the key,” she said.

John Fulena, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group

“The decision makers are sometimes different when it comes to proof points,” said John Fulena, vice president of Ricoh’s Production Print Business Group. Ricoh has a support group that assists both its direct sales operation and the dealer channel when it comes to building those proof points. “We’re equipped to help our dealers make that focus, talk to subject matter experts that can provide demonstrations, samples, consultations on workflows, or volume assessments,” he said.

Komax owners Bob Maxwell and Becky Offutt.

That solutions focus requires dedicated, specialized personnel in sales. “We made the conscious decision to differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” said Bob Maxwell, owner of Komax. “To do that correctly, there’s a financial commitment.” That meant hiring a production print specialist to work with the sales team and an application specialist that works with customers to design solutions that meet their needs.

Barry Simon,
Datamax

“You need to bring in someone who understands the [production print] business, especially workflow,” said Barry Simon, president at Datamax. Sales need to be able to speak to things like media substrates, finishing capabilities, and color correctness, he added. To ensure that its sales team stays up to date, Datamax puts them through a twice-yearly training process

Erik Holdo, Konica Minolta

Erik Holdo, senior vice president Production Print Solutions at Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., encourages dealers to make an investment in analysts like the person Simon described. “Dealers are hiring workflow analysts who understand the challenges and benefits of good workflow and certain types of offerings.” That person needs to be involved in both the pre- and post-sales process.

Bob Barbera, Canon

Sometimes that solutions selling involves the client’s printer and copier fleet that the dealer already manages. “There have been solutions and oversight in place to optimize the fleet they have with software like UniFlow to manage and report on print utilization and spend,” said Bob Barbera, senior manager, production solutions division, at Canon’s Business Imaging Solutions Group (BISG). “We now have solutions on the production side that tie into that. The conversation can now go much bigger.” Canon recently introduced its Prisma Direct software, which integrates with UniFlow and can do rules-based routing. A user who tries to print a 1,000-page document on a copier, for example, would get an alert asking if they want to send the job to the print center. Barbara sees this type of solution encouraging companies to bring more printing in-house.

Solutions selling might require the dealer to lean on its OEM partner at first. “Maybe the dealer is installing one solution now, but may not install another one for six months. How are they going to get that real expertise on the software? We have third-party partners that have programs the channel partners can use to implement the solution, and Canon U.S.A. has a professional services group to implement the solutions,” said Barbera. The intent is to support the dealer as it gains expertise. Dealers may choose to let Canon or its partners do all the implementations as well.