Integrating Scanners Into Your Portfolio  As I’ve mentioned before, Industry Analysts is a pretty diversified company. Market and dealer research is performed at our Rochester, New York headquarters, while down here in the Fairfield, New Jersey lab I’m left to my boiling beakers and arcing transformers (or at least the hardware and software equivalents) in our product test lab. While you wouldn’t expect it from a lab geek like me, I enjoy the dealer shows and conferences that I’m invited to. I really like talking to dealers around the meal table and finding out what they are doing as far as applying technology at their dealerships and customers. One thing that’s pretty obvious, at least to me, is that successful dealerships aren’t putting all of their eggs in one basket. What surprises me is how many dealers are shortsighted about what’s happening in the imaging industry. For the most part, companies aren’t buying copiers any more. What they are purchasing is the concept and capability to work more efficiently, effectively, and with better use of the diminishing resources available to them. I don’t have to tell you what this means to you, the dealer. You’re taking a hit from both sides – diminishing margins on the providers’ side as well as on the customer side. You have to sell more just to remain where you are. The question is, sell more of what? Over the past several years, many dealers have been unable to see beyond the MFPs they sell or have installed. With companies buying fewer new units and holding onto older units for a much longer time, or worse, replacing their A3 MFPs with desktop A4 devices purchased through the retail channel, managed print services have been hailed as the savior of the industry. Maybe that’s true right now, but it’s not going to be true forever. You need to find other things to sell, and it would be great if these “other things” fit nicely into your current sales approach and expertise. Let’s look at two possibilities for you to consider. But first, here’s a bit of background. Most of the testing we do these days here in the lab is confidential. Since it is primarily competitive testing and analysis, we operate under nondisclosure for more than 95% of the engagements we undertake, and can’t talk about them without specific permission from the client. The only exception to this is where the client has made our results public. Sometimes this takes place in citing our project and results in their material, other times a client will publish part or all of a report we prepare for their use. Several years ago we prepared a white paper for a client centered on their endeavor into the scanning market. The conclusions we came to in that report are still valid today, and are not limited to that client’s product. Basically, what we demonstrated was, for many document and content management systems, a mix of MFPs, network capable scanners, and networkable printers was a better use of the customer’s financial resources than their current method of one or two centralized larger MFPs. The underlying justification for this is that for the cost of a single 30 ppm MFP, the customer can buy multiple scanners and 30 ppm printers, and distribute the scan and print capabilities into company locations where it’s not practical or feasible to place a traditional A3 MFP. How often do you have a prospect that just isn’t interested in another MFP? How many scanners and printers do you sell to those customers? I’d bet it’s not all that many. I’d also bet that the reason you’re not selling as many scanners and printers as you could be is not that your customers don’t need them. Even in a smaller business, adding a few scanners and printers is usually cost effective, even if the customer buys some MFPs as well. I don’t claim to be an expert in marketing, but I do have a rather esoteric background, as a programmer, then as a Systems Analyst, as an Accountant, management positions in the publishing industry, and as a product reviewer, that gives me a somewhat different outlook than many of you who are actually selling the hardware. I’ve run two small businesses, and been the target of more than one office supplies and copier salesperson. I’ve also been around long enough (unfortunately) to see business go from submitting data to mainframes, to time-sharing on them, then to mini-computers, and finally to microcomputers. I was even at the press conference where Ken Olsen, then president of Digital Equipment Corporation, made the statement, “Why would anyone want a computer on their desk?” The point of all this rambling is that equipment ownership, use, and positioning run in cycles – from consolidation, to dispersal, back to consolidation/centralization, and so on. The rise of MFPs, with its combination of scanning and printing, came during a period when businesses were rebounding from having a printer on every desk (a computer on every desk, contrary to Ken Olsen, is still in favor). The problem with centralizing scanner/printers into departmental MFPs only makes sense under some circumstances. One is limited space, where your customer just doesn’t have the room for multiple printers and scanners. Another is price, when printers and scanners are expensive enough that buying a single integrated MFP makes economic sense. Given the fact that your customer can buy several fast, good quality scanners and printers for the price of one MFP, there are times when it may be easier for you to sell a scanner or printer or two, than to lose the sale because the customer doesn’t want multiple, or even a single, MFP. The icing on the cake is that the same MFP manufacturers’ hardware that you sell probably has scanner and printer lines as well. And if they don’t, there are great quality scanners from vendors like Visioneer and Fujitsu, to mention only two. Some of you are already doing this quite successfully. Others are either having trouble with this approach, or not attempting it at all. I’ll hazard a guess, and I’m sure I’ll hear about it if I’m far off the mark, but at least some of you who are not having any success with this approach is because it’s something you pull out of the bag in desperation when you can’t sell an MFP or managed print services. I can hear it now: “But wait a minute, I have one more thing you might be interested in!” One approach to being more successful with a mixed offering is simply to put all your cards down on the table. Let your customer know that you have the ability to meet their needs right up front, rather than sequentially pushing less and less expensive (or profitable) products and services. And use the right tools for the job. In the last rant, I raved about how few dealers I’ve talked with actually use technology to sell technology. I’m amazed (and not in a good way) at how many dealers I’ve talked to misuse what they call “workflow analysis” as a selling tool. Maybe I’m just continually talking to the wrong dealers, but spouting some mumbo jumbo about needing a scanner here and printer there is not workflow analysis. Workflow analysis, in any useful form, is an evolution of what used to be called Time and Efficiency Analysis. Using workflow analysis, which is now considered part of business reengineering, is more than just throwing technology at a customer. There are several ways to go about adding this to your repertoire of selling tools, including continuing education, or partnering with someone who has experience in performing this task and a familiarity with how your product line fits into the process. Consider developing a strategy around scanners. When your reps talk to customers have them listen for opportunities for digitizing, routing and storing documents. Do they process forms? Is there a need for OCR capability? Create a checklist of questions for your sales reps outside of the traditional, “When is your lease expiring?” question. Some vertical markets may find great interest in scanning solutions, especially paper intensive ones such as legal, education, real estate and medical to name a few. Building a strategy that incorporates scanning as part of a workflow approach rather than a last ditch item thrown on the table when the customer says they don’t need a new copier can help pull your printers and MFPs into the account. Educate your sales reps on scanning opportunities that may exist. Look within your own solutions portfolio and learn how standalone scanners may play a role in selling these devices.u Ted Needleman is Senior Director of Industry Analysts Technical Services Division . 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