Solution providers should think strategically and go slow when transitioning from printing hardware to managed print services sales, consultant advises.

The transition can be rough for solution providers that want to change their focus from selling high volumes of printing hardware to consultative sales centered on managed print services.

Fortunately, progressive solution providers don't have to work out a strategy from scratch. Best practices are emerging to help them develop compelling sales messages and avoid some of the common pitfalls that complicate services sales, says sales consultant Tom Callinan, managing principal of Strategy Development.

Here are some of his tips for managed print services success.

1. Emphasize Printing Pain Points
Done right, a managed print services contract can relieve some of the financial pain that end users are feeling about their operations but can't address by themselves. At the top of the list are undocumented costs for printing and imaging, which result when printing infrastructures rely on multiple vendors and a cross-section of hardware models. "These companies are probably receiving multiple invoices per month for consumables and service, and the IT folks are tied up in non-value-added, non-fun maintenance tasks," Callinan says.

Coming into sales calls prepared to articulate financial pain points and solutions that provide clients with a predetermined monthly charge will help drive home the advantages of a managed services contract, Callinan adds.

2. Sell Printers and MFPs Strategically
Even if the IT department has been your prime contact for printer and multifunction product (MFP) sales, aim higher when it comes to managed services contracts. Callinan suggests talking with a finance director, who may have a more comprehensive view of the organization. "Managed services is a more strategic sell for solving financial issues for customers" versus just meeting day-to-day requirements for hard-copy output, he says.

3. Look for Solutions Training Opportunities
Some solution providers muddle through the challenges of solutions selling instead of seeking out training available from industry associations, vendor partner programs, or third-party consultants. "This ends up costing them many times more than what it would have cost to just hire somebody upfront to help with the transition," Callinan says.

4. Add Service Contract for Existing Printers/MFPs
Transition to managed services by encouraging existing customers to add a service contract to their existing printers and MFPs rather than trying to sell an expensive hardware-refresh and services package, Callinan says. "Some solution providers try to go after an initial transaction that's too large, and it becomes too complicated a project to learn from," he says. "Or they try to take out the copier vendor at the same time they are putting the printers under a print management contract. The next thing you know, the customer alerts the copier dealer, and you're in a head-to-head competition."

Instead, build up a customer's comfort with a monthly, cost-per-page service agreement, and then at regular quarterly performance reviews begin to discuss hardware replacements. "When solution providers go for all or nothing upfront they often end up with nothing," according to Callinan. "But when you build loyalty with customers they start to trust you with more and more of their business."