As an office technology dealer, you may think you sell machines. You do not. You sell time. If a machine experiences operational challenges, that precious commodity, time, is eroded. When this happens, it’s time to call the service technician.
Today we’re going to talk about the world of copier service, from trunk stock to an obsession with mean time between failures (MTBF), one-call completion rates, and tech-to-copier ratios.
To set the table, I have never been a service technician. I have managed teams of service technicians, and I’ve hired people to manage and dispatch the team, handle warranties, contracts, and basic customer service. My reflections and suggestions are from the salesperson’s perspective. I cannot overstress this point: to be a truly great sales professional, you need to understand how this department sustains and propels your personal sales revenue.
What the service department is
The service department is a team with varied functions. There are dispatchers, technicians, parts, phones, tickets, meter reads, notes, and a service manager who spends the day putting out fires. Their world is filled with frustrated end users and complicated machinery.
They move devices. They set devices up. They deliver devices. And they fix things.
These folks are the heart and soul of the business and a great source for getting to know the nitty gritty of day-to-day operations and how you fit into the picture. What’s more, the knowledge you gain observing your internal systems translates into how you see your prospects’ processes and how you can help them increase revenue, reduce costs, and grow profits by partnering with you. This is gold.
Who does what
Like every great program, the service team consists of specialists focused on areas of expertise in support of the overall mission: keep the machines running and keep the customers happy.
Dispatch is where assignments happen. Customers reach out with a problem, service tickets are generated, priorities get set, and appointments are scheduled and dispatched. Roll this in with ongoing deliveries and you’ve got a matrix of moving targets: service level agreements, delivery windows, and response times. Each impacts the financial well-being of the department and dealership. It’s a big deal.
Technicians do the work customers remember. Most customers know their tech by first name (which can be a good or bad thing). Techs diagnose, fix, document, and move. Their day is math: travel time, first-visit success, repeat calls, parts used, parts wasted, and the number of times they have to hear, “It worked fine until you touched it.” Your tech never goes out to a happy customer call. They don’t get to take prospects to lunch or get invited to the technology show.
The service manager runs the machine that runs the machines. This person has been in the business for a good spell and probably fixed every device type in the fleet and then some. Duties include staffing, coaching, escalations, technician workload, managing customer heat, the ongoing tug of war between what was promised and what can be delivered, and the occasional human resource issue. They have a lot on their plates.
Pro tip: Ask a senior tech for their top 10 service problems they address and write them down. Not for trivia — for discovery questions you can use in the field with prospects.
How a new rep learns service without getting in the way
Most learning here is old school. That is fine; old school works. If your dealership doesn’t have a formal cross-training program, ask the service manager’s permission to learn more about how the service area works.
Here’s a recommended schedule with ideas:
• The dispatcher (half-day): Sit with dispatch and listen to how priorities get set, plus the tone and temperature of customer interaction. Notice what you can carry into your normal selling conversations.
• The dock (half-day): Watch how devices arrive at your dealership and how they are shipped to your customers. This visit gives you perspective on two levels: the challenges your dealership’s prospects share and overcome in receiving, and how paper/document flow is utilized and impacted by errors in paperwork.
• The bench (half-day): Watch and learn how systems are configured, assembled, and made ready for delivery, with special attention to software and connectivity. Learn how the process depends on paperwork generated by the selling professional, like site surveys, config sheets, and solution sets. You want to see how you can make their job easier or more difficult.
• Tech ride-alongs (one to two days): Ride along with a technician and watch the customer interaction and the environment, because the questions customers ask when sales isn’t in the room are usually the questions that matter.
Pro tip: Keep a short “service facts” page for each account you sell, including device location, site contact, access notes, network notes, paper type, and any recurring issues. It makes you look psychic. You are not. You are organized.
Selling copiers without becoming the problem
I warn you: there is and always has been friction between technicians and selling professionals. The reason usually comes down to the stigma that salespeople say anything to get the sale and move on. The stigma is fact-based. But it isn’t written in stone. You have the opportunity to remove negative perception by doing a few simple things:
Site surveys: First, do them. Second, take them seriously. Confirm placement, power, network drops, elevators, tile protection, delivery path, access rules, removal needs, and the on-site contact before a truck ever rolls. Guessing technical answers creates messy expectations. Service inherits the cleanup.
Delivery and installations: Be there. Make the introductions and stick around. You are handing off the account to service. Make sure the relationship is off to a good start.
Set the expectations: Don’t overpromise or oversell. Talk real SLAs, like the difference between response time and resolution time. Correct expectations beat optimistic promises. Response time, parts reality, and what “same day,” “response time,” and “resolution time” mean should be stated plainly before the first ticket ever exists.
Buy them food: I swear, an In-N-Out or Dunkin’ gift card goes a long way. Which brings me to a sometimes forgotten, rarely mentioned issue.
One day, you will ask a technician for a favor related to an unhappy customer or a struggling sales cycle. It could be anything, from special part delivery to helping figure out how to get a Canon to the second floor using a forklift.
This is guaranteed. The god of copiers demands it.
When this happens, the bond and rapport you’ve built with technicians through understanding their world will save you hours of headaches.
In the end, knowing your service department:
• Deepens your understanding of how things work
• Helps you stay on course through low-friction relationships
• Helps you identify and empathize with prospects’ challenges that parallel the ones your service department addresses and solves every day
Learn from service, observe prospects through service eyes, remember your techs.
Sell on!
Greg Walters
is an entrepreneur and founder of the notorious destination site TheDeathOfTheCopier, where he comments on all things imaging, the rise of managed services and the advance of business technology. A prolific writer and frequent speaker, Greg shares his passionate, unique – and often provocative – view of technology and people, addressing the impact of digital on 21st century business. His 2014 book, Death Of The Copier, offers a controversial summary of the early days of Managed Print Services and the not-so-distant future of the hard copy industry. Reach out to Greg at greg@grwalters.com.