Print.IT Reseller - issue 51

01732 759725 22 SALES STRATEGY Whereas technology used to be a business facilitator, it is now increasingly becoming an integral part of business strategy. Inevitably, this has brought a dramatic growth in complexity as well as the need for creativity and innovation in those specifying, integrating and deploying the systems. Suddenly, it’s no longer enough for technology resellers to merely ‘shift boxes’. Their customers need the advice of experts on tailoring the products and systems they buy and on getting the best value from their investment. This has left resellers with a number of choices. They might decide to carry on with a high turnover, low margin business model regardless and accept they’re operating in a shrinking market. Alternatively, they can evolve their business model and begin to sell their expertise alongside the technology, opting for a slower burning, but ultimately more rewarding, consultative sale. Printers and printer vendors are a good example of this shift. As those in the business will know, this market has undergone a transformation linked to the growing complexity of software and the increasing digitisation of business. Anyone who thinks that this has sounded the death-knell for printers must think again. These devices no longer just sit in the corner to be used occasionally to print the odd document – they are an integral part of business workflows, managing and storing information with the help of integrated computing systems. Instead of being just a printer, the hardware is now a ‘multifunction device’ including a scanner which can convert hard paper documents to digital. In this way, it becomes an important starting point of a digital workflow. Linked to an integrated computer system it can email digitised documents or store them so they are secure, but also easily accessible. Adapt to survive So how do the companies selling these new solutions adapt their businesses to survive? To begin with, they have to address a whole spectrum of different questions that printer vendors never thought they’d have to answer. For example, print security is now a major concern, particularly with the imminence of GDPR deadlines and the publicity around recent series of high-profile cyber-attacks. Tony Carey is Managing Director The printer market has had to adapt to technology advances and digitisation and the reseller landscape is evolving, Dylan Haworth of OKI Europe (UK & Ireland), explores how OKI reseller Copytype has successfully made the transition from salesperson to consultant From salesperson to consultant of Copytype, a Limerick-based printer supplier, selling a range of brands, but in particular OKI multifunction devices. In the business for over 30 years, Carey has been at the frontline of this change. Yet, he has been determined that Copytype should evolve to address the transition, rather than get left behind and compromise its viability. The company employs several engineers – all technical people, Carey says. “This means we can differentiate ourselves from the competition through our service expertise. A few years ago, everybody bought printers on price. Now they have become far more complex – and having the technical knowledge to install and configure them in a way that maximises the benefits for each individual customer is a great selling point.” Increasingly, Copytype’s business comes from IT companies that lack this in-depth knowledge of print and printers. “An IT company will spend time writing specifications for a server, PCs and laptops for a company, but when