Resellers of Managed Print Services face a number of challenges, but perhaps none greater than finding the right MPS salespeople for the job. When you consider the vast amount of time and resources spent on recruiting, interviewing and hiring qualified personnel for MPS sales, it can be disheartening to learn that the turnover rate for these employees is close to 50 percent. While many people tend to shine during the interview process when putting their best face forward, they may not present that same persona to your customers, leading to lost sales and a shrinking customer base. Read on for some great tips on how to hire qualified Managed Print salespeople and qualities to look for in your next hire.
Qualities of Successful Managed Print Salespeople
Drive
The number one qualification for any new MPS sales hire should be a strong desire to succeed. Without it, they will likely be unwilling to learn new skills, pursue new customers and exercise the tenacity needed to win over your tougher clientele.
Experience Selling to the C-Level
Most business outsourcing purchases are usually completed at the C-level. An MPS sales representative should have the ability to convey the business outcomes to owners and C-level executives, rather than bogging them down with more granular details that will get them pushed down the organization. A history of meeting with, and successfully selling to, business owners and C-level execs is critical when you’re selecting your new salesperson.
Effective Communication Skills
Selling a service like Managed Print requires finesse, being able to make performance metrics, ROI, and the outsourcing of non-critical tasks relatable and relevant to those who are at higher levels within the organization.
Qualification Skills
Effective qualifying skills can mean the difference between wasting one’s time on low probability sales opportunities versus time well spent. Does your candidate understand how to identify and qualify potential MPS customers?
Presentation
Great MPS salespeople are able to build a business case quickly and earn the right to advance to an MPS agreement, or expand the assessment to a wider scope. A high degree of presentation planning, including a thorough Total Cost of Operation (TCO) analysis and preparing answers to potential questions in advance are all tools required to present a solid case for Managed Print Services and will increase a salesperson’s odds of success.
Follow Through
Ongoing support and periodic client reviews are imperative to sustaining your client base. Benchmarking throughout the process not only showcases the benefits of your service and keeps the client engaged and abreast of progress, it often provides the seller with more opportunity beyond the initial MPS deal! Unfortunately, many MPS salespeople are inexperienced in account reviews and this behavior tends to continue when selling a business outsourcing solution like MPS.
The same qualities you look for in a new hire can be applied to your existing salesforce to elevate sales to a new level. Our training platform, Partner Pro Selling MPS To Win, is a dedicated Managed Print sales program designed to help new and experienced salespeople succeed in the challenging environment of MPS sales.
