Back in eighties, before PC's were on every copier sales persons desk, copier sales people would turn to Copier Buyers Guides. Those guides were as good as gold, and we scrambled for them when the new editions arrived. Those guides listed every current and discontinued copier spec on the market. Those guides were our Bibles!
Many of us stuffed them in our briefcases (remember when we had those), while others left them at the office. The really good copier salespeople always had his copier Bible handy. On many occasions a DM would state that so and so sales person stated that their copier could do this or that, and if we didn't have our copier guide there was no way we could argue the point.
Cut & Pasted Copies
We would highlight certain specs, models from those Bibles. In many cases we copied one page of specs for one model, then copied another page for the competitive model. We then placed the two pages on a copier and copied both pages on to one page. Presto, change, we had a side by side copier comparison that we could show the client to prove our copier was the best!!
Then one year, all of the guides were gone and we had to purchase software subscriptions in order to generate those side by sides. Now, everything is web based, click a few models and you have your sided by side.
So Many Specs & Too Many Features
Today, you can bore yourself to tears with all of the spec, features, and accessories that are available on our current models. In many cases, I've found that many of these software generated PC's have mistakes. Thus, when I see a mistake for a spec, feature or accessory, I'm distraught because there might be additional mistakes that I may not be aware. How can I show that to a client when there are mistakes?
Keep in mind that I know my system inside and out, however I don't know the competitors system that well. I believe that those that put the data either just had a moment or they don't check with experts to make sure their data is correct.
I enjoy creating my own side by side copier comparisons. Here's why, I know that my data for my device is correct, and if I do the research on the competitors device, I know that data will be correct also. However, there are times when you browse a brochure or a spec sheet and you can't match up a certain feature or spec between the two devices. I hate that!
I turned to our community of Print4Pay Hotel members (2,300 plus) and asked for help, along with having them valid the data that I have. As always, we had some awesome members step up and help. Just tonight, I finished up my second side by copier comparison.
Xerox WorkCentre 5955 vs Ricoh MP 5045SP
Oce Colorwave 500 vs Ricoh MP CW2201SP
Yes, I still sell Ricoh products, and yes I customize these documents so that they show the good and the bad. Tomorrow, I'm using the one for Xerox vs Ricoh to show to a net new account. Will I get the deal, not sure, but what I can tell you, is that my data and knowledge will shine.
Oh, one more item. Print4Pay Hotel Premium/VIP members get these for FREE, if not a Print4Pay Hotel member and would like to purchase a Premium/VIP membership, shoot me an email apost@p4photel.com
-=Good Selling=-
Comments (1)