You guys have my head spinning with all that I want to say on this subject so I'm sure I will be jumping all over the board but here it goes.
First of all, we all have to recognize that the profit from service is getting squeezed every bit as much as profits from sales. We want better trained technicians and quicker response times yet CPC's are significantly lower than they used to be. You think $2.00/gallon gasoline has adversely effected you...think what effect it has had on service profits? You start pinching pennies from service and you will start getting decreased manpower, decreased parts inventory, decreased service training, etc. which equates to slower response times and longer down times. What this means to you Mr./Ms. Salesrep is disatisfied customers and much more difficult upgrades and renewals with greater competition.
If someone can figure out an effective way to pay salereps on clicks, I would be all for it but it would be in lieu of salary...$.0005/click may not seem like much, but it may be half the profit by the time everything is said and done. Keep in mind that most companies are lucky to break even on equipment sales and the profits from service and supplies has to pay for buildings, admin staff, utilities, benefit plans, etc.
We all have to quit looking outside for our support and accept the reality that we have to figure out more ways to be of greater value to our customers. There are people out there who make a very good living as consultants without selling any hardware or software so there must be hope for us.
On a seperate and somewhat conflicting note, I convinced the powers here that it was in their best interest to give salesreps true absolute dealer cost and 100% commission on printers. I contended that printers were not going to be sold any other way and the aftermarket revenues and exposure were where the profits would come. So, if dealer cost is $1000 and the salesrep sells that printer for $1,200, they get $200 commission.