Czech, I don't know how long (total years) you've been in the industry. The wealth of knowledge you've brought to the questions I've asked in the forum tell me probably longer than the 5 years you mention. I have only been in the business full time for 10 years. I have been around it with my father since I was a kid....30 years.
i do think some, if not most of your points are valid:
I like Art usually have about 6-8k per month on commissions, just selling boxes. I am in a big market with a lot of competition. I do think the points that are accurate in my eyes are differentiation of equipment, GP, giving boxes away, and expectations.
I do agree that there is very little differentiation in products anymore. They all do the same things and of one does something others don't a sales rep better capitalize immediately because in a matter of months a firmware will be released to do the same thing.
GP is shrinking thanks to the manufactures who have decided that the dealer channel is not important. The Japanese have decided the dealers are not their cash cow anymore so direct is the way to go to keep the factory running. I just fought for a deal with low margin and the service on a 1000 copies per month was at .004. Eventually I think the directs will all be sold off again one day and it will coke back around to the dealer channel. I will say though that I still have plenty of deals that I am able to have 2-3k or more of GP. Kind of goes back to volume for me. I'll take a few hundred dollars commission on 10 machines instead of losing so many trying to put thousands in a couple deals.
I think giving boxes away is the new norm and I don't know if it will change. I see guys around town giving it away at their cost to put numbers on the sales board. I also find that those people don't last but the company keeps pushing that because it's a new account and they get the service revenue.
Expections will probably continue to rise due to the decreasing revenue thanks to the A4 market. One of the things I try to put in the customers head is that if they buy an a4 device today and in a week, and month, or a year they "have" to have 11x17 for something they will be stuck with equipment they can't use. I have won many deals over competitors selling A4 just buy hammering that point to them.
i do agree it is harder to sell value now because a lot will turn around and tell your competition "we'll give me "X" solution with this many users and this many workflow add on's and with a 30 page per minute color woth 4 trays and fax. I see it all the time. Someone calls and says I need a particular machine and they know way too much about the options of that machine. I will give them a price that is very low and if they call back that is great and if they don't call back it's probably even better since they will be the pain in the ass customers anyway 99% of the time.
i still love this industry and think the dealer channel will be sitting pretty in a few years. The directs cannot sustain the level of losses they incur regardless of what they say at dealer meetings or to the industry analysts etc.
I would love to hear more from others about specifics you use for selling value. I don't think customers really care about guarantees for service anymore because it's to tough in their minds to take a risk and change even if they are upset. I had a client this week, who we share devices with a competitor in their offices tell me he bought a Konica Minolta from my competitor because the price was right and he didn't think I would be able to come close to the pricing he got. Then he said he hated the Konica Minolta devices and the companies service but in his mind he couldn't "not" buy it.