01732 759725
48
Q&A
View from the channel
Q:
What are your customers most
interested in?
A:
The real talking point at the moment is
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
and the financial implications to the
business in the event of a data breach.
This has been compounded by the recent
publicity surrounding printers being widely
used to access an organisation’s network.
This is obviously great news for our
industry and actually makes the day, and
client meetings, quite exciting compared to
the usually mundane world of print!
Q:
Do clients have the same
understanding of industry terms such
as BYOD, MPS or MDS, as we do?
A:
Business trends have definitely
changed and whereas in the past,
my client meetings were generally
conducted with facilities or procurement,
nowadays there seems to always be an
IT presence engaged from the very start.
And in my experience, these tend to be
technologically savvy youngsters who
have an inherent understanding of this
terminology.
Q:
Where are you seeing most
traction at the moment, are there
any verticals that are particularly
strong?
A:
I personally have experienced some
great recent wins in various sectors. I am
in strategic corporate sales and don’t
tend to have specific sectors, whilst the
business does have some very strong
verticals. In corporate we are allowed
the freedom to target organisations we
choose, but naturally as individuals we
tend to lean towards verticals where we
have strength and experience. I generally
tend to engage with a lot of logistics/
shipping organisations as this is where I
have concentrated my efforts over the past
years, and have experienced some good
traction recently.
Q:
When selling MFPs, what are the
most popular software solutions you
provide and why?
A:
I am seeing a real trend of discussion
moving away from print when I talk
about software solutions. Instead of the
usual commoditised MPS conversations,
traditionally surrounding fleet and print
management solutions, I’m seeing
major interest and traction with digital
transformation, covering capture, workflow,
mobility and data storage, essentially
questioning why organisations are printing
documents in the first place!
This involves a far more consultative
approach than our industry has generally
ever led with, but it’s proving to open
up and uncover exciting, unrealised
opportunities in our market with both new
and existing clients.
Q:
Where do you get information on
the latest products and solutions,
and do you feel that the OEMs are
doing enough to educate their
channel partners?
A:
Here at Vision, we have a philosophy
of quality over quantity and therefore I
am very fortunate to work alongside some
very bright young individuals from whom
Matthew Bunting, Strategic Corporate Clients Team, Vision
I am forever picking up new and exciting
information about our products and
solutions. Also being in strategic corporate,
I often attend meetings with our enterprise
services team that never cease to amaze
me with their knowledge and approach
to solution selling, so even an old dog like
me can pick up a new trick or two along
the way!
Manufacturers do provide some good
information and it can often be some of
the best kept secrets! We have a central
portal for all sales and product information
and updates, however, I am very lucky
to be surrounded by very experienced
professionals and we have a real team
culture and I use the team to assist where
ever I can!
Q:
Is your patch particularly
competitive – is it national or local
competition that you face?
A:
At Vision and corporate we are not
restricted to particular patches and again
are given the freedom to travel where the
business takes us. Personally being in the
corporate space, I find myself visiting head
offices all around the country.
Generally, in my experience, corporate
clients tend to engage with a mixture of
resellers and manufacturers. We recently
won a large global logistics and supply
chain management company that initially
engaged with 20 suppliers (yes 20
suppliers!) including all the main players
from both direct and indirect so we know
we have nothing to fear from the very best
in our industry!
Q:
How do you spend your week –
time on phone, face to face meetings
with customers etc.?
A:
One of the things I still love about my
job is the diversity and no one week is
ever the same. I still like to get my hands
dirty and try to involve myself with all
elements of the sales process and am
actually just arranging to spend two days
in Northern Ireland overseeing a physical
print discovery for one of corporate clients
that has acquired a business that wants
to replicate the ‘simple but extremely
effective’ solution we have deployed at
various locations across mainland UK.
Q:
What would make your job easier?
A:
A magic wand!
One of the
things I still
love about
my job is the
diversity and
no one week
is ever the
same
