As business owners we always find this time of year exciting: We’ve had plenty of time to reflect on all the good and the bad of the previous year. We have also had plenty of time to decompress and re-energize for the year ahead. The holidays are over and now it’s time to get back to business. Here are 3 resolutions we can all take on to make 2016 a powerful year for our managed print practices:
1. Get Pumped! (or… “take a realistic inventory of the year before”): Every January, a bunch of us head back to the gym and do our best to improve our eating habits so we can embrace a fitter body and mind. I thought I was pretty close to my ideal weight already but when I jumped on the scale it had other things to say. I had gained a whopping 20 pounds (none of it in the right places either)! Looking back, it should have come as no surprise. I asked the receptionist at my gym the last time I’d been there. She said “June” while looking at my belly the whole time with eyebrows raised. In my mind it was more like October, but the lady at the gym doesn’t lie! Ever. She’s the most stoic and brutally direct receptionist you’ll ever meet. Unfortunately, the scale at the gym is equally as honest. I thought I was doing okay with my fitness goals but the results speak for themselves: Epic fail!
The business lesson here? It’s easy to sit back and say “things are fine, my practice is doing great!” But is it the best attitude for getting ahead in 2016? Have we taken a serious enough stab at exploration of areas of improvement? The times they are a changin’! 2015 was a year filled with consolidation and change at the very top. The OEMs were all over the news and not all of it happy. MFD unit sales were down for Xerox, HP split its company in two, and Lexmark announced publically that it was seeking “alternative” options for their future. With this much change happening at the top it is only a matter of time before the trickle down effect reaches our bottom lines.
2. Go Fishing! (or.. ”do a better job of asking the right questions”): Do you have any idea how long a goldfish lives? 6 months? 3 years? How about 30? Yup, 30 years. Recently my daughter was begging me for a goldfish. We went to the petstore and I asked the lady working there how long we should expect to have it. I repeat: 30 years. I didn’t believe her so I went home and googled it. Google said 30 years. My daughter is now 9, so she’s going to have to take the thing to college, introduce it to her future life partner, and down the road, her children.
What do goldfish have to do with business? Nothing and everything. The point is, only by asking the right questions and listening intently for the answers can we really understand what our customers are truly looking for. Assessments are how we ask good questions. Printers and copiers won’t give you the answers, no matter how many remote monitoring tools you use. People have the answers. Using tools like Print Audit 6 and by conducting interviews with key stakeholders we can dramatically improve the odds of us providing solutions that fit their needs. The better our assessment practice, the more we listen, the more deals we’ll win and the longer we’ll keep our customers.
3. Sell High! (or… “take diversification seriously”): Anybody that grooms a stock portfolio understands the need to diversify. I’m not a very smart guy, so I invest for the long term. I have a lot of different stocks and some perform well while others not so much. Funny thing is, over the years, many of the “duds” have born fruit and the early “winners” have taken serious hits. My average portfolio growth over the years, however, has been pretty good. I periodically change the mix to stay with the times. And no, I don’t own Google stock and I seriously missed the boat on Apple too. What you going to do?
My point is that whenever we invest beyond the walls of our businesses we tend to hedge our bets and mitigate our risk through diversification. So why aren’t we doing it with our nest egg? A great E-Guide to help get you thinking of how to better diversify your practice for the new year is “The Managed Print Provider’s Guide to an Industry in Change.” It is filled with useful things to help you get 2016 off to a great start.
Hopefully these nuggets find you in a good place, one filled with excitement for the year ahead. There’s nothing like a new year to mess up the first few cheques we try to write (note to self: It’s not2015 anymore) and to get us pumped about change and renewed focus on growth. Now it’s YOUR turn. What kinds of things do you do at the start of the year to prepare for excellence? What things do you look for from the year before when evaluating success? We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!