Are your eyes just holes in your head?!
Have you ever been told that in real life? I have. By a boss named XX at Fuji Xerox.
When I was a new graduate, I was in the new business development sales unit at Fuji Xerox.
My main job was to get into companies using multifunction printers from companies like Ricoh or Canon and replace them with Fuji Xerox machines.
Let me talk a little bit about history here.
Xerox is the parent of the copier, and naturally, we had a 100% market share, so the basic principle for the sales force was to 'protect our share' from late-coming manufacturers.
Excellent service, excellent equipment, and diligent follow-up to captivate customers and never let them go—that was the guiding principle.
However, Xerox continued to lose share to other companies, mainly among small and medium-sized enterprises due to lower costs, which led to the creation of the department I was in, the 'counter-attack specialist' unit.
We were an attack force specialized solely in winning back share, with no existing customers to manage or anything to protect.
Since they weren't existing customers, we basically had almost no information on the accounts we were assigned. To build a strategy, we needed to confirm things like which manufacturers they were doing business with.
I think it's an occupational hazard for us, including my seniors, that when we enter someone's company, we first have it ingrained in us to analyze every multifunction printer model in sight.
Since we have researched other companies' multifunction printers thoroughly, just by looking from a distance, we can tell not only the manufacturer but also, by identifying the model, the installation date, print volume, and in other words, the expected sales.
For example,
・A model that has been discontinued for over 5 years = A cost-conscious customer who hasn't replaced it after the lease expired.
・There is a Canon or Konica Minolta GA machine = There is a design team on this floor that frequently uses color output
and so on.
One day, we managed to get an appointment and were taken into a conference room by my boss, but there wasn't a single copier to be found on the path from the entrance to the conference room.
The person in charge who met with us hadn't opened up to us, and wouldn't tell us about the multifunction printer they currently had.
When the customer left their seat to take a phone call and we were left in the conference room, I said to my boss, 'There are no clues here,' and that was when I was finally told those words.
“Are your eyes just holes in your head?!”
Why was I suddenly told that? Did I miss something? When I wondered that, my boss pointed to the materials the customer had handed us.
'This paper, it's a whiteness level we don't really use. And look at this logo. This red color. This is Ricoh toner. That means it's a combination of Otsuka Shokai and Ricoh, right?'
I thought to myself, 'What on earth is Ricoh red?' lol
When the customer returned, my boss said, 'Mr. XX. Since you won't tell me, I'll tell you my deduction. This paper is from Tanomail, right? And the manufacturer is Ricoh, isn't it? How about that?'
The customer looked surprised and said, 'Eh lol, how did you know that?!'
After I explained everything, they said, "Pros are amazing... actually..." and told me various things.
What do you think? The world of copiers is quite deep, isn't it?
Since that incident, I have also trained and acquired the skill of discernment, becoming able to distinguish things like "Ricoh's red," "Canon's yellow," and "Kyocera's black."
Next time: "Do you intend to give customers things printed at Lawson or FamilyMart? It has to be 7-Eleven, obviously." It might be controversial, so I'm not sure if I'll actually write it.