Growth is nothing new to Offix, a Gainesville, Virginia-based office technology dealership. They’ve been growing consistently since the company was founded in 1999 by President Steve Valenta and have their sights set on future growth. The dealership which sells a mix of Canon, Sharp, Océ, Kip, MBM, Secap, HP, and Samsung devices along with solutions from EFI, eCopy, Drivve has also been a long-time provider of managed print services. We spoke with Valenta about his business, the industry, and his strategies to grow the business.
The year has only just begun, how’s it going so far?
Valenta: We’re extremely busy. We acquired another company the first week of December and that branch is starting to take off like crazy.
What segments of your business are doing well?
Valenta: We’re doing well with connected products, software solutions, and managed print. We just landed another large managed print services contract. That’s been very good for us. We’ve been doing managed print services for many years even before they made it a big deal by calling it MPS.
Who are your customers?
Valenta: We’re in one of the better markets in the United States—the Washington D.C. market. Even with the economic downturn the government is growing and we’re growing a lot with them. And of course with the government we’ve got government contractors, including a lot of the larger ones. We’re also in one of the better real estate markets. Our customers are just about everywhere although they’re mainly government contractors and real estate.
Who is your biggest competition in your market?
Valenta: We probably go head to head with everybody. Being in the D.C. market, you have your Sharps, your Konicas, your Ricoh directs, and you probably have four independent dealers for each manufacturer all in the same market.
Why do customers end up choosing Offix?
Valenta: I’m not a sales and marketing genius, I’m an ex tech, ex service manager. Everything we do is focused on providing the best service to our clients, from imageWare to e-info, to Remote Tech, to FM Audit; we’ve been using these solutions since they were first introduced. We’re on the leading edge of technology when it comes to service and we give our service guys everything they need to be successful and make decisions on the spot. We don’t need 50 managers. That’s helped us tremendously with retention, and when we tell the story and people check our references, they find out that it’s true.
You’re looking to grow through acquisitions, what has your experience with acquisitions been like in the past?
Valenta: We’ve done two other acquisitions and have sold a company in the past. They’re all different and they’re all a lot of work. I’m not seeing a lot of new companies starting up. Basically, I’m seeing all the dealers going after each other’s clients. If you’re going to grow I believe it’s got to be through acquisition because the economy is not strong enough to grow any other way.
What have you learned from past acquisitions?
Valenta: Because of the infrastructure we have in house we’re able to grab a customer base, along with some service techs and a few admin [people] and we’re able to integrate them into the Offix family a whole lot easier, especially with technology. Fourteen years ago when I bought my first company they didn’t even have a computer system, it was all done on cards—index cards, service cards, and punch clock cards. Even our most recent acquisition was not at all up to date with technology. I think they all shared one e-mail address in the whole sales department. If companies today aren’t going to get up to date with technology I don’t know how they’re going to survive, so we’re looking for those opportunities.
You also have a five-year plan to add one new office every year, why is that important?
Valenta: Like I said, we’re all out here taking each other’s clients because there aren’t any new businesses out there opening up like it used to be. So the only way we’re going to grow is to grow by acquisition. I talk to a lot of my other friends in the business and they’re all doing the same.
Last year you grew your managed print services business at 150 percent year over year, how’d you do that?
Valenta: Everybody has made a big deal about managed print services over the last two or three years, but I’ve been in this industry for over thirty years; it’s no different than a cost per copy on a copier machine. We’ve been doing it forever; what’s made it better for us is companies like FMAudit and Print Audit, they’ve given us a software solution to manage [the devices] much better than we were able to in the past. We have used technology to our benefit which has helped us continue to grow.
What did you learn about selling managed print services during that time that you didn’t know at the beginning?
Valenta: Nothing really. To me it’s not much different than what I’ve been doing with copiers, it’s just the software has made it so much easier. The manufacturers have made their MFPs and copiers easier to manage as well with this new software technology. I wish I had that 10 or 15 years ago, it would have been great.
There’s a lot of talk about managed network/IT services, do you see an opportunity there?
Valenta: That’s actually how we started our business. We used to sell computers, install them, and manage the network. I got out of it because I got tired of dealing with computers. Back then we didn’t have the capability to manage networks remotely even though you still need to go out and see clients on occasion. We still manage four networks, but had around 30 at one time. We’re reevaluating if that’s a market we want to get back into because that can help us deal with anything that goes in workflow solutions, solutions sales, as well as product sales.
What’s your biggest challenge running a dealership?
Valenta: In certain circumstances it’s dealing with manufacturers—getting answers and things resolved. We deal with four manufacturers now and they all do things differently and there’s no roadmap to success with any of them because you need to follow a different map each time to resolve issues. That and finding competent sales people are our two biggest challenges. As far as the business goes, we have a great model and it runs itself for the most part.
What would you say is the biggest difference in your dealership today compared to 1999?
Valenta: In 1999 I was by myself. I drove the truck and did it all. Now I have a great supporting staff and team to help the company grow.
Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth going forward?
Valenta: If you’re not working the solution sales, that’s going to be the determining factor a lot of the time. Not every company out there needs it, but if you’re going to dabble with the medium and large-size companies, you’re going to have to be up on technology and solutions.
What does the rest of the year have in store for Offix?
Valenta: We’re looking to make more acquisitions. I’d like to do two this year. We’re moving into a new office in our Tidewater area and working on a new location for the Richmond area. The biggest thing is opening two new offices and showrooms, making more acquisitions, and gaining market share through our sales and marketing department.
