David Carson
It’s common knowledge that there is often a home field advantage for many local dealers even when competing against manufacturer direct branches who aren’t hesitant about giving away the store in order to win the deal.
That’s why local dealerships often emphasize the community angle, their ability to make quick decisions, and their ability to provide the kind of service that most direct branches can only dream of offering. That’s the story of Plus Inc., a family owned dealership based in Greenville, SC, operated by brothers David and Chris Carson along with Danny Summers, Frank Gonzalez and John Campbell.
The dealership, started by the Carson’s father in 1958 remains a staple of the community even if its product offerings have changed from typewriters and calculators to MFPs, production print devices, and IT Services.
One of the joys of writing about this industry for so many years is that I get to talk to dealers of all sizes. Each has a unique story to tell, but a story that their peers—no matter how big their dealership—can often identify with as well. I first heard from David Carson, Plus Inc.’s president, in early April when he sent me an e-mail critical of my feature article in April on production print and wide format because it omitted comments from a couple of the larger vendors, including one of his own. (That vendor was unable to schedule an interview prior to my deadline even with an extension.) What I did learn in our e-mail exchange was that Plus Inc. is starting to enjoy success in the production print space, a credible achievement for a $4-million dealership. That exchange intrigued me enough to schedule an interview with David to learn more about Plus Inc.’s strategy for selling production print and to learn more about this family owned dealership that continues to hold its own against larger and better funded competitors.
How’s the first half of the year been for Plus Inc. so far?
Carson: It’s been good.
What’s doing well for you?
Carson: Production print has done very well for us, general mid-range hardware is doing well, and we do a lot of IT Services. Overall, everything is going pretty smooth.
On the production print side you sell Konica Minolta and Ricoh, have you been partnering with them for a long time?
Carson: Production print wise we’ve been with Konica for probably a good 10 years, but we’ve never been heavy in it until the middle of last year when we decided to change our commitment level. We had probably 10-12 production units out in the field—Konica only at that point.
We’ve been a Ricoh dealer since 2004, but we just made a commitment last year [for their production devices] and now have a Ricoh on our demo floor.
What’s the biggest difference today compared to how you were doing at the beginning when you first took on those products?
Carson: In the beginning when we took them on we did it simply because we had customers looking for the product, so in my opinion we did it the least expensive way. We sold some units to existing customers and some people we knew through referrals, but we weren’t overly dedicated to it.
Last year Ricoh and Konica came out with new models. For almost two years we didn’t have any production print machines on our sales floor and when we decided we wanted to go all out we realized the only way we could do that was by having machines on the floor. You need to have machines in your showroom to show customers what they can do and to run their projects for them. We now have three production print units in our demo room and it makes a huge difference.
You’ve also found that the support you receive from Konica Minolta and Ricoh has been helpful as well, right?
Carson: Konica has been good with local support; they have a dedicated production print rep that is readily available for us. He’s been in quite often to help us with our prospects. We’ve sold five Konica production print units in the last six months, which is a lot for us. Ricoh’s support for us is good too, but not as good as Konica Minolta’s, but we’re hoping to get ramped up on the Ricoh side.
Going back to the last five production units you sold, were they sold to existing customers or new customers?
Carson: Both. Several were to new customers and we fought hard against competitors to get them. Xerox has taken some of their commitment level out of our market. We’re a large area, but not a major metropolitan area. They’ve had some changes so we went into some production print facilities that have been Xerox customers and of the five machines we’ve sold, two have replaced Xerox machines. Another we were up against the Ricoh direct, but this facility went with us because we’re local and they saw a much stronger commitment level from us all the way from the top to the bottom, including providing them with supplies and service.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about selling production print since you first started carrying these products?
Carson: You need to have units on your floor. And you need good manufacturer support and both Konica and Ricoh have been good for us.
As far as your competition, you mentioned Xerox; who else are you competing with on the production side, Ricoh and Konica Minolta direct?
Carson: Yes, those are our two main competitors. We put a big new color unit in a university that almost went with the direct side until somebody recommended they take a look at us. That was a bizhub PRESS C1070. There’s very little coverage in our area from local dealers. None have a commitment level in this area. Most of the branches, such as Ricoh, which has a large office here in Greenville, which used to be an IKON hub, have a big commitment level. Konica does well because they have a lot of major accounts in this area, so we compete with them regularly.
When you win against the direct branches is it that customer service element that typically convinces the customer to go with Plus Inc.?
Carson: Absolutely.
I’m a second generation owner of our company. My father started the business in the fifties and growing up in this business it’s been extremely competitive. It’s become much easier for us to get business in our area than in the past because of the distinctions with the companies selling the product. Thirty years ago, twenty years ago, it was a lot of people, the same size as us up and down the street saying the same thing. Now you’ve got the direct side of Xerox, Konica, Ricoh, and they’re just a corporate entity. They’re good at what they do, but it’s easier to distinguish yourself as a local company. There’s a big push to buy local and to be quite honest with you the corporate people can’t say the same thing we do.
You’ve also identified another differentiator?
Carson: Ricoh and Konica do not keep parts or supplies in their warehouses on a local basis and it’s something you can go in and pinpoint as a big difference. That doesn’t mean they don’t push their corporate size; ‘Why would you buy from a third party when you can buy direct from the manufacturer?’ And that’s something you have to compete with.
Are there certain verticals that have been stronger than others for you when selling production print?
Carson: Not really. We have several churches and print for pay customers. We have the one university that also functions as a print for pay for the local area, but there’s no particular vertical.
How is it working in a family business, has it always been easy?
Carson: It has. When my father passed, my oldest brother, while he was always good at what he did here, wasn’t interested in staying in the business. My younger brother and I are very different in our styles as far as what we like to do. He just likes to work and prefers not to be involved in management and I like to be the leader in some aspects. When my older brother wanted out, I had three people who were leaders in the company and I brought them in as partners.
Any segments of the business you’d like to see do better?
Carson: We’ve made a commitment last year to double the size of our company. We do about $4 million in revenues and we want to get to $8-$10 million. The one area where we realized we could push that forward on a fairly quick basis was production print. Otherwise there’s the continual push to grow the mid customer base.
The time is right, a lot of people don’t seem to be happy with their vendors and I think it’s related to the Big Bank syndrome—they don’t know that there’s anything better out there. They just think poor service and having to have toner shipped to you in three days when you run out unless you want to pay more, all of that basic regular support, they just think that’s how it is. Our big push is to go out and talk about the personal service just like the local bank. It’s amazing how well it works when you can convince somebody there is another choice.
I understand you’re also strong in IT services, how did you get involved in that?
Carson: My oldest brother who is no longer in the business was really good in computers back in the late seventies and eighties. We got involved with computers around then and never really stopped. Back in the mid nineties we got good at providing IT Services. I called it “Small Business Services.” And we’ve done well.
What percentage of your customers use you for IT Services?
Carson: About 15-20 percent.
Do you see that growing?
Carson: Yes.
What’s that going to take?
Carson: We’ve been happy with where we’ve been as far as our size so we’ve never made any push to grow rapidly. During the past five or six years the recession had us just kind of sit there and maintain a certain level and be good at it. For us the growth will come in that area and the overall business. We’re probably going to add about four employees this year to help with our growth.
The IT goes hand in hand with the mid-range copiers and the growth from there comes from either side. If we get an inquiry on IT Services we go in and take that over and they start buying their copiers and printers from us, and a lot of times vice versa. The growth there comes naturally—if you do a good job on one or the other, they want you for both of it.
What’s the biggest challenge of selling IT Services?
Carson: We have to be very careful because there are a lot of IT companies offering IT services—other small businesses and you don’t want to make them enemies when it’s time to place copiers. On the IT side you tread a little more lightly when you make calls on existing customers simply because you don’t want the IT world trying to keep you out of the copier end of it. Most people have somebody else doing their IT work and if they think you’re going to take their IT work from them, they’re going to tell their customer don’t buy from that company whether they like you or not.
How many years have you been in the business?
Carson: I’ve been full time since 1980 when I graduated from college. I actually worked in the business since high school, went to university here in Greenville and worked in and out of the business while going to school. I participated in athletics in college so I was limited in the amount of time I could put in.
Do you still enjoy it?
Carson: I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had.
One final question, how does the rest of the year look for Plus Inc.?
Carson: We feel we’re going to have a strong year. We see about 15 percent growth and we’re looking for that over the next three to four years. We have a lot of business lined up and see a lot of potential. This area seems to be booming; we have a lot of manufacturing moving in and it seems to be where people want to live. There’s a lot of new business to go get.
