Establishing a corporate culture can be a tricky thing for any office technology dealership. Sure, there are base values that any company worth its salt will seek in its employee roster: Honesty, integrity, a sterling work ethic, the willingness to do whatever it takes to satisfy the needs of the customer. After all, how many businesses are actively shopping for uninspired, listless individuals who are looking to exert the least amount of effort to get the job done? But sadly, those types of individuals manage to infest our ranks, at least temporarily, simply because dealers aren’t asking the right questions from the beginning.
Taking great care to seek high-functioning individuals to join its team has become mission one for XMC Inc., an exclusive Xerox dealer based in Memphis, TN. It has eight offices scattered throughout Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas. The dealership is on pace to register $20 million in sales for 2018—representing double-digit growth over the previous year.
(From left): Ben McCaghren, president, XMC Financial Services; Josh Reese, general manager-West Tennessee; Bob Hamilton, founder & chairman; Sean Seward, president; and Steve Little, senior vice president of sales, at XMC’s awards gala
Last year, the company underwent a thoughtful self-examination to establish and uphold a corporate culture based on values that aligned with XMC’s mission for satisfying customers and the manner in which it conducts business. Those values now drive the hiring process.
Founded by Bob Hamilton in 1991, XMC also reviewed its blueprint strategy in 2016 to answer a pressing question: What path will lead to optimal growth moving forward? After weighing several options, XMC opted to join Visual Edge Technology, adding to a list of 30-plus firms that enjoy autonomous day-to-day operations while reaping the benefits of platform technology and M&A firepower. The deal was not a means to an end; rather, it opened the door for XMC to be better positioned to make transactions of its own and fortify its standing in the Southeast.
Sean Seward, President, XMC Inc.
XMC President Sean Seward, who is part of the ownership group that includes both Hamilton and Ben McCaghren, shared his views with ENX Magazine on how the transaction is providing the dealership with a foundation for offering enhanced managed services, along with how the Visual Edge partnership will pave the way toward XMC’s ambitious plans to double its revenue over the next three years.
How was business in 2017?
Seward: We spent 2017 really analyzing our business. We reached a point where a decision was needed on how we would grow moving forward, because you can’t grow fast enough organically. We decided to either start identifying strategic acquisition or partnership opportunities. That’s ultimately how we landed with Visual Edge Technology.
In addition, it was a year of investment. We spent a lot of capital on key talent, focused on our physical presence in our offices, and went through a significant cultural revolution to answer the question: If someone left XMC tomorrow, what would they miss? That set the course for an interesting journey in 2017 to focus on how to better support our external and internal customers, the latter of which is our greatest asset, our people. We invested time in our help desk and support structure, as well as our sales and operations group. It touched all aspects of our organization to make them better equipped and more knowledgeable, and allowed us to set proper individual growth targets and deploy relevant training from an execution standpoint.
XMC employees participated in the 2016 American Heart Association Heart Walk
What does XMC pride itself on?
Seward: Anybody can sell product at a highly competitive price, but to create long-term relationships with customers, you have to be able to provide the experience. Customers appreciate it when you execute exactly as you promised on the front end. Our motto is “Under promising and over delivering.” It is specifically designed to set customer expectations properly, then figure out a way to overachieve those expectations. That enables the experience to start in a positive manner, so that you won’t need to become an expert at rebuilding relationships, which seems to happen a lot in the industry. That’s where XMC is special.
From a culture perspective, one of the first tasks that our culture committee members were tasked to address was: Why does XMC exist? Over the course of a couple days, we were able to workshop that and come up with our mission statement, which is “XMC exists to change the world, one experience at a time.” As cliché as that might sound, it’s more relevant today in our industry than it has ever been. We really need to bring that experience.
What was the driving force behind joining the Visual Edge Technology (VET) family last year? What value does VET bring to the table?
Seward: We were approached by several companies and reviewed many acquisition options. There are many strategies out there, including being absorbed or partnering with a competitor. That creates a lot of internal disruption in our business, not only for the employees, but customers as well. That was not something we wanted to do.
Visual Edge has a unique strategy we felt was a good fit for XMC. It provided us the opportunity to aggressively pursue our marketplace under an umbrella of high-performing organizations we not only can share best practices with, but also leverage Visual Edge’s strategy in our local markets to grow XMC through acquisition. That was the most appealing aspect. We have a strategy over the next 36 months to double in revenue, and a good portion of that will be focused on key and strategic acquisitions. Visual Edge not only supports that approach, but encourages companies to follow that strategy if they want to grow.
XMC has ambitious plans to grow its footprint through acquisition. What are your goals in this regard, and how does working in tandem with VET facilitate this initiative?
Seward: Visual Edge has a team of experts and data scientists who, when you identify opportunities, can really help fast-forward the process to determine if a potential deal is a good fit. Our role in that process is to identify opportunities, both culturally and geographically, as well as evaluate their performance. We’re not looking for a business where the owner is looking to leave, but wants to partner with a world-class organization that can take their business to the next level, similar to our strategy. The most appealing aspect is really creating and identifying opportunities where we can tap into human capital and bring them as a partner inside the XMC strategy to make us better as well. Finding good people, like finding good businesses, really goes hand in hand.
You enlisted the help of an agency to develop core values. Why is the corporate culture a key driver in XMC’s platform?
Seward: Every business has a culture that is neglected or prioritized. We felt that as XMC was evolving, we needed to focus on what we, as an organization, should look like. One of best things we did was work with GreatAmerica’s PathShare division; Sally Brause and Arial Harland did an outstanding job for us. We hired them to come in and facilitate a focused project on prioritizing our culture. We spent two days in a workshop with those who volunteered to be a part of the project, across all areas of our organization. The results have been amazing to watch. Culture is much more than having a cool office, flex time or bonus and compensation. It’s about designing those key values that everyone subscribes to as they interact with each other, making decisions on a daily basis and communicating to others what is important about the organization they represent. Once you get beyond compensation, I think that’s what people are really looking for in an employer.
What do you look for in your employees and how do you recruit and retain good ones? Given your high standards for culture, is it more difficult to find ideal candidates?
Seward: One of the first things we did was look at our onboarding process. Once you define the culture, it’s easy to identify a profile that fits. It was apparent from our old process that culture was not the priority. We had a sales/team leader who was a direct report doing the interviews, and at the end, we would turn the candidate over to our HR department and they (HR and the candidate) would have a conversation about whether the candidate would fit from a cultural perspective. We realized that was too late in the process, because we already had somebody who was motivated to hire them, and the individual had an expectation that they were going to be hired. So we inversed that entire process.
Alyssa Hirsh, who facilitates a lot of the HR duties, is our cultural warrior. She is the first line of communication in the interview process and performs the first interview. That interview does not address the person’s capabilities or ability to execute a key position; instead, it determines if the person represents what we are looking for from a cultural perspective. The fascinating aspect is that we’ve had some candidates who appeared to be good fits, but didn’t pass the cultural interview. That was a little frustrating, until we realized that’s exactly why we designed this process. It’s working, and we’ve completely refreshed the way that we onboard.
XMC employees participated in a Backpacks for Kids program to benefit local youths
Is there a product or solution that you are looking to add in the near future?
Seward: It’s all about what business problem or challenge we can solve for a customer, particularly those that the customer may not know exist. Some areas include workflow applications, content management and contracted managed services. Another intriguing aspect of Visual Edge Technology is their focus on acquiring managed IT firms. That’s given us an immediate umbrella to identify and recruit a managed services group without building the infrastructure. This allows us to execute at the local level and bring a wealth of experience in expertise and support for the discovery, surveying and implementation of a highly sophisticated managed services contract.
The Memphis Redbirds minor league baseball club played host to a kickoff event for XMC’s sales team
What was your dealership’s biggest win last year?
Seward: Production was a big play for us in 2017 as demonstrated by XMC being awarded the “2017 Most Innovative Production Print Partner” in the United States by Xerox. In fact, production print represented our largest year-over-year growth bucket. We made significant talent investments in 2016 and it showed last year. We expect this team, led by Ben and our Director of Production, Ralph Weatherell, to grow 20-plus percent in 2018. This market segment continues to demonstrate growth and opportunity. The Xerox Production products give us the most diverse portfolio in the industry. There is not an environment we can’t support.
We also were honored that Bob and XMC were named the “2017 Innovative Partner of the Year” across the Xerox dealer channel. Bob is the most tenured partner in the channel and this recognition was timely and very appropriate. We are very proud of both Bob and XMC for this recognition.
Also, whenever a company is involved in an acquisition, the initial impression as a member of the organization tends to be negative: How does this impact me and what changes will be made? The greatest opportunity for us is we operate day to day as an independent organization. I’ve enjoyed seeing our people get excited about something that’s much bigger than they ever could have imagined. Our people now have an opportunity to participate in expansion opportunities and potentially assist Visual Edge in some of their needs. They can see the strategy develop over time and gain momentum. You can’t put a price tag on psychological momentum, but it’s been huge for our organization.
Who do you see as your biggest competition, and how do you differentiate your company from them?
Seward: There are a number of large, conglomerate dealers in our geography. We’ve been highly successful over the years in taking a boutique approach to the customer conversation. The clients appreciate and understand our approach, and they’re willing to partner with us in order to make their workflow and business processes better. We do well with these strategic, consultative opportunities. Where we have an opportunity to improve is with the “up-and-down-the-street” business. We’ve created some customized programs and modified our business strategy to address those opportunities. The conversations are much different, but you need to win that business as well. Whether the conversation is focused on technology or price, it’s important to train our people to recognize that early and adjust the conversation appropriately.
What are your goals for the next 12-18 months?
Seward: At a minimum we must grow revenue double digits organically. We are also seeking to complete two or three strategic acquisitions within the next 12 months, either through satellite opportunities for XMC or tuck-in deals. We’ll also continue to invest a tremendous amount of time and resources in developing our people. If we can create an environment that resembles a leadership factory, we’re always going to be successful, regardless of the business we’re in. As we look for expansion opportunities, our biggest challenge will be to have the right leadership in place.
We’re also seeking to drive the managed services division of our organization. We’ve made some strategic decisions and key hires with sales consultants and engineers that our customers have been requesting. They have performed work as needed but focusing on key verticals and customer profiles that fit the mold for us while bringing in additional services and new re-occurring revenue is paramount to adding value moving forward.
Members of XMC’s culture committee, who worked with GreatAmerica’s Sally Brause and Arial Harland to help develop the dealer’s core values
How do you view the industry changing in the future and what are you doing to adapt?
Seward: The most important thing is to not be intimidated by change, or as we like to say, we need to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. The paradigm is shifting in our industry, and those who are visionary regarding how this industry will look in the future are the ones who are going to take the lead. People say that the days of print are slowly dwindling, but statistics say otherwise. Recent studies show that millennials and other upcoming generations still want to print, the difference is they desire mobility and convenience. If these requirements are not present, they will just choose not to print. That is the difference and required focus as we move forward. But it seems the more that people go paperless, the more their printing increases. If you’re not transforming your business model into creative, additional revenue streams, you could experience some erosion over time. The question is, how do you replace that revenue, and what’s important to your customers that aligns with that revenue opportunity?
What do you enjoy most about your job? What are your least favorite aspects of it?
Seward: I love watching people develop and be successful, and I love having some small role in that process. I started in the industry with XMC in 1993 as a delivery driver of a six-employee company. Today, we’re 100 employees and $20 million in revenue. I’ve touched or been a part of just about every aspect of this organization. Seeing people walk in the path I once did and become successful is fulfilling to me. I also enjoy getting to know the people. It’s so easy to get distracted and busy that you forget to connect. That’s something we do very well here at XMC; we recognize that we work hard and also like to play hard. We have a saying: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Developing a closeness and connection with people of all responsibilities within our organization is exciting to me.
Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Seward: Our oldest just went off to college, leaving our two boys at home, but within a blink of an eye, they will be gone, too. I’ve spent the last 10-15 years traveling to their sporting events and activities. We like to go to the lake and get away from all the hustle and bustle. I’m realizing, whether I like it or not, that we’re going to be empty nesters in the next five years or so, so we’re planning for the next phase. We enjoy traveling and spending as much family time as we possibly can despite a really hectic schedule. One of our favorite destinations is Turks and Caicos, which has some of the most beautiful, secluded beaches in the world. This summer we’re taking the whole crew down there for some great family time together.
