Starting an office technology dealership focused on IT is sort of like learning to play guitar using Jimi Hendrix’s sheet music. But respecting the complexity of either discipline is the first step toward greatness.
Shane Sloan was anything but a newbie in 2005 when he acquired Access Systems, a four-employee, $583,000 revenue operation in Waukee, Iowa. He’d worked his way up through Modern Business Systems, which was bought out by IKON Office Solutions. Post-acquisition, the organization went through some rapid changes and Sloan—now in his early 30s—was itching to strike out on his own.
The opportunity to obtain Access Systems is an interesting story in itself. Sloan bought the firm from the original owner, who’d always dreamed of (and later fulfilled his goal of) joining the FBI. Since Sloan had a non-compete contract clause from his days with IKON, Access Systems would need to stick to its core offering of IT break/fix services. In fact, the company didn’t venture into MFPs for another three years.
But in 2008, Sloan purchased Select Office Systems, a small Sharp dealership outside Des Moines, Iowa, the first of a dozen acquisitions that billowed revenues from the half-million range to the brink of $60 million. In addition to Sharp, Access Systems carries the Toshiba, Ricoh and Lexmark lines. But it was the company’s steady, measured growth in managed IT services that has sparked unprecedented organic growth, bolstered by managed print, security and telephony.
Perhaps most of all, Sloan is proud of the culture he’s helped cultivate at Access Systems, one he kept intact despite the pressures of the pandemic and the difficulty of maintaining the same shade of caring across all 16 of its facilities (the company is a six-time Top Places to Work in Iowa honoree). Sloan sat down with ENX Magazine to discuss the company’s growth trajectory, its handling of the pandemic and the meticulous growth of IT at a time when diversification is key to a relevant future for dealers.
How was business in 2020? What were the keys that drove your success?
Sloan: It’s been tough on us from a cultural standpoint. We invest greatly in get-togethers, President’s Club trips, an epic Christmas party that people talk about all year…all of which had to be postponed. Fortunately, business has been pretty good overall. Had you told me in March when the shutdown happened that we’d be in such a strong position, I wouldn’t have believed it—business is back to 75% of normal. So, we’ve been very fortunate. We’re down on the print side, but the other areas of business that we’re in have enabled us to offset the loss. Having a really strong managed IT offering has helped significantly. We’ve got a new solution, IT security, that we’ve offered during the past 18 months. When you add in increased telephony business, it helps to offset that print loss. By implementing cost-cutting measures, it translates into one of the best profit years we’ve ever had.
With print, like many dealers, we made sure our upgrades continued to happen by providing a lot of incentives to customers. We worked with leasing partners to offer 90-day deferrals on payments for schools and some businesses that shut down, although not nearly as many as we expected. We had the technology already there, but we had to pivot to train. We geared our marketing and sales to remote and conducted assessments that way. Fortunately, we were able to do that more successfully than I anticipated. Some reps didn’t gravitate toward remote conferencing as well, but a high percentage adapted to it.
What steps did you take to navigate the pandemic?
Sloan: Being an IT company, we were already set up to be able to work remotely, so we had virtually no interruption to our business. We took that internal strategy and used it to help our customers, which drove a lot of business. We showed them that if they’re set up to work from home, in the event anything else ever comes up, they’ll be able to maneuver pretty quickly.
We spent a lot of time and money preparing the offices for when we brought our people back. We went above and beyond the typical precautions; we added Plexiglas in our NOCs and required masks for those moving around the office. In addition to hands-free door openers with foot triggers, we have hand sanitizing stations throughout the building. All meetings are done through Teams and we discourage get-togethers within the office. It’s worked pretty well. While we’ve had a handful of people contract COVID outside the office, we’ve had no spread on premises.
I really love our staff and the resiliency they’ve shown. We have so many dedicated people who have shown a can-do attitude. There was very little complaining, and many people offered good ideas. They rolled up their sleeves and helped us get through it. That we didn’t have a single layoff is the biggest testament to having success.
What sets Access Systems apart from the competition?
Sloan: At the time I bought the company, I had a non-compete agreement with IKON, but I wanted to get into a similar business. So from 2005 to 2008, all we did was IT. There’s more risk to it than on the print side; it’s a solution that demands more structure. And it requires having a lot of knowledge about different areas. We benefitted from being an IT company first, complete with our own network operations center. We’re coming at a lot of these solutions from an IT standpoint, even though we’re a significant copier dealer. That’s a huge advantage. We’re one of the few companies in our markets that effectively do managed IT services, security, telephony and print. Cross-training our people has enabled IT professionals to install our hosted phone solutions or work on printers and copiers. That versatility is critical. Plus, we have 16 full, functioning offices with staff—not just satellites—and we’ve invested a great deal of money the past few years to update these facilities. We’re well positioned to cover the markets we’re in.
In addition to key vendor relationships that bring unique value and benefit, we have a super-loyal and dedicated culture. Our turnover rate is extremely low relative to the industry. We’re fortunate to maintain our talented people, which can be difficult to find in our rural markets.
The dealership has experienced significant growth since you acquired it in 2005. What were some of the pivotal factors that have enabled you to eclipse $55 million?
Sloan: I was a director of sales for IKON in Iowa, and I’ve also covered Wisconsin and Minnesota at various points. Access didn’t do any print for the first three years after I bought the company. In 2008, I purchased a company called Select Office Systems, a small Sharp dealer north of Des Moines. While I was able to recruit, I had so many former employees reach out and want to work for me. Of our first 20 employees, I’d say that 80% had, at that point, already worked with me for 12 to 15 years, including my VPs of sales and service. These loyal and talented people took interest in seeing the business grow. Being able to leverage those relationships was huge. Most of our growth has been organic, but we’ve made some key acquisitions. We typically look at acquisitions where we’re not currently in that market. And some of our best people have come from the 12 acquisitions we’ve made in the past 15 years. We’re looking at opportunities now and hope to have another one completed in the early part of this year.
Another key has been having so many services and entry points to gain customers. We’ve always been dedicated to growth, even when it’s painful. We’ve constantly reinvested in our business, and every year we’ve had double-digit growth and met significant goals, but 2020 might be tricky. It comes back to our attitude toward reinvestments; we’ve never let our foot off the gas.
At Sharp’s dealer conference, you spoke about the success of your growth in managed IT. Tell us a little about its development, and how it may grow moving forward.
Sloan: We were way ahead of the curve at the beginning and didn’t realize it. We were a break/fix company, but that model was tough to grow. That type of relationship isn’t with Access, it’s with our techs, and any time a tech stepped into a different role or took on other clients, we struggled with consistency. We started out with preventative maintenance contracts, focusing on how to head off problems before they arose, and evolved into developing our NOC. We had 150 break/fix customers at the start, and in one year, they converted to a managed services-type contract. We had a NOC developed before I’d even heard of the term.
Managed IT has been one of our conservative growth areas, but finding technical talent is not easy, and you assume a lot of risk. We’ve been more selective in the customers we partner with and the solutions we provide than we are with any other piece of our business. We offer a strong entry- to middle-level security platform solution with a lot of good elements. We partner with an off-site company to help us evaluate if there are any breaches, and (the platform solution) has grown significantly. We’ve converted about 80 percent of our managed IT clients to that solution. I see that part of our business growing significantly.
Your company has thrived with organic growth, and in the past year alone, you expanded into South Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota. How have you been able to gain such strong traction, particularly during the pandemic
Sloan: One of our unique benefits is our in-house recruiting team, which has done a great job of finding great people in those new markets. In Des Moines and Omaha, it’s easier to find people, but when you’re going into Rochester, Minnesota, or LaCrosse, Wisconsin, it’s a little tougher to find candidates. The growth speaks to our many entry points. We’ve got hosted phones, IT security and managed services, which has been beneficial. To our competitors on the printer/copier side who don’t do managed IT, we might not seem as if we’re gaining traction. But we’re gaining a lot of IT customers that we will eventually convert for printers. And once we enter a new market, we’re in it for the long haul. Patience is the key.
What are your growth plans for 2021 and beyond?
Sloan: We probably won’t be at $60 million for 2020 but we’re close. Our goal over the next three to five years is to hit $100 million, which has long been our target. We’re going to do that through organic growth and acquisitions when they make sense.
What was the idea behind launching the Cultural Ambassador program, and what are you hoping to attain with it?
Sloan: Our human resources director, Charlie Kiesling, came up with the concept. Our culture of caring and putting employees first has been there from the beginning, but as we’ve grown, there were concerns that it wasn’t being felt at our branch locations. We didn’t want them to think it was all sunshine and cocktails with an umbrella at the corporate office.
Charlie felt that we should incorporate people from all our locations into a group and provide them with an avenue to a higher level of communication. It’s like an executive update team that gets insight into the business decisions we’re making. These ambassadors are bringing in ideas and recommendations, and they’re in charge of communicating the information back to the branches. Some of them are current or future company leaders, and others are simply good people who care a lot about their branches. Access Cares is our platform for giving back to the communities we serve, as well as for supporting our employees. It’s been really successful so far, and each year we change out members to keep bringing in fresh ideas. I think of it as a future leaders’ development group that has a positive impact on our culture. Charlie runs the meetings, and she is involved in selecting the members. As a result, we’ve seen a big uptick in the consistency of our culture. When you go into our Omaha or Cedar Rapids offices, they feel and look just like our office here in Waukee.
What was your dealership’s greatest accomplishment in 2020?
Sloan: Keeping our staff safe and employed. I went out on a limb early during the pandemic and sent a company-wide communication saying that layoffs were going to be the absolute last thing we would do, and we were able to make good on that promise. The communication through Charlie, our executive staff and leaders throughout the pandemic has been unbelievable. Whether it’s Teams meetings, email or videos, we are communicating at a high level. I think that has sharpened our skills and kept people comfortable and engaged in what’s being done with our business.
What are your goals for the next 12 months?
Sloan: Number one, we’re seeking to enter new markets, and we’re looking at some acquisitions to help fuel growth. Our culture is predicated on us getting together; we do a lot of events so that they can develop bonds and relationships that aren’t just work-oriented. It creates better teamwork and compassion for people when they’re working in the office. It’s not an exaggeration to say we have get-togethers four or five times a month. Our newer employees have missed out on that and we look forward to sharing that core part of our culture with them. Hopefully, the vaccine gets distributed and cases decrease, but we’re looking at mid-year before things get back to normal.
We have a relatively new corporate office, and we were going to build out an employee lounge that will have a bar/restaurant kind of area. It was all queued up and ready to go, but we had to put it on hold. The employees need it; I think we’re all Teams and Zoom-ed out.
Given the challenges they currently face, what will be the keys to success for the dealer community?
Sloan: Dealers must diversify. It doesn’t necessarily need to be IT solutions; it’s a popular area to add, but again, there’s much risk involved. Given the skill sets our business has, there are a lot of other solutions we can deliver to clients that fit our model really well. (The pandemic) has probably made a permanent shift in print; I’m not going to be doom and gloom and say print is going to end. But I believe we’re going to see some businesses opt out of renting in downtown city markets and work remotely instead. That will impact print. If you’re in this business for the long haul, you need to jump on board with diversifying. Reinvesting in your business can be tricky when certain segments are in a decline, but that commitment to looking for opportunities in more geographic areas is vital. I think we’ll see bigger dealers move into new markets across the country. Lastly, make sure you have strong vendors and partners that carry all the solutions you need. There are some advantages to having multiple lines.
What do you like most about your job?
Sloan: I love people. I’m an incredibly social person. I’m the kind of guy who, when driving long distances, is on the phone with old friends, new friends and people at work. I also love to win as a team. When we bring in people and grow the business together, that’s very satisfying. It’s great to see team members reach their income or professional goals and watch their progress. We have some of the best people on the planet, and I feel fortunate to be with them every day and fight the fight.
Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Sloan: My wife and I have three boys—identical twins who are juniors in college and a 13-year-old at home. We have a house at Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri, and we spend a ton of time there in the summer. The lake is our sanctuary, whether it’s water skiing or tubing. I’m not much of a fisherman, but my youngest is a pro. I like to play a little golf as well, and one of my boys has taken it up. It’s all about the
family.
