December is always an optimal time for reflection, to ponder the good and bad, the gains and losses, the takedowns and bad beats that marked the year as it draws to a close. Not to be a Donnie Downer, but your friends at ENX Magazine have decided to focus on the negative aspects. There’s one in every crowd, right?
We’re picking up right where we left off last week. To refresh your memory, we asked our Elite Dealer panel the hard-hitting question: “What was the greatest challenge you experienced this year, and how did you respond to it?” As it turns out, many of our dealers have encountered similar obstacles, and that in itself provides a level of comfort in knowing you are not alone. Perhaps, the “how did you respond to it” half of the query will provide some valuable tips to enable your company to skirt these issues.
Like a football quarterback, sometimes you have to change up the “play” in order to get your desired results. As we’ll see, many companies didn’t hesitate to call an audible.
Destination: Automation
It’s never easy when a dealer introduces a new internal operating system to its team. In the case of Fayetteville, North Carolina-based Copiers Plus, transitioning from a manual to an automated system for its sales, funding and delivery processes proved to be a bit tricky. In order to acclimate the sales team, the process was rolled out in phases.
“Streamlining the forms was the next step, which involved the elimination of obsolete forms and the combination of others to simplify the process for all parties involved,” the company wrote. “The transition to automation, however, has not been seamless due to the inconveniences associated with running on multiple systems, and the communication gaps that can occur.”
Despite inflation beginning to ease its grip on the nation, the cost of doing business, like other expenses, continues to rise. Paladin Managed Solutions in Springfield, Missouri, noted operational items such as gas, health insurance premiums, office supplies, paper and shipping. The company found some resourceful alternatives to lessen the financial hit.
“We addressed these by utilizing some remote services to assist with service calls, getting competitive bids/changing coverage items on health insurance, and delivering supplies to local companies versus shipping them,” Paladin wrote.
Velvet Ropes
While hiring qualified personnel is a universal challenge for dealers and virtually every industry in the U.S., sourcing qualified IT personnel adds another degree of difficulty. Dealers such as Les Olson IT of Salt Lake City, that make it worthwhile for team members to refer prospects generally yield the best results.
“The company rewards existing employees by referring good people with exceptional skills. Our existing employees are the first screening process for new prospective employees,” the company wrote.
Many dealers are pressed to find team additions that can address the growth they’re experiencing. Similarly, firms such as Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Las Vegas resist the urge to give in to the “best available” temptation.
“AIS has a dedicated recruitment team that utilizes a strong evaluation and onboarding philosophy,” the company reported. “We do not stray from the target, which sometimes proves challenging with candidate elimination, but allows us a strong retention and quick value to the company.”
By the same token, companies that wish to seek out the top performers need to be agile and responsive, or risk losing out on quality would-be team members. The Martin Group in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, saw its staffing needs evolve during and after the pandemic. That prompted the dealer to revisit its interview procedures and streamline/expedite its process for reaching out to exceptional candidates.
“As there was a limited pool of candidates, we had to be extremely timely in our responses and interviews,” the dealer wrote. “We maintained our high level of expectations and still remained particular in our selection and were able to find incredible team members to add to our Martin Group family.”
Few companies were able to emerge from the pandemic years without implementing some level of staff reduction. Systel Business Equipment in Fayetteville, North Carolina, retained its headcount during COVID, but karma has been slow in rewarding the dealer.
“We have since struggled to fill our available positions right away and are currently operating with several understaffed departments,” the company wrote.
Hybrid Hijinks
Navigating the new hybrid/agile work environment in dealing with clients and prospects was particularly daunting for United Business Technologies of Gaithersburg, Maryland. The dealer opted to be resourceful when it comes to maintaining business connections.
“UBT has utilized technology to help us adapt by creating easy ways to meet with clients via Teams/Zoom meetings, the website chat feature to communicate directly with live support, training videos available on our YouTube page, and providing right-size fleet recommendations with cloud-based solutions for users to easily print at home or at work,” the dealer reported.
Dealing with employees who work remotely can be a challenge, whether it’s your dealer’s team members or those employed by clients. U.S. Business Systems in Elkhart, Indiana, finds that maintaining excellent communications with either requires both effort and a solid plan.
“The other challenge is securing those users and educating them,” the company added. “They all want access to their given network, and in client’s cases, may not have devices that are being managed and no tools on them to provide the layers of protection needed in today’s world.”
