With one week to go until we announce the first group of 2013 Elite Dealers, I thought it would be interesting to examine some of the challenges our 2013 nominees have been faced with during the past year. It’s a mixed bag of challenges that are representative of so much that is going on in the office technology/imaging industry today. Let’s look at how 10 dealers across the country responded to the question “What was the biggest challenge your dealership faced in the past five years other than the economy and how did you overcome it?” What you’ll find is a mix of consistency and diversity in their responses.
“Growth always comes with bumps and bruises. Our Chicago office is growing like crazy, and we’ve run out of room to add people. We’ve decided to make an investment in bigger space the fourth quarter 2013/first quarter 2014.” FlexPrint, Mesa, AZ
“Scaling the growth of our business infrastructure with the growth of new business. To combat inefficient processes, outdated technology and weak hiring processes, we invested in new technology to aid in the automation of these processes. Major technology investments included the implementation of a new ERP system, which has aligned all our service and collections processes including inventory, service calls, dispatching and accounting efforts. This new system improves collaboration between our various branches and departments, and allows us to manage and provide more efficient service for clients.
“This technology was followed closely with the implementation of a CRM system to improve the sales process for employees. In addition, our offices have been updated with fiber optics to improve connectivity throughout our offices. We hired an experienced recruiter to revamp our recruiting and hiring process, which included the use of social media and online tools and marketing tactics to advertise job listings and proactively seek candidates. New technology has enabled us to complete daily tasks more efficiently, which has helped us provide better service to our clients, give us a competitive advantage and minimize the costs associated with inefficiency.” Impact Networking, Waukegan, IL
“There have been several challenges but they all seem to be tied to our first acquisition in February of 2010 when we acquired a printer supply and service business. This helped to lead to great growth in the MPS world. We then looked to acquire the mailing business in 2011, which we eventually acquired in 2013. But when initially looking into this venture we realized we did not have the proper space to add it and to attract future employees. That led to our building expansion in 2012, and then this led us to once again pursue the mailing business. The tricky part of the mailing business was learning a whole new product, lease considerations, and hiring a dedicated sales rep. Although the business purchased was established with Maine and New Hampshire accounts, the owner was in Hawaii the last couple of years making it challenging at times for the whole transition.” Budget Document Technology, Lewiston, ME
“The obstacles that the business faces include increased competition from manufacturers and businesses seeking to cut costs during recessionary times. We have strengthened its service department to accommodate the wishes of customers who may wish to hold on longer to equipment. In so doing, we have further specialized by incorporating Managed Services (IT) into our menu of offerings and can now provide IT support literally across the nation.” DPOE, Elk Grove Village, IL
“As a dealership, we faced high turnover for new sales reps. In the past five years we have had only one rep become successful. In 2013 we introduced an urgency based selling, “Do or Die” sales philosophy. This program eliminated the faint of heart, and today, we have four successful new reps this year alone.” Atlantic, Tomorrow’s Office, New York, NY
“Growth constraints present challenges. We have grown rapidly in some markets at the exclusion of others. Our goal is to broaden markets by concentrating on Managed Service and Managed Print Services as well as adding sales reps to previously untapped geographic territories.” Meridian Imaging Solutions, Alexandria, VA
“[Switching from] OMD to eAutomate. This was a tough conversion but very worthwhile, particularly with shrinking margins. Our new software allows us to gather data instantly and react instantly—doing more with less. Adding CEOJuice to compliment eAutomate was also a huge leap forward.” Woodhull, LLC, Springboro, OH
“One of the biggest challenges our dealership has faced over the past five years is finding good personnel. With new equipment and software applications coming out every day, we must have a knowledgeable staff that can sell and implement the total solutions for the customer and a service department that stands out above our competition. We are utilizing many resources for finding the extra good people and providing ongoing training to make our employees successful.” EGP, Inc., Orlando, FL
“We are always rising to meet is finding ways to continue to improve, support, manage and implement strategies to do what we do best – provide a diverse set of office products and services and support them. As technology, processes and ways of doing business evolve, we strive to stay on the cutting edge with our service and product solutions and adapt, grow and improve to exceed expectations. Senior staff stay informed and ahead of the curve by monitoring and implementing strategies using the Traction philosophy of business, a holistic system that helps leaders run better businesses by having better control and a better life balance. Gaining traction as a business, and with the entire organization, allows it to advance as a healthy, functional and cohesive team.” Loffler Companies, Bloomington, MN
“The biggest challenge is finding talented sales people. Our sales reps average more 15 years experience. We’ve had very poor success bringing in people without copier sales experience and making them productive contributors. We are always on the look-out to recruit ‘battle-tested’ copier sales reps.” Business Copy Associates, Saugus, MA
