When it comes to business challenges, we live for those requiring little to no thought. If only every issue were the equivalent of a lightbulb in need of replacement, without having to dash off a mass email or call an emergency meeting.
Unfortunately, that’s not how life (or business) works. As we approach the home stretch of the 2025 Elite Dealer challenges, we offer several examples of situations in which thought-out, detailed plans devised by managers and senior executives were needed to address an issue. These are the more gratifying resolutions, as they underscore a dealer’s ability to mobilize and attack an area of need.
ACP
Denver
Challenge: Cross-selling IT services
Solution: Despite having strong relationships with imaging clients, we struggled to convert these trusted partnerships into comprehensive technology solutions. Our initial approaches—experimenting with various reporting structures and quota systems—yielded limited success, highlighting the complexity of selling complementary but distinct service lines.
After analyzing what wasn’t working, we implemented a targeted approach mid-year: hiring dedicated unified communications (UC) sales representatives embedded within each imaging sales team. Rather than creating separate silos, these UC specialists report directly to our imaging sales managers, ensuring seamless collaboration and leveraging existing client relationships.
This structure combines the trust our imaging teams have already built with specialized UC expertise, allowing for natural conversation flow from current services to expanded solutions. Our clients benefit from working with familiar team members who now have deeper technical capabilities, while our sales process becomes consultative rather than transactional.
Centriworks
Knoxville, TN
Challenge: Process improvement
Solution: We recognized that our internal sales process and workflow, which had not been revised for decades, was antiquated and inefficient. It bogged us down at our current level of business and would most certainly throttle our efforts to build the business in the future. We employed a Certified Lean Six Sigma consultant to assist with Swim Lane Process Mapping, reducing the number of steps by 20%. We now have a team trained to “Swim Lane” every business process.
Offix
Gainesville, VA
Challenge: Sourcing talent
Solution: Attracting quality employment candidates. We’ve embraced a proactive recruitment mindset that goes beyond job postings. Our approach includes:
“Three Footing” Philosophy
Multi-Channel Outreach
Encouraging team members to identify potential talent during everyday interactions—anyone within three feet could be a future hire.
We’ve explored various avenues, from community engagement to referral networks, but the most impactful strategy has been intentional outreach.
Cultural Fit First
By seeking out individuals who align with our core values and work ethic, we’ve built a stronger, more cohesive team.
Impact
This shift has expanded our talent pool, improved team dynamics, and positioned our dealership as a forward-thinking employer.
Edwards Business Systems and Virginia Business Systems (EBS/VBS)
West Reading, PA
Challenge: Tariffs
Solution: The uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs—particularly those affecting Southeast Asian imports and IT hardware—has posed challenges for office technology dealerships like EBS. Tariffs have increased the cost of devices such as printers, copiers, and networking equipment, which are core to EBS’s offerings. These pressures have made pricing and inventory planning more complex.
Over the past year, we’ve responded with a proactive, client-first approach. To help customers manage rising costs, EBS introduced flexible pricing strategies with scalable options and increases. Whenever possible, we bought inventory in larger quantities to ensure competitive pricing to extend to our clients.
Braden Business Systems
Fishers, IN
Challenge: Pricing pressures
Solution: One of the biggest challenges we faced this past year was the pressure clients felt around pricing due to the current economic environment. Budgets were tighter, and organizations were looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing performance. We addressed this by leaning into our role as a trusted partner; helping clients analyze their workflows, consolidate vendors, and unlock efficiencies through automation and managed services. By focusing on measurable ROI and showing how our solutions deliver more value for every dollar spent, we were able to retain 98% of our client base while continuing to grow.
Milner Inc.
Peachtree Corners, GA
Challenge: Reconciling growth
Solution: Managing rapid growth while maintaining the high level of service our customers expect [was important]. With significant expansion in both IT services and regional operations, the demand on our infrastructure, processes, and people increased dramatically.
We addressed this by making strategic investments in ServiceNow and a new ERP system, which streamlined workflows, improved visibility and strengthened communication between departments. At the same time, we added key roles, redefined responsibilities, and doubled down on training to ensure our team members had the tools and support they needed.
By treating growth not as a strain but as an opportunity to evolve, Milner emerged stronger, more efficient and better positioned to serve our clients at scale.
Sharp Business Innovations
Longmont, CO
Challenge: Client objections
Solution: The hesitation many prospects had around switching providers is an issue we needed to overcome. Clients were often locked into existing contracts or unsure whether making a change would truly benefit them. To address this, we focused on education and transparency. We positioned ourselves as partners, not just vendors, by showing clients a clear side-by-side comparison of their current situation versus what we could offer. This approach helped them see measurable savings, improved efficiency and a stronger long-term value.
Another challenge was breaking through in a competitive marketplace where many companies offer similar services. We differentiated ourselves by building trust through consistent follow-up, tailoring solutions to each client’s needs, and highlighting our proven track record of helping organizations lower costs and improve workflows. Over time, this commitment turned initial skepticism into strong, lasting relationships.
Repeat Business Systems
Albany, NY
Challenge: Flat hardware sales
Challenge: We implemented a new program where we hired business development team members who will be mentored by our senior associates, taking on small accounts and net-new revenue. This allows our senior team members to manage the most complex, largest and most important accounts. While the company retains the smaller accounts, and moves forward with net new business as well.
United Business Technologies
Gaithersburg, MD
Challenge: Addressing hybrid work
Solution: Adapting our operations and client support model to meet the evolving demands of hybrid work environments—both internally and for our clients—was important. As more organizations shifted to flexible work arrangements, we saw a surge in demand for secure remote access, cloud-based document workflows, and decentralized device management. Internally, we also had to ensure our own teams could collaborate effectively while maintaining service excellence.
PERRY proTECH
Lima, OH
Challenge: Protecting margin
Solution: Over the past year, we’ve experienced growth not only in emerging markets but also in our established ones. While scaling to support that growth, we also faced the challenge of stabilizing margins amid rising costs from manufacturers and other market pressures—all while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. Addressing this required our team to innovate, adapt, and embrace change. By fostering a culture of growth, ownership, and performance, our employees stepped up to balance these competing priorities and successfully navigated through these critical phases of expansion.
Doing Better Business
Altoona, PA
Challenge: Overhead costs
Solution: The cost of insurance, health care and especially the average employee has continued to increase post-COVID. Meanwhile, office equipment revenue and aftermarket continue to stay relatively flat. We have tried to mitigate these increased costs by bringing in new products to help grow our total business. These new products include ECM, VoIP, and audio/video services.
