Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all problems had an expiration date? Think how nice it would be to start Jan. 1 of every year anew, un-tethered to issues that plagued you during the previous year. Unfortunately, the only time all of our worries go away is when we shuffle off this mortal coil. But let’s not start the new year on a down note.
The sad reality is yes, absent a true solution, challenges will stick around like unwanted house guests. The best approach, as we greet 2026, is to employ a clean mental slate. Wipe away any negativity and devise a dispassionate answer to rid yourself of the albatross. Then you can sing “I Will Survive” or “I’m Still Standing,” but just make sure no one is around to hear it.
Regardless, in a nod to the notion that our worries can indeed hang about from one year to the next, we close out our December Elite Dealer challenges series with a 2026 cameo appearance. I’m sure our trends and predictions State of the Industry report for January won’t take issue with it. After all, if you can identify those challenges dressed as trends, you’ll at least have an advantage in mitigating their impact.
Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office
New York
Challenge: Print decline
Solution: We’re seeing declining unit sales and shrinking gross profits. While tariff increases may provide some relief on the hardware side, rising supply and parts costs from manufacturers have left us with no choice but to adjust our own pricing accordingly. The real question is: will manufacturers follow suit, or will CPC at the street level remain the same or even lower as they try to win the race to zero?
Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises
Cincinnati
Challenge: Tariffs
Solution: New tariffs on equipment created cost pressures across the industry. Rather than waiting for these increases to fully take effect, we took a proactive approach with our clients and prospects by encouraging them to upgrade early to avoid higher costs. This not only protected our customers’ budgets but also strengthened trust in our ability to anticipate and respond to market changes.
At the same time, we focused on growing other areas of our business not impacted by tariffs—including managed IT services, cybersecurity and document management. By expanding these offerings, we offset potential slowdowns in hardware sales and reinforced our position as a diversified business technology partner.
This two-pronged strategy—proactively guiding clients through the tariff challenge while accelerating growth in other solution areas—helped us turn a difficult situation into an opportunity for stronger customer relationships and broader business growth.
Gordon Flesch Company
Madison, WI
Challenge: Rising costs
Solution: Everywhere you look expenses are high. The goal is to cover these rising costs by outselling the problem, or by simply focusing on running the company more efficiently. We have completed several internal projects that have helped us in this area, which has boosted our productivity overall. While we are happy with the work we’ve done and the process improvements we’ve made, costs are continuing to rise everywhere you look so this will likely be a heavy focus for GFC well into the future.
MTS Office Systems
Greenville, SC
Challenge: Growth issues
Solution: Growth-related issues [impact] both operations (processes) and people. We have gone from 6 to 20 employees in five years and had to take a fresh look at our processes to be able to handle that internal growth. It started out very slow and basic, but now we are getting to some of the next level challenges to help us run better.
GoodSuite
Woodland Hills, CA
Challenge: Redefining role
Solution: [We’re] reshaping our identity from being seen primarily as a copier dealer into being recognized as a true, full-service technology partner. This transition required both a cultural shift internally and a change in how our sales team approached client opportunities. Traditionally, sales reps have gravitated toward transactional products like imaging, where commissions are clear and immediate. In contrast, IT and VoIP solutions demand a deeper understanding of technology, longer sales cycles and a more consultative approach, which can make it difficult to move reps beyond their comfort zones.
To address this, we focused on building stronger internal alignment and training. We integrated new imaging reps who were tasked not only with meeting their sales targets but also with uncovering IT and VoIP opportunities. We reinforced the mindset that if an imaging opportunity was not present, there was still significant value in identifying other technology needs. At the same time, we worked to break down silos between business units, ensuring that our traditional copier team was engaged in the process of driving IT opportunities.
This approach has created a more unified and well-rounded customer strategy. Clients now see us as the single hand to shake for all their technology needs, which has strengthened our ability to deliver greater value, deepen relationships and build a foundation for long-term growth.
Image 2000
Valencia, CA
Challenge: Tariffs
Solution: The tariff situation has definitely created chaos in our industry. This is something that you could not have predicted nor planned for. We have adapted as best as we could, but it continues to change, which makes it very difficult to anticipate what is going to happen next. Fortunately, we are not the only company having to address the higher cost of equipment, so we adapted accordingly.
Dove Technologies
Florence, SC
Challenge: Underperforming service contracts
Solution: We developed some additional reporting to help us determine the root cause of why these contracts were not performing as well as we expected. If the problem was internal, then we would put a corrective action plan in place and monitor the monthly performance to ensure the fix was working as intended. If the problem was external, we would work with the customer to try and address the problem. In many cases we were able to work out a solution for both parties. The best outcome of all, though, has been the additional insight we’ve gained through the reporting. Through this we’ve identified areas where we can be more aggressive in our pricing, which has made us more competitive.
NATIONAL Business Technologies
Albany, NY
Challenge: Sales recruitment
Solution: One of NATIONAL’s toughest hurdles was recruiting sales personnel who embrace technology, aren’t intimidated by client interactions and can represent the brand with professionalism. In a market where many sales roles still rely on paper-based processes and traditional sales tactics, finding candidates who are both tech-savvy and people-forward proved difficult.
To tackle this, NATIONAL devised a hybrid onboarding and training model that keeps new hires active in the field while they build product expertise:
Digital Onboarding Modules: New sales staff complete interactive e-learning courses covering product features, service workflows and the company’s core values—anytime, anywhere.
Field Shadowing and Mentorship: Each recruit is paired with a seasoned sales rep. They learn on the job, co-presenting to clients and gradually taking the lead under the mentor’s guidance.
These innovations transformed a potential bottleneck into a competitive advantage. By integrating training with live client engagement, NATIONAL not only filled its sales roster but also equipped each rep to leverage technology effectively and uphold the company’s reputation for professionalism.
Blue Technologies
Cleveland
Challenge: Evolving needs
Solution: This past year, our biggest challenge was navigating the evolving demands of our customers while simultaneously strengthening internal processes to keep pace with rapid growth in our managed IT and compliance offerings. The complexity of cybersecurity, regulatory requirements and technology integration created pressure not only on our systems, but also on our teams.
We addressed this challenge by doubling down on our Commitment to Excellence—investing in employee training, expanding our service guarantees into new areas like compliance readiness, and formalizing clear internal processes to create consistency across all six of our locations. To keep morale high through change, we also continued celebrating employee achievements with recognition programs like the Call of Duty Award, ensuring that our people felt valued as they rose to meet new expectations.
The result was a stronger, more unified team, able to deliver proactive, high-quality service that sets us apart from competitors while giving our employees pride in the role they play in our customers’ success.
Stargel Office Solutions
Houston
Challenge: Rising costs, tight labor market
Solution: Manufacturer price increases and sustained high interest rates created pricing pressure for both us and our customers, while historically low unemployment made it difficult to recruit new talent. We addressed these challenges in three ways:
Creative Client Solutions: We restructured contract options to provide more flexibility, offering shorter terms and tailored billing programs to ease the burden of higher costs on our customers without sacrificing service quality.
Operational Efficiency: By improving internal processes and leveraging new technologies, we offset increased manufacturer costs, maintaining profitability while staying competitive in the marketplace.
Talent Strategy: To combat hiring challenges, we expanded recruiting efforts into new markets (such as our Austin/Round Rock expansion), highlighted our family-owned culture, and invested in employee retention programs to strengthen loyalty and reduce turnover.
Through these proactive measures, we not only weathered the pricing and hiring pressures but also continued to grow, expanding into new regions and securing large, strategic wins.
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