{"id":12710,"date":"2015-05-20T09:05:43","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T13:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=12710"},"modified":"2015-05-20T09:05:43","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T13:05:43","slug":"home-field-advantage-plus-inc-s-david-carson-on-selling-production-and-going-up-against-bigger-competitors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/dealer-spotlight\/2015\/05\/home-field-advantage-plus-inc-s-david-carson-on-selling-production-and-going-up-against-bigger-competitors\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Field Advantage: Plus Inc.\u2019s David Carson on Selling Production and Going Up Against Bigger Competitors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"David

David Carson<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s common knowledge that there is often a home field advantage for many local dealers even when competing against manufacturer direct branches who aren\u2019t hesitant about giving away the store in order to win the deal.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why local dealerships often emphasize the community angle, their ability to make quick decisions, and their ability to provide the kind of service that most direct branches can only dream of offering. That\u2019s the story of Plus Inc., a family owned dealership based in Greenville, SC, operated by brothers David and Chris Carson along with Danny Summers, Frank Gonzalez and John Campbell.<\/p>\n

The dealership, started by the Carson\u2019s father in 1958 remains a staple of the community even if its product offerings have changed from typewriters and calculators to MFPs, production print devices, and IT Services.<\/p>\n

One of the joys of writing about this industry for so many years is that I get to talk to dealers of all sizes. Each has a unique story to tell, but a story that their peers\u2014no matter how big their dealership\u2014can often identify with as well. I first heard from David Carson, Plus Inc.\u2019s president, in early April when he sent me an e-mail critical of my feature article in April on production print and wide format because it omitted comments from a couple of the larger vendors, including one of his own. (That vendor was unable to schedule an interview prior to my deadline even with an extension.) <\/em>What I did learn in our e-mail exchange was that Plus Inc. is starting to enjoy success in the production print space, a credible achievement for a $4-million dealership.\u00a0 That exchange intrigued me enough to schedule an interview with David to learn more about Plus Inc.\u2019s strategy for selling production print and to learn more about this family owned dealership that continues to hold its own against larger and better funded competitors. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

How\u2019s the first half of the year been for Plus Inc. so far?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> It\u2019s been good.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s doing well for you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> Production print has done very well for us, general mid-range hardware is doing well, and we do a lot of IT Services. Overall, everything is going pretty smooth.<\/p>\n

On the production print side you sell Konica Minolta and Ricoh, have you been partnering with them for a long time?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>Production print wise we\u2019ve been with Konica for probably a good 10 years, but we\u2019ve never been heavy in it until the middle of last year when we decided to change our commitment level. We had probably 10-12 production units out in the field\u2014Konica only at that point.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been a Ricoh dealer since 2004, but we just made a commitment last year [for their production devices] and now have a Ricoh on our demo floor.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest difference today compared to how you were doing at the beginning when you first took on those products?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>In the beginning when we took them on we did it simply because we had customers looking for the product, so in my opinion we did it the least expensive way. We sold some units to existing customers and some people we knew through referrals, but we weren\u2019t overly dedicated to it.<\/p>\n

Last year Ricoh and Konica came out with new models. For almost two years we didn\u2019t have any production print machines on our sales floor and when we decided we wanted to go all out we realized the only way we could do that was by having machines on the floor. You need to have machines in your showroom to show customers what they can do and to run their projects for them. We now have three production print units in our demo room and it makes a huge difference.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also found that the support you receive from Konica Minolta and Ricoh has been helpful as well, right?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> Konica has been good with local support; they have a dedicated production print rep that is readily available for us. He\u2019s been in quite often to help us with our prospects. We\u2019ve sold five Konica production print units in the last six months, which is a lot for us. Ricoh\u2019s support for us is good too, but not as good as Konica Minolta\u2019s, but we\u2019re hoping to get ramped up on the Ricoh side.<\/p>\n

Going back to the last five production units you sold, were they sold to existing customers or new customers?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>Both. Several were to new customers and we fought hard against competitors to get them. Xerox has taken some of their commitment level out of our market. We\u2019re a large area, but not a major metropolitan area. They\u2019ve had some changes so we went into some production print facilities that have been Xerox customers and of the five machines we\u2019ve sold, two have replaced Xerox machines. Another we were up against the Ricoh direct, but this facility went with us because we\u2019re local and they saw a much stronger commitment level from us all the way from the top to the bottom, including providing them with supplies and service.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest lesson you\u2019ve learned about selling production print since you first started carrying these products?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> You need to have units on your floor. And you need good manufacturer support and both Konica and Ricoh have been good for us.<\/p>\n

As far as your competition, you mentioned Xerox; who else are you competing with on the production side, Ricoh and Konica Minolta direct?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>Yes, those are our two main competitors. We put a big new color unit in a university that almost went with the direct side until somebody recommended they take a look at us. That was a bizhub PRESS C1070. There\u2019s very little coverage in our area from local dealers. None have a commitment level in this area. Most of the branches, such as Ricoh, which has a large office here in Greenville, which used to be an IKON hub, have a big commitment level. Konica does well because they have a lot of major accounts in this area, so we compete with them regularly.<\/p>\n

When you win against the direct branches is it that customer service element that typically convinces the customer to go with Plus Inc.?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>Absolutely.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a second generation owner of our company. My father started the business in the fifties and growing up in this business it\u2019s been extremely competitive. It\u2019s become much easier for us to get business in our area than in the past because of the distinctions with the companies selling the product. Thirty years ago, twenty years ago, it was a lot of people, the same size as us up and down the street saying the same thing. Now you\u2019ve got the direct side of Xerox, Konica, Ricoh, and they\u2019re just a corporate entity. They\u2019re good at what they do, but it\u2019s easier to distinguish yourself as a local company. There\u2019s a big push to buy local and to be quite honest with you the corporate people can\u2019t say the same thing we do.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also identified another differentiator?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> Ricoh and Konica do not keep parts or supplies in their warehouses on a local basis and it\u2019s something you can go in and pinpoint as a big difference. That doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t push their corporate size; \u2018Why would you buy from a third party when you can buy direct from the manufacturer?\u2019 And that\u2019s something you have to compete with.<\/p>\n

Are there certain verticals that have been stronger than others for you when selling production print?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>Not really. We have several churches and print for pay customers. We have the one university that also functions as a print for pay for the local area, but there\u2019s no particular vertical.<\/p>\n

How is it working in a family business, has it always been easy?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>It has. When my father passed, my oldest brother, while he was always good at what he did here, wasn\u2019t interested in staying in the business. My younger brother and I are very different in our styles as far as what we like to do. He just likes to work and prefers not to be involved in management and I like to be the leader in some aspects. When my older brother wanted out, I had three people who were leaders in the company and I brought them in as partners.<\/p>\n

Any segments of the business you\u2019d like to see do better?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>We\u2019ve made a commitment last year to double the size of our company. We do about $4 million in revenues and we want to get to $8-$10 million. The one area where we realized we could push that forward on a fairly quick basis was production print. Otherwise there\u2019s the continual push to grow the mid customer base.<\/p>\n

The time is right, a lot of people don\u2019t seem to be happy with their vendors and I think it\u2019s related to the Big Bank syndrome\u2014they don\u2019t know that there\u2019s anything better out there. They just think poor service and having to have toner shipped to you in three days when you run out unless you want to pay more, all of that basic regular support, they just think that\u2019s how it is. Our big push is to go out and talk about the personal service just like the local bank. It\u2019s amazing how well it works when you can convince somebody there is another choice.<\/p>\n

I understand you\u2019re also strong in IT services, how did you get involved in that?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>My oldest brother who is no longer in the business was really good in computers back in the late seventies and eighties. We got involved with computers around then and never really stopped. Back in the mid nineties we got good at providing IT Services. I called it \u201cSmall Business Services.\u201d And we\u2019ve done well.<\/p>\n

What percentage of your customers use you for IT Services?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> About 15-20 percent.<\/p>\n

Do you see that growing?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> Yes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s that going to take?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> We\u2019ve been happy with where we\u2019ve been as far as our size so we\u2019ve never made any push to grow rapidly. During the past five or six years the recession had us just kind of sit there and maintain a certain level and be good at it. For us the growth will come in that area and the overall business. We\u2019re probably going to add about four employees this year to help with our growth.<\/p>\n

The IT goes hand in hand with the mid-range copiers and the growth from there comes from either side. If we get an inquiry on IT Services we go in and take that over and they start buying their copiers and printers from us, and a lot of times vice versa. The growth there comes naturally\u2014if you do a good job on one or the other, they want you for both of it.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the biggest challenge of selling IT Services?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> We have to be very careful because there are a lot of IT companies offering IT services\u2014other small businesses and you don\u2019t want to make them enemies when it\u2019s time to place copiers. On the IT side you tread a little more lightly when you make calls on existing customers simply because you don\u2019t want the IT world trying to keep you out of the copier end of it. Most people have somebody else doing their IT work and if they think you\u2019re going to take their IT work from them, they\u2019re going to tell their customer don\u2019t buy from that company whether they like you or not.<\/p>\n

How many years have you been in the business?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson: <\/strong>I\u2019ve been full time since 1980 when I graduated from college. I actually worked in the business since high school, went to university here in Greenville and worked in and out of the business while going to school. I participated in athletics in college so I was limited in the amount of time I could put in.<\/p>\n

Do you still enjoy it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> I\u2019m having the most fun I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n

One final question, how does the rest of the year look for Plus Inc.?<\/em><\/p>\n

Carson:<\/strong> We feel we\u2019re going to have a strong year. We see about 15 percent growth and we\u2019re looking for that over the next three to four years. We have a lot of business lined up and see a lot of potential. This area seems to be booming; we have a lot of manufacturing moving in and it seems to be where people want to live. There\u2019s a lot of new business to go get.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common knowledge that there is often a home field advantage for many local dealers even when competing against manufacturer direct branches who aren\u2019t hesitant about giving away the store in order to win the deal. That\u2019s why local dealerships often emphasize the community angle, their ability to make quick decisions, and their ability to provide the kind of service that most direct branches can only dream of offering. That\u2019s the story of Plus Inc., a family owned dealership based in Greenville, SC, operated by brothers David and Chris Carson along with Danny Summers, Frank Gonzalez and John Campbell. The dealership, started by the Carson\u2019s father in 1958 remains a staple of the community even if its product offerings have changed from typewriters and calculators to MFPs, production print devices, and IT Services. One of the joys of writing about this industry for so many years is that I get to talk to dealers of all sizes. Each has a unique story to tell, but a story that their peers\u2014no matter how big their dealership\u2014can often identify with as well. I first heard from David Carson, Plus Inc.\u2019s president, in early April when he sent me an e-mail critical of my feature article in April on production print and wide format because it omitted comments from a couple of the larger vendors, including one of his own. (That vendor was unable to schedule an interview prior to my deadline even with an extension.) What I did learn in our e-mail exchange was that Plus Inc. is starting to enjoy success in the production print space, a credible achievement for a $4-million dealership.\u00a0 That exchange intrigued me enough to schedule an interview with David to learn more about Plus Inc.\u2019s strategy for selling production print and to learn more about this family owned dealership that continues to hold its own against larger and better funded competitors. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How\u2019s the first half of the year been for Plus Inc. so far? Carson: It\u2019s been good. What\u2019s doing well for you? Carson: Production print has done very well for us, general mid-range hardware is doing well, and we do a lot of IT Services. Overall, everything is going pretty smooth. On the production print side you sell Konica Minolta and Ricoh, have you been partnering with them for a long time? Carson: Production print wise we\u2019ve been with Konica for probably a good 10 years, but we\u2019ve never been heavy in it until the middle of last year when we decided to change our commitment level. We had probably 10-12 production units out in the field\u2014Konica only at that point. We\u2019ve been a Ricoh dealer since 2004, but we just made a commitment last year [for their production devices] and now have a Ricoh on our demo floor. What\u2019s the biggest difference today compared to how you were doing at the beginning when you first took on those products? Carson: In the beginning when we took them on we did it simply because we had customers looking for the product, so in my opinion we did it the least expensive way. We sold some units to existing customers and some people we knew through referrals, but we weren\u2019t overly dedicated to it. Last year Ricoh and Konica came out with new models. For almost two years we didn\u2019t have any production print machines on our sales floor and when we decided we wanted to go all out we realized the only way we could do that was by having machines on the floor. You need to have machines in your showroom to show customers what they can do and to run their projects for them. We now have three production print units in our demo room and it makes a huge difference. You\u2019ve also found that the support you receive from Konica Minolta and Ricoh has been helpful as well, right? Carson: Konica has been good with local support; they have a dedicated production print rep that is readily available for us. He\u2019s been in quite often to help us with our prospects. We\u2019ve sold five Konica production print units in the last six months, which is a lot for us. Ricoh\u2019s support for us is good too, but not as good as Konica Minolta\u2019s, but we\u2019re hoping to get ramped up on the Ricoh side. Going back to the last five production units you sold, were they sold to existing customers or new customers? Carson: Both. Several were to new customers and we fought hard against competitors to get them. Xerox has taken some of their commitment level out of our market. We\u2019re a large area, but not a major metropolitan area. They\u2019ve had some changes so we went into some production print facilities that have been Xerox customers and of the five machines we\u2019ve sold, two have replaced Xerox machines. Another we were up against the Ricoh direct, but this facility went with us because we\u2019re local and they saw a much stronger commitment level from us all the way from the top to the bottom, including providing them with supplies and service. What\u2019s the biggest lesson you\u2019ve learned about selling production print since you first started carrying these products? Carson: You need to have units on your floor. And you need good manufacturer support and both Konica and Ricoh have been good for us. As far as your competition, you mentioned Xerox; who else are you competing with on the production side, Ricoh and Konica Minolta direct? Carson: Yes, those are our two main competitors. We put a big new color unit in a university that almost went with the direct side until somebody recommended they take a look at us. That was a bizhub PRESS C1070. There\u2019s very little coverage in our area from local dealers. None have a commitment level in this area. Most of the branches, such as Ricoh, which has a large office here in Greenville, which used to be an IKON hub, have a big […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1643],"tags":[2243,2242,328],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12712,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12710\/revisions\/12712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}