![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/DW-Box-IMG_1942-v.jpg\")
It\u2019s a way of life, one he doesn\u2019t intend to ever give up. Of his succession plan, he noted, \u201cI dug a hole in the middle of my office. When I die, they\u2019re just going to shove me in that hole and cover me up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It helps to have a sense of humor when you\u2019re running two distinct operations in vastly different industries. We\u2019ll leave insights into the ranching industry to American Cattlemen magazine. For our purposes, Willie the office tech dealership owner is a fairly compelling tale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CTWP has a number of manufacturer lines: Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Canon and, most recently, Xerox. While it serves the needs of the legal, manufacturing, government, health care and religious markets, the dealer\u2014which most recently posted revenues of $21 million\u2014has truly excelled with independent school districts (ISDs), of which Texas has more than 1,000. CTWP\u2019s book of business includes hundreds of ISDs, and Willie notes his team has spent decades cultivating long-lasting relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Becoming proficient in the education realm requires a dealer to become more than just a vendor. It starts with developing relationships with the ISDs\u2019 superintendents and the various IT department heads. Once the dealer has forged a relationship with a school district, Willie has no concern about the business being put out to bid come renewal time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know how to deal with them,\u201d Willie noted. \u201cWe participate in their educational programs and donate money to their foundations. We give them great service, provide equipment loaners and keep them forever\u2014some have been with us 30 or 40 years. As a result, when other ISDs come up for bid, we\u2019ll reach out to other schools and ask if they know those ISDs\u2019 IT people. We\u2019ll ask them to introduce us to these other ISDs, and from there we can develop a relationship even before the contract is up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cISDs are difficult. You can\u2019t just get a bid in the mail, fill it out and think you have a shot at winning the business. You need to know the IT people. If they don\u2019t know who you are, forget it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starting Point<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fresh out of LSU, Willie cut his teeth in the industry as a sales manager for A.B. Dick Co., then later as branch manager for its San Antonio office. A.B. Dick III sold the distributorship to Willie, who got the company running with two employees and no customers to which they could sell duplicators and tabletop offset devices. As his dealership began to grow, Willie moved away from A.B. Dick products to sell those manufactured by Royal, the forerunner of Konica, as well as Minolta. CTWP was nearly done in when Willie tried his hand at selling word processors from Micom and became the largest independent U.S. company in that field. When IBM released its game-changing word processor, Willie averted financial disaster by pivoting back to the copier business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CTWP\u2019s HQ falls within the triangle of the Lone Star State\u2019s major cities of Dallas, Austin and Houston, but Waco isn\u2019t the only ranch in Willie\u2019s empire. The dealer has locations in Marble Falls, San Antonio, Temple, Corsicana, Bryan\/College Station and San Angelo. The Corsicana location is straight out of Mayberry; a general (office) store where people can drop off their FedEx packages, get photocopies for a nickel, purchase jan\/san supplies and even have their passport pictures taken. The building has been refurbished\u2014including a repaint of the original Coca-Cola logo on the outside\u2014and is designated as a historic area. The Bryan facility also boasts a major share of the College Station market, including most of the copier installations at Texas A&M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These aren\u2019t just sales hubs; Willie points out that each of the offices has the ability to handle all the needs of clients within a 75-mile radius, backed by service, admin and inventory. In all, he estimates that CTWP covers 40% of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growth Catalysts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two offerings that have been the backbone of CTWP\u2019s 13% year-over-year growth are postage equipment and wide-format machines. A few years back, Willie acquired Xerox reseller Parson\u2019s Office Equipment, a 60-year-old family-owned business that also specialized in postal equipment through FP Mailing Solutions. One of the employees onboarded with the acquisition was FP-certified on the gear, and he was soon selling for the other facilities in the CTWP network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taught our technicians how to work on the machines, and our sales reps have become knowledgeable on the equipment,\u201d Willie said. \u201cFP Mailing has provided good growth every month, and we find it easy to upgrade customers from Pitney Bowes. And with the new regulations regarding postage machines, it\u2019s provided some great opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wide-format printing has been something of an epiphany for CTWP. The machines had formerly been viewed as engineering tools to produce blueprints, but Willie has found a wealth of applications within schools, churches and retail establishments. Each of the branches boasts output capabilities\u2014in Corsicana, for example, the graphic designers create booklets, produce wallpaper and can churn out customized jobs. Christmas wrap has also become popular. Clients snap up the products, and many of them purchase wide-format devices from the dealer to do their own marketing and signage jobs, among other items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSmall businesses come in, and maybe they need construction projects or something for their home, or they want the Christmas wrap,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also do a lot of Christmas portraits. By offering these printed jobs, such as the wrapping paper, it keeps us front of mind with customers. We\u2019ve definitely changed our thoughts about who buys our wide-format product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Help Wanted<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The last two years have been successful and challenging for CTWP. Business is brisk, but it\u2019s difficult to grow because the dealer doesn\u2019t have enough sales reps to address the net-new opportunities available. Account representatives put a lot of emphasis on garnering renewals from its roster of 12,000 accounts, which is quite time-consuming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough across the board in finding salespeople, drivers, techs and admin,\u201d Willie noted. \u201cThat seems to be a constant battle across the country. It seems like a lot of people don\u2019t want to work. We interview candidates, go through the entire process, have them sign documents and then they never show up when they\u2019re supposed to. It\u2019s crazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe challenge is trying to grow the business through people. Whoever you hire now isn\u2019t going to be productive until 2025,\u201d he added. \u201cInstead of college graduates and 25-year-old prospects, we\u2019re targeting high school seniors who want to be in the trades and have some computer or basic skills. We pay to train them for about six months with the hope of getting them going strong in two years. But then you have to hope that they don\u2019t take what you\u2019ve taught them and leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acquisition Avenue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Given the difficulty in securing new team members, acquisitions have proven to be an effective alternate route. Three years ago, CTWP picked up Hill Country Office Supplies in Marble Falls, a touristy town in wine country on the Colorado River. Hill Country is a Kyocera dealer, and Willie added Canon wide-format and the FP Mailing postage machines to its menu, but kept the location to the single MFP line. He liked that the area continues to grow and business volume is strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Willie notes that CTWP\u2019s M&A fishing hole is comprised of primarily acquisition candidates in the $3 million range for annual sales. He points out that the larger-sized companies have long since been bought out by the consolidators. Thus, Willie has been closely monitoring those that fit his acquisition profile, and he\u2019s hoping to close another deal, perhaps by the end of the year. A couple of other prospects could be snapped up in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf there\u2019s anyone out there [who might sell], I watch them,\u201d he said. \u201cI know who the few are, and I\u2019m offering to buy them on a regular basis. I will buy any dealer that\u2019s in my market. We can\u2019t grow anymore. We need to buy dealers that have employees we can bring aboard. But it can\u2019t be just anyone; we won\u2019t buy a company whose business has gone to hell and pick up their base because that causes more issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of all the criteria Willie uses, being located in Texas is a must-have\u2014a dealer based in any other state is a non-starter. \u201cI\u2019ve had opportunities to buy outside my area, but I\u2019m staying in my market,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to expand land-wise. We have too much land now and not enough people. So going outside the area wouldn\u2019t make good sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pooch Pitch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CTWP has a fascinating approach when it comes to marketing. In some of the more rural markets, CTWP uses traditional television and radio advertising to reach the masses. The TV spots, which appear during the afternoon and evening news programs, feature LeRoy the Copier Dog. A little editing magic allows Willie\u2019s dachshund\/Yorkie-mix rescue pal to exclaim in one bit, \u201cMy paw David says we have too many copiers. Take your pick of the litter, and get me out of this doghouse!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the radio side, the dealer has a segment that airs on a regular basis. While this type of marketing still resonates with viewers outside the city, Willie notes the company\u2019s marketing department\u2014led by Christine Zirkle\u2014is moving more and more toward social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) to spread its messaging along with optimizing the company\u2019s website to get first-page search results on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CTWP is one of the few copier dealers in its markets, if not the only one. Small-town businesses prefer to work with local vendors and don\u2019t relish the thought of sending their payments to companies based in other states. Texas takes its \u201cbuy local\u201d philosophy seriously, and clients feel firms such as CTWP have earned that honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLittle towns like to know that you\u2019re local, you\u2019re Texas and not from New York or New Jersey,\u201d Willie said, flatly. \u201cWe push the local angle. We support the local communities, do food drives and donate to charities. I\u2019ve donated more than $3 million to charities across the state. I don\u2019t think any of our competitors have done anything to that extent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Willie has also dug deep to ensure his team members feel valued for their efforts, loyalty and longevity. Technicians and telemarketing folks alike receive a spiff for garnering client leads. Each office holds an end-of-month party during which the execs cook for them. And the anniversary gifts aren\u2019t just token gestures. The five-year employee gift is a pendant or money clip. For 10 years, employees receive a gold tennis bracelet with diamonds or a ring. At 15 years, the employee gets a Rolex (Willie estimates he\u2019s spent $200,000 on watches alone) and the 20-year veterans get an all-inclusive vacation for two in the Caribbean or Europe. Twenty such employees qualified for the trip this past June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of the president\u2019s trip, qualifying salespeople had the opportunity to enjoy Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, this year. That\u2019s in addition to quarterly bonus opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve got people who\u2019ve been with me for 40 years,\u201d Willie noted. \u201cWe grew up together, and their kids have already had kids. It\u2019s definitely a family environment here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready for Battle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CTWP, like any dealership that seeks to be progressive, is a work in progress, and Willie notes that his company still has a ways to go. Zirkle continues to ensure the dealer\u2019s marketing endeavors are hitting on the relevant outlets, and the company is still getting its feet wet with embracing artificial intelligence. It\u2019s all part of the growth process, but it requires more people in addition to technology. And Willie is combing the landscape to source those personnel assets who can help carry the 45-year-old firm into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating in a hotbed of dealer and direct operations doesn\u2019t faze Willie. CTWP is a top-five Kyocera dealer, and boasts the long and successful relationship with Konica Minolta that predates the OEMs\u2019 merger. Knocking heads with the competition brings out Willie\u2019s fiery side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love to beat them up,\u201d he noted of fellow resellers. \u201cThey\u2019re easy. If [our leadership] is personally involved in a deal, we\u2019ll close eight out of ten of them. Most people who go up against us haven\u2019t been in the business long enough and don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing. These big dealers tend to focus on price, but that\u2019s not the only thing that wins deals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Willie\u2019s not concerned about the day he\u2019ll visit that hole in the floor of his office. \u201cI like the challenge, and I love winning. I love the business, the ranch and the farm. And I\u2019m not ready to quit. It\u2019s all good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Living in two worlds doesn\u2019t seem to faze David Willie, nor does working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Some people may know him as the owner of Waco, Texas-based CTWP, a multi-line dealer with more than 10,000 customers. But for the last 30 years, Willie has also been operating a large cattle operation, breeding the wagyu variety that produces some of the world\u2019s finest cuts of meat, as well as raising calves and breeding stocks. As if that wasn\u2019t enough to keep him occupied, he\u2019s also a produce farmer, working the land for corn, wheat and oats. How does he work in two places at once? Easy\u2026well, maybe not easy. But Willie surrounds himself with impact players: Michael Stieg, vice president of finance; Dudley Jones, vice president IT and service; and Linda Norman, vice president, administration. Not to mention the sales and marketing teams that drive CTWP\u2019s financial fortunes to the cattle and farm hands who plow, fertilize and seed the land while also weaning the calves and giving them their shots. Success comes from putting in the work, and Willie literally gets his hands dirty every day. It\u2019s a way of life, one he doesn\u2019t intend to ever give up. Of his succession plan, he noted, \u201cI dug a hole in the middle of my office. When I die, they\u2019re just going to shove me in that hole and cover me up.\u201d It helps to have a sense of humor when you\u2019re running two distinct operations in vastly different industries. We\u2019ll leave insights into the ranching industry to American Cattlemen magazine. For our purposes, Willie the office tech dealership owner is a fairly compelling tale. CTWP has a number of manufacturer lines: Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Canon and, most recently, Xerox. While it serves the needs of the legal, manufacturing, government, health care and religious markets, the dealer\u2014which most recently posted revenues of $21 million\u2014has truly excelled with independent school districts (ISDs), of which Texas has more than 1,000. CTWP\u2019s book of business includes hundreds of ISDs, and Willie notes his team has spent decades cultivating long-lasting relationships. Becoming proficient in the education realm requires a dealer to become more than just a vendor. It starts with developing relationships with the ISDs\u2019 superintendents and the various IT department heads. Once the dealer has forged a relationship with a school district, Willie has no concern about the business being put out to bid come renewal time. \u201cWe know how to deal with them,\u201d Willie noted. \u201cWe participate in their educational programs and donate money to their foundations. We give them great service, provide equipment loaners and keep them forever\u2014some have been with us 30 or 40 years. As a result, when other ISDs come up for bid, we\u2019ll reach out to other schools and ask if they know those ISDs\u2019 IT people. We\u2019ll ask them to introduce us to these other ISDs, and from there we can develop a relationship even before the contract is up. \u201cISDs are difficult. You can\u2019t just get a bid in the mail, fill it out and think you have a shot at winning the business. You need to know the IT people. If they don\u2019t know who you are, forget it.\u201d Starting Point Fresh out of LSU, Willie cut his teeth in the industry as a sales manager for A.B. Dick Co., then later as branch manager for its San Antonio office. A.B. Dick III sold the distributorship to Willie, who got the company running with two employees and no customers to which they could sell duplicators and tabletop offset devices. As his dealership began to grow, Willie moved away from A.B. Dick products to sell those manufactured by Royal, the forerunner of Konica, as well as Minolta. CTWP was nearly done in when Willie tried his hand at selling word processors from Micom and became the largest independent U.S. company in that field. When IBM released its game-changing word processor, Willie averted financial disaster by pivoting back to the copier business. CTWP\u2019s HQ falls within the triangle of the Lone Star State\u2019s major cities of Dallas, Austin and Houston, but Waco isn\u2019t the only ranch in Willie\u2019s empire. The dealer has locations in Marble Falls, San Antonio, Temple, Corsicana, Bryan\/College Station and San Angelo. The Corsicana location is straight out of Mayberry; a general (office) store where people can drop off their FedEx packages, get photocopies for a nickel, purchase jan\/san supplies and even have their passport pictures taken. The building has been refurbished\u2014including a repaint of the original Coca-Cola logo on the outside\u2014and is designated as a historic area. The Bryan facility also boasts a major share of the College Station market, including most of the copier installations at Texas A&M. These aren\u2019t just sales hubs; Willie points out that each of the offices has the ability to handle all the needs of clients within a 75-mile radius, backed by service, admin and inventory. In all, he estimates that CTWP covers 40% of the state. Growth Catalysts Two offerings that have been the backbone of CTWP\u2019s 13% year-over-year growth are postage equipment and wide-format machines. A few years back, Willie acquired Xerox reseller Parson\u2019s Office Equipment, a 60-year-old family-owned business that also specialized in postal equipment through FP Mailing Solutions. One of the employees onboarded with the acquisition was FP-certified on the gear, and he was soon selling for the other facilities in the CTWP network. \u201cWe\u2019ve taught our technicians how to work on the machines, and our sales reps have become knowledgeable on the equipment,\u201d Willie said. \u201cFP Mailing has provided good growth every month, and we find it easy to upgrade customers from Pitney Bowes. And with the new regulations regarding postage machines, it\u2019s provided some great opportunities.\u201d Wide-format printing has been something of an epiphany for CTWP. The machines had formerly been viewed as engineering tools to produce blueprints, but Willie has found a wealth of applications within schools, churches and retail establishments. Each of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1643],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248"}],"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\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62248"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62256,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248\/revisions\/62256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/DW-Podium-IMG_2536-v.jpg\")
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