The Road to Scaling and Timetables for Diversification Success

In the introduction to this month’s State of the Industry report on product diversification in the print edition of ENX Magazine, we rattled off a sampling of the many questions dealer execs have when pondering a given offering. Among the many factors to weigh, one of the more important ones is “what will success ultimately look like?” How much can I realistically make?

In a sense, it’s about expectations setting. Putting a product in perspective from the start is helpful; it’s important to know whether a fully matured offering potentially adds $10K or $1 million a month to your bottom line. Every car dealership wants to sell a new Chevy, but sometimes you’re going to sell steering wheel covers.

We weighed in with our astute dealer panel to discuss what fully realized success looks like with their particular diversification. And while it’s an inexact science that brings into play many variables, we also wanted to know how long it would take to realize that success.

The real barometer of success for conference room technology—a critical addition for Green Office Partner (GOP) of Chicago—equates it becoming a natural element within the dealer’s workplace technology conversation. It shouldn’t be relegated to separate-product status for conversations involving cameras, microphones or touch displays, notes Gerard Iannuzzelli, director of strategic services and solutions. The goal, he says, is for the GOP team to recognize collaboration challenges early and bring the offering into the conversation whenever subjects such as productivity, hybrid work, employee experience, office design or technology planning are broached.

“Success also means clients are using the technology confidently and consistently,” he said. “A successful deployment is not just a room that looks good on installation day. It is a room where meetings start on time, remote employees feel included, users understand the tools, and leadership sees the value in the investment.”

It’s Iannuzzelli’s hope that, at full maturity, conference room solutions can forge deeper relationships with clients, open doors to new decision-makers, and become a repeatable, scalable part of GOP’s business. This includes hardware, software, installation, training, support and ongoing optimization.

From a timing standpoint, he views it as an ongoing evolution. “The technology continues to change, and client expectations continue to grow,” Iannuzzelli remarked. “We have already made strong progress, but full maturity will come as the offering becomes fully embedded into our sales process, service model, and client strategy.”

One-Stop Quest

The introduction of security cameras and access systems is still fairly new for EverWorx; in fact, the Denver-based dealer is still in the honeymoon phase of the offering. President Scott Schnabel knows the path to success will entail ensuring his account reps are consistently touching on the subject with clients and prospects, and that they’re fortified with support materials to pave the way for meaningful discussions.

“We’re trying to scale aggressively in everything that we do,” he said. “This is another component that will allow us to expand more quickly. The next big step for us, and where we’d like to be eventually, is to have the wiring and installation capability. We’re still a bit away from that, but being able to handle everything from an in-house standpoint is important for reaching the next level.”

Barcode printers have been a welcome addition to the sales repertoire for Dove Technologies. As the Florence, South Carolina-based dealership continues to embolden its offering, top executive Rogers Coxe has set his sights on becoming a well-rounded provider. That means being fluent on the full catalog of manufacturers and distributors, to include printers, scanners, RFID solutions and the like. But trying to be all things to all client sets can be problematic.

“The products and services can be very vertical-specific, and it can take quite a while to master if you’re pursuing most verticals,” he said. “I feel that being broadly good at the basics with the deeper understanding of a few verticals is really key.”

Telltale Signs

For some dealers, such as Automated Business Technologies of Centennial, Colorado, success is not necessarily a reflection of a particular product or service. According to CEO Mike Piche, there isn’t a sales barometer to signify the company’s triumphs in, this case, security cameras and access control systems.

“We’ll be successful when we can become a trusted leader in our market, when we are receiving referrals, and when we can implement ‘soup to nuts’ with our in-house resources,” he added.

There are some product additions that simply don’t have enough trailing results to make a judgment with any confidence, and that certainly applied to robotics. Pulse Technology is a real-time experiment in the office dealer realm. Company Vice President Vince Miceli is working on measuring sticks, but in his estimation, he sees success in robotics becoming a “recognized and sustainable line of business that contributes meaningful revenue while strengthening client relationships across multiple departments.”

Realistically, Miceli feels full maturity is likely in the three-to-five year range. With the continued trend of labor shortages and automation becoming more mainstream, he sees robotics being more prevalent in commercial and industrial environments.

“Long-term, our goal is to be the trusted regional resource for organizations evaluating automation technologies, just as we are today for office technology and managed IT services,” Miceli remarked.