Since the dawn of business, the salesperson has been lionized and treated in high regard, particularly when it comes to compensation. But sales alone does not contribute 100% of a company’s value proposition. After all, the relationship does conclude with the sale in a B2B setting; it is merely the beginning.
Greg Gumpright, for one, is seeing to it that the service side of the office technology dealership receives the proper recognition it deserves.
“In the service side of the business, we are often the unsung heroes of the business,” said Gumpright, the director of service and support for Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America and a 2020 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “In our industry, you need sales and service to be equal in order to be successful.
“Salespeople are compensated differently, they have special contests and recognition programs. I feel that most people have stopped promoting service programs, technical education is more challenging and recognition has not been as common for service employees.”
Gumpright appreciates that Sharp has enabled him to shed more light on, and bring honor to, the nation’s top technical service professionals. Led by Gumpright, the company reintroduced a MasterTech contest that salutes high-performing technicians across the United States. The company also restructured its Platinum Service Provider program to focus on areas that will make Sharp support better and more efficient, and have a salutary impact on Sharp service dealers.
DIY
A fascination with electronics took hold of Gumpright at an early age, fueled by the advice of his father to always fix something himself when he broke it. He was taking classes in electronics while still in high school and followed that passion into the Electronics Computer Programming Institute (ECPI) In Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he completed the two-year program in less than a year.
Gumpright continued his technical mastery throughout his career, which included stints with dealers such as Dunn Copy Products (where he quickly ascended to Canon CLC Tech) and Acopy/IKON. It was there where he became a field supervisor and area service manager for the color and production team in the New York/New Jersey region. Along the way, he also toiled for Toshiba Business Solutions, Northern Business Systems and Engle Business Systems. Gumpright joined Sharp in 2018.
At every stop along the way, Gumpright has sought to make a positive difference. “I like to resolve problems and thrive on a positive resolution to help customers,” he said. “I believe building relationships and solving problems for customers is the key to anyone’s success, you need to have people you can count on and that is how I try to develop the team I work with.”
One of the watershed moments in his career was when Gumpright was assigned his first team leader role. It reinforced his desire to grow within the industry and help develop teams and individuals in their quest to excel. Training and developing people, along with creating great work environments, resonated with him.
Gumpright believes he has earned valued insight at every juncture of his career. In fact, he still maintains contact with many of his past supervisors and enjoys exchanging ideas regarding the many changes that have visited the industry.
Banner Year
Gumpright is coming off a 2019 in which he played a pivotal role in helping to make the company’s four-city dealer Roadshow a stunning success. He particularly enjoyed doing the Sharp MasterTech competitions at the local, regional and national levels, which surely seemed more like fun than work for Gumpright.
“Every member of my team had a role in the testing and judging and were able to participate in some role with our attendees from our dealer channel, which helped to develop great relationships with dealers from areas across the country,” he said.
Obviously, 2020 has provided unique challenges courtesy of COVID-19, but Gumpright and the Sharp team continue to deliver valuable support to dealers, utilizing virtual support measures where possible. Moving forward, he believes driving technical education will make every technician stronger, whether it’s focusing on new product training or refresher courses to keep them sharp. Maintaining and enhancing the technician award programs will continue to reinforce the value and regard that the technical service aspect so richly deserves.
Not surprisingly, Gumpright enjoys performing do-it-yourself projects around the house. He resides in New Jersey with his girlfriend of 15-plus years, Ellen (“My paperless wife,” Gumpright mused). An avid golfer who maximizes his stroke allotment, Gumpright has an adult son, Daniel, who lives on Cape Cod, and a daughter, Abigail, who will be attending SUNY-New Paltz later this year.
