![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Les-Olson-Company-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Like millions of other Americans, Les Olson grew up during the Great Depression, a time in which family was just about the only thing many people could count on. And even there, Olson\u2019s losses were heart-wrenching. An older brother passed away, and on Les\u2019 first day of high school, his father died. That prompted him to leave school and help support the family. Sadly, it was not an uncommon tale for a generation that endured constant hardship and World War II.<\/p>\n
\u201cLes was hard on us. He kicked our butts when we needed it,\u201d observed his grandson, Troy. \u201cHis was a special generation. Nothing is given. There\u2019s no nepotism or sense of entitlement here.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Troy-and-James-Olson-Cover-Shot.jpg\")
(from left) Troy Olson, President and James Olson, CEO<\/p><\/div>\n
Olson created the Les Olson Company in 1956, providing dictation machines, and all 12 of his children spent time working there. Now, under third-generation leadership of Lisa Thaller, CFO and chairman, Troy Olson, president, and James Olson, CEO, the Salt Lake City-based dealership (which counts 19 family members as shareholders) has grown to a $50 million firm with eight locations in the state of Utah and another in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Les Olson Company is proud of its 42-year relationship with its top partner, Sharp, and is the OEM\u2019s largest independent dealer in the United States. The dealer is also a gold partner with HP, counts software solution relationships with DocuWare and PaperCut (among others) and relies on Continuum, Sophos, and Datto for its IT solutions. The dealer serves virtually every business vertical in its markets, with health care and mortgage leading the way.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Les-Olson-1.jpg\")
Leading executives of Les Olson Co. and Sharp Electronics gather during the Les Olson Co. 2017 sales award banquet, held in January. Shown from the left are Lisa Thaller, Les Olson Co. CFO and Chairman of the Board, Pete Salmon, Sharp Electronics Vice President of Regional Sales and Service Operations, West; Rich Klug, Sharp Electronics Associate Director of Western Support; John Sheehan, Sharp Electronics Vice President of Sales; Steve Oda, Sharp Electronics Senior Vice President; Ted Kawamura, Sharp Electronics Chairman; Doug Albregts, Sharp Electronics of America President and CEO; James Olson, Les Olson Co. CEO; Mike Marusic, Sharp Electronics COO; Kirk Kahla, Sharp Electronics Senior DSS<\/p><\/div>\n
From its legendary customer service to its catchy advertising jingle, Les Olson Company underscores the value of relationships not only with clients but within its \u201cfamily\u201d of nearly 250 employees. Cousins James and Troy offered a glimpse into how embracing technology while maintaining old-fashioned values and ethics has kept the 62-year-old firm as fresh and relevant as the day Les Olson himself first opened the doors.<\/p>\n
How was business in 2017?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: It was a phenomenal year for Les Olson Company. We experienced tremendous growth in our managed IT and MPS, with both departments recording double-digital growth. We also had single-digit growth in image and print. As you look across the industry, that seems to be down, but we\u2019re up. It was a solid year for Les Olson Company in every way.<\/p>\n Les Olson Co. executive team members accept an honor during the 2017 Utah Best of State awards ceremony. Shown from the left are Troy Olson, President; Keith Adams, Vice President of IT; Matt Olson, Chief Technology Officer; and James Olson, CEO<\/p><\/div>\n What does Les Olson Company pride itself on?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: We\u2019re a tech company, and we pride ourselves on being the best service provider in any of our markets. Our founder, Les, had a phrase, \u201cGood service isn\u2019t expensive, it\u2019s priceless,\u201d and our business is built on that philosophy. We are a platinum-level service provider for Sharp, and that\u2019s a select group. We\u2019ve passed all of HPs certifications and were accepted into their PageWide XL program. All of our technicians at each of our branches have gone through extensive training, and James has been very instrumental in helping develop that program.<\/p>\n Your company boasts many longstanding relationships with customers. What factors have enabled you to sustain a high level of customer retention?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: Les Olson Company prides itself in serving the community where we work. It\u2019s all about our people, who do a phenomenal job. We provide great products at competitive prices and we sell value. It goes back to the customer service we provide to our customers and having relationships that Troy, myself and others on the executive management team help develop. We do ride-alongs with sales people and we\u2019re in the field meeting with clients, talking to customers about their needs, where they\u2019re heading and how their business is doing. That enables us to have a better impact on their business, and it sets Les Olson Company apart from the competition.<\/p>\n Not many family-owned dealerships can boast a lineage that traces back more than 60 years. How do you maintain consistency in the face of changing products and technologies?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: The history of our company goes back to a man who absolutely loved and embraced technology. He used to talk about the day we\u2019d have self-driving cars and we thought he was kind of crazy. He saw things we didn\u2019t. Ray Olson, former Chairman of Les Olson Company and my direct supervisor, was the first one at our company to put a computer on his desk, and people thought he was crazy to do that. We grew our IT business organically three years ago, but we\u2019ve had our own internal IT staff for nearly 20 years. They built our whole infrastructure, even installing most of the cabling in our buildings. We already knew how to do it right. We just made a $650,000 investment in a new network operations center. The managed IT platform was something we started planning on about six years ago, and we continue to adapt to technology. We have a philosophy that the world is going to change with or without you, so you might as well change with it and be one of the leaders. Recently, Doug Albregts and Mike Marusic from Sharp presented the concept of their new Smart Office technology. We can\u2019t wait for the products and solutions that are going to come, because we want to take advantage of them. This love for technology comes from the top down at Les Olson Company.<\/p>\n Members of the Olson family gather around company patriarch Les Olson (seated, holding child)<\/p><\/div>\n What are some of your newer areas of business? Is it going the way you hoped?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: With managed IT, we have been adapting to the landscape of the marketplace as things have changed in the IT space. We\u2019re a company that is able to be nimble, and as we\u2019re looking at that marketplace, we\u2019ve made changes based on the feedback that we\u2019re getting from the field. We\u2019re finding out what the customer needs and we\u2019re adapting to those needs to bring the best solution to compete.<\/p>\n Les Olson Co.\u2019s shareholders; the company is now in its third generation of family ownership<\/p><\/div>\n Troy<\/strong>: It took about two years to make a profit in managed IT. We\u2019ve learned a lot in three years. We partnered with a company called Growth Achievement Partners, who did fantastic job consulting and helping us grow that business.<\/p>\n Is there a product or solution that you are looking to add in the near future?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: Currently, we\u2019re looking at Sharp technologies such as their INTELLOS security robots. We\u2019re interested in seeing where they go with that technology. We continue to watch what all manufacturers are doing, even though we\u2019re very loyal to Sharp. We\u2019re excited about the Foxconn\/Sharp relationship and we believe it\u2019s going to add a lot of growth opportunities for us as an independent dealer. I serve on their dealer advisory council and it\u2019s been a really good forum for us to have open dialog with the execs of Sharp.<\/p>\n One of the measures your dealership relies upon is feedback from review sites. Can you provide insight into your growth of positive feedback, especially through Google?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: In today\u2019s marketplace, when choosing a vendor most of us like to see what others have to say. We look at what others feel about a particular company and how customers describe their experiences with that company. With our Google reviews, our branches are rated independently. Our customers speak volumes for what you can expect from Les Olson Company.<\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: These reviews on Google provide valuable insight into our business to our clients and to us. Our growth of positive feedback is thanks to great employees who faithfully serve our client base. Chris Weenig, our chief sales and marketing officer, is a visionary who is very progressive with our marketing & sales strategy. He is constantly looking over the horizon to ensure that we are re-inventing ourselves to stay competitive in today\u2019s business landscape.<\/p>\n Your company has gained notoriety for its TV and radio advertising jingle, which has resonated with customers. Tell us about its development and strength as a point of differentiation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: Larry, my father, felt that we needed a jingle because a lot of companies have memorable jingles. We have relationships with a lot of local TV and radio stations, and our CBS affiliate brought in a local recording artist. She learned a little bit about our history and wrote the jingle. When she sang it for the first time in front of the board, they looked at each other and said, \u2018That\u2019s it! No changes.\u2019 They loved it.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve updated the jingle over the years to keep it current. Many people recognize us for our jingle. We\u2019ve had jingle singing contests with clients where we\u2019ve given prizes to the individuals who could sing it the best, word for word. One time at an event, a competitor came up to me and said we needed to get rid of the jingle. Apparently, he heard his daughter humming a song, and when he asked her what it was, she started to sing our jingle. He told her not to sing it. We had a good laugh about it.<\/p>\n What do you look for in your employees? How do you recruit and retain good ones?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: That first interaction you have with a candidate during the interview sets the tone. What their resume looks like matters, but we want to know about them as individuals. We\u2019re hiring people to represent our company and they must have a customer service mindset. Whether they\u2019re customer-facing or internal, they need good people skills. We recruit people in a number of ways\u2014recruiters, local job listings, universities and community colleges. As far as retention, we have a profit sharing program. We match their 401Ks and provide a good, safe environment for people to work. We have people who\u2019ve been employed here for more than 40 years, which is incredible. We support our people whenever they go through a personal or family crisis. The Les Olson Company is built on love and loyalty. We are very passionate about the people.<\/p>\n Sales and executive personnel from Les Olson Co., Clover Imaging Group and Las Vegas Motor Speedway take a moment to enjoy court side access prior to a Utah Jazz basketball game in 2017. Shown from left are Chris Weenig, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Les Olson Co.; Dave Augason, Les Olson Co. Salt Lake Sales Manager; Brandon Stoker, Les Olson Co. Senior Account Executive; Kevin Camper, Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Joshua DeBear, Clover Imaging Group; Naysan Gray, Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Troy Olson, Les Olson Co. President; Jesse Fisco, Les Olson Co. Account Executive<\/p><\/div>\n What was your biggest challenge in the past year?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: Dealing with the compressed margins and low pricing in the industry. It started on the hardware side a few years ago, and now the cost-per-page level is really under attack. We mainly compete with direct manufacturers and a couple of larger dealers in our market. It seems like it\u2019s a race to the bottom, and while there\u2019s still a lot of loyalty, there\u2019s a segment of the SMB that\u2019s price-driven. For them, they need to experience the poor level of service that comes with buying on price. But there\u2019s also been some opportunity in the last few months with a couple of larger manufacturers changing their go-to-market strategies. You can only afford to give it away and bleed for so long. As soon as you lay off people, the service goes downhill. We refuse to do that. It is what\u2019s made Les Olson so successful. People buy from who they know, like and trust. If you have strong relationships and back them up with service, you will be successful.<\/p>\n What are your goals for 2018?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: Our goal is to continue to grow our business. Our newest branch opened Jan. 2 this year in Manti, Utah, which is in the eastern part of the state. We\u2019re seeing that with some of the less populated areas of the state, having that brick-and-mortar local resource makes a huge difference. Our managed IT is a key initiative, because it\u2019s the future of where we\u2019re all headed. Print has been reducing, but we believe that we can take away business from competition through the people that we hire, our strong business practices and best-in-class service. We\u2019re really excited about 2018; our recent kickoff meeting was the best we\u2019ve had to date.<\/p>\n What do you enjoy most about your job? What are your least favorite aspects of it?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: Being out with our sales team in the field, helping cultivate relationships and close business is by far my favorite part. I\u2019m a sales guy. I love watching the success of our people, whether it\u2019s our customers or co-workers. We just had our sales award meeting and it\u2019s very rewarding to see these team members who have worked really hard get recognized at the end of the year. I\u2019d say my least liked aspect is the time spent away from my immediate family; but that is what the job requires.<\/p>\n James<\/strong>: The finest aspect of my job is serving the co-workers. From the customer relations side, I love being with our people in the field when I can. I come from the service side, so my comfort level is a little different. The greatest joy you can get is serving them, being there for them even if it\u2019s an outside-of-work issue. I feel that\u2019s a responsibility that we should take on as an employer. If they\u2019re having an issue, we can and should help them. If they\u2019re happy at home, then they\u2019re happy at work. My least favorite part would be the pressure that comes with running a large organization, looking at each of the peaks and valleys of where we\u2019re headed next and what\u2019s our strategy. It is fun, but it can also be stressful. We\u2019re blessed to be in a wonderful business with fantastic people.<\/p>\n Outside of work, what do you do for fun?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James<\/strong>: I\u2019m an outdoorsman, a hunter. The most important thing is my family, being with my wife\u2014we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary\u2014our two children and their spouses. I have two grandchildren who mean the world to me.<\/p>\n Troy<\/strong>: I\u2019m an outdoors guy as well. We\u2019re blessed with incredible mountains in Utah, and you can get up to 12,000 feet in a hurry. We have trails for running, hiking, enjoying the back country. I have three granddaughters, two children and I\u2019ve been married for more than 30 years. We\u2019re two blessed guys; our sweet wives are our biggest fans and cheerleaders.<\/p>\n James<\/strong>: Troy definitely has mountain skills. We like to call him the human goat. Talk about getting to 12,000 feet very quickly\u2026he can get there in a hurry because he climbs hills like a mountain goat. He competes in 100-mile ultramarathons. Troy has literally been running for decades. He\u2019s an extreme athlete out in the wilderness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like millions of other Americans, Les Olson grew up during the Great Depression, a time in which family was just about the only thing many people could count on. And even there, Olson\u2019s losses were heart-wrenching. An older brother passed away, and on Les\u2019 first day of high school, his father died. That prompted him to leave school and help support the family. Sadly, it was not an uncommon tale for a generation that endured constant hardship and World War II. \u201cLes was hard on us. He kicked our butts when we needed it,\u201d observed his grandson, Troy. \u201cHis was a special generation. Nothing is given. There\u2019s no nepotism or sense of entitlement here.\u201d Olson created the Les Olson Company in 1956, providing dictation machines, and all 12 of his children spent time working there. Now, under third-generation leadership of Lisa Thaller, CFO and chairman, Troy Olson, president, and James Olson, CEO, the Salt Lake City-based dealership (which counts 19 family members as shareholders) has grown to a $50 million firm with eight locations in the state of Utah and another in Las Vegas. Les Olson Company is proud of its 42-year relationship with its top partner, Sharp, and is the OEM\u2019s largest independent dealer in the United States. The dealer is also a gold partner with HP, counts software solution relationships with DocuWare and PaperCut (among others) and relies on Continuum, Sophos, and Datto for its IT solutions. The dealer serves virtually every business vertical in its markets, with health care and mortgage leading the way. From its legendary customer service to its catchy advertising jingle, Les Olson Company underscores the value of relationships not only with clients but within its \u201cfamily\u201d of nearly 250 employees. Cousins James and Troy offered a glimpse into how embracing technology while maintaining old-fashioned values and ethics has kept the 62-year-old firm as fresh and relevant as the day Les Olson himself first opened the doors. How was business in 2017? James: It was a phenomenal year for Les Olson Company. We experienced tremendous growth in our managed IT and MPS, with both departments recording double-digital growth. We also had single-digit growth in image and print. As you look across the industry, that seems to be down, but we\u2019re up. It was a solid year for Les Olson Company in every way. What does Les Olson Company pride itself on? Troy: We\u2019re a tech company, and we pride ourselves on being the best service provider in any of our markets. Our founder, Les, had a phrase, \u201cGood service isn\u2019t expensive, it\u2019s priceless,\u201d and our business is built on that philosophy. We are a platinum-level service provider for Sharp, and that\u2019s a select group. We\u2019ve passed all of HPs certifications and were accepted into their PageWide XL program. All of our technicians at each of our branches have gone through extensive training, and James has been very instrumental in helping develop that program. Your company boasts many longstanding relationships with customers. What factors have enabled you to sustain a high level of customer retention? James: Les Olson Company prides itself in serving the community where we work. It\u2019s all about our people, who do a phenomenal job. We provide great products at competitive prices and we sell value. It goes back to the customer service we provide to our customers and having relationships that Troy, myself and others on the executive management team help develop. We do ride-alongs with sales people and we\u2019re in the field meeting with clients, talking to customers about their needs, where they\u2019re heading and how their business is doing. That enables us to have a better impact on their business, and it sets Les Olson Company apart from the competition. Not many family-owned dealerships can boast a lineage that traces back more than 60 years. How do you maintain consistency in the face of changing products and technologies? Troy: The history of our company goes back to a man who absolutely loved and embraced technology. He used to talk about the day we\u2019d have self-driving cars and we thought he was kind of crazy. He saw things we didn\u2019t. Ray Olson, former Chairman of Les Olson Company and my direct supervisor, was the first one at our company to put a computer on his desk, and people thought he was crazy to do that. We grew our IT business organically three years ago, but we\u2019ve had our own internal IT staff for nearly 20 years. They built our whole infrastructure, even installing most of the cabling in our buildings. We already knew how to do it right. We just made a $650,000 investment in a new network operations center. The managed IT platform was something we started planning on about six years ago, and we continue to adapt to technology. We have a philosophy that the world is going to change with or without you, so you might as well change with it and be one of the leaders. Recently, Doug Albregts and Mike Marusic from Sharp presented the concept of their new Smart Office technology. We can\u2019t wait for the products and solutions that are going to come, because we want to take advantage of them. This love for technology comes from the top down at Les Olson Company. What are some of your newer areas of business? Is it going the way you hoped? James: With managed IT, we have been adapting to the landscape of the marketplace as things have changed in the IT space. We\u2019re a company that is able to be nimble, and as we\u2019re looking at that marketplace, we\u2019ve made changes based on the feedback that we\u2019re getting from the field. We\u2019re finding out what the customer needs and we\u2019re adapting to those needs to bring the best solution to compete. Troy: It took about two years to make a profit in managed IT. We\u2019ve learned a lot in three years. We partnered with a company called Growth Achievement Partners, who did fantastic […]<\/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":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28199"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28202,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions\/28202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Best-of-State.jpg\")
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