{"id":9052,"date":"2013-12-01T17:02:48","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T22:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=9052"},"modified":"2014-11-01T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2014-11-01T21:07:10","slug":"mike-mcguirk-brings-the-best-and-worst-to-procopy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/dealer-spotlight\/2013\/12\/mike-mcguirk-brings-the-best-and-worst-to-procopy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike McGuirk Brings the Best and Worst to ProCopy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mike<\/a>

Mike McGuirk
Persident of ProCopy Office Solutions, Tempe, AZ<\/p><\/div>\n

Once a dealer, always a dealer. That pretty much sums up the career of Mike McGuirk, president of ProCopy Office Solutions in <\/span> <\/span> Tempe, AZ.<\/span><\/span><\/span> After a long and successful career in the <\/span>business, including a senior management position at a local UniCopy and Danka for almost 20 years, he was hired in 2002 as president of the Arizona Global Imaging Company, a Ricoh and Canon dealership. Under his leadership, the company grew from $9 million to over $50 million in 6 years.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When Global sold to Xerox in 2007, it seemed like a good move at the time, but time was not on McGuirk\u2019s side because shortly after the sale, the dynamics of the dealership changed. Within 2 years he found himself on the outside of the industry looking in for the first time since 1983.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Xerox announcement hit us hard because we were Ricoh and Canon and both of those companies dropped us within 30 days,\u201d recalls McGuirk. \u201cWe were the only core company of the 20 that didn\u2019t carry Konica. And Konica continued with Global for almost three years, as did Sharp and Toshiba.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGuirk isn\u2019t shy about sharing his opinions about the industry and feels that selling Xerox instead of\u00a0 Canon and Ricoh was a downgrade. \u201cWhen we first saw a Xerox black & white, we said this is the Canon product from 1998,\u201d recalls McGuirk. \u201cIt was four generations behind. Their color product was pretty good, but in 2008 the black & white was clearly inferior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around the time of the Xerox acquisition, the downturn in the economy hit <\/span> Arizona<\/span> hard. That old saw, \u201cKnowledge is Power,\u201d didn\u2019t mean much to the powers that be at Xerox who let McGuirk and his years of experience walk away. Stuck with a 1 year non-compete, McGuirk took a deep breath, bided his time, learned to play golf, and at the end of the year was more than ready to get back in the business. <\/span><\/p>\n

He fielded a few offers, but it wasn\u2019t until he received an offer from Tim Stevenson, founder and CEO of ProCopy Solutions, who worked with McGuirk at a Canon dealership in 1985 that got his attention. It was an offer McGuirk couldn\u2019t refuse. Suddenly, he was back again, helping build ProCopy\u2019s copier and printer business.<\/p>\n

The offers he did refuse came from manufacturers who were offering positions that seemed too cookie cutter. \u201cMy success has been from creative thinking where if you can\u2019t get in through the door, go through the window,\u201d notes McGuirk.<\/p>\n

When Stevenson founded ProCopy in 2000 the company\u2019s focus was copier service. It didn\u2019t have a line until Stevenson purchased a Canon C-Line dealer and became an authorized Canon dealer in 2008. At that point he didn\u2019t have a sales and marketing team. That\u2019s where McGuirk fit in.<\/p>\n

McGuirk came onboard as an equity partner and spent the first year or so logging sweat equity and figuring out the niche that ProCopy would fit. As ProCopy\u2019s copier sales grew, McGuirk started hiring some of the same people who worked for him in the past. \u201cWe hired four sales guys, one of the top technicians, an IT guy, and a VP of sales–we even hired the driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the benefits of working for ProCopy if you\u2019re a service tech is its generous reimbursement policy. \u201cWe reimburse at the government rate,\u201d explains McGuirk. \u201cWhen we\u2019re shopping for techs and it comes down to us and another company, they like that a lot. We know we overpay a little, but it\u2019s great for recruitment and one of the advantages of having a partner that came from the service side of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

ProCopy is still a small dealership with only 35 employees, but average yearly revenues today hover around $12 million. Management has its sights set on raising that figure to $15 million. Considering that ProCopy revenues were just $3.2 million in 2008, the increase to $12 million is impressive. Much of that is the result of copier placements, which are up 600 percent since 2008. At the same time, printers under service contract are up 450 percent.\u00a0 This growth allowed ProCopy to be named to this year\u2019s INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something about working in an independent dealership that agrees with McGuirk. \u201cIt\u2019s a great time to be independent if you have something new to say,\u201d he maintains. \u201cWhat we have to say is we\u2019re going to take care of you better than anybody else. I know everybody says that but we put some real teeth to that and we have a 2\u00bd hour guaranteed response time.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a ProCopy service tech doesn\u2019t arrive at the customer location within that time frame, ProCopy starts taking 1 percent off of what it bills the customer for every 10 minutes it\u2019s late.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had that guarantee for three years and only paid on it three times,\u201d reports McGuirk. \u201cThere are times we might be more than 2 \u00bd hours, but we do such a good job for our customers, they say, \u2018You know what, we\u2019re not going to hold you to the fire if you\u2019re 20 or 30 minutes late.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The <\/span> Arizona<\/span> market is a competitive one and ProCopy\u2019s primary competition is a big independent dealer along with all the manufacturer\u2019s direct branches, particularly Ricoh. \u201cThey\u2019re the 500 lb gorilla,\u201d acknowledges McGuirk about the independent dealer. \u201cThey\u2019re hard working guys and I respect what they do and they\u2019ve done a great job. But they move fast and try to get a contract in front of the customer in the first meeting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How does ProCopy compete with a competitor whose reps whip out a contract on the first meeting?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came up with the strategy of slowing deals down so people get to see more than the price on the proposal,\u201d responds McGuirk. \u201cI always tell our guys if price was the only issue wouldn\u2019t everybody be driving Kia\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n

What has also helped ProCopy grow its copier business are the direct branches. Not only are they some of ProCopy\u2019s biggest competitors, they\u2019re also great at unintentionally driving business their way. That\u2019s because they do a mediocre job of taking care of their customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got a large one yesterday for that exact reason,\u201d notes McGuirk. \u201cIt\u2019s not that they do a bad job, the customer just can\u2019t get a hold of anybody. And they\u2019ve gone through three local [managers]. That plays right up our alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

ProCopy has another distinction that has helped it stand out in the market above and beyond being the guys who say they provide some of the best service in the market. They\u2019re also the copier dealer that drops copiers from cranes.\u00a0 McGuirk borrowed the idea from a <\/span> Michigan<\/span> company that used to drop a copier off a building. He\u2019s taken it a step further by turning it into a contest with companies throughout the region vying for the celebrated title of \u2018The Worst Copier in <\/span> Arizona<\/span>.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the responses ProCopy has received from companies looking to claim that title have been wild. \u201cWe had one company tell us they call their copier The Bob Marley because \u2018It be jamming,\u2019\u201d laughs McGuirk. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some really funny responses and feedback and always do a fundraiser around it. They can bring something and we\u2019ll drop it from a crane for a donation to charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is their third sweepstakes since McGuirk joined ProCopy in 2010 and the event has been combined with a tailgate party for Arizona State University Athletics. Its popularity has exceeded McGuirk\u2019s wildest expectations and generated media frenzy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I didn\u2019t expect was the press coverage; every year it\u2019s covered by TV stations,\u201d states McGuirk.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve become known as the company that drops the copier off a crane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike

Mike with the Winner of
The Worst Copier in AZ Contest<\/p><\/div>\n

When it\u2019s not dropping copiers off cranes, ProCopy is making a move into Managed Network Services. It recently partnered with an IT Services company to offer those services to its customers.\u00a0 The goal, however, is for ProCopy to eventually offer this service on its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been honest with them,\u201d states McGuirk. \u201cWe eventually want those customers to be our customers when there\u2019s an economy of scale to do that. Right now it\u2019s not the best for profits because somebody else has to make money, but it\u2019s the best way for a company of our size to get into Managed Network Services without taking too much risk. I believe in taking risks, but calculated risks. We\u2019ve been telling customers it\u2019s a one- or two-year relationship and eventually we want to do it ourselves. Our goal is to create such a great partnership that you don\u2019t want to leave us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of great partnerships, McGuirk couldn\u2019t be happier about being back in the industry and helping ProCopy grow its business, even if it means a yearly quest to find the worst copier in Arizona.<\/p>\n

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

Once a dealer, always a dealer. That pretty much sums up the career of Mike McGuirk, president of ProCopy Office Solutions in Tempe, AZ. After a long and successful career in the business, including a senior management position at a local UniCopy and Danka for almost 20 years, he was hired in 2002 as president of the Arizona Global Imaging Company, a Ricoh and Canon dealership. Under his leadership, the company grew from $9 million to over $50 million in 6 years. When Global sold to Xerox in 2007, it seemed like a good move at the time, but time was not on McGuirk\u2019s side because shortly after the sale, the dynamics of the dealership changed. Within 2 years he found himself on the outside of the industry looking in for the first time since 1983. \u201cThe Xerox announcement hit us hard because we were Ricoh and Canon and both of those companies dropped us within 30 days,\u201d recalls McGuirk. \u201cWe were the only core company of the 20 that didn\u2019t carry Konica. And Konica continued with Global for almost three years, as did Sharp and Toshiba.\u201d McGuirk isn\u2019t shy about sharing his opinions about the industry and feels that selling Xerox instead of\u00a0 Canon and Ricoh was a downgrade. \u201cWhen we first saw a Xerox black & white, we said this is the Canon product from 1998,\u201d recalls McGuirk. \u201cIt was four generations behind. Their color product was pretty good, but in 2008 the black & white was clearly inferior.\u201d Around the time of the Xerox acquisition, the downturn in the economy hit Arizona hard. That old saw, \u201cKnowledge is Power,\u201d didn\u2019t mean much to the powers that be at Xerox who let McGuirk and his years of experience walk away. Stuck with a 1 year non-compete, McGuirk took a deep breath, bided his time, learned to play golf, and at the end of the year was more than ready to get back in the business. He fielded a few offers, but it wasn\u2019t until he received an offer from Tim Stevenson, founder and CEO of ProCopy Solutions, who worked with McGuirk at a Canon dealership in 1985 that got his attention. It was an offer McGuirk couldn\u2019t refuse. Suddenly, he was back again, helping build ProCopy\u2019s copier and printer business. The offers he did refuse came from manufacturers who were offering positions that seemed too cookie cutter. \u201cMy success has been from creative thinking where if you can\u2019t get in through the door, go through the window,\u201d notes McGuirk. When Stevenson founded ProCopy in 2000 the company\u2019s focus was copier service. It didn\u2019t have a line until Stevenson purchased a Canon C-Line dealer and became an authorized Canon dealer in 2008. At that point he didn\u2019t have a sales and marketing team. That\u2019s where McGuirk fit in. McGuirk came onboard as an equity partner and spent the first year or so logging sweat equity and figuring out the niche that ProCopy would fit. As ProCopy\u2019s copier sales grew, McGuirk started hiring some of the same people who worked for him in the past. \u201cWe hired four sales guys, one of the top technicians, an IT guy, and a VP of sales–we even hired the driver.\u201d One of the benefits of working for ProCopy if you\u2019re a service tech is its generous reimbursement policy. \u201cWe reimburse at the government rate,\u201d explains McGuirk. \u201cWhen we\u2019re shopping for techs and it comes down to us and another company, they like that a lot. We know we overpay a little, but it\u2019s great for recruitment and one of the advantages of having a partner that came from the service side of the business.\u201d ProCopy is still a small dealership with only 35 employees, but average yearly revenues today hover around $12 million. Management has its sights set on raising that figure to $15 million. Considering that ProCopy revenues were just $3.2 million in 2008, the increase to $12 million is impressive. Much of that is the result of copier placements, which are up 600 percent since 2008. At the same time, printers under service contract are up 450 percent.\u00a0 This growth allowed ProCopy to be named to this year\u2019s INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies. There\u2019s something about working in an independent dealership that agrees with McGuirk. \u201cIt\u2019s a great time to be independent if you have something new to say,\u201d he maintains. \u201cWhat we have to say is we\u2019re going to take care of you better than anybody else. I know everybody says that but we put some real teeth to that and we have a 2\u00bd hour guaranteed response time.\u201d If a ProCopy service tech doesn\u2019t arrive at the customer location within that time frame, ProCopy starts taking 1 percent off of what it bills the customer for every 10 minutes it\u2019s late. \u201cWe\u2019ve had that guarantee for three years and only paid on it three times,\u201d reports McGuirk. \u201cThere are times we might be more than 2 \u00bd hours, but we do such a good job for our customers, they say, \u2018You know what, we\u2019re not going to hold you to the fire if you\u2019re 20 or 30 minutes late.\u2019\u201d The Arizona market is a competitive one and ProCopy\u2019s primary competition is a big independent dealer along with all the manufacturer\u2019s direct branches, particularly Ricoh. \u201cThey\u2019re the 500 lb gorilla,\u201d acknowledges McGuirk about the independent dealer. \u201cThey\u2019re hard working guys and I respect what they do and they\u2019ve done a great job. But they move fast and try to get a contract in front of the customer in the first meeting.\u201d How does ProCopy compete with a competitor whose reps whip out a contract on the first meeting? \u201cWe came up with the strategy of slowing deals down so people get to see more than the price on the proposal,\u201d responds McGuirk. \u201cI always tell our guys if price was the only issue wouldn\u2019t everybody be driving Kia\u2019s?\u201d What has also helped ProCopy grow its copier business are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1643,1649,1814],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052"}],"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\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9052"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9056,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052\/revisions\/9056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}