Canon Business Systems Pulling a Ricoh

A lot of focus , dedication, and hard work always is helpful. A little luck also doesn't hurt. Best wishes.

This has been a great thread so far!

We're a mid size dealer in central pa and have most of the directs knocking around in our area.  TABS, KMBS, RBS, CSA, Xerox and now Global just bought a small dealership.  In addition we have quite a few other Indy dealers like us.  I whole heartedly agree with what some one said before about selling the value of your company, service and the relationships.  I've also told customers point blank I cannot compete with the directs price so if that's all that matters good luck!  Service and relationships are big in our area so we sell the fact that you're able to talk to a human and receive accurate and prompt service for a fair cost. 

In the few cases one of the directs has targeted our customers, there has been such a huge price discrepancy that the customer is leery as to why they're price is that low and what else will suffer.  I always pitch the local card, that you're not calling Jersey or Canada or India to report a service/support call that all of our employees know where your located. 

Unlike some of the others it seems like CSA doesn't have an ROE but the divide between canon USA reps/support and CSA is bitter, like they're on rival teams. 

Someone mentioned about a second line.  In addition to Canon we also sell Samsung.  They've been a great compliment to each other and Samsung since the new gear has come out is excellent.  Canons a stalwart and has come out with some great color boxes recently in the lower end A3 and the A4 segment that have helped us win a lot more deals. 

Last I'll say this, in my 8 or so years doing this, I've attended a lot of different shows/industry events/meetings.  What I've come to understand is that it depends on your geography for how the direct/wholly owned subsidiary groups operate.  In some areas they may be the only game in town for a wide area and they have a good reputation.  While these types of area are in the minority I'm sure, wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturers dumped that money into their Indy channels and helped grow our businesses.

You all have a great weekend!

Larry I am in NC. Have been doing this about 10 years. It's all I've done since college. I love the industry, for the most part, and really am at a point I couldn't afford to leave it behind. We are a family dealer so running the company has always been my goal so I've neve freaky wanted to leave either.

For the ones that are single source RFG, we use to be in the same boat. We added Samsung in 2009 so we have seen tej good and the really bad of SAMSUNG. We brought on Kyocera for a short time but dropped it due to quality of machines and lack of fulfillment of promises Kyocera made to us upon becoming a dealer. We added canon about 3 years ago now and that has been great. We picked up Lexmarks printers this year and we've sold more printers ytd than probably the last 5 years combined. Lastly we just picked up MURATEC. I'm extremely pleased with their line (Konica) and their support. It helps our rep lives about 5 mins from my office and he doesn't cover 30 states and 200 dealers like it seems most others do. He is one of the only reps I've see. Who will go
Out prospecting with our reps etc.

...friends don't let friends lose to CSA

WOW, I can sell value with the best of them, but when the difference is $12k, well that's kind of tough. 

 

Hey, we all know their support and service is suspect and sometimes downright horrible.  But, how do you explain that to a customer that knows SH&T from Shiola?  Most if they have not done business with Direct perceive them as the best choice. I hate to sling mud...

CSA operates under a lawless abandon.  Their number one goal is to move boxes even at a loss.  While they didn't lose as much this past year, they still didn't turn a profit for CUSA (canon USA) and no one at the top seemed to care.  Having met some of the top tier dealers in the northeast, the sore in every single independent dealers side is canon solutions america / canon business solutions.

  We all know competition is out there, but to have to explain why us as a canon independent dealer is a better route than CSA to a customer gets a little sticky.  I had a 4 unit deal at a current 15 year old customer in 2014 where I wasn't marked up too heavy and I was around $49-50k.  The CSA rep came in, apples to apples, and was quoting them at $37k!?!!  I brought it to our CUSA representation and all they said to do was sell value.  Essentially we were handcuffed but sold the hell out of value and won the deal.

There's a place for the direct outfits, but it's not in america.  Let the boxes get sold through the independent dealers where value and relationships can be built and nurtured.

Unfamiliar with that group...

mnchstr

 

How about Muratec, they now have the A3 KonicaMInolta's also

Sounds like you are on a roll. Keep up the good work...

Yes Keith has a branch in our area but we don't run into them that much.

Yes we stuck it out with Ricoh for as long as we could. We really took a hard look at the dealer/manufacturer relationship when the ikon merger happened and we saw pricing in our area that was worse than we see now. What broke the camels back was when we asked for support from Ricoh to gain some of the canon accounts that we had engaged and Ricoh told us point blank to walk away from the deals because we would never win them against the direct office. We had always told all the brands calling on us that we only wanted a single line and always turned them down. That was pretty much when we started to diversify. Another reason was that sharp was, at the time, very strong in our market and had A4 machines before Ricoh did and we were getting slaughtered on deals selling A3 to the same customers so we picked up SAMSUNG.

All sounds good. Bumped into Keith Allison last week. Is he in your area?? Anyhow sounds like you guys are well diversified . Re the tough prospect !! Perhaps an offer of a back up used copier could counter Ricoh 30% lower cost ? Try almost anything to get prospect on your side. Then next year inc price?? Maybe?? Lol

Sounds good. Years ago I was br. Mgr in loop for Savin.. Also had sharp/ Panasonic dealership nyc.. Business has changed but appears to be more lucrative nowadays . Kyocera may play out as good second line... Nice warranties for dealers.. Stay with it.. Where in Ill. Are you??

I would add a solid A4 lineup from Lexmark or Samsung.  They're aggressively priced, & Ricoh would likely still consider you a single source dealer. A3 placements are on the decline, & A4 is the only growing segment, plus the aftermarket revenues and profits are higher.

 

Just got off the phone with my DBM and OF COURSE Ricoh has one machine in the county system so I can't keep them out if the board wants to consolidate under one vendor. I'm thinking my days as a sole source RFG dealer are over. I could add Sharp, they call me every now and then but EVERYONE around here sells Sharp. Looked at Kyocera once but they wanted $65k buy in. Suggestions?

Price , as an objection has always been challenging. I use to spread difference over 5 yrs then load up on advantages which I could offer. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. You seem to be seasoned at this.
If significant enough I brought DSM from Mfgr. That helped me get customers attn..
Usually mentioned to prospect longevity of rep from dealer vs. transition of direct contact if that helps. Let me know how you make out.. Again best wishes. What state are you in?

That's about all I can tell my reps is good luck. Your not going to beat the directs on price. If you can sell the value of a dealer/customer relationship that's the best bet. My post may have sounded a little Blount/direct towards you which wasn't intended. I just get fed up when I see my reps bring quotes back that we can't even touch without losing money.

30% very big difference. Best wishes.

It's difficult to sell dealer service and benefits when your pricing is 30% higher. That's a lot of value to add and if anyone thinks they can truly do that much value on a regular basis, I want them on my team.

Need to resort to good old salesmanship. Dealer service and personnel benefits. Best wishes..