01732 759725 48 Q: How have you changed/are you changing business operations to exploit new opportunities? A: The biggest shift has been to offer more A4 devices. In the past we focused heavily on A3, selling the odd A4, and now we have sold so many A4, I do wonder how many more we could have sold if I’d made the move earlier! Q: If you could change one aspect of your job, what would it be and why? A: This might sound cliché but I’m really lucky. I fell into copiers age 23 – I love servicing, I love looking after people and keeping customers happy, and I get to do that every day. Plus I work with my son. So, I love everything about the job and wouldn’t change a thing. Q: How do you spend your week – time on phone, face to face meetings with customers etc.? A: I probably send 25% of my week face to face with clients on servicerelated stuff and the same again on sales. I don’t spend much time on the phone; I much prefer in-person interactions. I also spend time networking, attending events etc. That’s where I meet most of my contacts and my referrals come from there. I find the best way to build trust is to actually go out to meet people. The rest of the time I spend working from my desk, on sales generation, admin and getting stuff done. Q: What would make your job easier? A: Clients making decisions faster! But seriously, some might say that the future is a bit bleak, and people are pulling away from print. But when you actually do some research, signs point to the fact the market is increasing. It’s definitely changing, but actually, I still think there is a future in copiers and printers so for now, there’s nothing I need to make the job easier. the best devices for their environments and then service them correctly so that they last over time. Q: Which OEMs do you partner with and why? A: We are a true multi-vendor provider. We partner with Develop, Xerox, have done a bit of business with Lexmark, and more recently Brother. Going back to my earlier answer, having a partner that offers channel-exclusive lines and that offers us the same pricing as other vendors is a huge value-add. That, combined with the five-year warranty, were among the main reasons we chose to partner with Brother. It enables us to offer clients better value for money and ensure they get the right machine. Develop are UK-based, we have a single point of contact and they deliver next-day, there’s also no minimum order commitment which is why that partnership is strong as well. Q: What are your customers most interested in currently? A: There is definitely a move to A4, that’s why we signed up with Brother, we realised that the A4 market is growing, and we needed to partner with a company that could cope with it. I am now selling more A4 than I’ve ever sold before. But A3 still has a place in many respects. For example, customers that want to scan a lot of documents need a robust A3 device, most A4 products aren’t built to handle huge volumes. That comes back to our ethos to ensure we provide the right device for the customer’s needs. What I do find interesting though is that some vendors are now charging for scans, we don’t do that, in fact we don’t charge for any extras such as pickups, deliveries, waste etc. We’re a service company that believes the customer is king and we are fully transparent about everything upfront. It’s a strategy that works, as evidenced by our high customer retention rates and continued growth. Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing channel businesses today? A: Retaining existing clients isn’t a challenge. We’re a service-based company and we retain 95 to 98% of our clients. It’s only if they get bought out or move, that we actually tend to lose clients. It’s finding new clients that’s the biggest challenge. The biggest pain point is that people are going on Google and then buying a printer from an online source based on price. The reality is they’re buying the wrong machines for their needs, the running costs are prohibitive, and they aren’t benefiting from professional advice, and that’s so frustrating. They then quickly realise there’s no support and then they come to us and ask if we can service it. For 35 years, our focus has been on providing clients with Phil Johnson, Managing Director, Archway Business Solutions Q&A View from the channel Phil Johnson
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