The Power of Production Print is the cover story in our September production print issue. It features interviews with four dealers who are successfully selling production print. This additional online interview complements those four interviews in the September issue. With PRINTING United coming up next week, this dealer, like all the others we interviewed, will attend this important event, which underscores the conference’s importance. Our comprehensive coverage of this show will appear online later this month and in our October issue.
SumnerOne, St. Louis, MO
Production Print OEMs: Canon and Konica Minolta
Our latest interview is with Edmund Sumner, managing director of SumnerOne in St. Louis, Missouri, who describes his dealership’s entry into production print and strategies for success.
Frank: How long has SumnerOne been promoting, selling, and servicing Canon and Konica Minolta’s production print offerings? What were your original expectations when this effort was launched?
Sumner: I can give two answers. My grandpop started selling AB Dick printing presses 70 years ago. The second time around was 2010, when we took on both Canon and Konica Minolta. We added Xerox and Kyocera. It is all about applications, not brands.
Frank: Looking at the overall production print market, describe the approach SumnerOne has taken to achieve the best results.
Sumner: We look at the markets we share based on technology density. In our larger markets, we handle Canon. We add the others to provide a best-in-class product. Make no mistake about it: Multiple lines are expensive, and it takes time to build and integrate the products into the portfolio. This is customer-driven, and as I said before, it is applications. Multiple lines give you an extremely broad range of solutions. Each of the manufacturers offers something different.
Frank: One of the most common statements of things to do to be successful selling production is to hire someone who is an SME in that space. If you did not do that what was your company’s approach? Would you recommend emulating that type of first step or something else? If you did hire an SME, how did you go about finding one?
Sumner: In our experience we would have to say our organization was not ready. We used a combination of in-house training and highly active recruiting. I started by hiring a person from an in-plant who did it all [various types of jobs]. He gave us a combination of knowledge and experience. We then hired a second person who ran a production print business who was an analyst for a commercial printer.
The next step was our SumnerOne training and then we went out to consult with clients. The key is to start small, and if you can, find someone who has been working as a consultant in print. Light production is a starter, and you build a critical mass. Once you do that you are on your way.
Frank: Within the breadth of products that Konica Minolta provides, what portion or segment have you been most successful?
Sumner: What has been most successful has been their color light production offerings. That is typically 70, 80, 90 pages per minute and offers serviceability and profitability. The Canon imagePRESS is also particularly good in that space. Another successful product that Konica Minolta provides is 130 page-per-minute monochrome [device]. That is sold to production printers, and they all require a monochrome model in that speed range. We found our salespeople quick to learn and get the job done. The key is to be knowledgeable about the market and the products you offer.
Frank: The most interesting thing about production print is the various other technologies that can be exploited. We are speaking of large format and labeling as the two most common. Was that the case with you?
Sumner: We are aware of that, and it is the reason we go to drupa where you find that half the show is wide format and labeling. There is growth potential in wide format and having a specialist in that area can lead to a lot of success. We can easily say that over the last seven years we have placed 300 to 400 wide format printers but nothing with labeling.
Frank: Aside from selling products to commercial printers what other areas have you found to be valuable and contribute to your success? We often hear that schools and CRD are particularly good prospects.
Sumner: Stay away from store fronts (print for pay). In-plants are everywhere. We do well to education and that represents about 25% of our business. Legal and financial are also exceptionally good markets within in-plants.
Frank: How did you structure your production group? How many salespeople, techs, SMEs are dedicated to production and are the territory salespeople allowed or encouraged to participate?
Sumner: Nothing unusual in that we have salespeople and techs. What is different is there are dedicated product leaders because the value of the transaction warrants it. For the rest we have full leaders. All our sales reps are encouraged to bring their prospects to the production team. The idea is to build a response that is customer focused, and you will be successful. Most important is you must take care of your employees because turnover can be a killer.
Frank: Does production print contribute to a greater degree of profitability?
Sumner: Production print is profitable but, the higher you go, the profitability is not as good. The reason is you tend to go head-to-head with direct operations and that means lower margins.
Frank: The purpose of this series has been to encourage dealers to take a hard look at production print as one of the most important means to diversify a business that is solely reliant on the traditional office. What would you say to one of your fellow dealers about diversifying with production print?
Sumner: I would agree with that to a degree. A3 & A4 are still a fantastic business because there are opportunities to take [acquire] market share. You need to make investments and learn from the partners you acquire.
Kudos to SumnerOne
“SumnerOne has shown impressive commitment toward growing their Canon production business, and we are pleased to see the success they have achieved as a result. The Canon team is always happy to work closely with SumnerOne to support their open house and education events, and we admire how they support their customers through continuous investment in sales and support resources, infrastructure, and Canon production solutions for their showrooms. SumnerOne is a true stand-out in the markets they serve.” –Sam Yoshida, executive vice president and general manager, Canon U.S.A.
