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While the mega dealers have plenty of great tales to tell, the stories from smaller dealers have always felt more relatable to me. The cold hard truth is that dealers with annual revenue of up to $20 million obviously have less capital and fewer resources than the megas to turn ideas into reality. For these outfits, there’s just more at stake with each decision, and the challenges are oftentimes more difficult to overcome, but their successes wind up resonating—and educating—more.
I met Kyle Ruhland earlier this year at the Kyocera REIMAGINE 2022 Dealer Conference. After only a minute of intro pleasantries and laughs, I knew he’d make an outstanding guest on an episode of The Key Point Podcast even if I had zero clue what we could discuss. Ruhland possesses the same laid-back charm of others I’ve met from the Dakotas, but make no mistake: The Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Century Business Products can get at it with the best of them, which I quickly discovered when we were pregaming the recording.
Our conversation moved from print to managed IT services in the blink of an eye, to my delight. The IT arm of Century Business Products, CatalystIT, has proven to be just what the doctor ordered, and as the company started that journey prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to the hybrid world in which we now operate…
There’s a lot to take away here, folks. Important stuff. How did Century Business Products reach a level of profitability—and then some—with managed IT services? What is the No. 1 way that helps the company procure new IT customers? And how about the selling piece of the puzzle…what does that look like? Ruhland answers these questions and many more during this conversation that’s rife with business-critical information as well as strategic guidance.
Take a listen, take notes—let the learning begin!
Log in to the InfoCenter to view research, reports, and studies on the dealer channel, managed print services, and managed IT services through our Channel Strategy and Office CompleteView Advisory Services. Do you work at a dealer and have an interesting story to relay? Send me an email at carl.schell@keypointintelligence.com—let’s talk!