8 6 6 . 3 7 4 . 3 2 2 1 • w w w . e c i s o l u t i o n s . c o m • i n f o @ e c i s o l u t i o n s . c o m

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Story - continued from page X

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 3

Simon De Groot

Do Yourself andYour Business a Favor...

Renew Your OFDA MembershipAs this month’s cover story indicates, our industry today is in a whole lot better shape than itwas this time a year ago. Business is finally coming back—not exactly at breakneck speed andin a market that’s still fiercely competitive and that puts relentless pressure on margins. But noneof that should dampen the overall optimism too much. There’s good news out there and we’redelighted to be able to report it.

But you’re shortchanging yourself and your dealership if you try to make the most of emergingnew opportunities on your own. At a recent meeting of women entrepreneurs in Richmond, VA,Pat Miller, president of Miller’s Office Products in Lorton, VA, delivered a keynote address with amessage that applies to just about all of us in this industry.

Looking back on a 30-year career in which her business grew to become the second-largest in-dependent office products dealership in the Washington-Baltimore metro area, Pat offered thefollowing advice: “You don’t go it alone. You have to learn from and trust other people.”

She’s right, of course. And that’s why if you haven’t yet renewed your membership in OFDA for2011, now’s the time to do so.

Putting it simply, there’s isn’t a better resource than OFDA when it comes to helping you learnfrom other folks in our industry. Dealer groups and manufacturers do a fine job of providing ed-ucation themselves, but all of them come with their own particular agenda and none of thembrings the breadth of vision that you find at OFDA.

Whether it’s at the annual Dealer Strategies Conference, through discussion groups on LinkedIn,the weekly OFDA eNewsletter or in the publication you’re reading right now, there’s a wealth ofinsight and information the association provides throughout the year to point you to ways tostrengthen your business and find new sales and profit opportunities.

It’s also worth pointing out that no other organization out there advocates for your interests aseffectively, not only on the government affairs front but with the rest of the industry as well.

OFDA is an active member of coalitions promoting small business interests in areas such ashealthcare reform, business and estate taxation, government procurement and more. And pro-grams such as the annual Dealer Manufacturer Satisfaction Index survey and the Manufacturerof the Year Awards provide an outstanding opportunity for dealers to speak with one voice totheir business partners and make it clear to them where they’re doing well and where they needto do better.

So as you get ready to make the most of an improving market, don’t try to go it alone when youdon’t have to. If you haven’t yet sent in your dues check for 2011, do it now. Not because it’s theright thing to do for the furniture dealer community and the industry as a whole—though ofcourse it is—but because it’s the right thing to do for your business. Not a member yet? Youshould be. Visit www.ofdanet.org.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 3

If you’re in the business of creating outstanding work en-vironments for your clients, it only makes sense to tryand do the same thing for your own people.

At least, that seems to be the thinking at Goodmans In-terior Structures in Phoenix, winners for the fourth timeof a “Best Places to Work” award from the Phoenix Busi-ness Journal.

Winners were selected on the basis of an employee sat-isfaction survey conducted by an independent third-party organization that asked employees to rate wherethey work on the basis of workplace environment, lead-ership direction, culture and management practices.

Goodmans was acknowledged for creating an enjoyablecorporate culture and work environment that fosters per-sonal and professional growth for its employees.

“In a down economy, when employers are asking fewerpeople to do more work, we paid extra special attentionto the needs of our employees. We want an engagedworkforce that chooses to remain with us, even after theeconomy recovers,” says president Adam Goodman.

Goodmans’ president Adam Goodman applies the elbow greaseat the dealership’s Employee Appreciation Car Wash, just one ofthe special events that help make the dealership one ofPhoenix’s “Best Places to Work.”

Goodmans Interior Structures, PhoenixDealer, Receives ‘Best Place to Work’Award for Fourth Time

Union Office Interiors, Boston AreaAllsteel Dealer, Gets Into the HolidaySpirit with Toys for Tots DriveThe winning entry in Union Office Interiors’ gift boxcontest for its Toys for Tots Drive came from a localA&D firm.

The folks at Allsteel dealer Union Office Interiorsin Wilmington, MA, got into the holiday spiritlast month and then some, as they sponsoredtheir fourth annual Toys for Tots Drive.

“Given the amount of business we get from theBoston area, the least we can do is try and giveback during the holiday season and Toys forTots lets us do just that,” said A&D account ex-

ecutive Allen Hull, who spearheaded the effortfor the dealership.

Evidently, Allen wasn’t the only one who felt thatway. This year drive brought in more than 1,200toys as well as some welcome cash donations.

And Allen and his team got the local A&D com-munity involved by organizing a contest to de-sign the best gift box.

About 20 different design firms submitted entries, adding a special dimension to thisyear’s effort and also helping to strengthenUnion’s ties with a key customer segment.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 4

news

continued on page 5

Dealer News - continued from page 4

All Makes Named ‘Industry Partner of the Year’ By Local IIDA ChapterOmaha, NE-based All Makes Office Equipment has been selected by the IIDA Omaha City Center as its 2011 Industry Partner of the Year.

The Industry Partner of the Year Award was created to recognize and demonstrate appreciation to outstanding vendors who have signif-icantly impacted the chapter.

“We’re honored to have been designated as Industry Partner of the Year. We feel IIDA is a wonderful organization, and we are proud to bepart of what they do in our community,” said Jeff Kavich president/CEO Omaha.

New Home for Florida BusinessInteriors—Tampa BayIn Tampa, Kevin Baker and his team at FloridaBusiness Interiors—Tampa Bay are still unpack-ing after moving to a new showroom in theheart of the city’s historic Ybor City district.

The new location itself is not without its ownhistory. It’s listed on the National Register ofHistoric Places and started out back in 1912 asa ballroom.

Now, it houses a sparkling new 5,500 sq. ft.showroom for the dealership. “It’s a gorgeousnew home for us with 13-foot windows, 16-foothigh tin ceilings and an ideal location and envi-ronment for customer education and network-ing events,” says Kevin.

Kevin and his team are still settling in, he says,but a housewarming event to formally cut theribbon on their new home is planned for March.

Colorado Dealer Desks Incorporated Moves to Denver Also on the move recently is Desks Incorporated, which moved from the Denver suburbs in Centennial to a larger location in Denver itself.

The dealership signed a six-year lease on an 18,100 sq. ft. space that will allow it to expand to include both a new and used furnitureshowroom.

“With a stronger growth model and continued success in the Denver market, now was the time to move into a larger space,” said GlennJones, president.

“Our new location is going to be fantastic,” Glenn added. “We are demolishing just about every wall in there to make room for our newoffice furniture showroom. We will also have a dedicated used office furniture showroom as well as a full warehouse on site.”

Industry Veteran Howard Levinger Joins bfi, New Jersey DealerHoward Levinger, an office furniture veteran with over 15 years of industry experience, has joined Elizabeth, NJ-based bfi as a sales ex-ecutive in its New York office.

Levinger most recently served as sales manager with Chairmasters in New York, a specialty manufacturer of seating solutions for hospitalityand specialty use applications.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 5

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Available for 20-20Technologies’ NewVisual Impression

Software

20-20 Technologies has announced thatHerman Miller will be making its catalogsavailable for 20-20 Visual Impression, anew software application designed to pro-vide high-quality 3D color visualization ofoffice environments.

20-20 Visual Impression is fully integratedwith 20-20’s commercial product portfolio,including 20-20 CAP Studio, Giza Studio,and Worksheet, to help increase sales, re-

duce dealer costs and shorten the salescycle, the company said.

In addition to Herman Miller, other furnituremanufacturers are preparing their catalogsfor use with Visual Impression to displaytheir products with the actual finishes andfabrics offered including Knoll, Allsteel,Teknion, Kimball, AIS, National, Inscape,Allermuir, Logiflex and Groupe Lacasse.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 7

Earlier this month, the Business and InstitutionalFurniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) re-leased its market statistics for November 2010 andmaintaining a positive trend for the ninth straightmonth, the numbers showed an industry with aglass that was a lot more half full than half empty.

BIFMA said November orders were up 28% versusthe same month last year. That gain not only rep-resented increased momentum compared with a25% increase last month, but also came despite amuch tougher prior year comp. November 2009 or-ders declined 18% versus a 30% drop in October2009.

Industry shipments in November were also up ac-cording to BIFMA—21% compared to the samemonth last year and again, significantly ahead ofthe 13% increase in shipments posted last month.

“Net-net, the November BIFMA statistics were verygood and seem to corroborate our positive indus-try view,” commented industry analyst BuddBugatch of the Raymond James investmenthouse.

Bugatch cautioned, however, year-over-year in-creases will likely moderate in the months aheadas prior year comps become more challenging.

Other recent good news highlighted by Bugatchincluded:

n U.S. office space construction spendingposted its smallest year-over-year decline inNovember since May 2009, according to theConference Board.

n The American Institute of Architects’monthly Architect’s Billing Index, a leadingindicator of non-residential construction,improved to 52 in November, up from 48.7 inthe prior month and the highest readingsince December 2007.

n The nation’s occupied office spaceincreased by 2.5 million sq. ft. in the fourthquarter of last year, according to the Reiscommercial real estate research firm, thefirst increase in three years.

BIFMA NOVEMBER NUMBERS: Orders Up 28%; Shipments Up 21%

continued on page 8

Industry News - continued from page 7

Groupe Lacasse Launches Think Smart, New Linefor the Education MarketGroupe Lacasse recently launched THINK SMART, a completefurniture offering to address the varied needs of the learning en-vironment—from the Dean’s office and teacher planning areas, toclassrooms and media centers, as well as the infirmary, studentcafés, and locker rooms.

THINK SMART seamlessly conceals wire management in keyfurniture components and the new line-up of modular cabinetryand wall-mounted elements is designed to effortlessly blendwith any environment. www.groupelacasse.com

OBUSFORME Comfort Seating fromGlobalGlobal - The Total Office's OBUSFORMEComfort features a new elastomeric backsupport system and new soft descentpneumatic seat height adjustment. Thisseries provides support with no pres-sure points along the spineand compound curvedback and seat.

Choose from knee-tilters,multi-tilters, operators, taskchairs, drafting operatorchairs, heavy duty 24/7 multi-tilters, armchair and side chairmodels.

An optional Polished Aluminumbase is also available.www.globaltotaloffice.com

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 8

“ F I N E A R C H I T E C T U R A L H A R D W A R E F O R Y O U R F I N E F U R N I T U R E ” ®

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Latest and Greatest

in Power & Communications Grommets.

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Convenience

We’ve seen the worst of times and now we’re experiencing a bitof a recovery since the economy began to nose dive in late 2007.

However, a number of key issues loom large: “How strong will therecovery be and how long will it last? Where is our economyheaded? How will the market that we provide products and serv-ices to change from this point forward? What will be the impacton dealer profitability?”

At OFDA, we believe that as dealers confront these questions andothers like them, new paradigms will be required and a new con-cept for our industry, Dealer Shared Services, may well be at thevanguard of new solutions.

Developed for the office furniture industry by industry veteransEvan Morris and Roger Choquette, the Dealer Shared Services(DSS) business model offers a new opportunity to significantlyimprove dealership profitability.

In analyzing the current state of dealer profitability, DSS has iden-tified three limitations to growth:

n Revenue. The industry may very well be experiencing apermanent decline in its market size. We have a new popu-lation of un-tethered workers officing from places like Star-bucks, Panera Bread or home while staying in touch usingtheir iPhone or BlackBerry.

n Constrained margins. Our shifting economy is leaving alot of excess capacity in its wake while customers are notonly changing what they buy but how they buy.

n Shifting demand. Knowledge workers can and will workanywhere. The relentless introduction of technology thatautomates lower level jobs that were formerly located incubes continues to change the market. Customer buyingbehavior has also permanently changed, leading to lowerselling prices which further constrains margins.

Given these critical factors, how do dealerships not only retain ex-isting operating income but actually improve it without relying onthe old adages of growing sales, seeking new markets, or addingnew services?

By process of elimination, it seems that the most logical initiativeis to more fully utilize human resources while simultaneously re-ducing infrastructure and expense components.

Sharing services and leveraging expense components has beenused as an important strategy in other industries for a long time.

Think about the medical practice community. All most doctorswant to do is practice medicine. They do not want to do billing,collect accounts receivable, process insurance claims, buy furni-ture, technology, health insurance or the myriad of other admin-istrative duties.

They have eliminated unproductive work for themselves by pool-ing their efforts and outsourcing those tasks to a shared servicescompany which enables the physicians to focus on dispensingmedical treatment.

The world of office furniture dealers is really not much differentfor principal owners. They really just want to find a customer,identify a need, and deliver an appropriate product with associ-ated services—this is the definition of selling and the fundamentalpurpose of the contract furniture dealer.

Dealers have a strong desire to build a lean, productive sellingmachine and not be bogged down with infrastructure issues.However, to date there really has been no alternative for most ofthem.

Shared and leveraged services were and are an integral part ofthe business model for USOP, Corporate Express, Staples, OfficeDepot, OfficeMax, and Herman Miller Pavilions.

What’s new about the current DSS model is that this kind of plat-form can now be presented to dealerships in an environmentwhere current ownership remains, simultaneous with the advan-tages of a large scale, low cost infrastructure.

That’s a key point: Current ownership remains intact while reduc-ing costs to approximate those of significantly larger organiza-tions.

DSS will be presenting this opportunity to the industry beginningwith a one-hour introductory webinar specifically targeted todealer principal owners. This will be held on January 25 and re-peated on February 1. If you are a dealer principal and would liketo attend one of these free sessions, please RSVP to Billie Zidek,bzidek@iopfda.org or 703 549 9040. The introductory webinar willbe followed by two additional sessions in February.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 9

Dealer Shared Services - Enabling Peak PerformanceFree Webinar Series for Dealer Principals offered by OFDA

“We may not be totally out of the woods and the industry is nevergoing to go back to the way it was, but the worst is surely behindus and there are solid reasons to feel good about the year ahead.”

That was the message from our annual Business Outlook surveyin which we went out and asked our dealer readers to rate currentmarket conditions and offer their forecast for the year ahead.

For the first time since OFDealer started publishing its annual Busi-ness Outlook Survey in January 2009, the majority of office furni-ture dealers responding are actually optimistic about the future.

More than 75% of dealers responding to this year’s survey expectsales in 2011 to be up, with nearly 70% also looking for a rise innet profits. The charts below show a comparison of expectationstaken from the past three years of OFDealer Outlook Surveys.

Noteworthy is that while dealers appear optimistic about sales in-

creases, they remain skeptical, or should we say realistic, about

any significant rise in profits. Cautiously optimistic is the new buzz

word for the industry in 2011, at least on the dealer side.

Sunny Days Ahead?It’s not hard to see why optimism on the profit front is muted at best.

Today’s dealers are a lot smarter than just two years ago and hold no

false hope that business will go back to “normal” following this recession.

“There is no normal and we will never go back to where we were,” said

Greg Mosher, vice president and dealer principal at Office Environ-

ments of Asheville in North Carolina. “Corporate America has a long

term memory and things will be that much more challenging in the

coming years. Dealers must focus on getting in

early to become a strategic partner and show

clients that you care about their company and

their money.”

In fact, according to our survey, 50% of dealers

said they don’t believe that we have even come

out of the recession yet, with 32% looking to see

the recession end in Q2 or Q3 of 2011 and nearly

18% expecting the downturn to linger into 2012.

See the chart on next page (11) for more details.

continued on page 11

OUTLOOK 2011Light at the End of the Tunnel?

by Alicia Ellis

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 10

Office Furniture Sales Expectations

2009 2010 2011

Same 19.8 33.3 20.7

Up 1-5% 3.3 7.4 10.3

Up 5-10% 6.6 7.4 44.8

Up over 10% 9.9 25.9 20.7

Off 1-5% 16.5 11.1 0

Off 5-10% 13.2 0 3.4

Off over 10% 29.7 14.8 0

Office Furniture Net Profit Expectations

2009 2010 2011

Same 6.6 25.9 20.7

Up Slightly 23.1 29.6 65.5

Up Significantly 16.5 25.9 3.4

Down Slightly 29.7 7.4 6.9

Down Significantly 23.1 11.1 3.4

Light at the end of the tunnel? - continued from page 10

When do you believe the office furniture industry cameout of the recession and if you do not believe the industryis out of the recession, when do you believe it will be?

Second Quarter 2010 10.7%

Third Quarter 2010 17.9%

Fourth Quarter 2010 21.4%

First Quarter 2011 0.0%

Second Quarter 2011 21.4%

Third Quarter 2011 10.7%

Fourth Quarter 2011 0.0%

Not until 2012 17.9%

When asked about the most effective thing they did to respondto industry challenges in 2010, dealers cited a long list of tacticsand strategies.

Items most frequently mentioned included constantly monitoringcosts and projections; expanding services and markets; lookingback at existing clients for ongoing maintenance and upgradesand educating both clients and staff.

“The first thing we did a couple years ago was get our cost structurein line with realistic revenue and margin projections,” said Art Hasse,president of Kentwood Office Furniture in Grand Rapids, MI.

“We conduct a two-day planning session each December to setrealistic sales goals for each sales person and each location. Wethen convert the sales and margin projections into a monthlybudget so that we can compare each month’s financial results toour projections. If the 90-day forecast shows a significant moveup or down, we adjust our people and other resource commit-ments accordingly. Planning, being nimble, cash management

continued on page 12

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 11JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 11

How Satisfied are You?The Annual OFDA Dealer ManufacturerSatisfaction Index (DMSI) survey is your opportunity to evaluate the products, policies, service and support of your manufacturer business partners to improve dealer-manufacturer relations.

Strictly confidential and open to all dealers, evaluate up to four of your primary suppliers in six key categories: training, product lines, service and support, sales and marketing, management, and technology.

Top ranked manufacturers will be receive OFDA Dealers’ Choice Awards at the June NeoCon show in Chicago.

As a thank you for participating, you’ll receive a FREE copy of the final report so you can compare your suppliers with others in the industry.

Click this ad for a Link Directly tothe DMSI Survey or call 800.542.6672.

How Does Your Dealership Compare?Compare your company’s financial performance to the

industry’s best players by participating in the OFDA’s free online

To participate, click this ad or call 800.542.6672

Participating dealers can compare revenue & expense structure, and profitability with:

Top 10% of most profitable dealers

Dealers with comparable total revenues

Dealers in markets of similar size

Aligned vs. non-aligned dealers

Dealers with equivalent service revenue shares

And, receive a FREE custom report aligning your data with relevant benchmarks for easy use in improving performance!

Dealer Financial Comparison & Benchmarking Guide Survey

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 12

Light at the end of the tunnel? - continued from page 11

and rewarding employees for good performance are the keys tosurvival and growth in this unpredictable environment.”

“Our focus is less about filling empty spaces with furniture andmore about updating existing workspaces,” said Sandi Jacobs,president of SideMark in Santa Clara, CA. “In addition, providingresources to successfully remove and reuse or recycle existingfurniture to leave little environmental impact allowed us to complete more LEED projects in the last two years throughoutCalifornia.”

“We focused on GSA/public projects and called on end-users,contractors and commercial real estate brokers instead of prima-rily focusing on the A&D community as we had in the past,” saidone New Mexico dealer. “We also saw a switch from design-drivenbusiness to commercial broker-driven business. The end usersthat are moving, growing, or changing aren’t engaging designfirms for many of the projects to reduce cost. The commercial bro-kers know what is happening in the market before anyone else.”

“We focused efforts on refining our business processes to elimi-nate waste, increase efficiency and improve service to our cus-tomers,” said Matt Sveen, principal of Intereum in Plymouth, MN.“With a reduction in market potential and sales in 2010, we alsohave continued to invest in our future with focused marketing andsales efforts, including website updates, social media, an impact

As expected, many dealers surveyed plan to continue efforts inhigh profile vertical markets like healthcare, education and gov-ernment moving into 2011. Notable in this year’s survey was thatfact that many dealers discussed selling products outside of thetraditional new or remanufactured office furniture.

“In 2011, we plan to continue to diversify the interior products weoffer our customers. We will need to be a full interior solutionprovider for our customers in order to grow,” said Tom Triplett,dealer principal of the Triplett Companies in Des Moines, IA,which, in addition to being a Haworth dealer, offers office prod-ucts, promotional products, raised flooring, floor coverings, de-mountable walls and window treatments.

“We will continue to focus on LEED/sustainable planning and re-newing existing office spaces with new interiors,” said SideMark’sJacobs. “Many clients are requesting change and workplacestrategies as part of the services they would like to see from theirdealership. I see a large opportunity for consulting and being astrategic partner to our clients growing in this new direction.”

“Offer a complete package...planning/consulting, furniture, technol-ogy and architectural products,” said Dave Custer, president ofCuster Workplace Interiors. However, Custer warns, “CorporateAmerica is still hesitant on spending. Organizations buy furniture forone of three reasons: 1.) They are hiring people and need additionalfurniture; 2.) They build a new building and need new furniture; or3.) They ‘refresh’ their space. Not much of that is happening.”

Not every dealer, though, shares Custer’s view.

Tom O’Neill, president of OfficeWorks in Fishers, IN, offered amore positive assessment of market conditions. “There is a pent-up demand from existing customers who have been postponingcapital expenditure projects for over two years,” he suggested.

“We think we will see corporate America get in the game in 2011,”said Mark Eley, CEO of ID&A, Inc. in Louisville, KY. But lookingforward Eley commented that “Washington DC will have a big im-pact on how businesses make decisions in 2011. If we don’t seesome business-friendly policies in the very near future, I believewe will no improvement in unemployment and the economy willremain flat in 2011.”

To no one’s surprise, when asked what the biggest threat to theoffice furniture industry would be in 2012, dealers gave the econ-omy and its instability as the number one response.

Clouds of CompetitionSurprisingly however, in a very close second, were dealers con-cerns about other dealers. Never mentioned before in either ofOFDealer’s previous yearly surveys was increasing frustration be-cause of too many dealers or complaints about dealers who areeither pursuing contracts outside of their traditional territories orbidding prices so low that they make it nearly impossible for otherdealers to be competitive.

Typical comments about business threats included:

• Stupid pricing by competitors who are desperate.

• Having to keep our GPs low due to other dealers “cuttingto the bone” to win business.

• It appears that some dealers are selling at margins thatmake no sense.

• We are seeing an influx of competitors coming fromsurrounding states to compete.

• Dealers giving product away just to keep the doors open.

According to Wayne Breitbarth, principal of M&M Office Interiorsin Pewaukee, WI, “There are too many competitors, both at themanufacturing and dealer level. It reminds me of the car businessfive years ago. Look at the changes they had to go through beforedealers could become profitable again.”

From all accounts, 2011 will be a year of change. Everyone ishoping for the economy to improve and Corporate America tostart hiring again. But if that doesn’t happen and we see a doubledip recession as a result, there will be even more cut throat com-petition in all sectors and lower margins that could spell majorproblems for many office furniture dealerships.

Either way, 2011 is already shaping up as one that even if it prom-ises more in the way of opportunity is likely to be just as challeng-ing as the past two have been.

http://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=4285

WWWebsites and Other Marketing EffortsBy Trish Brock

It’s a New Year and how many action items from lastyear have moved to this year’s list of things to do?Addressing the need for new or updated marketingmaterials and websites may be on your list.

As the economy begins to improve and businessstarts to pick up, putting off your marketing effortsany longer may hamper your ability to compete.

While most dealers want to differentiate themselves,have high name recognition, build a “smart” brandand stand out from their competition, it appearsmany choose to do little to make that happen. Justsaying they are different or better they somehow be-lieve is adequate. And often, sales support materialsfor salespeople fall victim to that same malaise. Isthis acceptable?

There are some very dynamic dealer sites and ac-companying, supporting marketing materials outthere. But more are not. Are prospective customersexpected to not notice the difference?

I can’t help asking why. Is it too much trouble?Too expensive? Don’t know how? Don’t havetime? Too busy? Or is it simply not that impor-tant? Really? In this economy?

Are salespeople expected to individually carry themessage to the market instead? That’s a more costeffective and consistent communication vehicle? Inthis age of information, that’s a bit of a buggy whipmentality, no?

Let’s review:Your website is an opportunityUntil you are able to identify a prospective customerand have a meeting with them, your website is oftena customer’s first interaction with your dealership.Make no mistake—customers are finding vendorsand making judgments long before you know whothey are. That is the way of the web and buyers.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 14

continued on page 15

Websites - continued from page 14

Your website isn’t going to land you a multi-million dollar project, but a good site willgive you credibility, present an example ofhow you run your business and conveyyour level of professionalism.

It should help open doors for you, notclose them. It lets the world know you areserious and committed to your business. Italso gives your salespeople a leg up, givingthem a “warm” lead vs. walking in cold.

Your website should inspire viewers, not bore themThis is an industry with new ideas and in-novative solutions. Show them! Your siteshould move people to want you to workyour magic for their organization, or at theleast, start a conversation about it.

Too often websites are dumping groundsfor lengthy company histories (whocares?), corporate philosophies (again,who cares?) and a resume of offerings(and again, who cares?).

Sure, you have to tell them a bit aboutwhat you do, but what are the benefits tothe customer, what’s in it for them, why areyou better, what makes you the leader—that’s what they care about!

Your website should continually evolvewith new information—it’s not a one shotthing. Websites are often on the “to do” listand when completed, they’re scratchedoff the list.

That’s a big problem.

Your product offering and ability to solvecomplex problems for your customers isconstantly changing. How does your mar-ket know that? A site that isn’t current orfresh only leads your market to believe youare as tired as your site.

Your website acts as your‘store front’Often, your site is a prospect’s first en-counter with you as well as with your com-petition. Is it inviting or does it send themdown the street? This is your prospect’s

“experience” with you until (if?) they meetyou and visit your facility in person.

Your website leaves animpression – is it what you want?This is your chance to show your differen-tiating story. If your site is dynamic and in-teresting, doesn’t it stand to reason that aviewer will associate that impression withyou? The same holds true for stale, same-old, cluttered, blah-blah-blah sites.

Create a powerful visualimpactTake advantage of your manufacturers’images. There are some fabulous imagesavailable that will immediately make yoursite more interesting and powerful. Pic-tures can tell great stories and inspireideas among your viewers. Don’t miss theopportunity to do so.

Make it prettySeriously—who doesn’t like looking atsomething pretty? Especially when thereis a lot of ugly out there.

Keep your text to a minimumLess is more, particularly when it comes totext on the web. It’s difficult to read any-thing of length. And while stylish, smallfonts are very annoying – not everyone has20-year old eyes.

Suggestion: Put text in narrow columnswhich are easier to track than trying tofollow a sentence across the width of amonitor.

Another suggestion: If there is somethingreally important that is long, make it avail-able as a pdf and let the viewer downloadand print it. But don’t ask people to read alot because they won’t. Brevity wins here.

Your website should be user friendly, easy to navigateCan the viewer easily find what they might

be looking for? Patience is not a virtue ofweb viewers and if the navigation isn’teasy and intuitive, they’ll leave. Averagetime on a site is about eight seconds if in-formation isn’t easily found.

Your website should give the user information they can useBe a resource, offer solutions and ideas.Help them want to work with you. Estab-lish your dealer as “the authority.” In a con-versation with the A&D community, manydesigners said they rarely go to dealerwebsites because they are “hokey,”“lame” and have little useful information.Ouch! It doesn’t have to be that way.

Your website should beinteractive, inviting viewers to returnSee above. If there is usable informationthat is regularly posted, people will cometo expect it and come back to see what isnew. Include information on new trends,new solutions with existing products, en-vironmental updates, cost and energy sav-ings when buying new furniture vs.keeping old—you get the idea.

These are things your salespeople are talk-ing about. Help them out and put them onthe site. Wouldn’t you like to have the mar-ket think of you in those terms and checkin on what’s the latest and greatest at yourdealer? Why should they check back withyour site if the last posting is from 2004?

What are your analytics telling you about your site?How many hits are you getting a day?How many are “bounces,” how manypages are viewed, which pages areviewed the most, and how long does aviewer stay? Knowing this (and other data)will help you understand the effectivenessof your site and learn about what yourviewers are looking for. If viewers averageless than a minute on your site, it’s time tore-evaluate the site.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 15

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Websites - continued from page 15

Your website shouldn’t look like everyone else’s siteIf you want to differentiate, then be different! Using a “cookie cut-ter” or template type format will only make you look like the“cookie” down the street. You can’t be different if you are thesame. Get creative! There are a lot of sites out there that look verymuch alike, riddled with “anyone can say” text and claims. Yawn.

Your website should broadcast your brand. Does it?And I don’t mean having your logo in the upper left hand corner.Is your site consistent with the message and “look” in the mate-rials you hand out, your business cards, your showroom and theoverall experience your market has with your dealership?

Too often websites are developed outside of the other brandingvehicles and the effect is disjointed, begging the question ofwhether it’s the same company. Don’t miss the opportunity to re-inforce your brand consistently.

Interestingly, in conversations I have had with some dealers thatare doing well in spite of the economy, many say that their ag-gressive marketing efforts have made the difference in their abilityto be top of mind in the market and win business, often becausetheir competition isn’t as visible.

Unless you are in a market where there is no competition or busi-ness is so good that you might as well be minting money, a welldesigned, informative and current website is not optional, it’s anecessity.

It’s part of being in the game and doing business in this era, andcertainly in this economy. If all of this sounds like a lot of work,ask yourself what the cost would be not to be in the game? Onething I’m sure of: Your competition hopes you stay on the side-lines.

Trish Brock, Principal of Trish Brock &Associates, is a well-known industry consultant.Her cross functional consulting groupspecializes in increasing sales through effectivedifferentiating brands and materials that supportthe strategic sales process. TB+A also conductsMentoring Circles for groups wanting to

accelerate new business development. She can be reached at 720-747-5547, via email at tbrock@trishbrockassociates.com or visither on the web at www.trishbrockassociates.com

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 16

It’s Not the ‘What’But the “How’That Makes a

DifferenceBy the time most business owners reach theage of 70, if they haven’t retired already, theyare working part time, have a successionplan in place and are looking forward to re-tirement. Changing the business, branchingout into new markets or investing in newtechnologies just isn’t in the future plans ofa 70-year-old, right?

“Wrong,” said 70-year-old Tom Huerkamp,founder and president of the newly renamedand rebranded ProSpace Interiors. Most re-cently known as Office Furniture & DesignCenters, the Western Colorado dealershipwas founded in 1968 as Grand Mesa OfficeSupply by Tom and his wife Mary Lou.

The company has been selling office furni-ture as far back as the 1970s, but also soldoffice supplies and equipment until 1990,when Huerkamp sold off those two divisionsand renamed his dealership Office Furniture& Design Centers.

So why the decision to change the namenow, after more than 40 years in businessand 20 years doing business under OfficeFurniture & Design Centers?

We needed to change our name because itwas long and generic,” said Huerkamp. “Itdidn’t fully address the scope of our prod-ucts and services, or distinguish us in themarket. Customers couldn’t remember it. Itwas the perfect time to make the move.”

It takes an unwavering trust in one’s instinctsto make that kind of change at a time whenyou’re your industry is in a deep downturn,and it was that sort of unwavering trust thatled to Huerkamp’s decision to rebrand hiscompany.

“One of my early business mentors advised

me to be cautious during boom times andvery aggressive during downturns,” saidHuerkamp. “In an economic downturn,everyone is quiet and holding on to theirmoney. Making a bold move, like a brandchange, gets you twice as much as makingthe same changes during good times wheneveryone is heavily competing.”

To make the change, the company turnedinward to define its strengths and set a pathto the future.

“I wanted my people to be in the driver’sseat. So we worked up lists, talked aboutour strengths and values, and in the end weall voted,” Huerkamp explains. “The ‘Pro’ inProSpace Interiors indicates our level of ex-perience and expertise in our field. The‘Space’ stands for our mastery of the busi-ness working environment.”

With over 150 combined years of industryexperience, ProSpace is the oldest andlargest commercial furnishing and installationcompany in western Colorado. It employs 16full-time staff members, and works through-out western Colorado and eastern Utah.

In the last decade, they have expanded theirDelta, CO offices, opened a Grand Junctionshowroom, and extended their service areato projects in as far away places as Idahoand Texas.

Dealer Profile:

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ProSpace Interiors - continued from page 17

According to Huerkamp, the company’s realstrength lies in its three-pillar businessmodel.

“First, we’re independent dealers so wehave the freedom to work with dozens of thebest manufacturers. Second, we’re expertsat logistics, installation and adaptation.Nothing ever goes according to plan andwhether you’re reconfiguring a workspace orstarting from scratch, something will needtweaking,” he contends.

“Finally, we remember where we came from.We’re hard working and committed to prob-lem solving. All of this leaves our customerswith wonderful, highly efficient workspaces.”

In addition, the dealership has the ability tomeet unique customer needs, thanks to afull time custom cabinetmaker on staff to tai-lor products to suit specific customer re-quirements.

With a rapidly expanding client base, Pro-Space Interiors is on track to increase rev-

enues again in 2011. This rapid growth is ledby another strategic move made a decadeago to take the business into the healthcarefurnishings industry.

“We started from a base of individual prac-tices and clinics and now we work exten-sively with many area hospitals,” saidHuerkamp, who applauds the efforts of histwo salespeople and their assistants whoHuerkamp describes as a cross between anexecutive secretary and a mother hen. “Theykeep the salespeople on task and keepthings running smoothly.”

“But we didn’t just settle with healthcare,”Huerkamp reports proudly. “We have over60 financial institutions and we have built abase of business in the oil, coal, gas, andenergy resource industries,” he adds.

“Our municipal jobs are growing as well withnew school and library projects—they allhave specialized needs and we see that asthe spice of professional life.”

While the name is new, ProSpace Interiorsremains under the same ownership andmanagement it has enjoyed for the last 40years, with Tom’s brother Dave Huerkampserving as marketing vice president and longtime colleague Rick Saxton as operationsvice president.

Always looking to the future, Tom recentlyadded his nephew Matt Winter to the team.Winter, an attorney, is tasked with managingProSpace Interiors’ human resources, tech-nology, and communications to prepare thecompany’s infrastructure for the next gener-ation of management.

In the end, Huerkamp concludes that it’s notwhat but how. “Anyone can sell what wesell, but it is how we do it that makes us dif-ferent. I still work full time, I’m having a balland I can’t wait to see what the futureholds.”

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 18

Welcome to our new series on LinkedIn for contract office fur-niture dealers and the people who support their efforts. Ineach article, my goal will be to share with you the power ofthis virtual networking tool that is currently being used by over85 million business professionals around the globe.

LinkedIn allows business professionals to find and be foundby other professionals. To get started on LinkedIn, you willneed to create a profile that displays your professional andeducational experience, and then you can begin connectingwith the people you know.

In the coming months, I will help you develop a strategy foryour LinkedIn use, which will help you meet your goals andreceive the maximum benefit in the least amount of time.Now let’s get started with the cornerstone of LinkedIn—yourprofile.

Everyone starts on LinkedIn with a profile. A profile can be assimple as your name. However, if you choose to list little butyour name, you will be missing out on the two major benefitsof a LinkedIn profile: the ability to be found and the opportu-nity to tell your story.

Plain and simple, profiles should be beefy. For those readerswho are old enough, think of the Wendy’s commercial fromthe eighties in which the elderly ladies asked “Where’s thebeef?” as they looked at a tiny hamburger patty dwarfed by amassive bun.

For those of you who are not familiar with the commercial,check it out on YouTube. You’ll find it quite entertaining.

JANUARY 2011 OFDEALER PAGE 19

Learning

Beef Up Your Profile to BringHome the BaconBy Wayne Breitbarth

continued on page 20

There are four reasons you want your profile to bebeefy.

1Your LinkedIn profile is a place whereyou can tell your story completely andfully, so that when people are lookingat your profile, they will be encouragedto do business with you over yourcompetitors.

They will see the depth and breadth ofyour experience, your professional rec-ommendations, and the brands youcarry, plus your certifications, educa-tional experience, and all the otherqualifications you possess that makeyou the obvious professional to dobusiness with in the marketplace youserve.

I like to refer to a LinkedIn profile as a“resume on steroids.” In contrast to atraditional resume, which is typically alisting of facts and dates, your LinkedInprofile allows you the opportunity to tellyour story.

LinkedIn - continued from page 19

It should be a narrative of sorts, whereyou emphasize your experience andhigh level of credibility. This “resumeon steroids” should shout out “I’m thebest at this in my market!”

To help tell your story, you can includedetails about yourself that, while per-haps bordering on personal informa-tion, will get across to the viewer whoyou are as a unique individual.

2Every word in your profile is keywordsearchable. Thus, having a beefy pro-file will increase your chances of beingfound.

As you know from using Google, key-word searching on the Internet is anextremely powerful tool for finding peo-ple. Similarly, searching on LinkedIncan produce extremely valuable re-sults. The search function enables youto find people who have certain typesof experience, classifications, and/orbrands.

In a recent search, I was looking for aperson interested in bicycling to join agroup of cyclists for a charity event mycompany was sponsoring.

Discovering a bicycling enthusiast whohappens to be an architect or builderwould be a home run. I would then beable to advance a professional relation-ship, help a charitable organization,and enjoy a day of bicycling.

Therefore, I searched the wordsbuilder, architect, cycling, and bicyclingand instantly had my choice of archi-tects and builders with whom to spendthe day. Without those keywords intheir profiles, none of these peoplewould have been found.

3A beefy profile shows that you are nota dinosaur. What do I mean by this?For those of us in the Baby Boomergeneration, people tend to appreciatethe experience we possess, but theyare also interested in knowing whetherwe are keeping abreast of the latesttrends in the business world, includingsocial media.

A beefy profile will demonstrate thatyou are on top of current trends in yourprofession or occupation and that youembrace technology. You are not a di-nosaur.

4You should expect your profile to regu-larly be compared with those of yourcompetitors. Therefore, in order to gaina competitive advantage, you will wantyour profile to include a plethora of in-formation, keywords, and details aboutwho you are, what you hope to accom-plish, and how you might be able toassist others.

Many savvy LinkedIn users will reviewa person’s profile before meeting withhim or her for the first time. Personally,I always look for common interests ordiscussion points before I jump into,“So, I hear you need some office furni-ture.”

Business professionals use theirLinkedIn profiles to tell their stories. Asa result, it can be extremely beneficialto review the profile of the potentialcustomer, prospective employee, ven-dor, or other person with whom youdesire to have a business relationship.

Because of the vast amount of infor-mation available on the Internet in gen-eral and on LinkedIn in particular, it hasbecome commonplace to “shop” sev-

eral vendors online before engaging indirect communication.

Do yourself a favor and take a look atthe profiles of some of your competi-tors. Observe what they are sayingabout themselves—awards they havewon, certifications they hold, types ofprojects they have worked on, etc.—because this may jog your memory andremind you of similar information youcould include in your profile.

Based on the information contained inthe profiles, would a potential cus-tomer be encouraged to do businesswith you as opposed to one of yourcompetitors? If you think your com-petitor would get the nod, then startbeefing up your profile.

Armed with this information, you canbegin to create an effective profile—agreat first step in maximizing yourLinkedIn experience.

Look for Wayne’s articles aboutLinkedIn every other month inOFDealer. and if you haven't done soalready, join OFDA's Linkedin Group.

http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegis-tration?gid=1426847

Wayne Breitbarth is co-owner and co-presidentof M&M Office Interiorsin Pewaukee,Wisconsin. Waynebegan moonlighting asan unofficial LinkedIn

trainer in early 2009 and has now ledseminars for over 6,000 businessprofessionals in Southeastern Wisconsin.He was a featured speaker at last year'sOFDA Dealer Strategies Conference andhas recently released a book entitled ThePower Formula for LinkedIn Success.Contact Wayne atwbreitbarth@mmoffice.com;www.linkedin.com/in/waynebreitbarth orvisit www.powerformula.net.

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