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INDEPENDENT DEALER

the official publication of WSA

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

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Editorial & Contents One of the biggest problems producing a magazine such as this, which comes out every four to six weeks, is that sometimes the news featured can be several weeks old. The flipside is that it means there is also the chance to watch a story develop before publication. That said, it has given me great sadness to see the way the story of Essendant’s apparent demise has unfolded over the last month or so. I have written before in this column about the deplorable way in which the company handled its withdrawal from the IDC last year (while understanding its reasons for doing so). Its treatment of its staff, suppliers and customers left an awful lot to be desired. I was also by no means the only one voicing such concerns. However, it seems that the current leadership are still struggling to treat Essendant employees with the respect they surely deserve. Indeed, as our news story on page 15 explains, the sudden news of further financial difficulties at the wholesaler at the beginning of August was

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

WINNER’S CIRCLE Good things happening with independents

SECRETS OF SUCCESS BOS IL, Roselle, Illinois

INDUSTRY NEWS

WSA FOCUS

Rowan McIntyre, editor and publisher rowan@idealercentral.com

followed by swaths of staff being let go via video call long before the end of the 60-day transition period it had previously outlined. An investigation into whether some of the layoffs violate Illinois’ WARN Act is now being conducted by the state’s Department of Labor. I also understand a number of class action lawsuits are being considered involving former employees. All told, this is certainly an inglorious end to a once great company and a mainstay of the IDC. My thoughts go out to those staff members affected and I wish them the best of luck in finding alternative employment, whether they remain in the channel or not.

NAOPA AWARDS Read all about the nominees in the different categories for this year’s awards

COVER STORY Meeting the challenges of sales recruitment Lisa Veeck talks to dealers about how they are handling the challenges of recruiting sales staff

COLUMNS 50 Jennifer Vitanzo: Top tips for hiring 52 West McDonald: AI’s role in staff retention 56 Tom Buxton: Get the best from your reps 58 Troy harrison: The phone is still a sales tool 60 Marisa Pensa: Getting past the gatekeeper

INDEPENDENT DEALER

An OPI publication

the official publication of WSA

Editor and publisher Rowan McIntyre

Finance and operations Kelly Hilleard

Associate editor Lisa Veeck

Head of creative Joel Mitchell

Head of media sales Chris Turness

Digital manager Aurora Enghis

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AT OPI CEO Steve Hilleard Director Janet Bell

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Winner’s Circle

McCartney’s celebrates a century of family ownership

Left: McCartney’s store in the 1920s with John Tracey (far left); right: Joe Baker and Theda (Tracey) Baker c.1950s

McCartney’s, Altoona, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1887 by Thomas C. McCartney as a wallpaper and paint store. In 1926, Boyd A. Baker, John H. Tracey and Charles J. O’Brian purchased the business and added office supplies and stationery to its inventory. Tracey eventually became the sole owner of the company and, fast forward a century, his family continues to own and operate the business. McCartney’s has moved with the times over the years, expanding into categories such as furniture, copiers, breakroom and janitorial supplies, and chalking up annual sales of $3–4 million. Tracey Baker—John H Tracey’s great-granddaughter, who heads new business development, sales and design—grew up in the business: “In second grade, my father taught me negative numbers because I helped with the inventory.” Having worked at McCartney’s after school and in the summer holidays as a child, she joined full time in 2013. Her cousin Laura Green, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

McCartney’s finance director, also started with the company at a young age. “I was afraid of shredders when I was eight!” she recalls. She got over her fear, however, working part time from 2014 before accepting a full-time post in 2020. A company that has been around nearly 145 years—and that has been run by the same family for a century—will inevitably have

weathered its fair share of economic storms. “Most recently, there was COVID-19; we are a PPE supplier and we had to source it from new vendors due to the influx of orders,” says Baker. “The recession of 2008–09 was also tough, since there were a lot of other things influencing the market at the same time: Staples opened a store in our town, while we closed our retail location, and online

(l-r) Jeanne Baker [3rd gen], Randy Green [4th gen], Tracey Baker [4th gen] and Laura Green [5th gen]

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Winner’s Circle shopping was beginning to take off. In fact, we were an Apple computer dealer; it was a difficult decision to let it go, but people were starting to buy direct and we needed to adjust. Of course, before me, there was World War II. The men had to go to war and the women had to keep the business up and running. The important part is we got through these challenges.” Some of the upheaval experienced over the decades was more localized. “McCartney’s has had premises in three different spots on the same street,” continues Baker. “We moved to our current location in 1994. That year, a fire broke out in the middle of the night. I was eight and for some reason our phone at home was in my room. Randy called and told me to wake up my dad—there was a fire. The whole mall burned down. It’s a big thing here, with people looking back every year and asking, ‘Remember the fire?’ We could have moved, but we decided to stay and rebuild.” So, what has made the company so resilient? Baker and Green agree on the main ingredients. “In my opinion, it’s our ability to adapt to changing times and willingness to be flexible,” suggests Baker. “It may sound a little cheesy, but we have the same solid foundation we’ve always had, and that’s allowed us to grow and adapt to the technology and what our customers’ workplaces need,” agrees Green. “COVID-19 was a prime example— suddenly customers went from open spaces to needing walls everywhere as people started coming back to the office.” According to Baker, the return to the office has since changed the landscape yet again: “Customers want to make the workplace a space where employees want to go to, with extra breakroom snacks, a better coffee maker, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

The McCartney’s family pictured in 2015

more comfortable furniture, fancier technology-equipped tables.” Other drivers of McCartney’s resilience include its people and its focus on family. “We have great employees, and if an employee’s child has a play in the middle of the day, we say go—we are very accommodating when it comes to family,” explains Baker. Green adds that, this approach also extends to customers: “We have great customer relationships. We offer customer support, expertise and delivery they can rely on.” While both women acknowledge Amazon as a competitor, they believe McCartney’s still has the upper hand. “When customers look up a product on Amazon, they may see a cheaper price; but two days later, when they look again, the price has gone up,” reveals Green. “And Amazon promises next-day delivery, but five days later, the order still says, ‘Out for delivery.’ Our customers know they can depend on us to do what we say.” INDEPENDENT DEALER

“And where does Amazon leave it?” asks Baker. “We deliver it directly to the department that ordered it or where the customer wants it. We even handle inventory management, including stocking the product in the facility for some customers. When customers look at the total picture, we offer more value.” Another vital factor in McCartney’s longevity is its community engagement. “We are involved in and give back to the community,” Green elaborates. “We support local organizations financially to help keep them strong.” Baker gives a personal example: “When my kids were at camp at the local community center and someone would call to say they were out of paper, I would just drop it off when I went to pick up my children.” Both Baker and Green see a bright future for McCartney’s and the industry. As for companies hoping to thrive in the coming years, they agree that keeping up, adapting to change and treating people well will be crucial. PAGE 5

Winner’s Circle

GBP Direct acquires Business Forms

(l-r) Randy Durbin, Joe and John Starnes, Cody Durbin

GBP Direct, Kenner, Louisiana, has acquired Business Forms Inc., also of Kenner, effective September 1. Business Forms owners Joe and John Starnes and their team will remain with the company, working under the GBP Direct name. “This merger was a great fit for both companies because we quickly recognized that bringing our organizations together would create a win-win situation,” says GBP Direct president Randy Durbin. “For Business Forms, it means

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

they can continue serving their customers with the support of a larger organization, a broader selection of products and services, and additional resources behind them. It also allows their team to transition away from the responsibilities of maintaining a building, equipment and software systems and focus on what matters most: serving their customers.” According to Durbin, the benefits are equally significant for GBP: “We can bring an experienced team into our existing print operation, expand our customer base and strengthen our ability to support and grow this important product category. While every acquisition is unique, the mindset has always remained the same—we are stronger when we work together. By combining our people, experience and resources, we can deliver great service and a better overall customer experience while continuing to build a strong, healthy company that is well positioned to serve our customers for many years to come.” This is the 16th acquisition for GBP.

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Winner’s Circle

Eakes expands IT services reach

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approach aligns well with our values, and we are committed to continuing the strong relationships that have been built over the years while delivering the exceptional service customers have come to expect.” Eakes already offers a range of managed IT services as it pitches itself as a “local IT support partner” for clients in the Midwest. Other areas it has diversified into in recent years include jan/san, furniture, water solutions and MPS.

A happy place for your little things.

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Eakes Office Solutions of Grand Rapids, Nebraska has acquired the IT division of Kidwell, an electrical and technology solutions provider headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. The move is part of a strategic business transition designed to support the long-term goals of both organizations. As part of this transition, existing Kidwell IT customers will continue to receive their technology services and support through Eakes Office Solutions. While the IT division is transitioning to Eakes Office Solutions, Kidwell will continue serving customers through its core offerings, including electrical contracting and service, data cabling, security cameras, phone solutions and access control systems. “We are excited to welcome the IT team of Kidwell to Eakes Office Solutions,” said Mark Miller, president and CEO of Eakes Office Solutions. “Their customer-focused

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Winner’s Circle

Spry holds annual charity golf outing Spry, Inc., Anderson, Indiana, recently held its second annual Spry Golf Outing supporting Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Homes of Hope. Hosted and organized by Spry and held at Pebble Brook Golf Course, the event brought together employees, business partners, sponsors, previous home builders and other community members. The tournament raised enough money to provide the materials needed to build two homes for families in need. “Spry’s relationship with YWAM Homes of Hope goes back to 2012, when we began helping build homes for families in need in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica,” explains chairman and CEO Jeff Williams.

“Since then, Spry and our network of local companies and partners have helped build more than 25 homes. What makes Homes of Hope so impactful is that we get to see firsthand what a safe, stable home can mean for a family. For many of these families, achieving that kind of stability on their own could take more than a decade. Giving back has always been an important part of who we are at Spry. We have been blessed with great employees, customers, partners and a supportive community, and we believe we have a responsibility to use those blessings to make a meaningful difference for others.”

Advanced Business Methods supports school supply drive Advanced Business Methods (ABM), Fargo, North Dakota, recently supported the 2026 United Way of Cass-Clay school supply drive. Ten ABM volunteers helped pack 650 backpacks in just one hour. The backpacks will ensure local students can start the school year with the supplies they need. Fargo-based United Way of Cass-Clay’s mission is to invest in programs and innovative solutions positioned to end the complex cycle of poverty.

One Workplace supports Waves of Impact

For the 10th year, One Workplace, Santa Clara, California, has supported Waves of Impact, an annual surf camp in Santa Cruz. Fifty-five volunteers from the dealership helped out at the event and the organization was presented with a $10,000 check. Waves of Impact is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Southern California that provides free adaptive surf camps for children with special challenges and wounded military veterans. The organization provides all surfboards, wetsuits, life jackets and safety gear at no expense to participants. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

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Winner’s Circle

Storey Kenworthy awards two 2026 grants Story Kenworthy & Workspace, Des Moines, Iowa, has announced the first recipients of the annual grants it presents through its Foundation for Giving. Each year, the foundation awards five $5,000 grants to nonprofit organizations aligned with Storey Kenworthy’s core philanthropic focuses: abuse and violence prevention; children and education; diversity, equity and inclusion; and mental health awareness and services. The first grant went to Iowa Safe Schools, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ youth-serving organization, which works across all 99 counties to ensure that students have safe and supportive learning environments and communities. Its initiatives include supporting 50 active gay-straight alliances (GSAs) through the Iowa GSA Network; providing inclusive professional development to over 3,000 educators annually through its Safe Schools Academy; and engaging with employers across the state to help create opportunities for Iowa students. The second grant recipient is Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, which provides local veterans with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit monuments and memorials built in their honor. Each journey recognizes their courage, sacrifice and service to the nation. Four honor flights take place each year.

WHERE INDEPENDENT DEALERS ACCESS MORE OPPORTUNITY

“AOPD has become a crucial part of the A-Z Office Resource go-to-market strategy, particularly in the education space. Through AOPD, we’ve gained access to contracts we couldn’t utilize on our own, helping us pursue larger accounts and better meet our customers’ needs. Just as valuable are the relationships we’ve built with like-minded dealers and the opportunity to learn from one another.” Chris Giles President of West Business Interiors A Subsidiary of A-Z Office Resource AOPD Member

Join AOPD’s network of independent dealers and gain the resources, relationships, and opportunities to grow your business. Visit aopd.com/chris to continue reading about A-Z Office Resource’s experience with AOPD.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

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PAGE 9

Winner’s Circle BOS helps fight hunger

The Tampa, Florida, team of Business Office Systems (BOS), Chicago, Illinois, have spent a day at Feeding Tampa Bay, helping support its work to fight hunger in the community. “It was a rewarding morning for a great cause,” BOS said in a statement. “We’re proud to roll up our sleeves, give back and spend time together twice a year making a meaningful impact.”

Tejas president receives World Cup memorabilia

Tejas Office Products, Inc., Houston, Texas, was the proud recipient of a World Cup soccer ball and a framed World Cup 2026 soccer flag. The dealer’s president, Stephen M. Fraga, serves on the board of the Sports Authority Foundation,

which is part of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. The two entities worked hard to bring the World Cup 2026 to Houston, with the Sports Authority Foundation raising the money and providing the funding for World Cup Houston 2026. “The World Cup 2026 was a huge economic opportunity for the United States and Houston hosted seven matches,” says Fraga.“It gave us a chance to show the world what a great city this is and how hospitable we are here in Houston.”

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Winner’s Circle In Memoriam: Rose Molz, president, EZ Office Products

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Rose built her dealership with the same values that guided her life: integrity, compassion, hard work and a genuine desire to help others. To Rose, business was never simply about business. She cared deeply about the people around her and was always looking for ways to make a difference. Away from work, Rose found great joy in gardening. She loved the simple pleasure of tending to her garden and watching things grow. Most of all, she treasured time with her family. Her family was at the center of her life and the memories she created with them will remain a lasting part of her legacy. INDEPENDENT DEALER extends its deepest sympathies to Gary and all of Rose’s extended family.

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INDEPENDENT DEALER was saddened to learn of the passing of Rose Molz, founder and president of EZ Office Products. Rose was born in Madison, Wisconsin. After graduating from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison, she went to work for Rayovac in 1987, beginning in customer service and eventually leading a new sales division selling batteries and flashlights to office supply resellers. In 1993, she moved to United Stationers as a regional director of customer services. She acted as a liaison to the company’s service departments—first in the Southwest, where she was based out of Dallas, then on the East Coast based in Philadelphia. On leaving United, she joined her husband’s family dealership, BF Molz, in 2004 as a sales manager, responsible for both Wisconsin and the East Coast. In 2006, they both decided to move back to Rose’s hometown and start up EZ Office Products.

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PAGE 11

Secrets of Success

BOS IL

One of the six companies that make up BOS Holdings, BOS IL, Roselle, Illinois, focuses on furniture, which accounts for 90% of its sales. The family-operated business began operating in 1948 as the world’s first Haworth dealer, a partnership that remains strong today. In addition to its base in Roselle, BOS has several locations in the Chicagoland area, including a recently remodeled sales showroom in downtown Chicago and a warehouse with refurbished inventory. Since 2012, the company has been employee owned thanks to an employee stock ownership plan. “Being employee owned is the number one reason for our continued success,” says president George Lucas Pfeiffer. “We have a legacy of great people and they are all owners. It’s not one person but a whole team and they all care.” Pfeiffer cites seeing projects through from start to finish as another plus point: “We offer clients a 360-degree experience, managing a project before and after like we would want ourselves. We start by developing the concept they are looking for; provide product selection guidance and procurement; work with them to ensure the project stays within their budget—whatever is needed. And we ensure operational excellence throughout the process. There’s a lot of complexity to designing and modeling a workplace, and I think how we solve problems sets us apart. This is why we retain clients, and those loyal customers are key to our success.” BOS IL also does a lot of business in used furniture— enough to warrant a separate division, which continues to grow. “We have a 150,000-square-foot warehouse of used furniture, as a lot of nonprofits and today some larger clients are buying used,” explains Pfeiffer. “Some companies are required to buy a certain amount of used furniture for sustainability reasons. There are also advantages to repurposed furniture: it’s in stock, so

Company info Headquarters: Roselle, Illinois Top management: George Pfeiffer, CEO, BOS Holdings; George Lucas Pfeiffer, president, BOS IL Number of employees: 102 Annual sales: $90 million Percentage of sales by category: 90% furniture; 10% other

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there’s no lead time or manufacturing delays; and with today’s economy, the used market is hot.” Of course, there are also challenges to contend with, with success hinging on how these are addressed. “The furniture market can be competitive, especially in a city like Chicago, which can mean low margins,” admits Pfeiffer. “But this is where service comes in. You have to add value beyond just product. AI is also challenging, especially in the digital space, as no one knows what the workplace will even look like. AI is skyrocketing: there have been more advances in it in the last few months than in the last 10 years. One example is space visualization: in just the past couple of months, we went from rendering design spaces to using AI to render what they will look like with photos. But we think there’s potential in the near future to fill in and replace what AI can’t do: being human and building trust and loyalty. Computers are doing more, while human relevance and trust are deteriorating. We are optimistic that developing relationships and trust will be even more important in the future.” For dealers looking to stay ahead of the game, Pfeiffer offers some sage advice: “It’s an exciting time, with so much innovation, but you can’t wait to adapt. To remain relevant, you have to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves. Learn to pivot quicker. Don’t chase every shiny object, but talk and network with your peers, as we are all in the same boat. And whether you decide to act now or wait, it’s important to stay informed.”

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Where creativity finds its canvas. HP Home and Office Papers™

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PAGE 13

Industry News

ECI adds to portfolio with Prima acquisition

ECI Software Solutions has acquired UK-based ERP and e-commerce provider Prima Software in a move designed to strengthen its technology offering for office products dealers. The acquisition, which closed on July 31, brings Prima’s cloud-native ERP and e-commerce platform into ECI’s distribution portfolio. The companies said the combination will create a broader end-to-end technology ecosystem for independent office supplies dealers in the UK, Ireland and the US, with a particular focus on AI-powered capabilities and cloud-based business management. The transaction followed around two years of consideration about Prima’s future, with ECI one of three interested parties. After exploring the options, explained Prima CEO Stephen McLaughlin, ECI stood out because of its existing knowledge of the independent dealer community and the resources it could bring to Prima. Texas-headquartered ECI said the deal builds on its more than 25-year presence in the office supplies sector SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

and reflects its continued investment in technology designed specifically for independent dealers. According to ECI CEO Trevor Gruenewald, distributors are facing increasing pressure from online competitors, alongside heightened customer demand for fast, seamless ordering and fulfillment. “Joining forces with Prima is a natural extension of our mission to help independent dealers thrive,” he stated. “At a time when distributors are facing rising customer expectations and tightening margins, the need for streamlined operations is critical.” McLaughlin added that the acquisition would enable the company to accelerate product development while maintaining its existing customer relationships and identity. “This acquisition isn’t about changing Prima; it’s about giving our products and our people the resources to become even better at scale,” he noted. “With ECI, we are securing a future for Prima that would have been impossible to achieve alone. The challenge for a smaller INDEPENDENT DEALER

company is not necessarily having the ideas; it’s having the time, people and investment to turn those ideas into reality.” In a letter to customers, McLaughlin explained: “Your experience with Prima remains the same: the same products, the same dedicated team and the same high level of support. The difference is that—going forward—we have the scale and resources to bring you new features more quickly, deepen integrations and enhance our software with advanced AI-driven insights.” Writing on LinkedIn after the announcement, ECI Industry president Brian Bowerfind said the acquisition represented “another step forward” in ECI’s commitment to industry-specific software and investment in the office products channel. “What has stood out most is the passion and customer-first mindset of the Prima team,” he wrote. “You can tell they’ve built something special and this culture comes through in every conversation. We’re excited to learn from each other and build on that foundation together.” PAGE 14

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PAGE 15

Industry News

Essendant begins layoffs after issuing WARN notices US wholesaler Essendant appears to be laying off workers weeks before the end of the 60-day transition period it outlined at the beginning of August. A number of employees confirmed on LinkedIn at the end of August that their employment has now ended. One said hundreds of staff were informed during a brief video call that they should not go back to work the next day. The development comes after Essendant issued WARN notices to employees on August 3, as it evaluated strategic alternatives for the business, including potential transactions with interested buyers and securing additional capital. However, Essendant admitted In a letter to staff that it would “need to cease its operations and close the business” if these efforts fail. And the company did not sound optimistic about its chances of success. The letter confirmed that the wholesaler “currently expects it will be terminating the employment of all its employees following a 60-day transition period,” but that it intended to “operate as usual” in the meantime. Staff were told they were expected to continue to perform their regular duties during the transition period. Essendant added that it was “sincerely grateful for your continued dedication, professionalism and support.” However, while staff had received WARN notices with timelines extending into October and had expected to remain with the company until then, it now appears that hundreds of people joined a Zoom call in late August and were told in a brief statement that they should not return to work the following day. One LinkedIn post claimed those affected received no severance, continued benefits or meaningful transition support.

It is not clear how many Essendant employees have now been laid off, whether further job cuts are imminent or how the move will affect the wholesaler’s ongoing operations. Publicly available WARN notices point to around 1,400 redundancies across various locations. There has also been no confirmation that Essendant has ended its efforts to secure additional capital or find a buyer for the business, but its prospects appear bleak. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Department of Labor has received a complaint about the layoffs that have already taken place in the company’s home state and an investigation is underway as to whether they violate the state’s WARN Act. Meanwhile, a number of vendors are taking legal action against the wholesaler. Court documents reveal that Amax, Crayola and tissue supplier Teh Tung have all filed complaints in recent weeks.

Durable expands into signage, safety and workspace solutions German business solutions provider Durable is repositioning itself in North America under the slogan “Solutions for Efficiency.” In recent years, the company has evolved beyond its core office supplies portfolio in Europe to include categories such as visual communication,

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

safety and workplace design. “One of the key selling points of Durable products is their wide range of applications tailored to specific customer needs,” said Aubrey Baumann, managing director of Durable North America. “Today’s industrial products must meet a

INDEPENDENT DEALER

multitude of regulatory requirements and anticipate country-specific formats. That is Durable’s key strength. “So far, we’ve only been distributing a fraction of the product line that’s already successful in Europe to the American market. Of course, we want to change that.” PAGE 16

Join ISG members, suppliers, partners, and industry leaders under one roof Nov. 2-5, 2026* in San Diego to exchange insights, ignite ideas, and shape the future of the Independent Distribution Channel!

What ISG attendees said about Industry Week ‘25! Beautifully curated and so informative! It was great collaborating with other dealers to see how they are taking on the same problems everyone is facing as well as get to meet suppliers in person and have meaningful conversations with them. Not overwhelming like other tradeshows - great ability to come and speak to everyone beyond the superﬁcial conversations. - Ellie Dowsland Bulk Oﬃce Supply

This time to think about the business instead of working on the business was invaluable. It was fantastic recognizing that we were not alone in some of the problems we struggle through. The event provided us with a renewed sense of energy to go after business when we got back to the oﬃce. - Alan Bird Complete Oﬃce Supply

Industry Week is the only event that brings dealers and vendor partners from all corners of the country together to collaborate and learn from one another. It is a MUST attend event. - Jordan Kudler Legacy Oﬃce Solutions

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INDEPENDENT DEALER

*Pinnacle members should plan to arrive on Oct. 31 for Pinnacle meetings and events.

PAGE 17

Industry News

Rebrand for Highlands

The US operations of sales and marketing agency Highlands have a new group identity. The Atlanta-based company has reverted to its original name, The Highlands Group, as part of a rebrand that also includes a new visual identity and a redesigned website. In recent years, the business had operated simply as Highlands. It said the change reflects the growth of its team, the expansion of its services and the way it now works with brands across multiple sales channels. Founded in 1962 as a sales rep group serving office products manufacturers in the southeastern US, The Highlands Group has developed into a national sales, marketing and e-commerce agency. It said it now helps generate more than $1 billion in annual sales for the brands it represents. “Our name has always reflected our roots, but this rebrand is about

more than a new look,” said CEO Seth Raley. “It reflects where the company is now—a full sales, marketing and data organization, working across every channel that drives our clients’ revenue.” He added: “The principles haven’t changed—we show up, we do the work and we treat people right. The brand is simply catching up to the business we’ve become.” The new identity brings together three core practice areas: sales and distribution, marketing and branding,

and data and technology. The latter includes POS analytics, trace data and AI-driven tools aimed at identifying growth opportunities and measuring results. The Highlands Group represents brands across sectors including office products, facility services, jan/ san, hospitality, MRO, foodservice and e-commerce. Its redesigned website includes expanded information on its services, client case studies, an insights library and a careers section.

Name change for ODP; Wight departs

The ODP Group has undergone yet another rebrand. After tweaking its name from The ODP Corporation to The ODP Group a few months ago, the Atlas Holdings-owned reseller is now called Office Depot Group. In line with this development, its B2B division—which has operated as ODP Business Solutions since 2022—is now Office

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Depot Business. The changes, which took effect on September 15, see a return to the Office Depot name that has been associated with the reseller for more than 40 years. “It’s the same Office Depot you already know from our stores—now the name behind everything we do,” CEO Craig Gunckel said in a social media post.

He added that the move represented “much more than a simple name change,” pointing to the recognition the Office Depot brand has built up over the decades. Meanwhile, just a few months after returning to the company, Bryan Wight has left his role as president of Office Depot Business, as part of a wider management reshuffle. He has been

INDEPENDENT DEALER

Bryan Wight

succeeded by Ted Walter, who was most recently in charge of the Federation group of regional business supplies resellers.

PAGE 18

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Industry News

GSA criticises AbilityOne country of origin compliance The US General Services Administration (GSA) has ordered a comprehensive review of products sold through the AbilityOne program after identifying items labeled as US-made that originated in China and elsewhere. GSA administrator Edward Forst has written to the US AbilityOne Commission requesting an audit of products offered through GSA procurement channels, including verification of their country of origin (COO), sourcing, pricing and compliance with applicable regulations. AbilityOne provides products and services to federal agencies through a network of nonprofit organizations that employ people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Products on the program’s Procurement List are a mandatory source for federal agencies and, under the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, must be manufactured or assembled by qualifying nonprofits. However, GSA said it had found “multiple examples” of AbilityOne-associated technology products listed on its procurement platforms as having the US as their country of origin when they were actually sourced from China and other foreign countries. Examples include flash drives, docking ports and portable charging packs. GSA said the presence of foreign-made technology products on a mandatory federal procurement program were potentially a threat to cybersecurity and national security. “Federal tax dollars spent on the AbilityOne program should support jobs for blind and disabled Americans, not foreign competitors,” commented Forst. “Many of AbilityOne’s product offerings raise serious national security concerns and cast doubt on its ability to carry out its mission.” GSA also has the AbilityOne Commission’s application of its “Essentially the Same” policy in its sights. It claimed this could result in American-made products on GSA platforms being replaced by AbilityOne alternatives sourced from countries such as China, potentially harming domestic manufacturers. The latest action follows steps already taken by the AbilityOne Commission to strengthen supply chain oversight. In September 2025, it instructed the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

program’s central nonprofit agencies to establish the country of origin of Procurement List products and identify supply chain risks. Further measures introduced this year included additional documentation requirements and ensuring new Procurement List products comply with the Buy American Act unless covered by an approved waiver. GSA is now asking the Commission to verify the COO of all products offered through its platforms and to correct inaccurate or incomplete listings. The requested information is due by November 12. Forst has also instructed GSA’s senior procurement executive to take steps to remove an exception that allows AbilityOne products originating in China and other non-allied countries to be offered through the program. In its letter, GSA also confirmed it had identified “several other concerning issues” at AbilityOne, including “inflated price markups” and “curiously high executive compensation.” The review forms part of the Trump administration’s wider push to strengthen oversight of Made in America claims across federal purchasing channels. In a short statement on its website, the AbilityOne Commission wrote: “The Commission remains fully committed to achieving President Trump’s goals and priorities. Throughout this Administration, the Commission has been working closely with GSA on a wide range of issues related to the AbilityOne Program. “The Commission will review the letter and looks forward to continuing its longstanding and constructive partnership with GSA to create quality employment opportunities through the AbilityOne Program for 41,000 Americans, including veterans, who are blind or

INDEPENDENT DEALER

PAGE 20

Industry News

Logitech names business group leader

Logitech has appointed Henry Levak as general manager of its Team Workspace Solutions (TWS) business group as the company continues to expand its B2B operations. Reporting to CEO Hanneke Faber, Levak has switched from his previous role as VP of product for Logitech for Business, having spent the past nine years leading the development of video collaboration and workplace technology products. The TWS business group oversees Logitech’s portfolio of video bars, AI-powered cameras, touch controllers, room scheduling panels and occupancy sensors, together with its Sync cloud management platform and enterprise services. Levak joined Logitech in 2017 and has been involved in the development of a range of conferencing and meeting room solutions, including three products that received TIME Best Invention awards. Before joining Logitech, he held product and user experience roles at Pebble, Palm and LG.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Commenting on the appointment, Faber said Levak’s experience made him well placed to lead the business “as the company doubles down on B2B.” The announcement follows Logitech’s increasing focus on enterprise customers, with the company highlighting strong momentum in its Logitech for Business division and AI-enabled workplace solutions in recent quarterly earnings updates.

INDEPENDENT DEALER

PAGE 21

Industry News Katun launches US dealer financing program

Grainger acquires technology assets

Industrial and MRO products distributor Grainger has acquired the technology, intellectual property and talent assets of technology solutions company Adroit Worldwide Media (AWM) for $210 million. Grainger said the assets will enhance inventory management capabilities within its High-Touch Solutions— North America segment. The technology is intended to help customers manage MRO inventory, improve product availability and free up skilled labor for higher-value work. The distributor will begin integrating the assets immediately, with a commercial pilot of the new capabilities planned over the next several months. Grainger said the acquisition is not expected to make a material contribution to its near-term financial results.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

Imaging supplies and printer vendor Katun has introduced a new financing program for authorized Arivia dealers in the US. The program, supported by Wells Fargo Vendor Finance, gives dealers access to financing for qualifying Katun products, subject to credit approval and other terms and conditions. “This new offering with Wells Fargo Vendor Finance gives our partners greater flexibility to simplify the sales process and pursue new opportunities,” said Katun VP of global marketing Kay Fernandez. Wells Fargo vendor finance SVP—office technology Jeff McGaughey added: “This program is designed to give authorized dealers another tool to help customers evaluate technology investments.” Authorized Arivia dealers can access details of the financing program through Katun’s Katalyst Partner Portal.

PAGE 22

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WSA Focus Paul A. Miller, legislative counsel, Workplace Solutions Association

Government procurement reform:

stop buying like it’s 2006

outdated assumption: bigger means safer, easier and more capable. That may have been understandable 20 or 30 years ago, but it makes far less sense today. Technology has fundamentally changed what a small business can do. Supply chains have changed. Distribution has changed. Inventory management has changed. E-commerce has changed. Logistics have changed. Data has changed. The ability to serve customers nationally has changed. And small businesses have changed with all of it. The question is whether federal procurement has changed enough with them. As the next Congress considers government efficiency, procurement reform, competition and the future of the federal marketplace, it should start with a simple principle: government should buy based on capability, performance, value and competition—not outdated assumptions about company size. That isn’t a handout to small businesses; it is smarter government.

For decades, Washington has talked about supporting small businesses. Every administration recognizes their importance. Every Congress has members who champion them. Federal agencies have small business offices, contracting goals, set-asides, outreach programs, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

mentor-protégé initiatives and countless pages of regulations designed to ensure small companies have an opportunity to compete. Yet when it comes to how the federal government actually buys goods and services, too much of the system still operates from an INDEPENDENT DEALER

The small business of 2026 isn’t the small business of 2006 Twenty years ago, scale was a significant barrier for many small businesses. Large companies often had advantages that were difficult for smaller competitors to replicate: nationwide distribution networks, sophisticated inventory systems, advanced communications technology, significant warehousing PAGE 24

WSA Focus capacity and access to enormous amounts of data and capital Technology has since narrowed many of those gaps. Today’s small business can manage inventory in real time. It can use sophisticated logistics platforms. It can access nationwide distribution networks without owning every warehouse or truck. It can process orders electronically, analyze purchasing patterns, automate back-office operations, provide sophisticated customer service and communicate instantaneously with customers across the country. In many industries, technology hasn’t simply made small businesses more efficient; it has allowed them to perform at a scale once reserved almost exclusively for large corporations. That matters for federal procurement. The government should not assume that a company with thousands of employees can automatically perform better than one with 50, 100 or 200 employees. The better questions are: can the company deliver? Has it delivered before? Does it understand the customer? Is its pricing competitive? Is its service strong? Does it have the technology and supply chain necessary to perform? If the answers are yes, its size should not be treated as a liability. For established small government contractors, past performance is a vital statistic. A small business that has successfully served federal customers for 10, 15 or 20 years has already answered the most important question: can it do the job? Government procurement should reward those records rather than continually designing larger, more complex vehicles that make it harder for such companies to compete. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Stop confusing consolidation with efficiency One of the most important procurement issues Congress should examine is the government’s continuing attraction to consolidation. On paper, buying more through fewer vendors can look efficient. There are fewer contracts to administer. Fewer relationships to manage. Potentially larger volume discounts. But administrative convenience should not be confused with economic efficiency. The federal government is one of the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world. There is tremendous value in having a broad, diverse, competitive supplier base serving that customer. Multiple vendors create competition. Competition creates pressure on price. It encourages better service. It produces innovation. It gives government buyers alternatives when one supplier experiences a disruption. And it prevents the government from becoming overly dependent on a handful of major contractors. If Washington is serious about supply chain resilience, competition should be considered an asset, not an inconvenience. Think about what we have learned over the past several years about supply chains. Over-reliance on too few sources creates vulnerabilities. Yet government procurement can unintentionally encourage exactly that outcome when contracts become so large, complex, bundled or administratively burdensome that only the biggest companies can realistically compete. Government shouldn’t create monopolistic or oligopolistic purchasing environments in the name of efficiency and then wonder why competition has disappeared. INDEPENDENT DEALER

Real procurement reform should ask a different question: how do we make government purchasing efficient while preserving a healthy marketplace of capable suppliers? Those objectives are not mutually exclusive. Give proven small businesses a real opportunity Federal small business policy too often focuses on getting companies into government contracting. That is important. But we also need to talk about keeping successful small businesses in the federal marketplace. There are companies across America that have served federal agencies successfully for decades. They understand government customers. They know the rules. They have invested in systems, employees, cybersecurity, compliance, logistics and technology specifically to serve the federal marketplace. Government should value this institutional knowledge. A small business with a proven federal track record shouldn’t find itself pushed aside simply because the government’s newest acquisition strategy favors a giant contract vehicle or a handful of large vendors. This is particularly crucial in industries such as office products and business supplies. Our industry features a star-studded cast of small business owners and operators that understand purchasing, distribution, customer service, logistics, technology, federal contracting and the daily needs of government customers. Many have spent their careers figuring out how to serve agencies better and more efficiently. Why wouldn’t government want their expertise? PAGE 25

WSA Focus Get small business CEOs into the room One of the biggest reforms Washington could make doesn’t require billions of dollars or another complicated federal program. Ask small business owners what works. Government officials will correctly point out that agencies already conduct industry days, requests for information, listening sessions, small business outreach and stakeholder meetings. And they do; but not everywhere, and not always early enough to meaningfully influence the outcome. There is a difference between asking industry to comment on a procurement strategy that has already been developed and bringing experienced business owners into the conversation while the government is still deciding what that strategy should be. Washington understands this concept in other areas. When Congress considers major tax policy, business leaders

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

are invited to testify and provide expertise. When presidents want to discuss the economy, manufacturing, technology or AI, the CEOs of America’s largest corporations are invited to Washington. They sit around tables at the White House. Cameras capture the meeting. Reporters cover it. We aren’t nearly as good at doing the same thing with small business CEOs. Why? A White House summit with 25 small business owners probably won’t generate the same media attention as a meeting with the CEOs of America’s most recognizable corporations. Sad, but true. Yet those small business owners may have just as much—and collectively far more—at stake in the American economy. We were reminded of that during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress went to extraordinary lengths to keep small businesses operating because policymakers understood what would happen if millions of them collapsed

INDEPENDENT DEALER

simultaneously. The consequences wouldn’t have been limited to those individual companies. Communities would have suffered. Jobs would have disappeared. Commercial districts would have emptied. Supply chains would have weakened. Local tax bases would have declined. The American economy would have suffered acutely. Small businesses weren’t suddenly important because of the pandemic; the pandemic reminded Washington of how important they had always been. We shouldn’t forget that lesson when government is deciding how to spend taxpayer dollars. Real-world experience matters There is another reality government needs to acknowledge. While working for the government affords insight into procurement policy, it does not necessarily generate the experience of running a company that competes for and performs government contracts. Those are two different perspectives.

PAGE 26

WSA Focus Small business owners understand payroll. They understand margins. They understand what delayed payments mean. They understand the cost of complying with a solicitation. They understand how bundling affects competition. They understand what happens when a contract requirement sounds reasonable on paper but becomes expensive or impractical in the real world. They understand the difference between theoretical competition and an opportunity a small business can realistically pursue. Without this perspective, government can unintentionally design policies based on assumptions. That is why procurement reform should institutionalize greater involvement from seasoned small business government contractors—not after decisions have been made, but while acquisition strategies are being developed. Ask them where unnecessary barriers exist. Ask which requirements protect the government and which simply add cost. Ask where consolidation helps and where it destroys competition. Ask how technology has affected their ability to perform. Ask what keeps otherwise qualified companies from bidding. Then listen. What real procurement reform looks like Real reform isn’t about guaranteeing small businesses contracts they haven’t earned; it’s about making sure they aren’t prevented from competing for contracts they are fully capable of fulfilling. Congress and the administration should examine procurement policies through that lens. Before consolidating or bundling SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

requirements, agencies should have to seriously evaluate the impact on competition and the small business supplier base. Past performance by proven small businesses should carry meaningful weight. Acquisition officials should examine whether contract size and structure reflect actual operational requirements or simply historical practice. The government should also measure more than whether it technically met a small business contracting percentage. Ask deeper questions. How many small businesses are competing? How many are winning? How many experienced small contractors are leaving the federal marketplace? Is spending becoming concentrated among fewer companies? Are contract vehicles structured so small businesses can realistically participate as primes rather than simply serving underneath larger companies? Those answers would tell us far more about the health of the federal marketplace. Most importantly, procurement officials should be empowered to challenge the phrase that kills innovation in almost every organization: “That’s how we’ve always done it.” Government procurement shouldn’t operate from the 2006 playbook simply because the rules and systems were built then. The marketplace has changed. Technology has changed. Small businesses have changed. Government purchasing should change too: it should be better for small business—and better for government. This conversation cannot simply be framed as helping small businesses. That misses the larger point. A procurement system that encourages more qualified businesses to compete is good for INDEPENDENT DEALER

taxpayers. A system with multiple suppliers is good for resilience. A system that rewards performance is good for government customers. A system that enables innovative small companies to challenge incumbents is good for pricing and service. And a system that keeps successful small businesses engaged in the federal marketplace strengthens America’s economic base. The federal government has formidable power as a purchaser. How it chooses to spend those dollars shapes markets. Congress should use that power wisely. Don’t give small businesses a handout; give them a fair shot. Don’t assume they can’t perform because they aren’t some of the largest companies in America; look at what they have delivered. Don’t design procurements around yesterday’s marketplace; build them around today’s capabilities. And before Washington writes the next generation of procurement rules, bring America’s small business owners into the room—not for a photo opportunity, and not after the decisions have already been made, but because their experience can help government make better decisions. Real procurement reform shouldn’t be measured by how much money government directs toward small businesses. It should be measured by whether government has created a competitive marketplace in which the best companies—large and small—have a genuine opportunity to deliver the best value to the American taxpayer. If Washington gets that right, small businesses will benefit—but so will the federal government. And ultimately, so will every taxpayer who expects government to spend their money wisely. PAGE 27

WSA Focus

Hiring and retaining sales staff Mike Tucker, executive director, Workplace Solutions Association

When I learned the subject of the cover story for this month’s issue of INDEPENDENT DEALER, I was somewhat shocked to realize how much things have changed since I sold my business 10 years ago. Many of my initial hires at George W. Allen Co. were easy. The mergers and acquisitions by Office Depot, Staples and Corporate Express were prompting scores of talented and seasoned reps to interview with new companies as their comp plans and territories were being destroyed. Reps experienced in office products, furniture and even government sales were looking for new homes and independent dealers welcomed them with open arms. Working in office products during the 1980s and 1990s offered a career that paid well. White-collar jobs were growing and new offices needed to be furnished and supplied. Office automation and word processing technology were advancing rapidly, and some dealers were paying commission rates as high as 40% of gross profit. Sales reps passed out catalogs and samples, and cold calling was considered an essential part of developing new business. Hiring and training new reps was very different. Recruitment and staffing agencies like Indeed didn’t exist. As part of onboarding, new sales reps were required to spend days or weeks working in different divisions of the company (e.g., warehouse, delivery, customer service). Eventually, they shadowed seasoned reps to learn tactics and methods for managing their accounts and territories. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Changing times The independent dealer channel is about 15% of what it was 30 years ago. The introduction of new technologies and the goal of a paperless office continue to shrink the office products category. Most dealers have adapted by evolving to a hybrid, high service model offering a full range of workplace solutions (e.g., jan/san, furniture, breakroom, MRO, promotional products, copier/ printer service). All of this adds to the challenge of hiring and retaining sales staff. “The biggest opportunity is not necessarily finding ‘office products salespeople’; it is recruiting proven B2B sellers from adjacent industries and teaching them our product portfolio,” said Scott Hart, COO at Greenville Office Supply, when I asked him for his views. “The dealers that win over the next decade will be those that build the strongest sales cultures, attract the best people and create environments where top performers choose to stay and grow their careers. A disciplined talent strategy is no longer a HR initiative; it INDEPENDENT DEALER

is a core business growth strategy.” I believe most companies today use some type of online employment website which can connect them with candidates from other industries. Others find talent from within their own organization that can be developed. But these types of hires are successful only when the new sales reps are put through a thorough and ongoing training program focused on data, strategies and solutions-based selling. A successful training program should contain most, if not all, of the following elements: ethics, understanding buyers, communication skills, prospecting and sales funnel analysis, presentations and conversations, creating and communicating value, earning commitment and handling objections, expanding relationships after the sale, and self-leadership and sales strategy The Workplace Solutions Association and ISSA’s new ISSA Academy offers several excellent sales training programs. If you’re interested in finding out more, contact me at miket@issa.com. PAGE 28

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NAOPA

Eyes on the prize

The shortlist for the 2026 North American Office Products Awards (NAOPA) features those companies and individuals that are truly raising the bar. Returning for another year of celebrating excellence across the business supplies sector, the NAOPA shine a spotlight on the organizations and individuals driving the industry forward. Presented by OPI during Industry Week ’26 powered by ISG, taking place in Chula Vista, California, from November 1-5, the awards recognize achievement across nine categories. The judges faced another highly competitive field this year, with entries showcasing the breadth of talent, innovation and expertise across the sector. The following nominees have secured their place on the 2026 shortlist: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Best Product: Core Business Product • 3M: Scotch Heavy Duty Recycled Tape • 3M: Command Electronic Organization Collection • Fellowes Brands: Breyta wrist support and mats • Kensington: KB535 EQ Rechargeable Multi-Device Keyboard • MBM: AeroDieCut • Victor Technology: Heetz Foot and Leg Warmer Best Product: Facilities • Apex Tools: Crescent SITERUNNER 3 Shelf Folding Jobsite Cart • Energizer: Ultimate Child Shield • IPC: CT15 Compact Scrubber • Noramco: TruBio • Star Brands: The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste • Victor Technology: Zip Stick INDEPENDENT DEALER

Best Product: Furniture & Design • Eurotech: The Ciro chair • Eurotech: The Ergohuman with colored frames • FireKing International: FireShield Edge Series • Ghent: Flyte Collection • SAFCO: TechWorks • The HON Company: Brim Best Product: Technology • ECI Software Solutions: EvolutionX • Kensington: VeriMark Desktop 2.0 Fingerprint Key • Luxor Workspaces: LuxPower Charging Tower • Luxor Workspaces: KwikBoost Standard Floor Stand Charging Station • MBM: Precision Card Pro • Victor Technology: SpinCalc Innovation of the Year • Energizer: Ultimate Child Shield PAGE 30

NAOPA • Kensington: Eyesafe Blue Light Privacy Screen Filter • Luxor Workspaces: LuxPower Charging Tower • NewEraSOS Scientific Optimal Solutions: Clean-Seal-Protect Program • Essity: Tork Hygiene for All • Victor Stationery: Zip Stick Young Executive of the Year • Ethan Boulware: Herald Office Solutions • Alex Gordon: Highlands • JP Grogan: Benjamin Office Supply • Andrew Nash: Dicks and Company There is no shortlist for the Professional of the Year and Industry Achievement awards. Both winners will be announced during Industry Week. For more details about the North American Office Products Awards, please visit www.opi.net/naopa2026 MEET THE YOUNG EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS Ethan Boulware, Herald Office Solutions Ethan Boulware, CFO and operations director at Herald Office Solutions, began his career with the company as a summer warehouse employee at age 22. He advanced through leadership roles in warehouse and fleet management, and ultimately operations, before earning a master’s degree in accounting. Today, he serves as CFO and oversees all operations, is the only non-owner on Herald’s Board of Directors and is a respected leader within the office products industry. Alex Gordon, Highlands Over more than a decade at Highlands, Alex Gordon has SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

progressed from sales support to senior director, wholesale and IDC. His experience across sales, marketing, client services, field sales and strategic account management has strengthened partnerships throughout the wholesale channel. Known for his results-driven mindset, collaborative leadership and commitment to developing others, Gordon drives lasting value for customers, manufacturers and distributors. J.P. Grogan, Benjamin Office Supply J.P. Grogan is vice president of finance at Benjamin Office Supply, where he leads financial operations and champions improvements that have strengthened efficiency, transparency and scalability. After joining the company in customer service eight years ago following a career in hospitality, he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting while working for the business and progressed into executive leadership. Known for his curiosity and determination, Grogan is committed to building financial systems that support stronger business relationships. Andrew Nash, Dicks and Company After earning his CPA designation and spending seven years advising on mergers and acquisitions, Andrew Nash joined Dicks and Company as controller in 2022 and was appointed vice president just three years later. He also serves on the board of directors of Canadian Workplace Solutions (CWS) and played a key role in the landmark combination of CWS and Novexco, a transaction that unified much of Canada’s independent office products dealer network. INDEPENDENT DEALER

Ethan Boulware

Alex Gordon

J.P. Grogan

Andrew Nash

PAGE 31

NAOPA

The choice is yours The People’s Choice award is your chance to recognize the product that impressed you most. Choose your top three favorites from the shortlisted entries and help crown the 2026 winner. Voting is quick and easy—just visit www.opi.net/peopleschoice2026 3M: Command Electronic Organization Collection Designed for flexible placement and effortless adjustments, the Electronic Organization Collection makes it easy to organize cords without tools, nails or wall damage. It keeps cords neatly routed and tangle-free across workspaces, gaming stations and entertainment areas with damage-free mounting that ensures cables are accessible but orderly.

3M: Scotch Heavy Duty Recycled Tape Scotch Heavy Duty Recycled Packaging Tape from 3M delivers high-performance sealing with a more sustainable edge. Its backing is made from 100% recycled plastic, including 70% ocean-bound material and 30% post-industrial plastic, helping reduce waste without compromising strength. The durable adhesive seals boxes weighing up to 80 lb with a single strip, while the translucent, barcode-scannable design integrates seamlessly into shipping operations.

Backing made from 100% recycled plastic. Guaranteed to stay sealed.*

*If your box does not stay sealed, 3M will refund the purchase price of this tape. Proof of purchase is required. Contact: 1-800-3MHELPS.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

PAGE 32

NAOPA Apex Tools: Crescent SITERUNNER 3 Shelf Folding Jobsite Cart Designed to maximize productivity while minimizing storage space, the Crescent SITERUNNER converts from a slim, foldable profile into a rigid utility cart. It keeps tools and materials organized and within easy reach, helping users move efficiently around the jobsite. With a T-channel accessory rail for added versatility, it delivers a practical, space-saving solution for transport, storage and everyday work.

ECI Software Solutions: EvolutionX EvolutionX is a comprehensive, AI-powered e-commerce platform purpose-built for B2B office technology transactions and fully integrated with e-automate. It delivers a convenient, personalized online purchasing experience, while helping increase sales, facilitate expansion into new product categories and streamline operations.

Energizer: Ultimate Child Shield Building on its 3‑in‑1 Child Shield featuring three layers of protection, Energizer has introduced the Ultimate Child Shield—a coin lithium battery designed to prevent burns if swallowed. Using breakthrough technology that helps stop internal burning before it starts, it addresses a critical child safety risk while meeting growing demand for specialty batteries.

Effortlessly declutter your space with Command™ Cord Organization

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

PAGE 33

NAOPA

Essity: Tork Hygiene for All Public washrooms play a vital role in creating inclusive, accessible environments. Through its Hygiene for All initiative, Essity’s Professional Hygiene brand, Tork, addresses barriers to comfortable hygiene access while advancing social responsibility and sustainability. Tork not only reduces environmental impact but improves user confidence and wellbeing in everyday life, ultimately leading to increased revenue and customer satisfaction.

Eurotech: The Ciro chair The Ciro chair reimagines the modern task chair by combining ergonomic performance with bold design and customization. Its self-weight synchronous mechanism automatically adjusts recline resistance to each user; while breathable mesh, 4D armrests and position locking provide lasting comfort and support. The FABRIX program offers upholstery in more than 10,000 fabrics with a seven-day lead time and tool-free assembly simplifies installation. Eurotech: The Ergohuman with colored frames Available in any Pantone color, the Ergohuman introduces a new level of personalization to ergonomic seating, enabling organizations and individuals to match their brand, style or vision with precision. Beneath its customized finish, the chair delivers the ergonomic performance Ergohuman is synonymous with, combining dynamic lumbar support, breathable mesh and eight precision adjustments for all-day comfort.

Due to my eczema, I can only use soft paper towels in public restrooms to dry my hands pain-free.

– Mason

One in two people are likely to face barriers to hygiene in restrooms* Inclusive hygiene isn’t just the right thing to do for people, it’s the right thing to do for business. That’s why Tork is on a mission to make restroom hygiene more inclusive, from dermatologically tested soaps to dispensers accredited by the Swedish Rheumatism Association. Because everyone benefits when more people can use restrooms with ease.

Discover how Tork can make your restroom hygiene more inclusive. torkglobal.com Tork, an Essity brand

*Survey conducted of 11,500 respondents in the US, UK, DE, FR, MX, CA, ES, SE, NL and PL, 2025. 54% of respondents reported experiencing barriers, without limitation, diagnosed or self-diagnosed physical/cognitive conditions, e.g. eczema, chronic pain, general anxiety, claustrophobia.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

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NAOPA Fellowes Brands: Breyta wrist support and mats The Breyta range of wrist supports and desk mats combines ergonomic comfort with sustainable design for modern workspaces. Featuring patent-pending HEX Cushion Technology, it provides breathable, long-lasting support that helps promote neutral wrist positioning and reduce strain. As well as an anti-dust surface that ensures smooth gliding, its minimalist styling, versatile color options and five-year warranty, deliver durable, customizable comfort.

IPC: CT15 Compact Scrubber Designed to deliver powerful cleaning performance in compact spaces, the CT15 floor scrubber combines a slim profile with exceptional maneuverability. Its 14” (36 cm) cleaning path and adjustable handle allow it to reach areas that traditional walk-behind scrubbers cannot, making it ideal for restaurants, laboratories, convenience stores, restrooms and entryways.

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FireKing International: FireShield Edge Series Certified fire protection meets contemporary workplace design in the FireShield Edge Series. Created for modern offices, hybrid workspaces and home offices, the range offers four storage configurations to suit evolving ways of working. Each cabinet is certified to withstand temperatures up to 1200°F for one hour and is backed by FireKing’s Free After-Fire Replacement Guarantee, protecting critical documents when it matters most.

Kensington: Eyesafe Blue Light Privacy Screen Filter Supporting privacy and visual comfort, Kensington’s Eyesafe Blue Light Privacy Screen Filter combines a privacy-focused viewing angle with advanced blue light reduction. Developed with leading eye care professionals, patented Eyesafe Technology helps reduce blue light exposure throughout the workday. An anti-glare, scratch-resistant design and touchscreen compatibility make it an ideal solution for secure, everyday productivity. INDEPENDENT DEALER

Ghent: Flyte Collection Ghent’s Flyte Collection redefines the modern writing surface with exceptional durability, performance and sustainability. Its aluminum core and steel surface resist bowing and warping; while Ghent’s proprietary GUV coating minimizes ghosting, fading and scratching for a consistently clear writing experience. The Flyte Collection—including Solo, Duo and Mobile—also meets indoor air quality requirements and is recyclable at mixed-metal facilities.

Kensington: KB535 EQ Rechargeable Multi-Device Keyboard For professionals seeking peak productivity, the KB535 EQ Rechargeable Multi-Device Keyboard can connect to up to four devices, allowing you to switch between them seamlessly. It features quiet, responsive scissor-switch keys, 16 programmable keys, a long-lasting rechargeable battery and a more sustainable design. The versatile and responsive keyboard offers a premium typing experience for professionals who work across multiple devices.

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TechWorks® SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

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NAOPA

Kensington: VeriMark Desktop 2.0 Fingerprint Key The VeriMark Desktop 2.0 Fingerprint Key delivers business‑class biometric authentication for Windows 11 desktop PCs. Featuring a reliable, wired USB connection with both USB‑C and USB‑A compatibility, it integrates seamlessly with Windows Hello and Windows Hello for Business, enabling fast, password‑free sign-in and secure access across Microsoft services, including Entra ID, Microsoft 365, OneDrive and Outlook.

MBM: AeroDieCut The AeroDieCut is an innovative auto-feed platen die cutter that combines professional-quality finishing with intuitive operation. It performs cutting, creasing, perforating and embossing in a single pass, while automated feeding and registration improve productivity and reduce waste. Compact and easy to operate, it provides print shops and marketing service providers with a faster, more cost-effective way to produce custom-shaped application with lower setup time and greater operational efficiency. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Luxor Workspaces: KwikBoost Standard Floor Stand Charging Station Consistent access to power keeps today’s mobile workforce connected and productive. The KwikBoost Standard Floor Stand Charging Station delivers fast charging for up to eight devices simultaneously, with a freestanding design and single-outlet installation for quick, flexible deployment. By providing convenient charging where it is needed most, it enhances the workplace experience while supporting collaboration, productivity and employee satisfaction.

MBM: Precision Card Pro Fast, accurate business card protection is easy with the Precision Card Pro—a compact, tabletop card cutter for print shops, in-plant facilities and quick print environments. Laser-guided alignment, ultrasonic multi-feed detection, automatic paper feeding, adjustable slitters and customizable job memory ensure efficient setup and consistent, professional-quality results, producing up to 150 full-bleed business cards per minute.

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Luxor Workspaces: LuxPower Charging Tower Dependable, high-capacity charging for up to 16 devices makes the LuxPower Charging Tower an ideal solution for modern classrooms and workplaces. Equipped with eight AC outlets and eight USB/ USB-C ports, its lightweight, portable design means power is always within reach. A durable powder-coated steel frame and padded top surface provide everyday protection, delivering a practical, scalable solution for modern learning and work environments. NewEraSOS Scientific Optimal Solutions: Clean-Seal-Protect Program Moving beyond traditional cleaning, the Clean-Seal-Protect Program combines advanced sub-micron nano-cleaning, light-activated self-cleaning sealers and EPA-registered residual sanitizing into a single maintenance solution. Together, these technologies help reduce soil, odors and contamination while providing continuous surface protection between cleanings. By extending asset life and reducing ongoing maintenance costs, the program delivers long-term operational and sustainability benefits.

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NAOPA SAFCO: TechWorks Built to support technical, scientific, healthcare, educational and engineering environments, Safco’s TechWorks is a fully modular benching system that combines industrial durability with flexibility. Its extensive range of interoperable worksurfaces, storage, power, lighting and ergonomic accessories enables workspaces to evolve without replacing core infrastructure, creating technology-ready environments that support collaboration, wellbeing and the continuous evolution of work. Noramco: TruBio Designed to reduce environmental impact without sacrificing performance, TruBio photodegradable bags are made with ECOgrade, a breakthrough formula that contains 80% natural materials and reduces GHG emissions by 35%. They break down in approximately 240 days and are compatible with standard recycling and municipal waste systems. Manufactured exclusively in the United States by Noramco, TruBio offers a more sustainable alternative to traditional can liners.

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NAOPA The HON Company: Brim With its sculpted one-piece shell and generous seat, Brim by The HON Company brings contemporary style and everyday comfort to modern workplaces. Available with four distinct base options and a curated palette of on-trend shell colors, it suits office cafés, conference rooms, dynamic workspaces and private offices alike, delivering an inviting seating solution with a residential-inspired sensibility.

Star Brands: The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste A viral favorite, The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste delivers powerful stain removal with a gentle, mild-abrasive formula. It effectively removes grease, burnt-on food, soap scum, rust and everyday grime from a wide range of surfaces. Vegan and cruelty-free, it combines high cleaning performance with a more sustainable formulation, while its iconic pink paste and impressive before-and-after results have driven considerable social engagement.

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NAOPA

Victor Technology: Heetz Foot and Leg Warmer The Heetz Foot and Leg Warmer keeps users comfortable in cold office environments with under-desk warmth. It featured three adjustable heat settings plus advanced safety protections, including automatic shutoff, tip-over protection and overheating safeguards. Ideal for office employees, remote workers, and students, Heetz eliminates the need for bulky layers or unsafe heating devices, improving both comfort and productivity.

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Victor Technology: SpinCalc Combining advanced mathematical functionality with sensory-friendly design, the SpinCalc supports both learning and focus. Featuring 240 functions, it incorporates a discreet, quiet fidget spinner into its protective cover, helping users stay engaged without distraction. It represents a shift toward inclusive design— recognizing that the way we interact with tools can be just as important as the functions they perform.

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Victor Technology: Zip Stick Victor Technology’s Zip Stick rethinks a decades-old category, blending the rigidity of a ruler with the reach of a tape measure and the convenience of a compact, portable design. Engineered for safe, one-handed measuring without recoil, it also features an integrated magnetic strip and Victor’s Easy Read Ruler technology for greater accuracy and ease of use.

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INDEPENDENT DEALER

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Cover Story

By Lisa Veeck

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

INDEPENDENT DEALER

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Cover Story If you are an independent office products dealer, at some point you may well have lamented, “We can’t find good salespeople!” Indeed, recruitment can prove challenging for even the most seasoned hands. In a family business, future generations often have other career plans; while more alluring industries are enticing away younger competent workers, thus reducing the potential hiring pool. The good news is it is not impossible to find and hire good salespeople, but this must start with understanding the industry’s own USPs. With this in mind, let’s explore some of the positive attributes of the industry and hear from dealers who are enjoying sales recruitment success. Sectoral advantages Dealers who have been in the business a while have a firm grasp of the associated benefits, but many forget that potential candidates seldom do. Consider sharing the following with potential hires.

Wage control Many independent dealers offer a base salary plus some form of commission, while others offer bonuses for goals met. Both models give reps greater control over their income—no more waiting for a raise that may never come. Instead, with some education, training and drive, salespeople can increase their incomes within a relatively short timeframe without needing the okay from a boss. Freedom Instead of being stuck in an office cubicle for eight hours, sales reps have a freedom few other types of employees enjoy. They can make their own schedules and visit customers in diverse territories. Meeting new people and seeing different places can stave off boredom and reduce the risk of burnout. Networking Sales reps have the chance to build lifelong friendships while

constantly making new contacts and connections. The phrase “It’s a small world” never proves truer than when it turns out your customer is best friends with your neighbor, can recommend a good car mechanic or is looking for someone to split a season ticket. Diversity Sales reps not only meet a wide range of people but also sell diverse product lines beyond office supplies, including furniture, janitorial, breakroom, print, MRO and packaging, among others. These offerings will undoubtedly continue to expand as dealers gain footholds in new segments. Satisfaction There’s surely not a rep alive who hasn’t felt personal satisfaction through meeting their goals or achieving an all-time commission high. But how about the thrill of successfully fulfilling a customer’s bizarre product request, delivering an emergency order in the nick

Stability Tales of high salaries in industries ranging from entertainment to fashion are prolific. However, how many would-be musicians are lucky enough to gain instant stardom in LA? How many advertising executives collect six-figure paychecks? And even those that do may one day find that a key account is suddenly lost and their agency is forced to lay off workers—or even shut up shop altogether. Especially for young professionals just starting out on their careers, the office products industry offers the opportunity to buy a house, raise a family and enjoy the security of a steady paycheck. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

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Cover Story

of time or nabbing a big account right from under the nose of the competition? The daily opportunities for wins are virtually endless. These victories not only increase job satisfaction but release endorphins that boost mood and help relieve stress—all of which improve health. These are just a few of the perks of selling in the industry. Now let’s hear from some dealers on how they are handling the challenges of recruitment. The inside track from dealers McCartney’s, Altona, Pennsylvania, just hired a new sales rep this month. The process wasn’t fast, but the company believes being thorough pays off. “It takes a lot of effort,” acknowledges head of sales, design and new business development Tracey Baker. “We try to find someone who will fit our culture and has values that align with where we are now as a company and where we SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

want to go. We are in a small market, so we don’t want a hotshot looking to make a ton of money. We are blunt and honest with jobseekers that we’re looking for someone who wants to stay at a growing company.” According to Baker, the company posts its jobs on LinkedIn and other social media, as well as spreading the word among employees and customers. This approach has reaped dividends thus far: “We have been fortunate in getting some good applicants and have struggled to narrow it down. As it turns out, our newest hire is the son of a customer. One of our employees heard that his son was coming home and had some related experience and thought he might be a good fit.” Lincoln Dix, vice president at Story Kenworthy, Des Moines, Iowa, finds it trickier to pin down the secrets of the company’s recruitment success: “I don’t know if we do anything really special, but we’ve been happy with the results. I don’t think it starts with INDEPENDENT DEALER

just a position; it starts with having the right culture—not just for sales, but for any position.” Drill down, however, and it’s clear that Story Kenworthy offers some rare incentives that give it a competitive edge. “Every new hire starts with four weeks of paid time off right out of the gate, whereas most companies only offer two weeks,” reveals Dix. “Also, we are one of only a handful of companies in our industry that offer profit sharing. When we hit our goals and metrics, the employees receive a share. We survey our employees every couple of years and this benefit is consistently rated at the top. We also offer a base pay. Younger workers don’t want 100% commission; they want more stable compensation that allows them to do things like buy a house. They’ve made this preference very clear. So, our legacy reps who are comfortable and want to stay on full commission rather than switching can; but for new hires, we offer a base plus a bonus— PAGE 46

Cover Story no commission. We also have a very clear onboarding process across 30, 60 and 90 days and outline exactly what they will be doing from day one.” Other benefits designed to attract prospective recruits include investing in workplace furniture that makes the office more appealing. In Portland, Oregon, Strive Workplace Solutions is coping with a conundrum facing numerous dealers. “With so many legacy sales reps looking to retire, it’s a big topic in the industry,” says president Jeff Lurcook. “At a recent roundtable at AOPD, many dealers agreed it’s impossible to find younger salespeople. Meanwhile, today’s customers are younger and more tech savvy.” His preferred solution? “Go for personality. Go for someone who can connect with customers—especially newer, younger buyers. Your legacy

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reps who will be looking to retire can help train them in the industry particulars.” Attracting these personable reps is another story, however. The company advertises positions on its website and social media; but according to Lurcook, it has sometimes been open to less orthodox methods: “One guy came into our warehouse through the dock area and asked, ‘Who do I talk to about a job?’ He figured out if he came in the front door, he’d be stopped by the receptionist. Instead, he talked to the owner, who liked and hired him.” This, however, is the exception that proves the rule of doing thorough research. “You can’t always tell about a person from a LinkedIn or Facebook profile or a resume,” explains Lurcook. “As much as they research us, we should be researching them. I look them up

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on their pages or other social media platforms. One candidate was giving the middle finger in about 20 of the pictures she had posted.” Wist Business Supplies and Equipment, Tempe, Arizona, keeps a constant lookout for sales hires. “Sometimes turnover is unexpected, so you need to keep the lines in the water and always be fishing,” suggests president Ian Wist. “Just today, I found out a gentleman was no longer with a competitor and I wasn’t sure why he left, so I reached out and suggested we meet for coffee. We post ads for other positions; but for sales, it mostly comes down to networking.” Office Express Office Products, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, engages a staffing agency as well as fielding suggestions from people in the community and customers when looking for sales talent. For president Benjamin Keel, success lies in how

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Cover Story both the employer and the position are portrayed. “Sales positions in our industry offer great opportunities, like steady work and the chance for extreme growth,” says Keel. “It comes down to selling them. Some companies call sales reps account managers, but we call them consultants. If you have a strong culture, show it. Take potential hires out and show some of the great customer relationships. Sell your mission, not just the job.” With the unemployment rate in North Dakota standing at just 2%, recruiting good sales reps can be especially challenging for Sioux Falls-based A&B Business Solutions. “We try everything we can—job fairs, social media like LinkedIn and Facebook and referrals,” reveals full-time recruiter Steve Prosapio. “We give a $100 bonus to employees if they refer someone we hire. I also do a lot of outreach.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

I try to find people who can help me get the word out; I work with schools, including North Dakota State University, where I meet with the teacher who specializes in sales and marketing. I also work with high schools and senior graduating classes, since college isn’t for everyone. I keep in touch with athletic coaches. Just today, we got approved as a partnership sponsor for the South Dakota High School Athletic Association. Many of our sales reps come to us right after high school or college. I also work with the Department of Labor in Sioux Falls and the Sioux Falls Development Organization, which knows people looking to relocate to the area. The key is to get the word out.” According to Prosapio, A&B spends a lot of time investigating whether candidates would be a good fit, to avoid constant churn: “Interviews are with different people

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and last two hours on average. Sales prospects usually take an additional personality test because the role requires a certain personality—more of a people person than project oriented.” And these methods seem to be working: “Sometimes we lose someone who is not the right fit, but so far we have only lost one rep out of 11.” For others on the hunt for stellar sales reps, Prosapio advises: “It’s one of those areas where there is no one magic way. You can’t try 75%; to be successful, you have to try everything. Some methods are harder than others, but you have to stay positive and keep trying. You also need a good story. Bad reviews on social media or Glassdoor [where current and former employees can post anonymous reviews] scare off potential candidates. Having a good company that treats people right makes 100% retention easier.”

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Jennifer Vitanzo

TOP TIPS FOR HIRING STELLAR SALESPEOPLE

Businesses are continually striving to find some sort of magic formula when it comes to hiring successful sales staff. They are seeking diamonds: candidates who are rock solid in adaptability, patience, empathy, active listening, problem solving and resilience, and who won’t cave under pressure. The problem is that most sales managers hire the way their predecessors did decades ago: post a job, sift through resumes chock-full of buzzwords, hold a couple of interviews, ask prospects how they handled a difficult customer and hope for SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

the best. This outdated method ignores potential hires who might not meet the criteria of traditional candidates but with plenty of transferable skills and experience that would make them an excellent fit for the role. Not only that, but look at the sky-high sales staff turnover rates and you’ll quickly see that this method might not be ideal if you’re seeking to hire successful sales managers—especially those who will stick around. High churn rates are never good for any business. The cost and time needed to hire and train new staff and build

relationships with clients take a heavy toll on your bottom line and company morale. Quotas don’t get hit. Numbers plummet. This is especially true in sales teams, which consistently experience some of the highest turnover rates in any department. Poor hiring practices only exacerbate this. It’s clear that the old hiring methods simply no longer work. And new technologies aren’t necessarily solving the problem; some are even making it worse. With AI now taking over the initial screening process for many businesses, more and more resumes are

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falling through the cracks because prospects don’t tick every box. AI routinely fails to account for transferable skills or think outside the box. Top talent can easily get sidelined simply because they don’t fit within very narrow parameters or don’t match outdated or incomplete criteria. To redress the balance, smart companies are quietly rewriting how they find and evaluate talent, and their methods look nothing like the standard hiring funnel. Here are some examples of ways in which they are recruiting the kind of talent that shines and lasts. PAGE 50

Jennifer Vitanzo is a content writer for Fortune Web Marketing. She has been writing professionally for over 20 years. When not wordsmithing, Jenn is performing onstage as a singer/songwriter or out in nature photographing wildlife for conservation organizations.

Look outside the sales industry Hospitality and restaurant staff routinely work directly with customers of all types. On top of the fact that their jobs demand many of the same skills as a salesperson, they are already accustomed to commission-based compensation. Plus, anyone who can cope with a bar full of patrons or a Friday night dinner rush knows how to operate under pressure, solve problems and handle difficult people. Former teachers also make surprisingly good salespeople. They must routinely simplify complex SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

Jennifer Vitanzo information. They practice individuation, active listening and empathy. They must “sell” every lesson if they want their students to learn. And their patience must be infinite. What connects teachers and hospitality staff is their ability to read people quickly, stay calm when things go sideways and keep pushing toward a positive outcome without losing rapport. Hire for coachability rather than merely experience A candidate who has been in the field for five years already has ingrained habits that can be expensive to unlearn. Someone with less experience is often more malleable and open to feedback. Running short-term paid trial projects gives candidates a chance to test the waters in the role and allows hiring managers and sales teams to assess how they handle the job. You will see who handles feedback well and immediately adapts their approach, and who can’t pivot or change their habits quickly enough to meet the needs of your organization. Make use of psychometric and behavioral data Just because someone looks good on paper or has done the role before does not guarantee they

have the personality to succeed in sales. That’s where psychometric and behavioral data can come in handy. These tests measure grit, resilience under pressure and pattern recognition— priceless information when it comes to identifying who might flourish in sales and who might wither. Those scoring high in these attributes already have a clear proclivity for what the sales role requires to succeed. Use simulation-based auditions In simulation-based auditions, companies hand a candidate a real product, present them with a fake prospect (played by another employee) and give them 15 minutes to run a live pitch. They reveal how well the candidate thinks on their feet, interacts with a client, adjusts to pushback and closes or fails in real time. Because the simulations involve the exact skills the job demands, companies that run these live auditions report hiring reps who ramp faster. Ask current clients for referrals Rather than relying on traditional referral programs, reach out to your best customers and ask them who they would trust to sell something to them. First, this surfaces candidates who already think like the buyer, which shortens ramp time.

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Second, a customer who loves your product knows exactly why they bought it and can spot a rep who understands that same value proposition. Focus on company culture A company’s culture— including its approach to customer service and its “personality”—dictates how employees should act and determines which types of candidates will be a good fit. An assertive go-getter might not thrive in a relaxed company culture and vice versa. At the end of the day, the salesperson must be able to do their job well while also integrating with their team, the wider company and employees in other departments. While none of these approaches is a guarantee that you’ll get the perfect hire every time, they all share a common thread: they test for what the job actually requires rather than what a resume claims a person can do. Fancy job postings may attract candidates, but they are not always the “right” candidates. If you’re struggling to find successful salespeople, consider throwing out the script and looking at the transferable skills a person can offer and how they perform under real pressure instead. The intersection of both is where you will find your diamonds. PAGE 51

West McDonald

West McDonald, founder of GoWest. ai, is a recognized expert in AI solutions, with extensive experience across various technology sectors. His work focuses on generative AI applications and strategies for maximizing recurring revenue, guiding businesses toward innovative growth. West is dedicated to fostering a culture of learning and excellence through AI-driven innovation.

WANT YOUR SALES REPS TO STAY? GIVE THEM A REASON When was the last time you asked your salespeople what drives them nuts about their job? I’m guessing when you did, nobody answered, “I just wish I could spend more time updating the CRM.” Finding and keeping good salespeople is an ongoing conversation in the independent dealer community. We talk about compensation, territories, culture and career opportunities—all important. But what about the actual experience SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

of getting through the workday? The follow-up emails that pile up. The quote that requires information from four different places. The request for proposals (RPF) that somehow takes up your entire Thursday. And yes, that new CRM everyone is supposed to love. What if working at your dealership came with an assistant to help with all of this? With what is happening in AI right now, that deserves a serious look.

Hiring? Keep the humans in charge Before we get into keeping your people, a quick word about finding them. I am comfortable using AI to help write a job description, assist with clarifying expectations, improve the language or prepare interview questions. These are useful ways to support the hiring process. But letting it screen, rank and reject candidates? That’s where I get uncomfortable. Some of the best

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salespeople you will ever meet might not have the tidiest resumes. They may have changed industries, taken an unconventional path or learned their craft somewhere your screening tool does not recognize as relevant. Can they build trust? Are they curious? Will they pick up the phone when something goes wrong with an order? I want a human involved in figuring that out. There are real concerns about bias, too. California’s Civil Rights Department PAGE 52

West McDonald

has warned that automated hiring tools can reinforce existing biases and produce discriminatory outcomes. Use AI to help you prepare but be considerably more cautious about allowing it to decide who gets a chance. Once someone joins your team, though, the opportunities become much more interesting. An assistant is becoming a real possibility If you have been following the arrival of Astra and the advances in ChatGPT, you will probably have noticed the conversation changing. OpenAI describes Astra as capable of complex work involving research, document creation SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

and computer use. It is increasingly possible to hand over work that involves several steps. Claude has powerful capabilities here too. It can equip an assistant with instructions and resources for particular jobs, including working with documents. Building useful agents and assistants is also becoming more accessible. You can explain what you want done, provide examples and establish a repeatable process. With the appropriate tools and connections, the assistant can then help carry out that process. This feels a lot closer to having an actual assistant. For a dealer, imagine being able to say: “Here are the customer’s notes; here is our proposal template; and here is our approved product information. Put together a first draft and flag anything we still need to answer.” There is setup involved. Your systems, permissions and subscriptions will affect what is possible. You will still need to check the work. But the possibilities to give each rep useful assistance are becoming much more practical. That should get our attention. Your best rep didn’t join to become a data entry expert You probably have someone on your team

who knows their accounts inside out. They remember the buyer’s preferences, know when to call and can spot an opportunity to expand an account into breakroom or janitorial supplies. Then you introduce a new CRM. Now they are trying to remember which screen to open, where the notes belong and why the opportunity they entered yesterday seems to have disappeared. They need to use the system. You need the information. Fair enough. But could an assistant make that easier? With the right setup, a rep could provide their meeting notes and receive a proposed CRM update to review. The assistant could identify missing information, suggest the next task or guide them through a process they have forgotten. You still train the rep. You also give them somewhere to turn when the training session was three weeks ago and the customer is calling in 10 minutes. That’s a pretty good way to show an experienced salesperson you respect their time. New reps need help for different reasons Now think about the person who joined last month. They are learning your products, pricing, systems and customers.

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They have questions about freight, substitutions and who approves what. They have already asked their manager 12 things today and would rather not make it 13. An assistant using your approved company information could help them find the procedure, understand the next step and know when they need approval. It needs to show where the answer came from and flag anything it cannot establish. And the rep will still need coaching from actual people. But having help available while they learn can make the job feel more manageable. For seasoned reps, you are removing frustration. For newer reps, you are helping build confidence. Both are good reasons to appreciate where you work. Here’s something we built for ourselves At GoWest.ai, we built a sales update agent. Twice a week, we receive a funnel report with advice on next steps and accounts that may be at risk. I appreciate having that information collated regularly. Running a business involves plenty of competing priorities and sales follow-up still needs to happen in the middle of everything else. We review the recommendations. We decide what to do. A flagged account may have PAGE 53

West McDonald

About GoWest.ai GoWest.ai helps independent office product dealers use AI in practical, business-ready ways. We focus on sales enablement, marketing, operations and training, with one goal in mind: helping independents move faster, compete smarter and protect margins in a changing market.

a perfectly reasonable explanation. Now picture that kind of assistance for your reps. They start with a view of what needs attention and can spend their time deciding how to move things forward. Ask them what would make that report useful. Build it with their input. They will quickly tell you whether what you have created is helpful or just another thing to read. Follow-up emails shouldn’t eat the evening A customer asks for pricing, wants an answer about availability and says to check back with them next Thursday. Then the next meeting starts. By the end of the day, your rep has several conversations to reconstruct and a collection of notes that made considerably more sense when they wrote them. An assistant could turn those notes into follow-up drafts, capturing SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

the questions and commitments. The rep then simply checks the details, adds their personal touch and sends them on. No invented delivery dates. No surprise discounts. No promises the rep never made. Just a useful starting point that makes it easier to finish the day’s work during that day. Quotes and RFPs Want to get your sales team talking? Ask them about the last complicated RFP. There goes lunch … Requirements buried in documents. Product lists to reconcile. Pack sizes to check. Responses from an old proposal that might still be correct, assuming somebody can find it. This is a strong area to explore with AI. An assistant could extract requirements, assemble a checklist, prepare draft responses from approved material and identify missing information. For quotes, it could organize the request and flag

questions about quantities, units or substitutions. Your current pricing, margins, availability and commitments still need verification and approval. Nobody wants to discover that their helpful assistant has enthusiastically quoted something they cannot deliver. But taking some of the searching and assembling off a rep’s plate? That is worth testing. Give them a benefit they can feel An AI subscription will not fix a bad manager or a commission plan nobody understands. You have to deliver something useful, train people to use it and listen when it gets things wrong. But if every minute saved immediately turns into another administrative demand, don’t be surprised when the enthusiasm fades. At your next sales meeting, ask three questions: • “What recurring task

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takes too much time away from customers?” • “Where do you keep searching for information or entering the same details?” • “What work ends up coming home with you?” Ask your experienced people and your newer hires. Choose one common frustration and test an assistant against it. Check the time saved, the corrections needed and whether people actually find the assistant helpful. Then, when a candidate asks what makes your dealership a good place to work, let one of your reps show them. At GoWest.ai, our AI workflow assessments help businesses identify these opportunities and choose a practical place to start. If your team could use a hand identifying theirs, let’s talk. Good salespeople have choices. Giving them useful help and a little more of their day back is a reason to choose you. PAGE 54

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Tom Buxton

In addition to serving as national sales manager for AOPD, Tom Buxton, founder and CEO of the InterBizGroup consulting organization, works with independent office products dealers to help increase sales and profitability. Tom is also the author of a book on effective business development, Dating the Gatekeeper. For more information, visit www.interbiz group.com.

“HELP! I NEED MORE SALES BUT DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO WASTE ON REPS …” I hear this plea—and the implicit complaint—almost every day. This morning, a gentleman in charge of marketing for his company told me their best rep has had fewer sales this year because of frustrations with AI: her prospects bombarded her with questions after what seemed to be a good sales call. A sales rep at another company just emailed me because they don’t know exactly how to leverage AOPD’s OMNIA SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

contract with prospects. Sales managers consistently ask their peers for best practices from the highest-performing independent dealers, but the answers are often suboptimal. Isn’t there an easy way to grow sales right now in spite of higher product costs, less engaged customers/ prospects and sales reps that sometimes seem to be stuck selling like it’s still the 1980s?

The short answer is no; there’s no quick or easy way to grow sales in this environment unless you can afford to invest in talent, training and tools. Each of these “Ts” can help your company grow, but only if you measure and manage them carefully. Gary Vaynerchuk, who wrote the book Hire Fast, Fire Faster, says: “‘Fire faster’ doesn’t mean be mean and fire everybody without thinking … it

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means put in the work quickly.” He also coined a quick phrase to remember: “Hiring is guessing, Firing is knowing.” I know this concept seems pretty harsh, especially for reps that might have worked for your company for years; but the key difference I see between dealers that are struggling and those that are “killing it” is the performance of their reps based on individualized goals/growth. PAGE 56

Tom Buxton I have had the misfortune of visiting members of the IDC near Christmas, when the year is almost over, to find that they had shrunk again. When asked how close to quota their sales team had got, the answer was almost always the same: “We didn’t measure that closely this year and our reps don’t like using our CRM, but we will do better next year.” Pardon me, but we all know the results of that sort of plan… If your reps aren’t growing, get new reps who can be measured and managed. I can hear some of you say, “But

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my ‘best’ rep controls my business. If I fire them, our customers will fire us.” Color me skeptical about that assertion—especially when you have less local competition than ever before. Reps in 2026 must use a CRM and be held accountable to goals. That’s one great thing about hiring younger people to be your reps. If they have sold anything in the past (preferably phones or cars), they will know that they need to be organized. And their prior employment will have enlightened them about the relative ease of selling long-term service versus

“one-and-done” shots at a sale. Right now, the successful sales teams that I know have gone back to hiring younger, less expensive recruits. However, as you constantly work to find better talent for your organization, training must become part of your team’s regime again. Remember when United Stationers (you know—the wholesaler before the one that just went away …) had a training team on its staff? S.P. Richards also provided training in the past—and not just on products. Ask it to offer training again.

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AOPD provides training of all kinds for members; and there are also outside trainers like Marisa Pensa of Methods in Motion, Troy Harrison the “Sales Navigator,” and others who write for INDEPENDENT DEALER. Interview one or many of these trainers and move forward together—or die! The time for excuses is over. The right sort of salesperson has talent, needs training and must be taught tools like using a CRM and time management. And if they don’t grow, then you know what to do…

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Troy Harrison

Troy Harrison is the Sales Navigator and the author of Sell Like You Mean It and The Pocket Sales Manager. He helps companies navigate the elements of sales on their journey to success. He offers a free 45-minute sales strategy review. To schedule, call 913-645-3603 or email troy@troyharrison.com.

Your buyers won’t answer and your reps won’t dial—and it’s the same problem Every sales manager is fighting a two-front war on the telephone, but most haven’t realized the two fronts are actually one. On the first front, the phone doesn’t work like it used to. A decade ago, a competent salesperson could expect a live conversation every three or four dials. Today, connect rates have collapsed to 5–10% on typical data, meaning 10,15 or 20 dials to reach one human being. A 2025 study of 200,000-plus calls found dial-to-meeting conversion had fallen to 2.3%, down from 4.8% a year earlier—nearly halved in 12 months. It now takes an average of eight attempts just to reach one prospect. On the second front, managers complain that SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

younger salespeople won’t pick up the phone to make calls. This complaint is real and the data is shocking. Depending on the survey, 75–90% of millennials and Gen Z report anxiety around phone calls, one-quarter of adults under 34 say they never answer calls and more than half associate an unexpected call with bad news. Most managers treat these as two separate headaches. They’re not; they’re the same generational trait showing up on opposite ends of the phone line. One cause, two symptoms The buyer who won’t answer your rep’s call and the rep who won’t make

the calls are increasingly the same kind of person; and they’re avoiding the phone for the same reason. Psychologists who study this identify a one-word cause: control. Written communication lets people think through replies, avoid awkward pauses and respond on their own schedule. A call offers none of that—it demands an immediate, unpredictable response with no preview and no edit button. For a generation raised on asynchronous, editable, text-based communication, the live call is the most control-stripping interaction of the day. That means your millennial or Gen Z buyer lets the call ring out because it requires them to surrender control to

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a stranger who wants an unscripted reaction right now. Your millennial or Gen Z rep dreads making the call for the same reason your buyer dreads receiving it. Psychologically, they are the same person on opposite ends of the line. That’s why the two common management responses both fail.

Why the usual responses don’t work The first is to complain about “these kids” and avoid hiring younger salespeople. Forget that this becomes impossible as older workers age out; it also misdiagnoses a structural shift in how an entire buying population communicates as a character flaw in one PAGE 58

Troy Harrison generation. You can refuse to hire the reps, but you cannot refuse to sell to the buyers—and the buyers have the same wiring. The second is to hammer the reps: “Dial or you’re fired.” That rests on an assumption that no longer holds. “Just make the calls and you’ll build a thick skin” worked at one connection in three or four, because reps got enough live conversations to feel progress. At one in 15, that positive reinforcement is gone. You’re asking an anxious rep to absorb 14 rejections for one conversation and the math breaks them before the skin thickens. Hammering harder doesn’t build resilience against those odds; it fuels churn. Easing reps in gently— my own long-preferred approach—is right but incomplete, because easing someone into an activity becomes exponentially harder when that activity’s success rate has cratered. The answer

on both fronts is the same and it flows from the control insight: stop fighting the demand for control and build a prospecting system that restores it. Restore control and both problems ease Fix the data before you blame the rep Some of the contact ratio collapse isn’t effort; it’s bad lists. B2B data decays over 2% a month and when the connect rate is below 10%, the problem is almost always the data. Making an anxious rep dial dead numbers manufactures the same rejection that fuels their dread. Clean, verified data is your responsibility. Make the phone one instrument, not the whole orchestra Build a genuine multi-channel cadence— phone, voicemail, LinkedIn, email, referral— where the call is one touch among several. This isn’t capitulation to Gen Z; it’s what the collapsed contact

ratio demands regardless of who’s dialing and it plays to younger reps’ strength in the asynchronous channels. Use voicemail as a bridge to LinkedIn Since most calls go to voicemail anyway, use it. A voicemail that creates curiosity drives a LinkedIn look-up, which opens a connection, a relationship and eventually an appointment. It’s a longer play, but it converts the channel your rep fears into a handoff to the channel your buyer prefers, restoring control to both. Warm the calls with signals and referrals Pure cold dialing at one-in-15 is where telephobia lives, at both ends. A rep calling on a buying signal or a referral has a warmer, higher-connect, lower-dread conversation; and so does the person answering, because the call now has context. The answer to “My reps won’t cold call” is partly to stop making them purely cold call. Use AI to research and help spot signals. Treat preparation as a feature, not a weakness Younger people script and rehearse before calls, and managers read that as fragility. Flip it: have your reps use call frameworks, pre-call planning and roleplay. Preparation gives an anxious rep the sense

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of control that makes the call possible. Exposure plus preparation beats exposure alone. Gen Z, in particular, craves structure at the outset of a new job. Name the phone requirement at hire Part of the “won’t dial” problem is a bait-and-switch: the job was sold as relationship-building and turned out to be dialing. Include the phone expectation in the hiring profile and state it plainly in the interview. You are screening for the individuals who’ll do the work, not against a generation. The real job Your job isn’t to win a war against a generation’s communication preferences, at either end of the line. That war can’t be won because your bullpen and your buyers have the same preferences. Your job is to build a prospecting system that works in the actual waters you’re sailing—one that strips out the manufactured rejection with better data and warmer calls, plays each channel to its strengths and eases reps onto the phone with preparation instead of throwing them at a one-in-15 wall and calling the wreckage a work-ethic problem. Do that and you solve both fronts at once— because they were one problem the whole time. PAGE 59

Marisa Pensa

GATEKEEPER CONUNDRUMS: HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO REACH DECISIONMAKERS?

How many times have you stopped by to see a decisionmaker but been blocked by a gatekeeper? “Is he expecting you?” “She doesn’t see salespeople.” “We’re good, thanks.” “We use Amazon, Staples, etc.” So, you leave and come back another day—only to meet the same gatekeeper and receive the same responses. Persistence matters in sales. But doing the same SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

thing over and over again is not always persistence. Sometimes, it is merely repeating an approach that is not working. For field sales professionals, in-person contact should remain your main approach. The goal is not to stop showing up; it’s to develop a breakthrough strategy if you are repeatedly blocked from meeting with the right person after walking through the door. Here are five ways to

make your prospecting more persistent, intentional and difficult to ignore.

Choose your primary channel; but don’t limit yourself to this If you are a field sales professional for your dealership, there is tremendous value in being in the field. Show up. Meet people. Learn the business. Become a familiar face. Keep doing it. But your primary prospecting channel

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should not be your only prospecting channel. If in-person selling is your strength, keep it as your anchor. Then ask yourself what else could make that next walk-in more effective. A quick phone call, voicemail, email, text or another well-timed touchpoint does not replace field activity; it can strengthen it. Think about your objective first: “How do I earn a conversation with the right person?” PAGE 60

Marisa Pensa is founder of Methods in Motion, a sales training company that helps dealers execute training concepts and create accountability to see both inside and outside sales initiatives through to success. For more information, please visit www. methodsnmotion.com.

Then determine which combination of tools will give you the best chance of achieving it. Apply intelligence before taking action Before making your next attempt, focus on learning something new. Who actually owns the company? What has changed recently? What workplace needs might matter to this business? Where/how is it involved in your community? Today, there is little excuse for walking in completely cold. LinkedIn, company websites, industry sources, your CRM and AI tools can assist in preparing quickly. Ask AI to help you research the organization, identify SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026

likely decisionmakers or brainstorm business issues worth exploring. And whenever possible, know the person’s name before you walk through the door. There is a big difference between asking, “I’m hoping you can help me—who handles this?” and saying, “I’m here to see John Smith.” Knowing the relevant names demonstrates preparation and gives the gatekeeper less opportunity to decide who you should be talking to. Then use that intelligence to make your attempts more relevant, not simply more frequent. Ten attempts are not necessarily better than five if they all sound exactly the same.

Marisa Pensa Let your channels work together A phone call need not replace a visit; it can improve your next visit. If the gatekeeper is screening you every time you walk in or call during business hours, change your timing. Try calling before the business opens or shortly after it closes. Become skilled at navigating the company directory or phone tree and leave the decisionmaker a direct voicemail where possible. You might leave a voicemail or send a text with this message: “Hi, Jim—I stopped by on Tuesday and missed you. I’ll be back on Thursday between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. and will ask for you when I get there. If you already know that time won’t work for you, please call me at [phone number]. Thank you.” Then, show up on Thursday between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. When you arrive, let the gatekeeper know that Jim should be expecting you. Now you are not making random attempts; you are building one coordinated sequence. Stop in. Call before or after hours. Leave a voicemail. Send a short email. Stop back in. Vary the touchpoint—not the objective. Stay focused on the right person While gatekeepers can be incredibly helpful,

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they can also redirect you before they fully understand why you are there. You might ask for the owner, but suddenly find yourself being directed to purchasing, facilities, IT, an office manager or someone responsible for the particular category you’re discussing. Depending on whether the opportunity involves office supplies, furniture, technology, jan/san or another solution, that person may be exactly who you need. Or they may handle day-to-day orders without having the authority to make a change. The goal is not always to reach the owner. It is to understand who influences the decision, who makes it and why that person matters to this particular opportunity. Don’t let convenience steer you toward the easiest person to reach. Know who you are trying to meet—and why. Don’t automatically treat the gatekeeper as the enemy. If you have an opportunity to talk with them, get curious. Try: “You probably know what goes on around here better than most. What would you recommend?” Or ask them a thoughtful question that helps you better understand how decisions are made. A gatekeeper who feels respected can become a valuable source of intelligence instead of simply another obstacle. PAGE 61

Marisa Pensa Make persistence feel intentional Customers can tell the difference between persistence and randomness. “Just checking in …” “Following up again …” “Wanted to see if you got my last email …” That is activity. But activity alone is not the goal. Activity × Efficiency = Results. The more intentional and relevant each touchpoint is, the more likely that activity is to move the conversation forward. A coordinated approach feels different:

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“I stopped by Tuesday and missed you. I did a little more homework afterward and had an idea I wanted to run by you. I’ll be back near your office Thursday. How does 2:00 p.m. look?” You can also make the next in-person attempt more purposeful. Consider leaving a sealed envelope addressed specifically to the decisionmaker with something of value inside. Not another flyer. Not a stack of sales materials. Perhaps a handwritten note, a relevant article, a useful idea or something else that gives them a

reason to remember you. Walking in and saying, “I wanted to make sure this gets into John’s hands” is very different from just dropping off another brochure. Each attempt should build on the one before it. The breakthrough question The next time you hear yourself saying, “I can’t get to the owner,” stop before making the same attempt again. Ask yourself: • “Who is the right person?” • “Do I know their name before I walk in?”

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• “What matters to them?” • “What have I learned since my last attempt?” • “What could I do differently this time to improve my chances of getting through to them?” Persistence still wins. But smart persistence wins faster. Choose a primary channel. Never rely on a single channel alone. And when the gatekeeper keeps the door from opening, don’t just knock louder—change your approach and find another way to earn the conversation. Good selling out there!

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