IRgA Delivers New Message at Regional Town Hall Meetings

Steve Bova, CAE
Executive Director
The IRgA "hit the road" this fall, visiting all four regional reprographics associations and holding town hall type meetings with industry members. President Chuck Gremillion, A&E - The Graphics Complex, Houston, TX, delivered a message about the direction of the association and together we gained feedback from industry members. Following is a summary of our message:

Myths vs. Reality

Myth: The IRgA Board is an elite group. Reality: The Board represents a cross-section of the industry, covering all regions of the country, small and large shops, affinity groups, independents and vendors.

Myth: The IRgA provides little value. Reality: While the association may have lost touch with its customers over time, it certainly has not done an adequate job of marketing its value.

Reality: The IRgA's membership has been declining over the past five years, largely to industry consolidation (both reprographers & vendors) and businesses leaving the industry due to changes in technology. Members began to feel disconnected.

Reality: Our industry is changing - perhaps faster than has the association in recent years. Time, strengthening of the affiliated groups and ease of accessing information via the Internet are factors. However, the importance of an unbiased organization that brings the industry together cannot be underestimated.

Our Ship is Beginning to Turn!

The IRgA has undergone a major transformation, moving its offices to downtown Chicago and hiring an entirely new staff. While the transition was successful and is in the best interests of the association, much of the work until now has been behind the scenes and transparent to the industry. We have gone back to the basics and are rebuilding the organization from the ground up. This takes time.

Some recent successes include:

• Holding a successful 2004 Convention & Trade Show in Florida
• Convening an Industry Leadership Forum of affinity leaders and trade press representatives to begin repairing broken relationships
• Conducting an intensive, one-day strategic planning session with many of our industry's thought leaders
• Approving a break-even budget after seven years of losses.

Membership Growth Gets Top Priority

The Board and staff are working to grow membership through a focused retention campaign, followed by an aggressive membership recruiting effort. The IRgA has a three-pronged strategy toward regaining strength in membership:

1. Becoming More Inclusive
The IRgA is opening its governance structure to include more volunteer opportunities. Volunteer positions are being created in the areas of industry relations, vendor relations, membership, branding of the industry and other areas. A Young Reprographers Group is under development as well (more on this next month). The primary objective is to engage members in the future of their association.

2. Improving Communications
There is a plan to improve communications with the industry, beginning with the News Digest. A few things you will see this year include surveys to assess member opinions, and email news blasts as important information emerges. There is increased participation on the Member Discussion Forum, and the REPRO REPORT continues to improve with each issue.

3. Creating More Value
Some of the new value-add benefits on the horizon include:

• A new website in early 2005 - one that is more dynamic, user-friendly and content-rich
• A new Industry Journal - our 4th in a series; PDF versions of the journals are now available in the members-only section of the website
• Introduction of an online seminar, attracting people to the IRgA who are not able to attend regional meetings or the IRgA Convention
• An expansive branding initiative for the reprographics industry
• A revamped format for the Annual Convention, based on attendee input Read more…

Every one of us has a vested interest in the long term success of the IRgA. Your participation through membership is vital! Please let Chuck Gremillion or me know your thoughts on the direction of the association. Your input is critical to keeping us on the path of success! Chuck may be reached at chuck.gremillion@aecomplex.com or 713/579-2010. I am at sbova@irga.com or 800/833-4742.

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Industry News

Southeastern and Eastern Associations Hold Annual Conventions
The Southeastern Reprographics Association (SRA) held its annual convention October 14-16 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. After kicking off with a golf tournament at the Stone Mountain Golf Club, there was a three-hour reception on the exhibit floor prior to dinner Thursday evening. The education program featured Stan Jernigan speaking on seeking a superior sales consultant as well as selling in the face of technological change, and "Mohan" Chandramohan addressing a luncheon audience on the state of the industry, including a discussion on trends. A lovely dinner was held at CNN headquarters in downtown Atlanta and concluded with a trip to see Bill Cosby at the Fox Theater.

The Eastern Regional Reprographics Association met October 22-24 at the Hilton in Mystic, Connecticut. The annual golf tournament was held at Elm Ridge Golf Course where every golfer left with at least one prize. There was a four-hour trade show where attendees received more prizes and participated in a trivia game by visiting all of the booths. The trade show was followed by a lobster dinner and clam bake around the pool. Saturday included two excellent educational sessions focusing on variable data printing. The event concluded with a dinner at the nearby Mystic Aquarium.

Solvent Inkjet Printers Making their Mark in Wide Format Outdoor Graphics Market
According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures' research, total revenues for the solvent-based wide format inkjet market were valued at $1.45 billion in 2003. This number is expected to surpass $3 billion by 2008, representing a hefty compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7%. Read more…

Dutch Printer Océ Returns to Profit in Third Quarter
The Associated Press recently announced the Dutch printer maker Océ NV reported that it made a profit in the third quarter, mostly due to reduced costs. Net profit was euro14.1 million (US$17.3 million), versus a loss of euro5.2 million (US$6.1 million) a year ago, while sales fell 1.1 percent to euro654.7 million (US$804.7 million). Read more…

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Installed Base of Ink Jet Printers in China Poised for Rapid Expansion
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Océ announces new TDS300
Océ recently announced the availability of the Océ TDS300 - a new large format black and white digital copy and plot system designed for lower volume AEC organizations and smaller workgroups within large enterprises. Read more...

Contex Awarded Denmark's' 2004 Sovereign Prize
Contex was recently awarded ComputerWorld Magazines Sovereign Prize as the best Danish manufacturer in the category of "Industrial Hardware Manufacturer."Read more...

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Inside the IRgA

Program Offers Cost Savings for IRgA Members
The IRgA discount program with Ad-Hold, a company providing telephone marketing services, has been renewed. Ad-Hold offers customized on hold music and messages that are specific not only to the industry but to your customers. IRgA members receive special pricing on products and services from Ad-Hold and can find further information on the IRgA Members page at www.adhold.com. Visit the Ad-Hold website today to listen to sample messages and find out more about how your company can benefit from these marketing services!

REPRO REPORT Adds Value to IRgA Members
November/December Issue last for non-members
When asked what they value most about the IRgA, members most frequently put REPRO REPORT at the top of their list. And for good reason - the magazine is the most tangible and visible benefit of the IRgA, being delivered in color with solid editorial content to members six times a year. For several reasons, and largely due to an outdated database that was replaced one year ago, the REPRO REPORT circulation list was comprised of both IRgA members and non-members. Hundreds of records have been updated with accurate information, giving the association a clean list of reprographers and industry suppliers.

Beginning with the January/February issue, REPRO REPORT will be delivered only to those who support the IRgA through membership or paid subscription, with two bonus issues being circulated to prospective members. Read more...

Is the IRgA Really International?
The IRgA has among its members representation from Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guam, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, comprising 10% of the total membership base.

While truly international associations hold meetings at international locations and have a truly international mission, the IRgA functions as an association with international representation. The introduction of the News Digest, coupled with a new and dynamic website in early 2005 and expanded usage of the Discussion Forum, will add value to international members. The dynamics of international travel are also changing for the better, and the IRgA will be offering a reprographic shop tour for international members only who attend the 2005 Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas.

As the focus continues to shift toward a global marketplace, the IRgA will continue to focus attention in this area. To give your input on how the IRgA can better serve you, email us.

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Profiles

IRgA:
Bryan Thomas is serving the fourth year on the IRgA Board of Directors and sits on the association's Executive Committee as Director-at-Large. Additionally, Bryan serves as a member of the Finance Committee, chair of the Communications Committee and is leading the efforts to produce the IRgA's fourth Industry Journal as part of his continuing responsibilities with the Education Committee. Thomas Reprographics, the company in which he serves as president, has been an IRgA member since 1990.

Professional:
Thomas comes from a long-revered, well-established family of reprographers in the Mid-South. With a BBA from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, he's juggling leadership responsibilities at two different companies. Bryan is president of Richardson, TX-based Thomas Reprographics, with offices in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Phoenix, and CEO of Albinson Reprographics LLC in Minneapolis. Bryan brings to his position on the IRgA Board of Directors experience as president of the Mid-South Reprographic Association (MSRA).

Personal:
Thomas lives in Dallas and enjoys cooking, golf and the occasional fly fishing expedition.

Contact:
Phone: 972/231-7227
E-mail: bryan@thomasrepro.com

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Feature

Pushing Sales Beyond Limits
Reprographers use training, compensation and creative incentives to build and motivate sales staff.
By Navina Waterman

Reprographers with a wide variety of experience all agree on one fact-increasing sales is a good thing! Effectively managing a reprographics sales department to obtain the best results can be challenging. It starts with hiring, but training, measuring and providing incentives are all equally important.

Mark Gerick of Ridgways/ARC in Houston has each of his sales reps create a business plan, which must include specific goals and the strategy and tactics needed to attain them. These plans must fit with overall company plans, of course, but ultimately this strategy gives the reps ownership.

Gerick notes that the program's objectives must be defined, measurable and time specific. An example: By December 31, I want to increase sales by $250,000 over the previous year. The strategy then needs to be explicit, which for this example might include sending flyers, making x number of cold calls, etc.

Gerick reports that in the beginning reps can be so gung-ho they overestimate what is attainable, so some mentoring is required to help them establish a realistic plan. He cautions managers to be careful not to set up a new rep for failure.

He monitors the sales plans on a monthly basis to see if his reps are meeting their objectives and helps them figure out how to attain the needed results if they are not. Reps who consistently can't meet their goals don't stay with the company for long.

The full article on this subject will appear in the REPRO REPORT Issue 6 in November.

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For advertising information, contact Erin Beekhuis at 800/833-4742 or ebeekhuis@irga.com.

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