Providing an on-point, creative solution that increases a client’s return on technology investment and produces the Raving Results we constantly seek to deliver.

When Texarkana-based Account Representative Carol Robbins made the move from admin to sales four years ago, she knew the paperwork. She knew the sales processes. Perhaps more importantly, she knew the people.

Carol’s territory, which spans Southwestern Arkansas and hugs the Oklahoma border, is more rural than others.  The president of the bank Carol serves is more likely to greet her in jeans, boots, and a t-shirt than a coat and tie. Folks there want you to come in, sit down and have a cup of coffee. They want to get to know you before they’re willing to do business with you, before they trust you. Carol gets this. She gets it well.

“When we talk about putting a rep in the right territory with the right customers, Carol was a perfect fit,” Area Sales Manager Lee Wheelington said. “When it came time to provide a proposal for an area school district, Carol had already established a deep, strong relationship with the IT director there.”

Case in point: Relationship-building was what mattered most when it came to securing DeQueen Schools in far western Arkansas.

The Business Challenge.

The equipment at DeQueen ISD was aging. Technicians were finding it more and more difficult to service. Though she had tried years before to convince the IT Director that an upgrade was necessary, she knew it was imminent this go-around.

“Since I had in my previous role been calling for meter reads, I’d known many of my clients (including this district) for years,” Carol said. “The IT Director there was very particular, but she also knew that we would do whatever we needed to for them.”

The Thought Process.

Convincing the district that an upgrade made sense wasn’t easy when Carol made another attempt earlier this year. So Carol did the extra work to show her the numbers.

“I made a service comparison. I took one of her current invoices and what it was costing for service, and then I put the numbers behind what it would be to Canons in to replace them… essentially, how much she would be saving,” Carol said.

It made sense. But when the IT Director decided to go to bid, Carol admittedly took it a bit personally, given their working relationship. When Datamax came in considerably higher than their competitor with their initial proposal, she knew she’d need to rethink her strategy.

But Carol never stopped working.

“Carol is one of those employees who works well past 5 p.m. I get emails and texts from her into the evenings and on the weekends,” Wheelington said. “I tell my crew all the time, those are the winners in life, and Carol is one of them…The thing with Carol is that she’s so personable, she just talks to people. And she definitely stuck it out with this school district.”

To get more competitive pricing, Carol changed her proposal from Canon to Kyocera. At that point, the IT Director had a reasonable argument for Datamax when she approached the Superintendent, Carol said.

In the end, Carol’s relationship-building was a deciding factor. Her ability to quickly address any potential needs would not be replicated by a competitor. Relationships, partnerships rather, prevailed yet again.

“I think with any client, you have to listen more than you talk. And at some point, you have to reiterate what they said so they know that you are listening. It’s about remembering that their grandkids are on the same team as your cousins. It’s asking questions like ‘How was that game the other night?’” Carol said. “It’s letting them know I’m a person, not a vendor. And when they do have a problem, they don’t mind picking up the phone and telling me about it because they know I care.”

The Prevailing Results. 

The 32 machines will be delivered this week, and Carol feels proud to continue this long partnership. She also knows, now that the ink is signed, her district is in good hands.

“Moving forward, they don’t have to worry whether or not their toner will be there. Their billing? They won’t have problems because we don’t make many errors. Our techs are so knowledgeable. I just think it’s the big picture with Datamax that ultimately won them over.”

Even so, there’s no denying Carol’s presence is a big part of that big picture.