Traxler and Mason literally knocked on the door of Scott Davis, who had sold for Wallace since 1981. Davis agreed to join the distributorship. One day after leaving Wallace, he started Webb/Mason's Boston location with a lamp, a pad of paper and zero customers.
What Davis did have--even before his first Webb/ Mason client--was a customer service representative located in Baltimore. CSRs are key to Webb/Mason's structure: The company has nearly twice as many of them as account executives. "When someone reaches a certain sales level"--approximately $1.5 million a year--"and begins to outgrow his support, we add a CSR for that person so he can hunt for more business," Traxler says. More than 60 percent of Webb/Mason's employees communicate with clients daily, he says.
The company's fourth founder was Scott Cottrill, who was a Wallace sales manager for the Southeast and in charge of more than 200 people and $180 million in business. Cottrill launched Webb/Mason's Charlotte, N.C., office.
"My job is to grow our office by getting customers to say 'yes' to Webb/Mason," says Scott McConnell. He joined the company in January 2003 as founder of its newest office in Nashville, Tenn., after spending 10 years with Wallace and two years with a labels firm. "If I'm spending half of my time following up on orders, talking with vendors and getting art approved, it takes away from my sales momentum. My job is to be a hunter." His dedicated CSR, Pat Kenyon, has a print service background. Like all Webb/Mason CSRs, she doesn't need permission to make decisions. Webb/Mason has a 3-tiered career path for CSRs, who can earn commission bonuses when they reach the top tier.
Webb/Mason has low employee turnover--only two founders have left the company, and more than half of its 154 employees have worked at the distributorship for more than three years. Customer concerns come first, but when those are in check, the management team and account executives trade digs as often as they talk shop. "Now that we're big, that doesn't mean we have to act big," Mason says. "We know when to have fun." Double-elimination Foosball tournaments have appeared on employees' to-do lists. Footballs have been tossed during brainstorming sessions. The management team is adept at thriving and imbibing, realizing both involve connecting with each other.
"We're a young, spirited team that's not in the mood of saying 'no,'" says Roger Koeppen, founder of Webb/ Mason's Chicago office. "Some of the funniest things I've seen or heard have been during times we get together as a pack, and we contribute to the company's energy in different ways. This is a place that rewards vision, drive and understanding the big picture. There's a real sense inside Webb/Mason that something special is happening here."
The Right Tool for the Job
Sincerity and country-club suave intersect at a place called Doug Traxler. He's known among Webb/ Mason's employees and clients for listening to needs before pitching ideas. When he left Wallace to join the distributorship, he told himself that if he took care of customers, money would follow.
It's July 2004, and Traxler follows two Sallie Mae procurement officers into a conference room. Sallie Mae is the country's largest provider of education and financial-aid services and is among the 60 largest U.S. corporations based on assets, according to Forbes magazine. It's a prime example of the type of company Webb/Mason targets--a large organization with multiple locations, hundreds of employees who need printed products, and the need for a vendor that can streamline complex print ordering and reduce the cost of print procurement. Webb/ Mason aims to sign clients to multiyear contracts, and Sallie Mae has a 5-year contract with the distributorship to purchase items such as business cards and stationery.
The Sallie Mae officers have driven from the organization's headquarters in Reston, Va., to Webb/Mason's Washington, D.C., office to view a web demonstration presented by Traxler and Jennifer Scott, a technical support employee at Webb/Mason. The demo is about the benefits of converting from EPM Online 3.0 to version 4.0. Webb/ Mason has converted more than 50 accounts this year.
Traxler points to the conference room wall, where the first screen of the EPM Online 4.0 system appears. "We hope you find this system more robust and user-friendly," he says as the demo begins. "We're not happy unless you're happy, so fire away when you have questions."
During the dot-com boom, Webb/Mason's management team recognized the internet's potential to boost its average client size and efficiency. If more customers did business with the distributorship online, the team thought, the less likely those clients would seek other vendors. Many of Webb/Mason's leaders took a voluntary commission pay cut to fund the technology when it was launched, says Scott Davis, founder of the company's Boston office. "Owning our own system was a bold, brilliant move because we wouldn't have some current accounts, as well as prospects on our radar screen, if we didn't invest in our own technology," he says.
Sallie Mae's administrators ask a question about an EPM Online 4.0 feature that enables them to create customized pop-up messages and surveys. They might use this feature to alert users to order new business cards and letterhead soon, as many Sallie Mae employees will be relocating offices.
"That's a shame," Traxler says, grinning. "More printing for us? Call it Christmas in July!" The group laughs. "Hey, can I make you ladies some coffee? Some really good coffee?"
Technology has jolted business for Webb/Mason. In 2001, the distributorship had set up EPM Online for 80 companies. Now, more than 250 companies use it. In January 2003, orders placed through the system totaled $266,000. In December 2003, online orders totaled $733,000. In September 2004, the figure jumped to $1.7 million.
"The faster I can identify customers who might need EPM Online, the fewer people in the room I'm going to have to compete against," says Scott McConnell, founder of Webb/Mason's Nashville, Tenn., office. "A lot of companies have e-commerce systems, but many necessitate the customer making changes in order to use the system. It's not like that with ours. In two years, I haven't had to tell a customer 'no.'" Davis agrees, saying EPM Online has enabled him to maintain an international consulting account with six domestic locations. The distributorship used EPM Online to build the customer an online store, so its clients can order T-shirts, mugs and other products.
Traxler and Scott end their presentation by giving Sallie Mae's administrators a tip sheet that outlines key points about EPM Online 4.0, as well as action items to move the organization's conversion forward. Scott says, "I hope your users like the changes. And remember, just call us when you need us."
One of them says, "Thanks to what your company does, I'm sure the whole thing will be smooth."
"Having great technology isn't good enough today," Traxler says after the demo ends. "You must be able to deploy smart changes and understand the roadblocks companies have when multiple locations purchase numerous items. Technology doesn't make things go faster; experience does."
Whatever Helps Customers Grow
Two Boeing 702 satellites operate in geostationary orbit, with "XM Rock" positioned at 85 degrees west longitude and "XM Roll" positioned at 115 degrees west longitude. Sarkis Hagopian is positioned on earth, waiting in XM Satellite Radio Inc.'s lobby in Washington, D.C.
XM has more than 2 million subscribers and one print provider with a last name that's difficult to spell. Hagopian, an account executive in Webb/Mason's Washington office, signs his name on a guest log and receives a printed badge. He takes an elevator to XM's creative department and meets Brian Lichty, director of creative services at XM Satellite Radio. Before they discuss printing, Lichty invites Hagopian to attend a live concert by the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens. Hagopian passes on the offer, but he wants to know if Webb/Mason can do anything for the digital radio service today. Lichty doesn't have a print project now, but says he knows whom to call when he does.
Lichty handles all print media for XM, including ads in USA Today, Rolling Stone and Esquire, and coordinates all XM-designed materials for Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack and other retailers that carry the company's satellite radios. "What Sark has done for XM is deal with us on our terms," Lichty says. "He pulls off the most amazing turnarounds on our crazy schedules, despite what we throw at him. When I'm in a pinch, I'll call Sark, and he'll work the magic for us."
Hagopian recently provided XM with a kit to help auto dealers market XM's Dashboard Concert Series. The kit, which helped dealers promote XM-equipped vehicles, gave dealers and their customers a chance to win a trip to attend a private concert by B.B. King, Michelle Branch, LeAnn Rimes or Everclear at the XM Performance Theater in Washington. Hagopian provided the kit's contents, including 4-color consumer brochures, countertop display signs, a 4-color dealer pocket guide that served as a quick reference about XM, an XM backstage pass card that served as a contest registration card and red confetti. Webb/Mason also provided the black, yellow and red box.
Hagopian sells more than $3 million a year for Webb/Mason, and one reason is his ability to penetrate dynamic, fast-growing customers such as XM. "If you can get in the door when a company starts to take off, you're in business," he says. "I love to do whatever helps them grow--to find new companies, figure out their challenges and try to become their sole provider. At the same time, I realize I'm never going to have a client forever. One thing we keep in mind at Webb/Mason is we have to keep augmenting our client base with new clients. We always have to hunt for new business."
When Deborah Stewart, point-of-purchase administrator/trade marketing for the U.S. Consumer Products Division of McCormick & Company Inc., needed a more efficient inventory management, tracking and fulfillment system, she turned to Webb/Mason. The distributorship streamlines print management for the spice company's national sales force. "I come to them with ideas, and they work with me to turn those ideas into reality," she says. "They act as a partner in the process, so when it comes to making a plan work, they treat our problems as their own."
Taking Off Together
The Webb/Mason dinner party in Baltimore is ending. The four newcomers have acknowledged the rest of the team for their graciousness and good-natured gibes. Kip Webb, the company's executive vice president, begins to speak. "To think we're almost as big as a major was in the '80s is head-shaking," he says. "This company has the ability to see beyond tomorrow, and I think we're the best-kept secret in the industry. Anyone here would be proud to have their family and friends come through the door and be able to say, 'This is our company. This is who we are--a group of people who looks out for each other.'"
Webb receives a rousing ovation, and Traxler follows his comments, directing his words to the four new salespeople: "We can see for miles when we stand on the shoulders of giants." Then he says, "We each have a picture of how great our company can be."
Darin Painter is managing editor of Print Solutions. Email
him your comments at dpainter@PSDA.org.
