They call
themselves the “Xerox-compatible experts of America” at
National Copy Cartridge—more widely known as NCC. But, since their
inception in 1989, these cartridge remanufacturers have also built
an expertise in Lexmark/IBM, Dell, Brother, Samsung and Sharp
cartridges, including their latest: the Xerox 4500. They say
customers can think of them as the “non-HP guys.”
“Everybody has
an HP expert,” says Steve Kipp, president, founder and sales
frontman of NCC. “I lend myself as an expert to expand your
offerings in the non-HP market. We’re specialists—we do non-HPs:
no HPs or Canons. For your daily order of the 27X’s, call your
normal guy for that. But when [your customer] asks for the
oddballs—Xerox, Lexmark, IBM, Dell, Brother, Sharp or Samsung—then
my catalogue will be there for you.”
While the NCC
catalogue lists retail prices as well as NCC’s for dealers and
wholesalers to reference, much of Kipp’s business philosophy is
based on education. “There are companies out there buying cartridges
at $20-$30 more than mine, but that’s just because they don’t know
about me. So, it’s just an education, saying, ‘Did you know that
there’s a company out there who does all non-HP?’”
Then, there
are some that don’t know about the non-HP market. Kipp starts
educating people about it by illustrating the impressive profit
margins the cartridges offer resellers: “I say, ‘Are you aware
Xerox, IBM and Lexmark cartridges cost $300 new? So, when you’re
looking at a customer’s Xerox machine, he’s paying $300-$350 for
that. Did you know you could get one from me for $80-$90? When
people hear that, they know that’s not a normal spread; it gets
their attention.”
And while the
profitability of the NCC product line may get customers’ attention,
it is their quality and personal customer service that keep them
coming back. At NCC, there is no automated voice message or
attendant, only real people who take phone calls personally. This is
part of Kipp’s promise to his customers.
Sales is
Kipp’s forte—he has been on the phone selling for almost 3 decades.
A natural at sales, Kipp says that there is such a thing as a
sales personality, and he reveals some of his secrets to cold
calling in our Selling Sales section below.
More on Products & Quality
NCC
remanufactures quality Xerox, Lexmark/ IBM, Dell, Brother, Samsung,
and Sharp toner cartridges. Currently, the NCC team is revving up
production on its latest offering: the Xerox 4500. Kipp has already
ordered 700 virgin cores to meet market demands for the cartridge.
Customer Quick
Note: While there is no
minimum order at NCC, there are quantity price breaks at all
ordering levels including the introductory levels of 3, 5, and 10
cartridges. NCC does blind-drop ships; orders made by 3 p.m. PST are
shipped same-day; and cartridges are backed by a 100% satisfaction
guarantee.
With a non-HP
niche, NCC prides itself on getting products out fast and right.
“Our quality control is simple: we make it work as good and as long
as OEM,” Kipp says. “We try to be the first out and the best
out—just being first out doesn’t get you anywhere. We’ve already
done the QC testing, so customers don’t have to be a guinea pig for
us.”
NCC uses only
virgin cartridges in its manufacturing process, and replaces all
blades and drums. They also post-test each cartridge to ensure that
they are upholding their quality standards. This past quarter NCC
reported under a 2% defect rate (1.9%), according to Kipp.
However, he
attributes much of the NCC quality to employee retention. “The
biggest part of [QC] is taking care of your employees, keeping
employees for a length of time and training them. It’s very
important. We avoid the ‘brain drain’ by taking good care of our
people. We try to give them a home and create a family atmosphere.”
NCC has 24 employees; the average length of stay is 3 years.
Selling Sales
When it comes
to cold calling, is your approach a little, well, cold? Kipp is a
master of sales. It comes easy to him, and it shows. “When you like
something, you’re good at it or you become good at it,” he says.
“Sales is the same way. You kind of have to have that stereotypical
personality. You really have to be a hammerhead and not care all
that much about a little rejection.”
Kipp’s
approach to each call is to educate the person about his services,
tell them how he can make them money—and his main asset is 20
years’ experience. “No one really knows our market better than NCC,”
he notes. “So, purchasers that normally hang up on sales people will
talk to me.” Kipp says this is because he knows customers’ needs and
gets their attention with a benefit that he can deliver on, then
follows through on his promise. And that, he adds, is the essence of
sales.
“I ask what
they are selling at and tell them if they are out of the market,” he
goes on. “Since we are experts and know our market, we know the
pricing that will move product in quantity. You can lead a horse to
water just like I can lead someone to my catalogue, but it’s up to
them sell it within the market, and I can help.”
Kipp says that
with cold calls, you’ve got to do big numbers. “If you just feel
your way through each call and every time someone’s a little
negative, you quit, [you won’t be successful],” he says. “Sales is
education and you educate people who want an education. So, you’re
like a teacher. If they are willing to take the knowledge you have,
then you can make them money. And if you really believe that, then
it’s easy.” A final tip: “never promise what you can’t deliver.”
Toner Love
Changes Kipp’s Life… Twice
In 1989, Kipp
was a manager for an office supplies company. An employee that he
had just hired, Dennis, told him about the company he’d been
dismissed from—a recharging company—and how Dennis had built all the
cartridges. Kipp said, “Since it sounds like you did all the work,
why don’t you just make them yourself—you don’t need them.” With
Kipp’s capital and Dennis’ know-how, the two began their own
recharging operation.
Kipp ran the
businesses out of a garage in a house Dennis was renting.
Originally, they sold HP compatibles to end-users and called the
company Discount Laser. He would cold-call businesses in Orange
County, selling at a remarkable 50% clip. Then, Dennis told him
about the Xerox cartridges—they were going for three times the price
of an HP. “The reason we were interested in Xerox,” Kipp recalls,
“was the idea that where there are expensive cartridges, there are
bigger profits!”
In 1991, they
saw opportunities in the wholesale market and started NCC, which
sells wholesale exclusively. Over the years they’ve had sales reps,
but as Kipp says: “We got so busy by word-of-mouth, we haven’t had a
sales rep here for years. I’m it.”
While this
newfound industry changed Kipp’s life, there was another major
surprise that toner had to offer him: his wife Gayla, who began
working there as a summer job.
“One of my
sales reps left on vacation; and, since he had been swamped the last
month just answering the phone instead of selling, he said that by
the time he got back I better have a receptionist hired. It was kind
of a joke, but we did need someone to answer the phone, we were so
busy. So, I started interviewing people. And Gayla came in and
filled out an application. She was the only one. Well, we had all
guys working here and they were talking about how cute she was, so I
wadded up the application and threw it behind the file cabinet and
forgot about it.
“Right before
my rep was about to come back from vacation, I thought, ‘Man, I’ve
got to hire her, because that’s all we got.’ So, I tried to find her
application, and they told me where I had thrown it, behind the file
cabinet. When she got here, her application was all crinkled up. I
told the guys to behave and I hired her. She was real
well-behaved—all my sales reps asked her out and she turned them all
down!”
He hired her,
and the rest is history. Well, actually it took 10 years for the
couple to start dating and another five before they were married.
But, when they were, his top sales rep was his best man. “So you
can find the perfect girl in toner,” Kipp jokes. “Just think, if
I had never gotten her application out of the trash, my whole life
would be different.”
Gayla never
expected toner to introduce her to the love of her life. “Obviously,
it was a really good experience,” she says. “I never thought
initially that [toner] would turn into a lifestyle, instead of just
a job.” But that’s just what sets NCC apart from the rest, she says:
“We are a family business, so we really want to take care of the
customer and make the customer happy.” Call them, and Gayla or
another NCC representative will personally take your call.
To Contact
NCC:
1.800.822.5477
1.619.562.6995
www.nationalcopycartridge.com
info@nccreman.com
