Ryan Duncan’s first sales call on his first sales day quickly became a lesson in what a team can accomplish together.
The opportunity with Greenwood School District started with a familiar relationship, but earning the district’s business would require much more. The project ultimately included 38 devices, two production systems, PaperCut expertise, training, connectivity, service and a carefully coordinated deployment across multiple schools.
For Ryan, there was no pretending he had all the answers. He leaned into the experience around him, bringing specialists into the conversation as the district’s needs became clear.
What followed was not one person’s win. It was a collective effort that showed Greenwood exactly what Ryan had promised from the beginning: Datamax may be local, but there is an entire team standing behind you.
Ryan Duncan: Opening the Door... and Keeping it Open.
Ryan already knew Greenwood. He grew up 15 minutes away and had a relationship with the assistant superintendent. Still, there is a difference between getting your foot in the door and earning a seat at the table.
That started with listening. Greenwood had been with its previous provider for years and was generally satisfied with its equipment. The frustration was service, responsiveness and a lack of consistent personal attention.
Ryan’s approach was simple: be accessible, be honest and surround the customer with people who could help.
“I was honest. I’m brand new,” Ryan said. “I’m good at getting stuff in the door and then handing stuff over to the specialists.”
That willingness to lean on others became one of the strengths of the entire project. That included firing off daily questions to his sales colleague, Donn Guanzon, whom he claims "without his help, this wouldn't have happened." As production, PaperCut, service and logistics needs surfaced, Ryan brought the right people into the conversation and stayed engaged himself.
Ryan also credits Kristen Finkbeiner, who had to "figure out 12 month pricing for a decent size district that included two production machines. I can't imagine that was easy."
His colleague Donn is quick to ensure that Ryan does not sell himself short in the collective effort. Donn says that Ryan did a really good job building a strong relationship with the customer and earning their trust. He created the kind of relationship where the customer felt comfortable being open and honest about the challenges they were facing. He wasn’t listening just to hear their problems, he was listening to truly understand them.
"Even though Ryan was new to the industry at the time, he quickly recognized how important it was to understand the problem before trying to solve it," Donn said. "He knew that developing the right solution would be the easy part. Datamax had the people, resources, and expertise to help. He just needed a little guidance on where to find those resources and who to bring into the conversation. Once he figured that out, everything really started to come together."
Jeff Presnall: Bringing the Expertise.
Production Specialist Jeff Presnall brought both specialized knowledge and familiarity with the account. After evaluating the district’s print shop operation, Jeff helped configure a production solution around what Greenwood actually needed.
The work itself was straightforward but substantial: school-specific curriculum, tests, meeting materials and other high-volume applications. The larger opportunity was to give the district something it felt had been missing: local attention, training and post-sale support.
“We brought basically all the possible Datamax resources to them and showed them what we’re capable of,” Jeff said. “We can be and are local. But that doesn’t mean we’re small with limited resources.”
For Jeff, that combination stood out.
“Large organization with a local touch, and I think they saw that very early.”
Trish Williams: Expanding the Possibilities.
Greenwood already had PaperCut. Solutions Specialist Trish Williams helped them discover just how much more they could do with it.
“They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we have someone who will help us with PaperCut,’” Trish said. “We reiterated over and over, really believe us, you’re not going to be left in the dark.”
Working closely with the district’s IT team, Trish helped expand PaperCut beyond primarily print release. One of the biggest wins was scanning. Instead of configuring individual scan destinations separately on dozens of devices, Greenwood could create centralized scan actions for destinations such as department folders and Google Drive.
Today, the district has more than 20 scan actions available, simplifying everyday workflows for users.
But Trish believes the collaboration mattered just as much as the technology.
“Problem came up? We solved it. Ryan was there, he didn’t leave them, I was there, anybody who was in the process, we were there. I think that’s what helped.”
Service & Logistics: Putting It All Together.
Then came the job of making it happen.
With 38 devices to prepare and deploy, Service Manager Tim Skurdahl and his team had to coordinate the project while continuing to handle their normal service responsibilities. Technicians prepared equipment between calls, organized deployments school by school and worked alongside connectivity and logistics resources to complete the rollout.
“We pulled together and got it done,” Tim said. “We did all this in a three or four day period.”
It was the largest project the Fort Smith team had handled to date, and Tim remembers the attitude as much as the workload.
“We wanted to prove we could do it.”
And they did.
“It made me proud to know we were able to get it done while keeping calls going,” Tim said. “Everybody coming to work and pitching in and doing what they could, it was great seeing the teamwork.”
A Class of Their Own.
Ryan’s first sales call could have simply been a memorable way to begin a new career at Datamax. Instead, it became something bigger.
Ryan opened the door. Jeff brought production expertise. Trish uncovered new possibilities. Service, connectivity and logistics brought it all across the finish line. Different roles. Different expertise. One customer. One team.
