For our final podcast episode of 2024, we welcome Mets Kramer to the mic! Mets is the mastermind behind the new IEDA app, and in this episode, he gives us an in-depth look at how this innovative tool will transform the IEDA membership directory into a powerful, user-friendly digital resource right at your fingertips.

Tune in to discover where to download the app and how it empowers you to manage your company profile in real-time. Plus, find out how you can easily connect and communicate with other members with just a few clicks.

Our conversation also takes a fascinating detour into key marketing strategies shared by Mets. He shares insights on how technology can enhance customer engagement, regardless of their preferred communication style. While marketing should be a team effort within your dealership, Mets emphasizes that owners hold the keys to driving the company forward. He discusses leveraging your data to deliver exactly what your customers want—on their terms—rather than sticking to “the way we’ve always done things.”

And as we wrap up, Mets leaves us with a final takeaway that just might surprise you!

Download the New IEDA App

Apple

Google

Connect with Mets:

Mets’ LinkedIn

Vizybility Website

Connect with IEDA:

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Much of Brad Spitzer’s expertise can be summed up with three R’s: Rouse, Rentals, and Real-Time Insights. Yet, there’s so much more to the Director of Client Services at Rouse Rental Insights. Brad, a dynamic voice in the industry and a featured speaker at the IEDA Midyear Meeting in Nashville, brings an unmatched perspective on market trends in used and rental construction equipment.

In this episode, we explore Brad's deep dive into the drivers behind earthmoving equipment rental utilization, the latest trends shaping rental rates, and his forward-looking insights into where those rates might be headed. Brad also shares his analysis of the used equipment market’s performance in 2024 and his expectations for early 2025.

Stay tuned until the end, where we learn what Brad’s first moves would be if he inherited an independent equipment dealership from his uncle—offering a unique look at his strategic mindset. If you’re seeking expert perspectives on the evolving equipment landscape, Brad is someone you’ll want to tune in to for practical advice and a forward-thinking approach!

Connect with Brad:

Brad’s LinkedIn

Brad’s Email

Company Website

Company Facebook

Connect with IEDA:

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Much of Milissa Wise’s life can be summed up with three M’s: Mexico, Marines, and Machines. Yet, there’s much more to the owner of Expert Heavy Equipment, an IEDA member distributor. Milissa has built a strong, well-respected brand among resellers and end-users throughout Mexico, as well as Central and South America. With 600,000 Facebook followers, her equipment ads consistently receive “overwhelming” responses.

In this episode, we explore her unconventional business model, her insights into her customer base, her journey into the equipment industry, and the lifestyle-friendly approach she chose, which allows her the flexibility to buy and sell remotely from anywhere—often seaside, overlooking Cabo San Lucas. If you haven’t met her at an IEDA event, she’s someone worth meeting and getting to know! A smart and confident entrepreneur, Milissa specializes in lighter dirt equipment––mostly on her own terms––and sees nothing but blue skies ahead.

Connect with Milissa:

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

Connect with IEDA:

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

VizaLogix Augmented reality is an actual reality for construction equipment dealers today–no big ARglasses required. This could be the disruptive service your business needs to differentiate yourself from buyers and rental customers. A software called TethrIT Now from VizaLogix uses your customer’s cell phone (whether Apple or Android) to get immediate video access into a machine failure event, so your technician can either help your rental customer solve it remotely or know exactly what to bring for a field service call. Every interaction is recorded, timestamped, and archived.

In this episode with VizaLogix Founder Shawn Bonnington, we also discover additional, highly-relevant applications for independent equipment dealers– including a built-in inspection system that facilitates regimented and recorded machine condition reviews for rental check-ins and check-outs. Better than a mere video or Facetime call, Bonnington explains, it’s also an effective tool for assessing and verifying auction equipment you're looking at. You might even use the sequenced inspection feature for walking a long-distance buyer through machines they're evaluating on your lot. Find out the Cat dealer story behind VizaLogix, the partnership with well-known industry software maker Texada, and how Volvo Construction Equipment is now involved, too.

Connect with Shawn:

LinkedIn

Connect with IEDA:

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Dealer software expert John Andersen has worked with equipment dealers for many years to become more efficient, savvy, and competitive. He does this by putting his deep knowledge of equipment distribution together with his great expertise in dealer management systems. And it’s an equation that is always a win-win for dealers.  John’s 35 years of experience with PFW, ADP, e-Emphasys, CDK, and now as a consultant for DIS, puts him in a category of 1. For the next half hour, listen in as John and Kim identify dealer pain points and explore the key to remaining relevant through adopting and harnessing data that empowers your team to serve customers better.

Connect with John:

LinkedIn

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

One fleet manager has estimated his company loses $112K every day a machine is down. If your customers had a theme song, it would be “Stayin' Alive,” because their No. 1 priority is keeping their iron running. To do so, they need parts–and fast. But besides speed, they also need an easier path to their dealer’s expertise and an overall better buying experience. Luke Powers, founder and CEO of Gearflow, says contractors don’t want to shop online for the parts they need–they want and need the expertise of their local dealer, but they want faster access to you. 

Listen in as he describes a more modern parts-procurement process that would give independent dealers a competitive advantage while becoming the equipment owner's go-to proactive parts partner. Amazon, eBay, and SmartEquip all have their place in the enormous parts universe, but there is no substitute for the knowledge and resources a dealer can provide. Discover how technology can better support your parts business, your team, and your customers–and how providing a new level of service could create a stronger circle of equipment purchasing loyalty and increased share of wallet. 

Connect with Luke:

Blog

Website

Email: [email protected]

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Can data really help your business? You bet! Data is knowledge and it makes you more savvy and strategic about finding and seizing equipment sale and rental opportunities. Now that 2024 is at its midway point, it’s a good time to assess the market and get a good grasp on the big picture.

In this episode, Sarah Martin, associate director of forecasting at Dodge Construction Network, unpacks the sectors that are flourishing and those that are slowing, and why. She discusses the two big wild cards that heavily influence construction, too.

Martin explains how to understand and use the Dodge Momentum Index as a gauge for project planning and starts. She also offers up the fruits of her daily work as a forecaster, pointing to trends, identifying activity, and postulating about federal interest rates as well as election impact for the industry. 

Discover where contractor sentiment is now and what lies ahead for the remainder of the year and into 2025.

Dodge Construction Network

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IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

If you like to talk and sell, then digital marketing is right up your alley, and you probably didn’t even know it. This month, we welcome Laurie Stogniew and Nick Riggs from CONAG Marketing, a division of Bayshore Marketing, founded and owned by Stogniew. Although they give the used equipment sales industry a ranking of 5 or 6 on a scale of 1–10 for digital marketing, they’re optimistic that independent dealers are on an upward trajectory with ever-growing awareness and action toward reaching equipment buyers everywhere.

Experts at developing and designing websites that search engines love, including e-commerce sites, Laurie and Nick are also social media pros who advance their clients’ reputations and brands online.

Some of the most digitally savvy things a dealer can do is keep their website active with new and fresh content, while also harnessing social media and AI to keep customers finding them, rather than the dealer searching for customers. Today, business is “social;” it always was, and customers still want to know “what’s in it for me.” Listen in for tips to greatly expand your business reach and customer relationships.

CONAG Marketing

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IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Here’s a conversation that reveals a whole demographic of potential customers for independent equipment dealers. Meet Dan Maitland, the fleet manager at Ajax Paving, located in Southwest Florida and a new board member at the Association of Equipment Management Professionals. He spoke on a customer panel at the IEDA Annual Meeting – if you missed him there, here’s your second chance to get acquainted.

 Dan manages a fleet of 600 pieces of equipment and oversees a team of technicians, as well as administrative and scheduling staff – a big job. Like his fellow AEMP members all over the country, he makes the buying, renting and selling decisions for the company’s off-road assets that total $36 million in replacement value.

 In this conversation, he identifies why independent dealers have a great opportunity to serve this population of equipment decision-makers – as well as what fleet managers really need from their equipment sourcing partners.

 How do you get a foot in the door with a big company’s fleet manager? Dan has some suggestions about that, too.  He’s very optimistic that great mutual benefits are going to be unlocked as the members of IEDA and AEMP get on one another’s radar and get to know each other. Find out what’s in it for your business in this friendly and open dialog.

Ajax Paving Website

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IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon

Some experts are predicting that the second half of 2024 through 2026 are going to be strong economic years. This month’s podcast guest, distribution expert Mike Marks,  believes it could be an opportune time to expand through acquisition or merger, or to exit the business profitably, depending on your strategy. He also says there are great advantages available to the independent dealer on both sides of an M&A deal, and in this month’s interview he highlights the benefits to buyers and sellers.

And none of it is as hard as you might think. He strongly recommends spending a couple of hours a week – no more than two bottles of beer in one sitting – educating yourself and understanding the process. He’s already done the math, which he shared during a presentation at the IEDA Annual Meeting Business Program, and we’re happy to share the slides…simply send an email to [email protected].

Mike also goes through key ways to prepare your business for sale to get the maximum price, and how to navigate choosing your own buyer confidentially in a very interconnected industry – or a business you want to buy.

Listen in to get your mind around the journey and how to get started.

Indian River Consulting Group Website

Visit IEDA Group Website

IEDA Events

Produced By: Social Chameleon