By Kim Phelan
5
66 ratings
The podcast currently has 47 episodes available.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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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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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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
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Today’s customers have much more of a “self-serve” mindset in terms of how they prepare and educate themselves long before they talk to you. The Internet has shortened the sales cycle, but it hasn’t removed the valuable role of the sales person. What customers want and need from you is transparency, honesty, and continued insight about their jobs and the right machines.
What you need to figure out is how to harness the Internet so you show up when and where the customer is, providing what they’re looking for without just “shouting into the void.” And don’t overlook your own website!
You may recognize this month’s guest, Clint Lawing. He is a regular (and phenomenal) columnist in the IEDA “Independent” publication – but his day job is associate vice president of digital performance at MediaOne. Clint emphasizes the fundamental importance of having a strategy with digital marketing and letting it guide you in your marketing decisions.
Where do you need to show up online? What do your videos need to be like? How do you put together the words people will read … especially if you’re better at talking than writing? These questions and more are answered in this month’s conversation with a guy who knows his stuff and knows how to share it in plain English.
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To kick things off in 2024, I'm excited to be chatting again with our go-to financial guru, Garry Bartecki. Garry served as CFO for several major equipment industry players and currently writes for Equipment Today. If there's a hot financial topic facing dealers, he's the guy with insight.
Today we're tackling the 800-lb gorilla that dominated 2023 - inflation. Prices may have peaked, but inflation is still raging. Garry and I map out cost control strategies to help dealers effectively navigate these challenges in the year ahead.
We get his take on where the Fed may move next and the ongoing economic impacts still trickling down to construction in Q1. And with fuel and transportation costs going wild in 2023, we'll decode recent oil price signals and other indicator trends to watch that could significantly affect equipment businesses in 2024.
I pick Garry's brain on his outlook for manufacturing, labor, construction and beyond and we discuss what's in store for the industry this election year. And most importantly, Garry drilled down on his top 3 cost management tips for dealers working to tame the inflation beast over the next 12 months. We also cover different pricing strategies and ideas to support customers struggling with the same cost crises.
This is a must-listen episode for any dealer seeking to stay financially fit in 2024!
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IEDA Events
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Listen in to the final podcast episode of 2023 – it’s a lighthearted dialog with IEDA Executive Director Dave Gordon and podcast host Kim Phelan. Hear about the upcoming IEDA Live Auction that kicks off the Annual Meeting on Friday, February 16 at 10 a.m. under the big white tent in front of the Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Florida. It’ll be a fun and festive time to gather with your IEDA friends while bidding on equipment and exciting donated prizes. Hear how EVERYONE can participate in the auction and come out a winner!
We’re also revealing the 5-star speaker lineup for Annual Meeting, and highlighting all the Return on Investment you receive by attending this growing, relevant, top-notch event for independent dealers. It’s the Not-To-Be-Missed event of the year, held at the Reunion Resort February 16-18.
Dave is the quintessential event-planning master and he’s passionate about making sure every member gets multiple valuable takeaways from attending Annual Meeting, beginning with really fun (and delicious) networking events and solid strategic intelligence you can apply in your business immediately.
Last, you’ll hear Dave talk about the IEDA Foundation and the good industry work it’s accomplishing.
IEDA Website
IEDA Events
Produced By: Social Chameleon
The podcast currently has 47 episodes available.