IEDA Podcast

If your sales reps were sea lions, would you find them reclining at Sea World while gulping fish tossed into their mouths … or would they be out doing the hard work, hunting and surviving in the treacherous ocean depths? Tune in as our guest, Elliott Vigil, helps you think about how to help all your reps stay on their game.

Everyone makes mistakes – what you don't want is for a sales rep's mistake to turn into a rut or a bad habit. Of course, you have to see what's happening before you can intervene, and that's where Vigil comes in. He was a top performer with Ahern Rentals before it was acquired by United Rentals, and he's seen it all. He knows the pitfalls, and as a past regional and general manager, he understands how to help reps keep growing.

In this episode, Vigil identifies five common mistakes salespeople can slip into – and what the sales manager can do to correct their course. Whether it's getting too comfy and pumping the brakes, not following up with all their accounts, or perhaps struggling with good time management, unproductive thinking and behavior has no place in the sales team. Listen in and walk away with some positive ideas to coach reps into the best version of themselves. Vigil offers good resources for management, too.

Website: https://www.elliottvigil.com/

Visit IEDA Group: https://www.iedagroup.com/

During the first quarter of 2023, IEDA conducted an anonymous survey among a small group of members about their financial performance. In this episode, we asked our dealer financial columnist, Garry Bartecki, to provide commentary about the responses, as well as cautions and insight about opportunities.

A long-time equipment business CFO and financial expert who has advised dealers in M&A transactions, succession planning, and more, Bartecki has also conducted Cost of Doing Business Reports for associations and has led dealer performance groups. He makes the case for IEDA members to consider how participating in a group of about 10 non-competing dealer CEOs can be a business-changing proposition.

Comparing apples to apples on revenues, profits, margins, rental rates and utilization, and processes in every segment of the dealer's operations can sound threatening but in fact, Bartecki says, open discussions and contrasting your business results to others' is a powerful way to solve problems and make financial transformations.

Listen in as we unpack dealer feedback from the survey and hear what Bartecki thinks you should focus on this year.

Visit IEDA Group: https://iedagroup.com/

In our third interview with Jarrett Harris, he fills us in on highlights from OTR's latest Used Heavy Equipment Report. Harris, who is director of Cyclicals Research at Off the Record, provides fresh insight on used equipment supply and pricing, auction outcomes from February, plus a first-hand report from his personal interviews at ARA's Rental Show last month.

What kind of pricing correction is likely to occur in Q2 – Q3 of 2023? Is rental overtaking market share from used equipment purchasing? Is new equipment supply loosening and how is used supply affected?

Find out what dealers, OEMs, and other channel players have been talking about as we explore the Q1 status and make educated guesses for the next couple of quarters. A visit with Harris never disappoints.

Visit: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Meet the affable, insightful Cody Bork, the youngest member of the faculty at Western Technical College's Diesel and Heavy Equipment program in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In this episode, he talks about the motivations and expectations of students training to become the next generation of service techs in the construction equipment industry.

And he should know. Not only does he spend five days a week with his students for two years, but he himself graduated from this program – he brings an insider look into the skilled workforce shortage and how independent equipment dealers can play an active role in both supporting students and steering them toward their own companies after graduation.

Bork was formerly the night shift lead mechanic for a national fleet of tractor/trailers. He then taught at Western part-time and was soon hired on as a full-time instructor.

Visit Western Technical College: https://www.westerntc.edu/

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Is your website doing its job, pulling its weight as a member of your sales team? Is it meeting your goals? Before you answer that, consider first of all: Do you have identifiable, measurable objectives for your website? Does it have a job description – do you know what you want it to do for your equipment business?

Whether you answer yes or no, you're going to pull valuable advice and ideas from this month's guest, Jessica Galfas, founder of Galfas Media LLC. We asked her to review 10 IEDA member websites, and her assessment, coupled with her web and marketing proficiency, provide the foundation for a rich conversation about how to take your website to the next level, no matter where it is today.

We're talking practical, doable, logical stuff that makes a positive, professional impression on website visitors and gives them what they're looking for fast. Galfas, one of IEDA's "I Know A Pro" expert at iedagroup.com who works with many IEDA members, gives you food for thought about branding, how your website functions and looks on mobile devices, how to be a value- giver, and much more.

Got some windshield time coming up? Play this podcast on your phone and listen to something that can strengthen your digital sales bench in 2023.

Galfas Media Website: https://jessicagalfas.com/

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgalfas/

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Section 179 of the IRS tax code has been around for decades, and it can be an effective strategy for lowering your tax liability year to year. In this program, find out what the deduction limit is for the 2022 tax year, and learn the nuances of Bonus Depreciation and how it differs from Section 179.

Using these tools comes with rules, and it can get confusing – that's why we're talking to tax expert, Steve Pierson, shareholder/partner at Selden Fox accounting firm in Oak Brook, Illinois. He's been educating equipment dealers for decades ... and was a featured panelist at IEDA's 2022 Annual Meeting last February.

Section 179 has great implications for an independent dealer's rental fleet, and it can be a great incentive to drive year-end sales this month. Do your customers know that the equipment they buy from you is tax deductible? Learn what's new, what kind of equipment qualifies, and how to take advantage of this small business tax benefit.

Selden Fox: https://www.seldenfox.com/our-people/steven-pierson/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/selden-fox-ltd-/about/

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Produced by: https://socialchameleon.us/

The Fed has far from finished adjusting interest rates to slow the economy and stave off recession, but a downturn has already begun, says attorney James Waite, our guest on this thought-provoking episode. He may specialize in law, but he's about to give your business a lesson in self-defense.

Waite's practice in the Denver, Colorado, area is the premier resource for contractual law in the construction equipment industry, and during our interview he raises several strategic considerations that could protect you when customers begin to struggle financially or go bankrupt, which he expects will occur in a wave in 2023. What you don't know about new laws, litigation, and liens could cost you entire pieces of equipment, so pull up a seat and listen in.

He's also providing insight about Rental Purchase Options, underscoring benefits to both contractors and independent dealers during economic turmoil, as well as insight to make sure your RPO contracts protect you in the worst-case scenario.

Bottom line, as conditions decline overall and for the construction industry specifically, and people become more desperate in the coming quarters of '23, new and unexpected ways of taking what's yours or leaving you holding the bag will crop up. Right now is the time to plan and get your house in order, including all your business's contracts.

James Waite Law: https://www.jameswaitelaw.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWaiteLawFirm

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

State sales tax laws are numerous and complex, and when January 2023 rolls in, every state in the country will officially have its own economic nexus laws on the books when Missouri's statutes come into effect. What's even more concerning is the gusto with which states are aggressively enforcing nexus tax legislation, which means if you don't know if you're in compliance and you're hoping they don't find out, you could be in for some unpleasant surprises.

Enter the state sales tax pro who can shed light on this complicated area of the used equipment business – he's Jim Margner, and he's known for educating equipment dealers and helping to get them out of state tax messes.

In this month's show, Jim defines things like nexus, Wayfair, exemption certificates, and tax liability issues surrounding drop-shippers. If it sounds like Greek to you, tune in for a clear explanation and the FYIs that can keep your business out of tax penalty doo-doo.

M & A Tax Solutions: http://www.mnataxsolutions.com/jim-margner.html

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Stolen cars, on average, are recovered at a rate of over 85%. Conversely, only about 20% of stolen construction equipment is recovered. Additionally, equipment theft is on the rise. Typically a crime of opportunity, stealing equipment became a new pastime for idle hands during the pandemic, and now that economic downturn is upon us, more machines are disappearing. Now's the time to get vigilant about protecting your own fleet.

In this month's interview, Melissa Somers, executive director of the Crime Prevention Program of Southern California, goes over the many tools and strategies of theft prevention every dealer should have in place––what she calls the Shrek Effect. Just as ogres have layers, it's the combination of multiple layers of technology, machine marking, developing the right relationships, and common sense protocols that makes your equipment a harder target.

Think you know what to do if your machine is stolen while on rent to your customer? There may be some surprises that you'll be wise to think through before it ever happens. Somers will get you thinking about your rental contracts and what you might want to check and modify to more thoroughly protect your rental assets.

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/

Construction equipment industry financial guru Garry Bartecki is the Category-of-One expert you want to pay attention to in times like these – soaring inflation, rising interest rates, crazy fuel prices, a labor market in crisis, and a recessionary economic environment, not to mention Washington's alarming focus on adding a small army of armed IRS agents. Even if you're not feeling pain yet, warnings from 2008 echo from the grave: Everything is fine, until it isn't.

Here's the conversation that puts you and your balance sheet under the microscope as a way to proactively keep your equipment business in business. We're talking cash, bank covenants, budgets, tax issues, rentals, new lease accounting rules that will affect you this year, and lots more. Garry did his homework and brings all his timely notes, lists and cautions to help you plan right now. Don't kid yourself – doing nothing means you're doing the wrong thing.

Get some wise competitive, strategic survival advice ahead of the storm and batten down the hatches – or in non-sailor layman's terms, CYA!

Visit IEDA: https://www.iedagroup.com/