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From the Desk of Mike Lessiter

Getting to the "Red Zone"

February 1, 2013 | Posted in Dealers on the Move
But having just returned from last weeks first-ever Dealership Minds Summit in Kansas City, the imagery of the red zone ” that spot on the field where opportunities are the greatest” seems appropriate. Because during that sold-out Summit, the Dealership of the Year alumni and other dealers in attendance pushed the entire dialog to that œred zone? area, and kept it there for a full 8 hours.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

What If?

January 18, 2013 | Posted in Operations & Finance
It's the time of year in agriculture when we start asking what if? This is a time-tested business practice where managers and others begin creating various scenarios and ask themselves and their teams what could happen and how could the company or industry cope if this or that situation crops up.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

New Year's Resolutions

December 26, 2012
I've never been a big believer in resolutions for the sake of making resolutions, particularly as an old year comes to an end and new year approaches. On the other hand, I came across something in 1975 that has remained in my "Food for Thought" file since then, and which I make a point of reading at least once a year.
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George Russell
Technology for Profit

Make Your DBS More Productive

By George Russell posted on December 26, 2012
Farm equipment dealers, like most computer software and hardware users, use only a small portion of the features built into the systems they work with every day. Studies show users utilize only about 30% of the available features in many systems at the top of the range and as little as 10% of the built-in features are exploited by any one user. This low utilization rate is the same whether it's a dealer business system (DBS) or a general computer application like Microsoft Word.
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Dr. Jim Weber
Business of Selling

Consider an Ancillary Compensation System

By Dr. Jim Weber posted on December 26, 2012
While a survey of dealers revealed that 98% of respondents paid their sales personnel either on the basis of salary (30%), cash difference (28%), salary plus commission (19%) or gross margin (21%), the remaining 2% of dealers paid their sales staff utilizing an undisclosed form of compensation. This column, the last in a four part series on sales personnel compensation, will explore possible compensation systems that may have been used by one in 50 dealers.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

The "Good Old Days"

By Dave Kanicki posted on December 10, 2012 | Posted in Manufacturer News

Talk about the "good old days" and things we probably will never see again, during the last month or so, Mike Lessiter and I had the enviable task of interviewing four, now-retired farm equipment legends who were a big part of some of the best and worst times in this business.


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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

Positive Data in Deere's Report

November 21, 2012 | Posted in Data & Forecasts
Forecasting is often difficult even in the best of circumstances, but projecting what 2013 could look like is an even bigger headache than usual for most dealers. The best part of it is it still looks like it will be a pretty good year.
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From the Desk of Mike Lessiter

Recalling the Past

October 29, 2012
Much to my wifes dismay, I'm about to hit the road again tomorrow after only a couple nights back home. (OK, to be honest, the only problem is the fact that last weeks bag is still on the floor while I'm packing up another one.)
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