Due to the number of attendees that preregistered for this topic, the “Valuation Data Sources: What, Who & Why?” roundtable was held both days of the Dealership Minds Summit – Roadmap to Mastering Equipment Remarketing. The majority of dealers attending this session were looking for better tools to use when placing a value on used equipment and trade-ins. One dealer said, “It is an inefficient marketplace, the information is bad. How do we get better information?”

During a roundtable discussion at the Dealership Minds Summit moderated by Anne Salemo, president of Charter Software, dealer discussed how they are tracking their used equipment inventory. Implementing a real-time inventory tracking system at a dealership is an important business decision with several variables to consider. In order to evaluate whether a real-time tracking system will benefit your bottom line, dealers need to evaluate their losses and look at their internal inventory controls.  If your internal inventory controls are off and not being managed properly, implementing a real-time tracking system will have little hope for success, one dealer commented.

Much like in the auto industry, certified pre-owned (CPO) purchase programs can offer a buyer piece-of-mind with their used equipment purchase. But, offering CPOs may not always be the best decision for your dealership or your customer. There are a variety of financing and support options available across major suppliers like Case IH, Deere and AGCO, however one constant variable is that major suppliers expect higher dollars on certified pre-owned sales. Dealers gathered to discuss what they’ve learned from CPOs during a roundtable moderated by Kyle Kennedy, Livingston Machinery, during the Dealership Minds Summit — Roadmap to Mastering Equipment Remarketing.

A perennial pain point in many dealerships is the topic of social media promotion. Nobody denies its potential as a valuable marketing and customer service tool, but two tough questions have prevented many dealers from reaping the full benefits.

With tighter farm incomes, being able to attract customers with affordable entry points into precision products has become more appealing for dealers. Applying lessons learned and shared by farm equipment dealers for remarketing used machinery is shaping the philosophy of Chris Winkelbauer, precision farming manager with Central Valley Co-op, based in York, Neb.

Farm Equipment editors will be live Tweeting and Facebooking throughout the 2017 Dealership Minds Summit, running August 1-2  in Omaha, Neb. Highlights and updates from the conference can be found through #DMS. Be sure to check in on Facebook at 3 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, August 2 for a special live announcement.

All presentations from the 2017 Dealership Minds Summit will be available for download here following the event.