It's pretty easy to get caught with your face buried in a computer screen and forget that the world out there is a pretty amazing place. Plus, that's really where opportunity exists.

The title of this series of articles is “Technology for Profit” and is aimed at giving equipment dealers concrete examples of how advanced technology is being adapted to the day-to-day operations at machinery retailers to improve their bottom line.

When discussing weather, water is often the main topic. In the upcoming volatile years, the question is how to deal with both too much and too little water. Crop water demand may even be increasing with or without drought. A few trends are really clear. There is increased frequency of high temperature stress, more rain in heavy rainfall events across the U.S. ironically with more summer droughts. Because growing seasons are longer with higher summer temperatures. more water is needed, says David Wolfe, Cornell professor of plant and soil ecology.

It's 8 a.m.; do you know where your trucks are? After real estate, a dealership's largest non-inventory asset is likely their rolling stock: delivery flatbeds and lo-boys, remote service vehicles, sales personnel cars or trucks, delivery vans, etc. But land and buildings stays put. Your rolling stock ... well, it rolls.

While next month's column will continue to explore compensation systems for salespersonnel, the focus of this column will address those winning attributes that were personified by each of the Olympic athletes as they participated in their individual and team events during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. Whether Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, the U.S. women's soccer team, or any of the other hundreds of participants, four attributes emblematic of gold (Au) medal play stood out; namely, purpose, passion, perseverance and pride, and each of those attributes are similarly applicable to a successful career in equipment sales.

Updates from Day One of the Farm Progress Show

Hoober, 6367A Stein Highway, Seaford, a farm equipment dealer with five locations in Pennsylvania and Delaware, recently received the Kinze Manufacturing Market Share Leader Award.

Kubota Tractor Corporation recently recognized local Kubota Dealer Messick's of Abbottstown, Carlisle, Elizabethtown, and Halifax PA, with the company's prestigious President's Kaizen Award for outstanding performance as a dealership in 2011.

Does your dealership generally find that an election year will cause farm customers to hold off on additional equipment purchases until the final results are known?

At their annual dealer meeting in Indianapolis, Equipment Technologies (ET) recognized Simpson Farm Enterprises (SFE) as their 2012 Apache Sprayer Dealer of the Year. SFE also was awarded a Customer Service Excellence Award.