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Gregory Taylor
Guest Blog

‘Clients’ are the New ‘Customers’ and Why Dealers Should Know This!

August 4, 2017
Why do today’s equipment dealers need to fundamentally evolve to, embrace and implement the changes needed to the outdated relationship model and roles of “dealer” and “customer?” In an environment of accelerating demographic changes, and with the fast paced, continually evolving, marketplace, changes can be difficult, and the answers may not appear readily obvious.
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Kanicki
From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

Independent … but Not Too Independent

By Dave Kanicki posted on July 31, 2017 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues
If you were to read through any of the major farm equipment manufacturers annual reports (also referred to as Form 10-K by the SEC), each of them refers to the businesses that sell their products as “independent dealers.” This would imply that those dealers are free to operate their businesses as they see fit. We all know this isn’t anywhere close to what’s actually taking place in the real world of the farm equipment business.
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Lessiter
From the Desk of Mike Lessiter

Day in the Life: What Does a Dealer Development Manager Do?

By Mike Lessiter posted on July 24, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices, Manufacturer & Dealer Issues
One of the fun things about our coverage of the farm equipment business is discovering and sharing how each of the various cogs perform together in the larger “machine.” On each of the Dealership Minds special issues, we’ve had subscribers laugh about how they learned something they didn’t know about the role of a person they’d worked 10 yards away from for a decade, sometimes more.
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George Russell -Eric Thompson.jpg
People & Profits

Formulate a Short & Simple ‘Tailgate Talk’

By George Russell and Erik Thompson posted on July 15, 2017 | Posted in Best Practices
Great leaders simplify their messages. As a dealership leader, are your messages the most powerful? Think of Ronald Reagan, often called the Great Communicator, and some of his famous messages. “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” at the Berlin Wall. Or after the Challenger disaster, “They touched the face of God.” The title of his biography by his speech writer Peggy Noonan says it best — Simply Speaking.
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