Last month I started this series off by talking about where to find young talent. As discussed, there are several different places and ways to bring good, young talent from colleges and technical schools to the dealership. 

Can fishing help you appreciate the value of customer retention? If you’re “just fishin’,” catch and release is OK. But if you want to eat or sell the fish you catch, you want to do the things that hook the biggest fish.

Koenig Equipment is no stranger to change. In its 117 years in business, it has seen changes that range from trading horses for implements to a shift in its major line (including several years of operating both John Deere and Case IH stores). 

In Cobb., Wis., Anne Blotz, service manager, walks through the service department at Ritchie Implement, a 4-store Case IH and Claas dealer in southwest Wisconsin and Farm Equipment’s 2015 Dealership of the Year. 

In typical years, the first quarter is a busy time for our staff, with a lot of time spent out of the office at industry events, meetings and visits with dealers. It’s hard to believe that with the exception of a few regional visits to dealers it’s been a year since we’ve done any extensive travel.

The hardest part of any sales manager or sales lead’s job is dealing with salespeople. Typically, salespeople are hard to keep between the ditches.