The 2017 Dealership Minds Summit, held at the La Vista Hotel & Conference Center in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 1-2, drew a sold out crowd of 235 attendees, including 112 different dealerships across 28 states and 3 provinces.
Centered on the theme “Roadmap to Mastering Equipment Remarketing,” the program featured a speaker lineup of 14 leading equipment remarketing experts representing more than $2.8 billion in annual revenue, including 5 dealerships claiming Farm Equipment's Dealership of the Year honors.
Farm Equipment managing editor Kim Schmidt noted during opening remarks that she has heard similar comments in her conversations with dealers regarding remarketing used equipment:
The job of the remarketing manager is the toughest – and one of the most important – at the dealership.
Used inventory ties up cash. How can we determine the right value to move a used unit and make some money?
How can we incentivize our sales people to focus on selling used equipment?
During a focused 2-day program consisting of dealer-to-dealer roundtables sessions, panel presentations, general sessions and intense networking opportunities, attendees discovered actionable ideas to better manage and move their used equipment inventories.
“A consistent theme that I’ve heard from attendees during the last 2 days is their enthusiasm to have the opportunity to make connections with dealers of other regions and colors for their best practices and to coordinate on future trades of equipment they take in. I was very pleased to see many introductions being made and business cards being exchanged,” says Schmidt.
Among the highlights of the 2017 Dealership Minds Summit was a thought-provoking dinner presentation examining the future of the used equipment trades from early-adopter models in other industries — those that in short time many in the industry agree will infiltrate the farm equipment industry.
And announced at the Summit, for the first time publicly, was the return of the Precision Farming Dealer Summit, which will be held Jan. 8-9, 2018, at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky.
From the single-location independent retailer to the multi-store farm equipment dealer, the sales representative to executive management, intense knowledge sharing and networking was in abundance during each focused learning session and hallway conversations.
The 2017 Summit was made possible with the support of these title sponsors: Charter Software, Dawson Tire & Wheel, DIS, AgDirect, Machinery Pete, HBS Systems, Iron Solutions, Fastline Media Group, AuctionTime, Montag Manufacturing, Iron Connect, TractorHouse, Dieci United States and Machinery Scope.
For more information on the 2017 Dealership Minds Summit, visit DealershipMindsSummit.com. An in-depth recap of the Summit, including key session takeaways, will be featured in Farm Equipment.
