DAILY AGENDA

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

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Networking Breakfast 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. - Included

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8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

General Session: No Sales Lead Left Behind: Rewarding Salespeople Who Respond

Ben Garton, Garton Tractor, Modesto Calif. — At this 9-store Kubota and New Holland dealership, Garton is the gatekeeper for all leads generated online. He has around 40 salespeople on his staff, but 3 of them receive online inquiries. These 3 are all consistently in the top 5 for sales and the ones who work on online sales leads the most. With the online leads, these salespeople have their own process and have proven to always follow up on their leads. That leaves the lead with the salesperson most likely to act immediately. The system has helped contribute to Garton Tractors over $100 million revenues.

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9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Roundtable Discussions [2nd Set]

Share your insights, ask questions and interact with your peers! Choose 1 of 7 concurrent roundtables for face-to-face dialog on these important subjects:

1. Personality Testing for Salespeople – Are They Good Predictors and/or Training Devices?
2. Key-Performer Programs & Tax-Favored Benefits
3. Attacking Mediocrity in the Sales Team
4. Purchase Projections, Farm By Farm
5. Kicking Sales People Out of Your Store and Into the Truck
6. New Revenue Opportunities for the Dealership: But Can Your Iron Peddlers Sell Something Besides Iron?
7. Data & Intelligence Tools for Sales

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11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

General Session: Outside Looking In: An Analyst’s View of the Farm Equipment Industry

Like it or not, Wall Street influences decisions in Moline, Ill., Racine, Wis., and Duluth, Ga., that ultimately impact your business as dealers as well

In this special session tailored to Dealership Minds Summit attendees, Timothy Thein, Citi Group, New York, N.Y., shares a unique vantage point on farm machinery, including myriad data sources, his own interviews at all steps of the supply and end-use chain, and unparalleled access to the OEMs and their financial arms. Since 2009, he has served as a director in Citi Research covering the Machinery/Diversified Industrials sector.

Thein delivers a thought-provoking view into the current and future health of the farm machinery industry and the risk factors on the horizon. The session also includes Q&A time.

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12:15 - 1:00 p.m. Networking Lunch. - Included

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1:15 - 2:15 p.m.

Dealer-to-Dealer Panel: On-Boarding New Salespeople for Success

A solid on-boarding plan for new salespeople will help thwart bad habits well before they have an opportunity to form. In this information packed panel, dealers share their strategies for on-boarding and continued training for their sales teams.

Kyle Schneider, Stotz Equipment, Avondale, Ariz. (2013 Dealership of the Year) — As the John Deere dealership’s used equipment manager, Schneider helps on-board all new salespeople. “During on-boarding we ask every new sales person — outside or inside — to figure out the gross margin on a unit. It’s simple arithmetic. I’ve yet to meet a salesperson who knows how to do it,” he says.

Using a quick, nuts and bolts style of on-boarding, Stotz ($380 million in sales in 2018) gets new staff on the right page and ready for their first sale. Schneider says they make sure to do the sales on-boarding in the first day. “The longer we wait, the worse their habits become and we want to avoid mistakes.”

Mark Kreps, RDO Equipment, Fargo, N.D. (2010 Dealership of the Year) — With over 25 years of farm equipment sales experience, Kreps is the vice president of sales — agriculture for the 34-store operation. He encourages his sales team to get out of the dealership and onto their farms, and stresses “The Girl Scout who knocks on the most doors, sells the most cookies.”

RDO considers training a core strength. Its initiative includes multiple opportunities for all team members, and an impressive curriculum to bring along the next generation of management talent. This focus on training has contributed to the John Deere dealership’s ag divisions revenues of $750 million.

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2:15 - 3:15 p.m.

Closing Session: Sure-fire Strategies for Sales Success

While replacement cycle demand picking up and helping equipment sales, farm equipment dealers aren’t out of the woods yet for this current downturn. It’s important that dealers take a serious look at how their sales department is performing — or not performing — to ensure they are capturing all the business that is out there.

Back by popular demand, Dr. Jim Weber will close out the Dealership Minds Summit and addresses the specific activities that must be implemented to keep your sales team focused on selling, with clear goals. After speaking at the 2017 Dealership Minds Summit, he received the highest rating of all speakers.

As a consultant and 20-Group facilitator, Weber is known to challenge — and even confront — dealer managers. He uses a no-holdsbarred approach to insist dealers take a close and realistic look at their businesses. To learn more from Dr. Weber, see the Pre-Summit Workshop details by clicking here.

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3:15 p.m. Summary & Next Steps

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3:30 p.m. Adjourn