DEALERS EMPOWERED BY ASSOCIATION DEALER MEETINGS
While there were several blizzards in the Northeast, the real flurry is that of Northeast Equipment Dealer Association members returning to their dealerships to implement ideas they learned at the NEDA Regional Meetings held in February. “Our early February 2015 Annual/Regional Meetings were well received by all the dealers and their staff in attendance, despite extreme snow and sub-zero weather effecting the entire Northeast,” says Ralph Gaiss, NEDA CEO/VP. “More than half of our attendees told us that it was the best program we have had,” he says.
While dealer associations provide products and services that help dealers reduce their cost of doing business all year long, the annual convention is an event designed to create a lasting impact, and is generally held at a time of year when dealers are fine-tuning and re-energizing their business for the upcoming season. For their dealer meetings, NEDA featured speakers Anne Salemo, President, Charter Software Inc., and John Chapin, Owner, Complete Selling Inc. Inc., who both addressed how to apply and use current technology to solve the difficult challenges dealers face every day. Attendees found both the presentations impressive, with many commenting afterwards that those who did not make it to the meetings “will never know what they missed.”
“Associations put in a lot of time, effort and planning into their annual meetings to ensure that their program will educate and inspire dealers. Staying up to date on the latest tools, technology and business practices plays a huge part in a dealer’s overall success–dealers can gain a lot of knowledge by attending these events.”
This message readily applies to dealership owners and staff who are not active or do not belong to a regional dealership association. Just this month, dealer meetings of the Northeast, Canada East and the Joint Southern dealer associations (Southern, Southeastern, Midwest and Deep South) have taken place. “Associations put in a lot of time, effort and planning into their annual meetings to ensure that their program will educate and inspire dealers, says Jennifer Schmidt, Marketing Manager for Charter Software. “Staying up to date on the latest tools, technology and business practices plays a huge part in a dealer’s overall success, and dealers can gain a lot of knowledge by attending these events,” she says. “Dealers who do not belong to an association or do not feel it is important to attend the annual meetings are really missing out on an opportunity to strengthen their support network and bring back ideas to breathe back into their dealerships,” says Schmidt.
In Salemo’s presentation, “What’s Keeping You Up At Night?” she provided insightful ideas and suggestions realistic solutions topersistent issues that dealers face. In Chapin’s presentation, “Super Charge Your Business and Your Attitude,” attendees learned innovative solutions focused on improving not only sales production but also the attitude of all dealership ownership and staff. “While copies of the PowerPoint presentations are available, there is no way that they can convey the ‘ambience’ of how awesome the presentations were in-person.” says Dave Close, NEDA Director of operations. “The presenters acknowledged and ansewred attendee questions on-the-spot,” he adds.
The primary reason for regional dealer associations existence is to assist in the development of their dealership members to achieve success. In addition to educating their menbership in annual meetings and other seminars, most associations are active in supporting favorable legislation affecting equipment dealers, which can be regional in many cases. Equipment dealer associations also assist dealers in building relationships with manufacturers, distributors and suppliers.
As an endorsed business system provider of five dealership associations, Charter Software is a strong advocate for dealers and their staff to join and become active in their regional association. For information about all North American equipment dealer associations, see the NAEDA website.
