GIE+EXPO is calling 2016 “the year of the dealer,” and the education offerings show that’s a true statement. Dealer-specific education sessions and a special UTV University highlight things dealers can improve on when it comes to increasing sales and growing their market. New to the mix, bestselling author Jason Dorsey will equip dealers with the knowledge to sell to multiple generations in Wednesday’s opening keynote, and Olympic medal gymnast Shannon Miller will motivate and inspire Friday morning in her “Power-Up” session.
Bob Clements Owners’ and Managers’ sessions
Bob Clements is the president of Bob Clements International Inc., a training and development company specializing in creating high performance dealerships and organizations. Over the last 25 years, he’s worked with major manufacturers in the OPE, AG, construction and boating industries. Now he’s bringing his consulting knowledge to GIE+EXPO.
With a focus on dealers, Clements’ team will provide attendees with the tools they need to achieve personal and financial freedom. The five sessions will span over the Wednesday through Friday of EXPO, taking place in the Dealer’s Pavillion.
Bob Clements
Dare to be Different: How to take on Goliath and Win
Wednesday, Oct. 19 – 11 a.m. - noon
In this session, Clements will provide advice on leveraging your unique advantages to gain business and improve profitability for your dealership. As a small business, it’s important to remember these advantages and use them to rise above your competition.
Clements says the main focus of this is to help dealers understand their own brand. Often, customers walk into a dealership and only see the brand of the equipment that’s offered there.
“The customer really doesn’t know what the dealer brand is,” he says. “Who are you? Why should I do business with you? That’s really what we’re trying to do: get the dealers to understand their brand needs to be more clearly outlined.”
He says this doesn’t just apply to your brand as a dealer, but your brand as a member of the community. He says this is especially important with the millennial generation, which is becoming a huge segment of the market.
“The younger generation doesn’t mind spending more money,” he says. “They want to spend money with people making an impact.” Clements will teach dealers how to make an impact on your potential and current customers so they know you apart from any other dealer.
Dealer Day Opening Keynote
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 1:30 - 3 PM
World-renowned speaker and researcher Jason Dorsey will deliver a keynote address for dealers. Billed as The Gen Y Guy®, Dorsey’s engaging keynote – “Selling Across Generations: Specific Actions That Drive Sales With Each Generation” – will give dealers insights on how to sell to their customers – whether they’re baby boomers or millennials. Selling to each generation at the same time means the difference between fast growth and potentially millions in lost sales. Dorsey, a bestselling Gen Y author at age 18 and winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award at age 25, will address generational trends and how to sell to the different age groups. The session, sponsored by Gravely & STIHL, is free with registration.
Bob Clements and Jim Daum
Increasing sales in your service department
Thursday, Oct. 20 – 11 a.m. - noon
In this workshop, Clements and team member Jim Daum will share specific strategies for growing your service business and making your service department more profitable. The service department is the backbone of the dealership and should be making you money.
Bob Clements and Brian Clements
Increasing sales in your parts department
Friday, Oct. 21 – 11 a.m. - noon
Your parts department It takes marketing, customer service and knowledge to make it profitable and efficient. In this program, Clements and his son, Brian, will discuss ways to leverage your team’s skills to increase your parts department sales. Some of the topics focused on will include cross selling, up selling and displays.
Sara Hey
Finding, interviewing and hiring key employees
Friday, Oct. 21 – 2 - 3 p.m.
Clements says a problem a lot of dealers are having right now is finding good people. A lot of dealers are looking for potential employees with dealership experience, but Clements says that’s not the best idea.
“You’re just not looking in the right spot,” he says.
A lot of skills required for a dealership employee are crossover skills from other jobs, so instead he suggests looking outside of the industry.
On Friday, his daughter, Sara Hey, will walk through the entire process of finding, interviewing and hiring employees. She’ll also provide tips to ensure that you are hiring the right fit for your culture and team.
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Power-up session – Mark Mooney
We used to do that – A roadmap to dealership success
Thursday, Oct. 20 – 8 - 9 a.m.
Mark Mooney, powersports dealer consultant, is a former powersports dealer, with 35 years in the industry. On Thursday, he’ll be answering many of your questions about how to run a dealership and what to look at to guide its success.
“I have learned over the years that we all make mistakes,” he says. “If you make them and learn from them, they’re good. Especially if it changes how you look at things.”
The biggest thing, Mooney says, is that many sales people only ask for the sale around 30 percent of the time they’re on the sales floor.
“They should be asking for it 100 percent of the time,” he says. “You’re sales can be increased.”
The title of his session comes from the familiarity of the topic he’ll be covering.
“There’s going to be something I’m going to say that somebody’s going to say, ‘oh we used to do that,’ and we’ll say, ‘why don’t you do it now?’”
Mooney has a passion for mentoring folks, showing people ways they can strengthen the practices they already have in order to become more profitable.
When he’s not consulting, Mooney hosts a weekly radio show on the radio station KPIG out of California He is also one of PowerSports Business Magazine’s most-read blog contributors.
“We are going to rock the place,” he says about his session at GIE+EXPO. “It won’t be like anything (attendees) have ever seen.”
Mooney’s session is sponsored by PowerSports Business Magazine and OPE. There is a $5 fee to attend, which will be donated to charity.
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Power-up session – Shannon Miller
The gold medal mindset
Friday, Oct. 21 – 8 - 9 a.m.
In her session, Miller will discuss how the gold medal mindset leads to victory on the competition floor, in the boardroom and in our personal lives. She will share her insight on what it takes to be a winner: the importance of goal setting, leadership, maintaining a positive attitude and teamwork.
Using examples from her Olympic and personal experiences, Miller explains ways we can overcome even the most difficult obstacles to achieve success. While she may not have been the most talented, flexible or even the strongest athlete, Shannon utilized these concepts to become the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history.
Be empowered to seal the deal with that next client, your next project or upcoming job at hand. Work together for a positive outcome, and understand the steps it takes to be a successful leader in both work and life.
Miller competed in both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and was a member of the “Magnificent Seven” team who won the U.S. Women’s first ever team gold in gymnastics. She was also the first American gymnast to capture gold on the balance beam. She is the first American gymnast to win an individual gold medal at a fully-attended Summer Games, making her the most accomplished gymnast, male or female, in U.S. Olympic history.
After retiring from Olympic competition, Miller received her undergraduate degrees in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Houston and her law degree from Boston College.