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OPINION FROM THE EDITOR 12 • February 15, 2016 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports dealers who stock product sold by Parts Unlimited now have another way to get to know the dis- tributor even better than they already do. And, they can do it via two wheels. Having seen the success of the annual Drag Special- ties Dealer Ride, LeMans Corp. sister brand Parts Unlimited launched its own ride in 2015 in Arizona, treating dealers to one day of checking out vendor products and two days of traversing the scenic roads around Scottsdale. Drag embarked on its 10th annual dealer ride a few weeks later in October in Palm Springs, Calif. At the Parts event, vendor row opened the day before the ride. After the first day of riding, the attend- ees were treated to an open air party with a live band at a ranch in the desert. "(The Parts Unlimited Dealer Ride) has been on our plate of ideas for some time now," said Lou Lopez, Parts Unlimited national sales manager. "It was such a success that we're already planning the 2016 ride. We had done off-road, snow back in the day, and have had people inquire about doing a street ride." Parts reps, regional sales managers, dealers and vendors were all part of the group, some 90 folks strong. Dealers from a cross-section of the country secured their spot via buy-in. Lopez reported that dealers appre- ciated the 340 miles logged, providing "very positive feedback, and a lot of people looking forward to the next one. They just wanted to know when they can do it again." Meanwhile, there's no rest for the weary in Janesville, Wis. The 2016 NVP Product Expos are set for Feb. 27-28 in Atlanta at AmericasMart, with the King of Prussia, Pa., show being held March 19-20 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. The NVP in Madison, Wis., will be Aug. 27-28. "We're looking forward to an early spring and get- ting the season off to right start," Lopez said. "We're always trying to move our events forward, and this year we're doing that with sales rep training (in Atlanta and King of Prussia). We want our staff to come into the spring season armed with product information for the dealers. The more the reps are informed, the more that can be passed along to the dealers in their travels." The two regionals plus the granddaddy of all the LeMans shows in Madison have proven to be a suc- cess, Lopez said. "With hundreds of dealerships and multiple hun- dreds of people from those dealerships represented at our shows, anytime you can get that many people together, it's going to be great. They've worked really well, and we've transitioned nicely to where we are from the Indy trade show." MAKING THE MOST OF FREE DEALER TRAINING Congratulations to Michael Roldan, service manager at Motorcycles of Miami, on his completion of nine classroom seminars during the 2015 Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo. We took a straw poll among those dealers and industry folks who not only attended the classes, but completed the form asking for a certificate of completion. Motorcycles of Miami really got ramped up for 2016, as Michael Milian, the dealership's parts, acces- sories and apparel manager, completed eight sessions. Jeremy Hall of Union County Cycles in New Albany, Miss., and Brad Niehaus of Niehaus Cycle Sales in Litchfield, Ill., also completed eight classroom sessions at the PSB Institute @ AIMExpo. Here's a look at some of the others (in no particular order) who spent their fair share of time in the free training seminars. Again, these folks attended the ses- sions and requested a certificate of completion from each; there are others not on this list who simply did not request a certificate. 7 sessions — Jeremy Green, Rocky Honda, Calgary, Alberta; Mitch Massey, Rocky Honda, Cal- gary, Alberta; Corey Taillon, Pro-Am Motorsports, Calgary, Alberta; Laura Mazzey, Adventure Moto, West Palm Beach, FL; Debra Stevens, Bay Cycle Sales, Bay City, MI; David Hall, Union County Cycles, New Albany, MS; John Lyon, Wilkins Har- ley-Davidson, Barre, VT; Brad Miller, Rod's Ride On Powersports, La Crosse, WI and Travis Ruff, Engelhart Motorsports Co., Madison, WI. 6 sessions — Scott Nelson, Scott's Motorcycle Service, Gardendale, AL; JC Frank, Bargeron Powersports of Bruns- wick, Brunswick, GA; Lorenz Wilkinson, Big Blue Outdoor, Flemingsburg, KY; Sharon Larocque, Bay Cycle Sales, Bay City, MI; William Ste- vens, Bay Cycle Sales, Bay City, MI; Austin Eichelberger, Polaris Industries, Hampstead, NH; Andrew Toulson, Canandaigua Motor- sports, Canandaigua, NY; Rick Chappelle, Moto Guzzi Portland, Portland, OR; Duane Summers, Yamaha Triumph of Camp Hill, Camp Hill, PA and Michael Hunt, EFG Companies, Irving, TX. 5 sessions — Kim Davis, Jet Tech Sports, Cart- ersville, GA; Scott Westfall, Thompson Motorsports, Terre Haute, IN; Kevin Wimpee, No Boundaries Power Sports, Fort Washington, KY; Lynette Roth, Bay Cycle Sales, Bay City, MI; Joe Farber, Simply Street Bikes, Eden Prairie, MN; Anthony Lockwood, Motorcycles of Manchester, Manchester, NH; George Mullin, Souhegan Valley Motorsports, Milford, NH; Nelson Cardona, Satch Cycles, Metuchen, NJ; Dan Notte, Cross Country BMW, Metuchen, NJ; Megan Wood, Canandaigua Motorsports, Canandaigua, NY; Olivier Gregoire, Gregoire Sport, Notre-Dame- de-Lourdes, Quebec; Tony Cozzone, Team Carolina Powersports, Lancaster, SC; Glenice Wilder, EFG Companies, Irving, TX and Rod Hall, Rod's Ride On Powersports, La Crosse, WI. PSB Dave McMahon is editor in chief of Powersports Business. Contact him at 763/383-4411 or dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com. 1. Report: Polaris layoffs hit Roseau plant 2. Polaris announces new off-road units 3. Counterfeit helmet line found in Calif. 4. Honda announces motorcycle recall 5. Polaris acquires aftermarket snowmobile brand 6. Polaris VP steps down 7. Polaris reports Q4, full year results 8. EBR remaining assets sold 9. Police: Dealership co-worker suspect in murder 10. Harley-Davidson dealership on the 101 in Calif. closes 11. Harley-Davidson adds to cruiser lineup 12. Kolpin acquires aftermarket manufacturer 13. Scott Wine named Manufacturing Leader of the Week 14. Polaris expands consumer financing program for off-road, snowmobiles 15. KTM issues motorcycle recall The headlines above belong to the most frequently viewed articles from Powersports Business' three-times weekly e-news during the Jan. 5-28 period. The number is based on the percentage of e-news viewers who clicked on the article's headline. To subscribe to e-news, go to www.powersportsbusiness.com/newsletter-signup. WHAT'S THE HOTTEST INDUSTRY TOPIC? Powersports Business blog ONLINE WITH POWERSPORTSBUSINESS.COM Leading industry executives and dealer consultants are among the contributors to PSB's blog. See below for recent blogs. Parts Unlimited dealer ride sets stage for 2016 season Visit powersportsbusiness.com/blogs Let's face it ... Powersports Business' Facebook page has had a record year. With just shy of 1,700 likes, our Facebook presence grew by approximately 26 percent in 2015. Like our page at www.facebook.com/PSBMagazine to stay updated industry news, see where our editors are off to next and get involved in the powersports con- versation. Be sure to see managing editor Liz Keener's trip to the V-Twin Expo in Cincinnati and photos of editor in chief Dave McMahon's Sea-Doo experience at the Minneapolis Boat Show. GARY GUSTAFSON President, G-Force Consulting We often get into powersports because of our passion for it, but we can't stay in it unless we turn a profit. There is a way to increase company margins in 2016. Focus on this goal and watch everything from employee morale to revenue grow. NAPOLEON TETREAULT Sales Representative, Tucker Rocky Those processes that need the most change are probably ones we have been doing the longest and most likely sensitive to the owners, managers or longstanding employees who originally implemented them. JACKSON SMITH Parts and service manager, Destination Powersports In our dealership, we train with what we call The 5 Cs: Clarity and Consis- tency in Communication Creates Con- trol. And almost every time we have an unhappy customer we find the issue has been the lack of one of those "Cs." LIZ KEENER Managing Editor, Powersports Business Be mindful of what you're doing at the booth — checking your phone, only chatting with co-workers, sitting behind a table, or looking bored — and make sure you're not projecting an uninterested, un-engaging per- sona to potential buyers. Powersports dealers who stock product sold by Parts Unlimited now have another way to get to know the dis- tributor even better than they already do. And, they can do it via two wheels. DAVE McMAHON Travis Ruff, sales manager at Engelhart Motorsports Co. in Madison, Wis., spent some quality time at the 2015 Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo in Orlando and has his certifi- cates from the dealer training sessions to prove it.