Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/164037
4 • September 9, 2013 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com w Industry 'rocking' on jobs www.powersportsbusiness.com Editorial and Sales: 800.848.6247 Subscriber Service: 866.238.3237 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Dave McMahon 763/383-4411 (dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com) MANAGING EDITOR: Liz Keener 763/383-4413 (ekeener@powersportsbusiness.com) SENIOR EDITOR: Tom Kaiser 763/383-4424 (tkaiser@powersportsbusiness.com) ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR: Christopher Gerber SENIOR ART DIRECTOR: Dodi Vessels PRODUCTION ARTIST: Kelsey Houle (kelsey.houle@goodsam.com) PRODUCTION MANAGER: Angela Schmieg GROUP PUBLISHER: Amy Collins ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Allison Gruhn 763/383-4467 (agruhn@powersportsbusiness.com) NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Mark Rosacker 763/383-4433 (mrosacker@snowgoer.com) ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER David J. Voll 763/383-4421 (dvoll@ridermagazine.com) PRODUCTION SPECIALIST: Cherri Perschmann GROUP SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER: Kathryn Knudson GROUP SENIOR SALES SPECIALIST: Bernadette Wohlman CEO: Mark Adams SR. VICE PRESIDENT/FINANCE AND OPERATIONS: Gerald Winkel Lonski finds dealers in search of top talent BY DAVE McMAHON EDITOR IN CHIEF Henry Lonski, founder of his namesake recruiting firm Lonski and Associates, LLC, takes phone calls and emails daily from dealers looking for upgrades in talent. In fact, it's his job, and the demand for finding quality personnel at both dealerships and other industry companies is growing so fast that Lonski has had to make additional hires to his own staff. Former Honda zone manager Paul Dunning is the latest to join the Lonski lineup. Dunning has 40 years experience in the powersports industry. He spent 10 years with Honda, managing all aspects of field sales for motorcycles and ATVs. He was hired as a district sales manager before becoming an assistant national field sales manager and then a zone manager. Prior to joining Honda, Dunning owned Mission Honda Yamaha near San Francisco and was the Western sales manager for KYMCO. Currently, Dunning owns the online sales company MCmanual.com, which sells motorcycle manuals. The company has more than 5,000 books in inventory. "Over the years, I've followed Paul's career in sales management. He's a successful industry veteran and held in high regard by fellow powersports industry members. His ethics, cred- ibility and reputation are well deserved, and his experience with dealer networks across North America will be a great benefit and value to our client base," Lonski said. DEALERS HIRING With an apparent recovering of the economy, Lonski has found that dealers are turning to national searches to fill positions, some empty, and others not-so-empty but in need of a change. "The industry is back and it's rocking," Lonski said. "I don't have a choice but to hire. "I don't have a choice but to hire." Henry Lonski, founder, Lonski and Associates, LLC A lot of dealers are looking to if not compare their current talent, at least see what's out there. As far as technicians and service writers, if I had 10 qualified technicians, I could place them all tomorrow." Lonski has seen a recent surge in dealers seeking out social media-savvy employees. "It's good to see them wanting to get more involved with social media," he said. "We've seen a big push on social media hires, whether at the dealership level or OE. It's a great indication of where the industry is. It all bodes well for the industry." As dealerships have fine-tuned their operations to work their way through a down economy, Lonski says many are now looking to take the next step. "There's a realization that maybe the people they kept over the last three years weren't the right people, they were just part of the problem," Lonski said. "Two things happened over the last three years — the dealerships downsized, but I think a lot of dealers realized they downsized with the wrong people. Some of the people they retained were part of the problem, not part of the option to succeed. What's happening is that service managers, general managers, general sales mangers, are being looked at under a microscope relative to what they should be doing vs. what they were doing." Finding the aforementioned service techs continues to be a tall task for dealers. "A lot of them left the industry, so there's a scarcity of A- and B-level technicians out there," Lonski said. "There are a lot of graduates out there, but the service departments are so busy, that they're shy to take on talent. So there's a huge, huge groundswell for trained, experienced technicians." The lack of movement by techs could be attributed to "dealers finally stepping up and paying them what they're worth. It's evident from coast to coast, Harley-Davidson or metric. I've been in this business since 2005, and for the first six months of the year I've never seen so much activity at the dealer level for good talent." PSB SR. VICE PRESIDENT/MARKET DEVELOPMENT: Joanne Juda-Prainito VICE PRESIDENT/OPERATIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCES: Mary Jo Tomei CONTRIBUTORS: COLUMNISTS: Steve Jones, Hal Ethington, Peter Jones DEALER ADVISORY BOARD: Hooksett Kawasaki-Polaris, Jim Whalley; Hacker's Yamaha & Honda, Rick Hacker; Honda/Polaris of Lubbock, Morris Baker; All Action Water Sports, Ray Leps POWERSPORTS BUSINESS (ISSN #1522-7944) is published 15 times per year – monthly except twice in April and October, the Market Data Book/Dealer Directory in September – by EPG Media, LLC, 3300 Fernbrook Lane N #200, Plymouth, MN 55447. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Free to qualified members of the motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile and personal watercraft industries. Annual subscription rate is $56 per year for U.S residents, $76 for Canadian residents and $96 for residents in other countries. All paid subscriptions must be paid in advance and in U.S. funds only. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Powersports Business, P.O. Box 5858, Harlan, IA 51593-1358. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Visit www.powersportsbusiness.com, email powersportsbusiness@cdsfulfillment.com, call 866-238-3237 or write to Powersports Business, PO Box 5858, Harlan, IA 51593-1358. CANADIAN RETURN ADDRESS: EPG Media, LLC, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J3. Publication Sales Agreement #40012332. EDITORIAL: All manuscripts, materials, photographs and artwork submitted are at mailer's risk and must include self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage for return. Send editorial materials to EPG Media, LLC, 3300 Fernbrook Lane N, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55447, 763/383-4400. No responsibility will be assumed for unsolicited materials. Powersports Business is a registered trademark of EPG Media, LLC. Copyright 2013 by EPG Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited unless expressly authorized by publisher. REPRINTS: For more information on e-prints or reprints from Powersports Business, contact Bernadette Wohlman, 800/848-6247 x2464. Printed in U.S.A. P01x07-PSB11-News.indd 4 Industry amped for AIMExpo Show prepares for October debut by launching dealer marketing campaign BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR With about a month to go until the inaugural American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo), the Motorcycle Group of Marketplace Events is in full gear, preparing for what is already shaping up to be a crowdgathering event. First announced more than a year and a half ago, the show has gained recognition, within and outside of the industry. That's evident not only in the buzz, but also in the numbers. By late August, AIMExpo was pushing 340 exhibitors, a number that's expected to increase as the show grows closer. Among its list of well-known industry names are OEMs Yamaha and Suzuki and distributor Tucker Rocky/Biker's Choice. Also exhibiting will be KYMCO, Massimo, Wolf Brand Scooters, Arai, Bell, ADP Lightspeed, ARI, GE, K&N, LeoVince and a variety of companies offering a range of products and services to the industry. German-made Rewaco Trikes will be showcasing its new U.S. operations as well. And though major marketing to dealers, including an email, direct mail and telemarketing campaign, didn't begin until August, the list of those already registered by then was swelling. "The U.S. dealers that have registered so far, they're not just from the Florida area, or they're not just from the Upper Midwest, or Indy or Cincinnati or Chicago area. They are all over the country, and it's a relatively even spread. I mean, California, Oregon, it's all over the map, which is really good," Mike Webster, president of Marketplace Events' Trade Show Division, told Powersports Business. AIMExpo's goal is to shape its show much like EICMA or INTERMOT, which draw exhibitors, industry members, consumers and media from across the world. In that vein, the expo is already making its mark globally. "We have buyers coming from — I'm literally just looking down the list — Morocco, Pakistan, Denmark, France, Brazil, Japan, Venezuela, Canada … Costa Rica, the U.K., Panama, Sri Lanka, Belgium, China," said Larry Little, vice president and general manager of the Motorcycle "The U.S. dealers that have registered so far, they're not just from the Florida area, or they're not just from the Upper Midwest, or Indy or Cincinnati or Chicago area." Mike Webster, president, Marketplace Events Trade Show Division Group. "It's just international, and that's what we always had as part of our vision that we would be an international platform, that's why it's the American International Motorcycle Expo." Among the draws to the show is the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo, which will host both dealer and consumer seminars. The dealer portion features well-known industry leaders and other speakers focused on educating dealers. The education is being managed by Powersports Business and its sister publications Rider magazine and Thunder Press. "It's always, 'What's in it for me as a dealer? What can I take home and use right away?' And I think top of the list is the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo seminars because that's all actionable stuff," Little said. "[Dealers] could almost come to the show and only go to the seminars and get full value for what they spent to come to the show, and the fact that they can demo ride at AIMExpo Outdoors, they can talk to aftermarket manufacturers and some key OEMs at the show as well, it makes the experience so much more uplifting and energetic than anything they've been accustomed to in recent years." At AIMExpo Outdoors, Yamaha will offer demo rides on its new FZ-09 motorcycle and Viking side-by-side. Suzuki and KYMCO will also offer test rides, and Massimo may as well. Dealers and consumers will be encouraged to take part in the test rides. In part, the demo area has opened up new opportunities for AIMExpo. Though the show has the word "motorcycle" in it, it's focused on the entire powersports industry. In fact, about half of the demo activity will involve ATVs and side-by-sides, and more off-road suppliers have been signing on as exhibitors as the show nears. AIMExpo is set for Oct. 16-20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Oct. 16-18 is set aside for trade and media members, while the show opens to the public starting the afternoon of Oct. 18. Dealer registration is available online and is free through Sept. 27; after Sept. 27 registration is $35 payable at the door. PSB 8/28/13 10:01 AM L ch see to ity to tha lan beg ing ha the Co wo wh ma occ yar sal tom tom Co tom ass ne ate ha Co E d Ea 5.8 qu dec ne cle des ing to on age of 24