Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/258703
FOCUS PSB Utility UTV www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • February 17, 2014 • 21 20 • February 17, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com plants, cattle farms and dairy operations. The dealership has capitalized on com- mercial business by focusing strongly on the service side of the business — hiring an expert mechanic, increasing the speed of repairs and maintaining a significant parts inventory fre- quently required by high-hour users. "We have one guy here we call him the veterinarian because he works on these Mules, and we call him Dr. D because he can fix them," said manager Tim Spruill. "He is amazing. Not everybody is going to have that available to them, but I honestly am blessed." Spruill has even maintained business with customers who were previously working in the area, but have since moved on to projects in other areas. He allows technicians to pro- vide over-the-phone advice to work customers experiencing trouble in the field. Through experience, he also decided to purchase a pair of Kawasaki Mules that can be loaned out to customers with vehicles undergo- ing service. "Sometimes they didn't even unload my machine that day, but I would make it avail- able to them," he said. "When these people are using these things in a daily business, they become very dependent upon it just like me and you with our truck or car to get to work." While Spruill said all of his UTV models have been selling well, the Mule is his top seller, followed by the Pioneer, which he said has had significant availability issues. "In our market the Mule is my No. 1 sell- ing UTV, and the Pioneer," he said. "If I could get enough of them I think the numbers could compete with the [Mule]." Due to the quicker service intervals and higher parts sales — selling a case of oil and air filters to work customers, as opposed to a few quarts for typical private parties — institutional UTV customers have proven to be even more lucrative for the business. "It generates parts sales and it generates revenue in your service department as well," Spruill said. WEST VIRGINIA NATURAL RESOURCES Southwest of Charleston, W. Va., Logan Motor- cycle Sales is located in a particularly moun- tainous, resource-rich slice of the Appalachian Mountains that is also home to one of the coun- try's largest off-road riding areas, the Hatfield- McCoy trail system. While coal mining isn't as big here as it was decades ago, the area is still a mecca for vari- ous natural resource businesses, including gas companies that have become consistent UTV customers at the dealership. The retailer of Honda, Yamaha and CFMOTO off-road machines estimates approx- imately 5 percent of its sales go to institutional users such as resource companies, local city and county governments, as well as police and rescue personnel. Sales manager Shawnda Mercer said such customers come into the store with questions about how much utility vehicles will tow, how much they can hold in the bed, the number of people they can carry and the availability of accessories such as doors and heaters. All customers at Logan Motorcycle Sales, a 2013 Powersports Business Power 50 dealer- ship, are given full tours of the facility with a focus on the service business. "When someone buys a unit from here we always give them the information they need to know when they buy as to when they have to have their service done," Mercer said. "Most of the people who buy here fully understand that before they leave. It's never a question because we address it before they ask it." With its product lineup, most utility-ori- Court institutional buyers to grow your UTV sales BY TOM KAISER SENIOR EDITOR As the capability and popularity of mainstream side-by-sides continue to expand, sellers of Rang- ers, Vikings, Teryxes, Commanders, Prowlers and Pioneers in some parts of the country are discovering that these vehicles attract a wider audience than expected. With higher hauling capacities, creature comforts, available acces- sories — as well as a swelling cool factor that appeals to gearheads of all kinds — some dealer- ships are doing a good business selling utility and crossover UTVs to institutional users. The percentage of sales to institutional users versus traditional private parties is hard to estimate, but the numbers are real and largely dependent on your dealership's location and nearby prospects. NORTH DAKOTA OIL BOOM Few areas demonstrate the potential better than far western North Dakota, often considered a painfully desolate area by kids in backseats and truckers crossing the Great Plains. These days, everybody knows western North Dakota is cap- italizing on the booming homegrown oil boom. As the oil business continues to grow, the area's population has surged wildly as workers — many single young men — have flooded to town looking for a piece of the action. For Mondak Motorsports, a Can-Am, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha dealer located in Williston, its piece of the action has been incredible with UTV and ATV sales that are going to both "bored" workers and oil compa- nies that need them, and everybody in between. "This past year has been pretty huge for ATVs and UTVs up in this area with everybody coming from around the country," salesman Kyle Funge said. The Yamaha Viking has been an excellent machine for his clientele based on its ability to work or play. The Honda Pioneer has been so successful, and so hard to get from the company, that it has been sold out for months. On the Can- Am side, the Commander has been successful with work users and private parties alike, while the Maverick has also selling very well to indi- viduals looking to have fun after work hours. Funge estimates that 25 percent of Mon- dak's UTV business is to institutional users put- ting the vehicles to use strictly on the job site. The ability to plow, as well as the availability of cabs and heaters, has been particularly impor- tant for his customer base. He added that reaching work-based custom- ers with mainstream vehicles is easier, as Kubota and John Deere have minimal footprints in the rural area that's now Boomtown, USA. "They're pretty incredible. You can put acces- sories on them and they look like trophy trucks," he said of the latest generation of side-by-sides. "Up here is a little different than anywhere in the world in that they're here, they're away from their families and they're looking to buy some- thing that will work on work and for play." The harsh demands of work environments has brought more service business to the deal- ership, and the staff has focused on encourag- ing word of mouth, maintaining approximately 60 off-road vehicles on its showroom floor and educating customers on the riding areas in the region, including the Black Hills. EAST TEXAS AGRICULTURE In far eastern Texas, Spruill Honda-Kawasaki in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, has done significant insti- tutional business selling UTVs to entities and projects as diverse as water treatment plants, utility companies, pipeline companies, poultry Selling UTVs to commercial clients The Kawasaki Mule remains a top performer for utility side-by-side buyers. The Yamaha Viking's versatility is an asset for commer- cial buyers. P14x23-PSB3-Focus.indd 20 2/5/14 10:27 AM