Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
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INDUSTRY NEWS GIE+EXPO announces new Dealer Resource Pavilion Following is the schedule of education The brand-new Dealer Resource Pavilion at the 2011 Green Industry & Equipment Expo (GIE+EXPO) Thursday, Oct. 27, through Sat- urday, Oct. 29, will combine education for dealership owners and managers, a dealer- only lounge and Internet Café, new prod- ucts, and best-practice advice for managing your service center. Only dealers, distribu- tors, retailers and technicians will be admit- ted to this feature area, which will be located on the show floor. Dealers of all sizes will benefit from a va- riety of resources and programs available through this outstanding education pro- gram. Education sessions for owners and managers will be led by Bob Clements, who has earned a reputation as the go-to con- sultant for building profitability in outdoor power equipment dealerships. In addition to benefitting from Clements’ expertise, dealers will have the opportunity to partici- pate in sessions by the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) on marketing through social media, as well as legal issues of running a dealership. On Fri- day morning, participants can learn from other dealers in roundtable breakfast dis- cussions, sponsored by Stihl and Gravely. “Dealers have to learn to think differ- ently about their business in order to be successful,” said Clements. “An outdoor power equipment dealership can be the most profitable business out there if they run it right. During GIE+EXPO, dealers can learn how to make more money.” Highlights of the Dealer Resource Pavil- ion will include: • Education for dealership owners and managers • Dealer Resource Roundtable Breakfast • Dealer-only lounge • Internet Café • New products and tips for running an efficient service department • Best-practice advice In the service department area of the pavilion, dealers will be exposed to the lat- est information and products to help turn their dealerships into strong profit centers. Clements and his team will provide tours of the service department, demonstrating techniques on improving the performance of the technicians. From compensation pro- grams, software, workbenches and lifts, at- tendees will learn tips on how to move a service department to the next level of performance. 10 for dealership owners and managers (all sessions are free with tradeshow admission unless otherwise noted): THURSDAY, OCT. 27 10:30-11:30 a.m. “Legal Issues Facing Today’s OPE Dealers” Gary L. Antoniewicz, Boardman Law Firm LLP In this interactive workshop, Antoniewicz will talk about current issues facing OPE dealerships from the manufacturers, gov- ernment and consumers, and he will an- swer any questions dealers have regarding specific issues they are facing. 2-3:30 p.m. “Generating and Managing Online Leads for Higher Sales Conversion Rates” Bob McCann, director of education, ARI Most dealers have websites that aren’t producing the sales results the dealership is seeking. In this upbeat and interactive workshop, McCann will show dealers how to turn their website into the profit-maker it should be. FRIDAY, OCT. 28 8-9:30 a.m. “Dealer Resource Roundtable Break- fast” ($25 per person) Sponsored by Stihl and Gravely Dealers have said time and again that one of GIE+EXPO’s greatest benefits is the opportunity to learn about the best prac- tices of their peers. This is an opportunity to participate in small-group discussions facilitated by industry professionals on a range of topics, including selling to com- mercial contractors, using employees to drive lean practices, pumping up prof- itability in the service department, smart marketing with today’s technology (social media and public relations), strategic busi- ness planning for success, and other im- portant issues. 10:30-11:30 a.m. “Harnessing the Power of Social Media” Sabrina Sebastian, Fastline Publications Facebook and YouTube are just two of the free resources today’s dealers have ac- cess to. In this powerful workshop, Sebast- ian will guide dealers through developing and then promoting their online presence using these powerful business tools. OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com 2-3:30 p.m. “Building and Maintaining a High- Performance Service Department” Bob Clements, Bob Clements Interna- tional Service is the backbone of every dealer- ship and should be the most profitable part of the OPE business. In this workshop, Clements will share his tools and insights on how to take any shop and turn it into a profit center in less than 90 days. SATURDAY, OCT. 29 10-11 a.m. “Leveraging Aftermarket Selling Opportunities” tional Bob Clements, Bob Clements Interna- Every year, tens of thousands of dollars walk out the doors of dealerships because they are not in a position to take advantage of lucrative aftermarket sales in the service and parts department. In this fast-paced workshop, Clements will share with dealers the aftermarket opportunities they have and give them the tools they will need to motivate their team to go after high- margin, easy-to-sell aftermarket dollars. Terry Coffin, Beard’s Outdoor Power Equipment Inc. in Crestwood, Ky., said, “I highly recommend that dealers bring their service department employees to hear Bob Clements. They’ll come away with great ideas and systems they can implement that will solve a lot of issues. That really helped us.” Admission to the Dealer Resource Pavil- ion is free with a tradeshow pass, with the exception of the Dealer Roundtable Break- fast, which is $25 per person. Pre- registration for a three-day pass to GIE+EXPO is $10 per person until Sept. 13. Beginning Sept. 14, pre-registration will be $25. The tradeshow admission for those who wait to register onsite will be $50. To register online for GIE+EXPO, go to www.gie-expo.com. If you have already regis- tered for the trade show, and would like to add the Dealer Roundtable Breakfast, call Sellers Expositions at (800) 558-8767 or (812) 949-9200. Additional details about the show are available at www.gie-expo.com.