Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/485263
OPINION FROM THE EDITOR www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • April 6, 2015 • 19 If you haven't signed up already, be sure to join us as we launch a new webinar series in April. Powering Profits: A Dealership Roadmap — A webinar series sponsored by McGraw Powersports, will be yet another way for you to get a leg up on the competition. The webinar — we've done them for years and still don't charge a dime thanks to industry support- ers like McGraw Powersports — lasts one hour and will be held at 1 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, April 7. It's the first in a series that we're able to do thanks to McGraw's support. You can either go to this link: bit.ly/1H4GtSA, or simply go to powersportsbusiness.com and type in "webinar" in the search button at the top right of the page. The webinar idea originated as a way to generate interest in the Powersports Busi- ness Institute @ AIMExpo, our annual dealer education sessions that we host in Orlando in conjunction with the industry's largest trade show every fall. Once again, you'll want to plan to attend the PSBI@AIMEXPO, with 32 train- ing sessions set for Oct. 15-16 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. You'll get a taste for what goes on during the PSBI@AIMEXPO seminars by listening in on the webinar. Our presenters on the first webinar are familiar to most. The lineup will include Jim Woodruff of National Powersport Auctions, Steve Jones from Gart Sutton & Associates and Mark Mooney, who recently decided to go it alone and began his own deal- ership consulting business. They'll share some of their thoughts on challenges dealers are facing with pre-owned, sales processes, PG&A, service and more. If you like what you hear and see on the webi- nar, be sure to join for other webinars in the series throughout the year. And, of course, make plans now to attend the PSBI@AIMEXPO in Orlando in October. We'll look forward to sharing the lineup of classes and speakers in the coming weeks. AIMEXPO BOOKINGS Yamaha became the first OEM to commit to AIMExpo in 2015, which was not all that surprising. Yamaha was a founding OEM participant at the inaugural AIMExpo in 2013, and made quite an impact with its presence of dealers and sales reps in Orlando last year as well. Bob Starr, general manager of Yamaha's Com- munication Division, put it this way in a press release that was distributed as this edition was going to press: "Yamaha is indeed pleased to have chosen AIMExpo's highly effective medium to introduce and display our new motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides and scooters since the show's incep- tion, and we are very excited to return for the third consecutive year. Both their platform and the tim- ing of the event has enabled Yamaha to launch new product to the media, while energizing both dealers and consumers with a full display of our entire powersports lineup. The ability to also demo key models to both dealers and consumers adds a highly desirable element for Yamaha to further showcase our brand. We're looking forward to returning to Orlando in October." The exhibitor lineup has already passed 260, and if you as a dealer or industry member are interested in feedback from dealer attendees from last year's event, be sure to check out the survey results and accompa- nying charts elsewhere in this edition. GARAGE ROCK The Garage Brewed Moto Show, held on the Saturday night of V-Twin Expo at the Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati, was by all accounts a major success in its debut. A short cab ride from the Duke Energy Conven- tion Center, it was the perfect way to wrap up the first night of V-Twin Expo, and a great way to celebrate fol- lowing the V-Twin Awards presentation. Several aftermarket company executives made their way over to the custom café bike show, and all were amazed at the crowd, the bikes and the atmosphere. You can check out a short video from inside the show at youtube.com/powersportsbusiness. You just might be the one to achieve the 100,000th view of PSB videos. ANOTHER HEFTY EDITION We had a grand old time putting this edition of PSB together. It's a whopper for March, and is our larg- est March edition in quite some time, certainly since managing editor Liz Keener and I have been on board. As for assistant editor Kate Swanson, well, she's barely two months into the bit, and she's already been a part of our largest edition in years! We get huge benefits from having a staff of three full-time writers in our office devoted to bringing you all the industry news and information you can muster. We're just getting our feet wet as to what we'll be able to accomplish this season editorially. With that in mind, we're more than happy to hear from you about stories you think we need to cover. We're looking forward to the upcoming Focus section on ATVs. And in the second May edition, we'll unveil the always- popular Executive of the Year and Industry Leaders. Of course, hopefully you've already read Liz's story on Polaris bringing its Extended Service Contracts in-house, all in the name of providing better service to those who purchase its products. And Kate's story on how a handful of dealerships gathered alongside each other on the floor for a show at a local shopping mall should provide plenty of lead generation ideas. And if you generate an idea yourself that would make for a pertinent industry story in the pages of PSB, let us know. We're already looking forward to putting together another heavy edition next month. PSB Dave McMahon is editor in chief of Powersports Busi- ness. Contact him at 763/383-4411 or dmcmahon@ powersportsbusiness.com. 1. Ski-Doo reveals 2016 lineup 2. Polaris acquires China-based maker of Hammerhead off-road vehicles 3. Yamaha unveils 2016 snowmobiles 4. Polaris unveils Slingshot SL LE at Daytona Bike Week 5. Polaris DAGOR makes international debut 6. Slingshot: No motorcycle endorsement needed in Va. 7. Polaris execs sell millions of dollars worth of stock 8. Court rules for Arctic Cat in dealer's protest 9. Analyst: Top trade-in for Indian bikes is Road King 10. Report: OEM's CEO takes home $31.3 million in 2014 11. Yamaha plans to double its motorcycle profit margin 11. Polaris debuts 2016 snowmobile lineup 13. Roland Sands Design builds gem for Anthony Kiedis of RHCP 14. Electric 3-wheeler from Toyota targeted for 1-way trips 15. Another Power 50 dealership adds to its lineup The headlines above belong to the most frequently viewed articles from Powersports Business' three-times weekly e-news during the Feb.25-March 17 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. Webinar series begins with eye on PSB Institute Visit powersportsbusiness.com/blogs Power 50 application now open Powersports Business is now taking applications for our 2015 Power 50 program, which recognizes the best powersports dealers in North America. We're proud to announce that once again the Power 50 dealers will be hon- ored at the American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) in October in Orlando. If your dealership is committed to achieving excellence, exceed- ing customer expectations and planning future success, this is the gold star you need. To access the application, go to www.powersports.com/power-50/. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2015. NATE STICKNEY Managing Partner, Sky Powersports Group There's an old notion about the "guy who knows every spec on the floor, but can't close a closet door." I'll take a salesman with an enthusiastic person- ality, the one that knows every detail about every unit, over someone who doesn't care about what he's selling. MARK MOONEY Principal, Mark Mooney PowerSports If you were to look into your magic mir- ror, what would your reflection say to you? It may say, "It's the commitment you need, it's the commitment!" Or is it the commitment phobia monster staring at you telling you to not worry, that everything will take care of itself? LIZ KEENER Managing Editor, Powersports Business Look at whom you're marketing to that may not be present in your area anymore. After that, look at focusing your resources on some of the stron- gest demographic areas and see how reaching out to new people could pos- sibly grow your customer network. AMANDA WHITE Account Manager, PowerSports Network YouTube was launched in 2005, and now there are more than 1 billion users and subscriptions to YouTube chan- nels quadrupled since last year. Due to its popularity, reach and user-friendly platform, your dealership should actively participate in this medium. DAVE McMAHON The Garage Brewed Moto Show was a hit in Cincy.