Perspectives
Real world insights, leadership tips and strategies
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Before You Take It Back: 7 Questions to Ask When Employees Don’t Follow Through
When employees don’t follow through, the missed task is only the symptom. These seven questions help dealership leaders diagnose the cause, strengthen delegation and hold people accountable wi...
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Why Small Dealers Have an Edge in a Tougher Market and What We Can All Learn From It
Small equipment dealers have an edge in a tougher market. Here’s what larger dealer groups can learn from their speed, flexibility, customer relationships and entrepreneurial thinking.
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5 Red Flags Equipment Dealers Should Watch for in an Acquisition or Merger
Equipment dealership acquisitions can look strong on paper while hiding serious operational and leadership risks. Before moving forward, evaluate these five red flags involving seller control,...
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Quit Overlooking the Parts Counter
Home » Perspectives When I walk into a farm equipment dealership, I usually don’t look at the showroom first. I don’t look at the shop first either. I look at the parts counter. How fast is it...
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When You Hand Someone an Oar, Make Sure They Know It’s Theirs
Empowerment only works when employees understand what decisions are truly theirs to make. Dealer leaders must clarify authority, coach ownership, and resist taking the oar back when people hes...
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6 Ways to Help Farmers Experience Your Equipment (and Win More Deals)
Home » Perspectives When I worked at Time Warner Cable, now Spectrum, we spent much of our time and marketing budget getting people to experience something they already had. Phone. Internet. C...
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Why Dealer Leaders Must Be in the Oar Distribution Business
Home » Perspectives One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership in equipment dealerships is that strong leaders “jump in and do whatever needs to be done.” It sounds admirable. It feels...
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Are You Overstaffed or Understaffed? The Ratios That Tell the Truth
Home » Perspectives When pressure builds inside a dealership, the response is predictable: “We need more people.” Another technician. Another parts person. Another service writer. Someone for ...
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Why Selling More Alone Won’t Get You There
Home » Perspectives For many equipment dealers, the plan sounds like this: sell more. More deals. More units. More revenue. It’s an easy goal to rally around. Volume feels like progress; it’s ...
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6 Moves Dealers Can Make in January 2026 to Win All Year
Home » Perspectives January is pivotal for equipment dealers because it’s when momentum is either captured or lost. The choices made now determine whether that momentum carries forward or fade...
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What Most Dealers Don’t Realize About Valuing Their Dealership
Home » Perspectives When most heavy equipment dealers start thinking about selling, succession to family members, or simply understanding the value of their business, they assume a few key met...
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Momentum or Misses? 5 Ways to Gauge Your Dealership’s Midyear Health
Home » Perspectives June marks the halfway point of the calendar year—a natural inflection point for heavy equipment dealerships. It’s the time when leaders pause, assess, and ask: “Do we have...
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Stop the Meeting Madness: Run Dealer Meetings That Get Real Results
Home » Perspectives If there’s one thing I consistently see in heavy equipment dealerships, it’s this: meetings either happen too often without a clear purpose, or they don’t happen at a...
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Your Lost Sales Aren’t Lost—They’re Fueling Your Competitor’s Success. Here’s How to Win Them Back.
Home » Perspectives For dealers, lost sales are more than just missed opportunities—they’re lost revenue, lost relationships, and lost market share. But do you really know where those lost sal...
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5 Smart Ways Dealers Can Keep Marketing—Even in a Downturn
Home » Perspectives When market conditions tighten, marketing is often the first thing businesses cut. But smart dealers know that staying visible is crucial—especially when customers are maki...
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Do You Have One of These 15 Leadership Diseases?
Home » Perspectives When it comes to leadership, we often focus on what to do. Rarely do we address what not to do. It’s crucial to explore both the positive actions and the potential pitfalls...
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Surviving in Hard Times: 5 Smart Strategies During a Downturn
Home » Perspectives Market fluctuations are inevitable in our industry, and downturns bring unique challenges. When the industry contracts, sometimes by as much as 30%, dealerships must ‘right...
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Performance Feedback Season is Here: 9 Must-Do Strategies for Dealership Success
Home » Perspectives As the year winds down one task is taking center stage at most dealerships: performance reviews. ‘Tis the season to evaluate team members, identify areas for improvement, a...
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7 Creative Strategies to Reduce Equipment Inventory in a Down Market
Home » Perspectives In a down market, dealers face the challenge of slow-moving inventory. Equipment that three or four years ago was flying off the lot can suddenly become a drain on cash flo...
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How to Engage a Disengaged Employee
Home » Perspectives Nothing is more frustrating than when an employee quits and a team member tells you they could sense the employee was about to leave. You probably ask yourself if they coul...
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CRM Insights and Best Practices For Heavy Equipment Dealers
Home » Perspectives Zach Hetterick of Harvesting Potential Coaching & Consulting shares actionable advice and best practices for dealerships considering the purchase or implementation of a...
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A Different Approach to Profiling Prospects
Home » Perspectives About 18 months ago, the top concern keeping dealers awake at night was product availability and the supply chain. According to feedback from the dealership groups comprisi...
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Developing Leaders Takes Time but Yields Big Results
Home » Perspectives Management consultant Zach Hetterick encourages dealerships to cultivate leaders within the organization to improve company culture. Zach Hetterick wants more people to foc...
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[Video] Farm Equipment ‘Thought Leader’ Series: Zach Hetterick
Home » Perspectives The first episode of Farm Equipment’s “Thought Leader Series” features Zach Hetterick, who brings a unique combination of perspective, from major-line OEM experience, execu...
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5 Key Strategies to Lead Through a Crisis
Home » Perspectives 1. Communicate, Communicate, and Communicate Some More Before you even begin to think about external messaging to your customers, communicate a baseline of facts with your ...
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Do you have a leadership team or a team of leaders?
Home » Perspectives Are you on a leadership team or are you part of a team of leaders? At first, it may seem as if it’s just a play on words. But, think deeper about it. A leadership tea...
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Leadership versus Management
Home » Perspectives Have you considered the difference between management and leadership? Both play a major role in a company’s long-term success. However, I find they often get confused. They...
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The 5 essential books for any leader
Home » Perspectives I enjoy reading and find books are a great way to grow my thinking and expand my knowledge. When it comes to my recommendations, here are 5 books on leadership I highly rec...
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Training Versus Development
Home » Perspectives Have you ever sent your employees to training, whether it be for a day or a week? Then they return to work and struggle with how to implement what was taught. In time, the ...
