Blog - The McDonald Group Inc

Resources and best practices for machinery dealer development

Our blog has a mix of articles written by our founder, Walter McDonald, and by other industry experts, business owners, and equipment dealer team members. Learn about everything from marketing ideas to tips for successful branch operations to how to retain customers—and everything in between!

16 Tools to Build Your Service Labor Business

By Walter J. McDonald, President, The McDonald Group, Inc.

Industrial Equipment Dealers want and need to know how to improve service labor sales and profitability. To them, until now, nothing seems to work very well. I have just completed four consulting projects for equipment dealers and a series of five dealer workshops for an equipment manufacturer. All of these efforts were focused on improving… Continue reading 16 Tools to Build Your Service Labor Business

How to Avoid Death by 10,000 Cuts

By Walter J. McDonald

A recent industry survey of Dealer Principals ranked Cash Flow as their #1 issue of concern. Everyone knows that “cash is king.” But, how do you build the systems infrastructure to defend and optimize your cash flow? The amount of money flowing through a dealership makes cash control critical. How do you avoid “cash leaks”… Continue reading How to Avoid Death by 10,000 Cuts

How to Sell Engineered Systems

By Walter J. McDonald, CMC President, The McDonald Group, Inc.

Engineered Systems are custom-designed and fabricated tools to improve productivity. These systems are cost sensitive and require significant economic justification. Their value-added in the production process is to increase efficiency and to safely enhance throughput. There is wide application for engineered systems in the petrochemical, food processing, industrial materials handling and virtually all manufacturing industries.… Continue reading How to Sell Engineered Systems

New Insights into Technician Recruitment

by Bob Levin, Chairman/Founder Material Handling Supply, Inc.-

The Lift Truck Industry is offering great opportunities to people who possess technical abilities. Not surprisingly, technicians are the backbone of this industry. We see great demand for specialists competent to deal with technical challenges. And, there is always a demand for new talent entering the field. However, during the past 35 years, the focus… Continue reading New Insights into Technician Recruitment

21 Gorilla Marketing Ideas for Equipment Dealers

by Walter J. McDonald, CMC

It’s a jungle out there and we’re in an economic battle for survival! The equipment and machinery dealer who gets and keeps the most profitable customers survives and prospers. But, how does he win? Fortunately, there is an elusive but highly- effective winning strategy available. There is a far more powerful and effective business development… Continue reading 21 Gorilla Marketing Ideas for Equipment Dealers

Photo Shoot on the Serengeti

by Walter McDonald

Have you ever considered signing up for a camera safari in Tanzania East Africa? It’s famous for large numbers of big game species at home on the sweeping Serengeti plains! Just think about it. This is the classic tented safari made famous by such adventurers as Ernest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt. Here you are, arriving… Continue reading Photo Shoot on the Serengeti

Successful Technician Recruiting: 10 Field-Proven Techniques that Work

By Walter J. McDonald, CMC

It wasn’t many years ago that a large percentage of machinery dealers focused primarily on selling new equipment. But, with the advent of competitive pressures from more successful dealers who began adopting best practices, performance metrics and a customer-focused approach, the machinery distribution business changed dramatically. The primary shift was the recognition that strong aftermarket… Continue reading Successful Technician Recruiting: 10 Field-Proven Techniques that Work

Four Dimensions of Dealer Development

By Walter J. McDonald, CMC

Dealer Principals aspiring to be a top 10% performer in their class must look beyond the historical scoreboards of the P&L and Balance Sheet to optimize their business. In order to optimize dealership performance and achieve financial prosperity, highly successful dealers are exploiting the Four Dimensions of Dealer Development: Markets, Customers, Operations and Management. Markets… Continue reading Four Dimensions of Dealer Development

Executive Program in Machinery Dealer Development

Curriculum for OEM Customer Contact Managers,
OEM Regional Sales Managers and OEM Aftermarket Managers

Researched and Presented byWalter J. McDonald, President The McDonald Group, Inc. walt@mcdonaldgroupinc.com • www.mcdonaldgroupinc.com The customized development program designed for machinery OEM customer contact managers and senior distributor/dealer executives and managers. This is the OEM Curriculum Track. A Certificate in Machinery Dealer Development will be awarded upon successful completion of all course and study requirements.… Continue reading Executive Program in Machinery Dealer Development

Sales Rep Confidential: AreYou A Dinosaur?

By Walter McDonald

Unless you’ve spent the last year on another planet, you must know that many Dealer Principals are extremely unhappy with their current sales rep performance. A company owner just told me, quote, “These guys are fat, dumb and happy. They simply have not adjusted to the new market realities. They are waiting for the phone… Continue reading Sales Rep Confidential: AreYou A Dinosaur?

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Resources and best practices for machinery dealer development