By Walter J. McDonald We stand on the shoulders of giants. The sales tool kit available today to every industrial equipment sales professional has been developed, refined and perfected over the last several decades. Let’s review them and determine which do you need to improve to help you reach your full sales potential. How can… Continue reading 21st Century Selling

By Walter J. McDonald (Editor’s Note: The is the second in our two-part series on Acquiring and Developing Key Accounts. CAUTION: Do not attempt this process unless you are motivated and willing to work through each step. You should complete the entire set of readings before you begin to pull together and implement your Action… Continue reading How to Build and Maintain Critical Account Relationships

Why Is It So Valuable? By Walter J. McDonald, President, The McDonald Group, Inc. Today’s highly competitive machinery business environment demands creative new approaches. What worked a decade ago is mostly obsolete today. Digital marketing, aggressive new OEM lines, tariffs, rising costs, market uncertainties, powerful and well-financed multi-location, multi-state dealer organizations all make today’s machinery… Continue reading The Master’s Program in Machinery Dealer Management

By Walter J. McDonald, President, The McDonald Group, Inc. What are the most important KPIs that a machinery dealership should track this year? In this very challenging environment, the four most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are: Machinery dealer KPIs track performance areas that drive profitability, market share, cash flow and customer retention. These four… Continue reading Four High Priority KPIs

By Ivelin Kozarev, Guest Contributor Equipment dealers face a tough reality. Your manufacturer provides excellent product training—every feature, spec, and capability of that new excavator or combine harvester. But when it comes to actually selling these machines? Most reps learn by trial and error on real customers. That’s expensive practice. A botched conversation with a… Continue reading AI Sales Training: Why Equipment Dealers Should Care

By Walter J. McDonald with Franco Carlini, Guest Contributor The fundamental challenge for machinery manufacturers in the next decade is not so different from the last: produce a better product, at a lower cost, and put it in customers’ hands faster than your competitors. Some OEMs (and machinery dealers) have adjusted more effectively to the… Continue reading Linking Economics, Marketing and Technology for Success

Are You Ready for 2026? By Walter J. McDonald Here is a 60-question assessment of how well your business has adopted those fundamental Best Practices essential to be competitive today. For each question, enter a “Yes” or “No” in the margin. Scoring is on the last page. DEALER OWNER AND EXECUTIVE ISSUES MACHINERY SALES AND… Continue reading Assessing Machinery Dealer Fundamentals – A Strategic Approach

By Walter J. McDonald Why not discount parts and service sales to internal operations? (Rental fleet repairs, used equipment reconditioning and new equipment “pre-delivery” work). The three most frequently heard reasons given for discounting internal work include: Unfortunately, all three of these reasons are misleading. Here are the true facts. Here is an actual dealer… Continue reading The Case AGAINST Internal Discounts for Parts and Service Sales

By Walter J. McDonald What works and what doesn’t will depend a lot on your specific products and services, your business community, your competition, and your skills in how you promote your equipment business. Remember, the least expensive technique to generate good prospects is word of mouth. Foster good relationships with all people—employees, customers and friends—by treating them… Continue reading 45 Low-Cost Promotional Ideas for Your Equipment Dealership

Strategy is from Greek and means “Generalship.” Strategic Questions? What is this management challenge called Strategy? Strategy represents where and how “the general” positions scarce and costly resources. Strategy includes the fundamental set of decisions that must be made and made properly for the dealership to survive and prosper. A Proper Strategy enables the Dealer… Continue reading 6 Strategic Questions to Help Ensure Success