Arrow's Official Podcast: Lessons From The Front Lines: Recent Episodes
Arrow
Welcome to Arrow's official podcast, Lessons From The Front Lines.We started this podcast because we love technology, we love product and we are learning a lot about the heavy equipment experience and there is so much behind that. In these episodes, you will hear completely unscripted conversations with those in the industry who have a unique perspective. It’s a really cool opportunity to learn why the industry is in some ways really fast-moving, in some ways really slow-moving and how technology has and continues to change things for people all over the world.Arrow has a responsibility and opportunity to help shape the future of buying and selling heavy equipment and we are honored that you're here to be part of the story.This series is hosted by co-founder and CEO at Arrow, Charles Anderson.
Episode #11 with Thad Shively, Director of Pre-Owned Inventory of a 38-store John Deere Dealership. Thad has over 30+ years of experience in the heavy equipment industry where he and Charles discuss trends over the last 4 decades, continuing to be competitive, and adopting technology to help push a business. 🤔
EP.10 "Don’t like change? You’ll like irrelevance even less"
President at Doosan Infracore Financial Solutions, Ed Hetherington is coming up on his 50th year in the industry. In 19 years, they had done just over 70 billion dollars and they have never had more than 22 employees.
Ed talks about change, technology, how disruption gets rewarded in business and shares some of his famous "ism's" with the team.
This episode is powered by Arrow
Welcome to Arrow's official podcast, Lessons From The Frontlines. We started this podcast because we love technology, we love product and we are learning a lot about the heavy equipment experience and there is so much behind that. In these episodes, you will hear completely unscripted conversations with those in the industry who have a unique perspective. It’s a really cool opportunity to learn why the industry is in some ways really fast-moving, in some ways really slow-moving and how technology has and continues to change things for people all over the world. Arrow has a responsibility and opportunity to help shape the future of buying and selling heavy equipment and we are honored that you're here to be part of the story. This series is hosted by co-founder and CEO at Arrow, Charles Anderson.
Shoot us a DM on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin to learn more.
Visit: https://get.arrowreleases.com/youtube/
Email: info@heyarrow.com
Casey Seymour is the Location Manager at 21st Century Equipment. 21st Century has become the largest John Deere dealership in Western Nebraska, Eastern Colorado, Eastern Wyoming.
Arrow attended The Moving Iron Summit and Charles (Arrow CEO/Co-Founder) has been featured multiple times on Casey's podcast, The Moving Iron Podcast. It was time to have him join us on Lessons From The Front Lines to share his story and insights into technology in the heavy equipment industry and how that is impacting selling heavy equipment today.
This episode is powered by Arrow
Welcome to Arrow's official podcast, Lessons From The Front Lines. We started this podcast because we love technology, we love product and we are learning a lot about the heavy equipment experience and there is so much behind that. In these episodes, you will hear completely unscripted conversations with those in the industry who have a unique perspective. It’s a really cool opportunity to learn why the industry is in some ways really fast-moving, in some ways really slow-moving and how technology has and continues to change things for people all over the world. Arrow has a responsibility and opportunity to help shape the future of buying and selling heavy equipment and we are honored that you're here to be part of the story. This series is hosted by co-founder and CEO at Arrow, Charles Anderson.
Shoot us a DM on Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin to learn more.
Visit: https://get.arrowreleases.com/youtube/
Email: info@heyarrow.com
Luke Powers is the founder, and CEO at Gearflow and brings a huge amount of energy into this insightful conversation with Charles and the Arrow team. From what it really means to “take the leap” to the responsibility that both Gearflow and Arrow share with one another to not only help talented people and businesses in the heavy equipment industry with our software solutions but also what that really means today for us as technology companies and the opportunity that we have to help the construction industry get more and more efficient.Â
Todd Bachman is the president of the largest Kubota dealership in the Southeast and one of the top 5 largest in the country, Florida Coast Equipment and Big Orange Rental.
Shining in Marketing and Sales, Todd joined the sales team in 2007 and brought energy and dedication to an area which “desperately needed those qualities.”
Todd refers to himself as an “energizer bunny and a little bit of a Tasmanian devil” and is excited for the opportunity for growth and improvement in the workplace and for customer experience. He goes on to talk about how the customer demand has moved so far from where it used to be, especially since Covid-19. He thinks that time and convenience are the expectations that everyone has walked away from in 2020. “People are evaluating their happiness now and it has changed everything,” says Todd. “People don’t want to go buy a car, they want to enjoy being in a car. They don’t want to buy a tractor, they want to enjoy the lifestyle of driving a tractor” says Todd.
Todd says the very first question should be “why are they buying? Once we understand that, we can deliver the right buying experience for them.” For him, the priority is that they can deliver the right customer experience to each customer. As he explains how they do this, the Arrow team learns the term “sundowner” where Todd explains that type of customer buys because it is a lifestyle choice. The experience for them would involve coming into the dealership and wanting the entire Kubota experience of getting their Kubota hat and talking with us face to face. Todd has a deep understanding of the difference of buying experience the “sundowner” would expect vs large production Ag, where they have 200 machines running. “You don’t need to come into the dealership or want to be bothered. You need us going to you because every minute away from the farm is a dollar wasted! They need to have the ability to shop their way. You need to ask yourself, how does an owner-operator want to be engaged with? How does each buyer want to be engaged through their buying experience?” says Todd.
Todd puts his team and customer service before everything else and in this episode, we hear, from the front lines, what the “rocket ride year” has looked like for Todd at Florida Coast Equipment. Todd’s optimistic attitude has created huge opportunities for the company.
This episode is powered by Arrow
Tired of manual data entry into your CRM? Does your current CRM slow you down? It’s time to build and close deals from anywhere. Remove the manual data entry, create and send quotes in 3 clicks with Arrow. Finally, a powerful way to close deals on your phone.
Visit: https://get.arrowreleases.com/youtube/
Email: info@heyarrow.com
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Jeff has been involved with heavy equipment his entire career starting as a Sales Rep and advancing to Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Curry Supply Company.
The growth for himself and the business has been rapid, growing from 5 sales reps to 30 people in just the sales department.
He refers to his colleagues at Curry Supply Co as "grinders"... "The only way to get through it is to grind and continue to operate in the red zone... you either have it or you don't have it..." says Jeff. From wrestling as a kid to wrestling the heavy equipment industry, Jeff clearly has a fighter mentality where he will not stop until he has tried everything to help the business while leading his team in the best way he can.
Curry Supply Company got its name from Curryville, Pennsylvania "a town that doubles in size every time we show up to work" says Jeff. Now a proud 3rd generation family-owned business, the dealership was founded in 1932 originally serving as an Ag Supply store. After being in business for nearly 100 years, Jeff puts the success of the company down to sweat equity for a number of reasons. "They're aggressive when other people aren't...these guys just want to grow their business and they're not afraid to take chances and stick to a plan," says Jeff.
Technology has transformed how we do everything, whether it be 5, 10, or 20 years ago, the impact technology is having on our everyday way of doing things can be seen and felt. Charles asks Jeff, "Has the business itself fundamentally shifted how they operate since 1932 with respect to using technology to sell better, faster, etc?" and Jeff responds with "that is the biggest challenge that is in front of us...how do you continue to maintain relevance in the world that we live in and not lose what made you great in the first place? That is the magic trick everyone wants to know..."
If it came down to choosing between automation and communication, Jeff says that "communication and efficiency" are key to innovating and staying relevant in today's world. After getting to learn about Jeff, we are confident he and his team will keep grinding and pushing towards creating more time, improving efficiency, and communication for Curry Supply Co's customers and business.
This episode is powered by Arrow
Tired of manual data entry into your CRM? Does your current CRM slow you down? It’s time to build and close deals from anywhere. Remove the manual data entry, create and send quotes in 3 clicks with Arrow. Finally, a powerful way to close deals on your phone.
Visit: https://get.arrowreleases.com/youtube/
Email: info@heyarrow.com
Twenty minutes into our conversation with Michael, and we are struck with his authenticity, ethos of hard work and service, and great ability for story-telling. If his detail-oriented mind is as sharp when managing C&B's Jackson location as it is recounting childhood and early-career stories, it is no wonder his dealership outproduces competitors and provides service that builds lasting customer relationships.
"Do we own the cows? - Then sell them." Michael tells Charles about his family and teenage years working in dairy, the financial choices his family had to make, and how growing up one of 5 kids, he asked his neighbor for a job and got in a skid loader that same night and removed a whole section of fencing before going to school the next morning.
Michael's family is a John Deere one, he says. Among many notable quotes, he tells us his brother would buy anything John Deere made so long as it was painted green and they put yellow tires on it. The tires are what drew his grandfather to John Deere when in the 30s he decided to retire his horses and put two dealers to the test: "Bring me a tractor," he said, and their family has been farming with John Deere ever since.
This is what Michael enjoys about his work, that is also what he has become known for: clients ask for equipment and their sales team provides guidance... and iron, in a way that impacts productivity and farmers' lives in a measurable way. Despite difficulties dealing with the range of issues that arose from CoVID, Michael's team broke records in 2020 and is already ahead in 2021. He left us with a statement that resonates with Arrow's mission: "I have more money than time," when we asked him what he needed technology to do for his business. We too, want to help people be more organized and efficient with their time.
This man was truly blessed with Grace. If good people do good business, Michael is without a doubt someone Arrow is proud to be doing business with!
This episode is powered by Arrow
Tired of manual data entry into your CRM? Does your current CRM slow you down? It’s time to build and close deals from anywhere. Remove the manual data entry, create and send quotes in 3 clicks with Arrow. Finally, a powerful way to close deals on your phone.
From the front lines of Steve Van Dyke, Sales Professional at C & B, Pipestone, MN.
Steve is a Sales Professional by day and works on his farm the rest of the time. "Feeding my cows, pushing snow, and thinking about Arrow. I was wondering: How's Arrow going to add value next time winter ruins my week?"
Steve has a relaxed demeanor but has a structured approach which contributes to making him an intense competitor.
When asked, "what are 2-3 things that would increase your output? For his family, it's time and resources. He believes you either make time or have resources to make up for it. For farming, tools to increase return, everybody can grow crops, not everybody can turn a profit. For everything else, time is capital, so in a dynamic marketplace, acceleration tools are important especially when opportunities present themselves.
Steve uses social media in a savvy way (Steve's Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevoFromSD) and is fluent with tech to be a high productivity professional and person. Good things happen with high output. How does Steve measure the output and efficiency at home, on the farm, and at work?
With 2 boys, he wants to intentionally teach them and make time his capital and invest it in with them so he can teach them and spend time with them as they grow up. Effectiveness with the farm for Steve is a question of return and capital, if the return is zero or negative then "farming is now a hobby". At work, the #1 driver for efficiency for him is closing deals. He works up scenarios to be prepared with numbers to go and sell. The more deals are pitched, the more deals are closed, and that turns into the bottom dollar.
"My work is my play - when I sit in my tractor pushing snow and feeding cows, that's my golf course." As long as it doesn't infringe on family time and other priorities, that is what his relaxation is. It's a time to observe and reflect.
Paving the way for long-term sustainability for the company, customers, and family is his top priority. If things are set up right, then you impact generations. Give your people the right tools for success to get their job done well.
This episode is powered by Arrow
Tired of manual data entry into your CRM? Does your current CRM slow you down? It’s time to build and close deals from anywhere. Remove the manual data entry, create and send quotes in 3 clicks with Arrow. Finally, a powerful way to close deals on your phone.
Visit: https://get.arrowreleases.com/youtube/
Email: info@heyarrow.com
"Everybody sells differently," says Spencer. And for him, it's trust. His young age might come as a surprise to more seasoned salespeople, but it's apparent Spencer has a way with numbers... and customers. He's built a significant book of business that he refers to not as salesmanship, but more so a family-like relationship helping with decision-making. And when asked to speak to it, he simply said, "It's not how much I make in revenue, but how many acres I have an impact on as it relates to the food supply chain. The fact that we play a role in feeding the world is pretty neat."
After graduating from Mizzou, he started working in a support role in Precision Ag, assisting customers with a variety of issues that have to do with automation. With a background in farming, he quickly related to the callers and understood their pain. Spencer made the switch to sales after getting a trade on his college buddy's combine and has been building these relationships since. Despite the agreeable demeanor and emphasis on customer relationships, Spencer is unmistakably a no-nonsense guy.
He works with real numbers; if trade-in costs and valuation are what drive the transaction, these are the numbers that matter, then no amount of negotiation will change that. That too has everything to do with the trust factor.
The importance Spencer puts in relationships of trust with his customer is without a doubt a result of his humble perspective after experiencing loss first-hand, "Customer relationship goes so far beyond the dollar amount. Sure, I can be competitive, everybody wants to make money, money is nice, but I try to remember you can lose everything tomorrow. The impact on people is much more important." As Charles points out, we can only imagine how proud one would be as a parent if their kid summarized their journey with "humility."
This episode is powered by Arrow
Tired of manual data entry into your CRM? Does your current CRM slow you down? It’s time to build and close deals from anywhere. Remove the manual data entry, create and send quotes in 3 clicks with Arrow. Finally, a powerful way to close deals on your phone.
Visit: www.heyarrow.com
Email: info@heyarrow.com
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