Mike Harmon: Customer Insight Through a Lender’s Lens
IEDA Podcast
Tune in for some customer intelligence and perspective, but not from an equipment buyer…but rather from someone who has a front-row seat on buyer activity every day. This month, we’re talking to Mike Harmon, vice president of sales at IEDA Associate Member AFG. A well-known IEDA sponsor and advertiser, Harmon brings us some market insight through the back door, you might say, based on his daily interactions with equipment end users as well as independent dealers. Kicking off with a look at trends and rates in the construction equipment finance sector, we then explore what’s on the minds...
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William Zilinski: Are You a Good Leader?
IEDA Podcast
In the early days of your journey to build up a profitable equipment business, you might not have put a lot of emphasis on what it would be like to become a leader. Now that you’ve got a team, whether small or large, applying good leadership skills may be on your radar, especially when problems crop up. In this episode, we welcome a professional counselor to the mic, bringing a different kind of perspective on what good leadership looks like – and how poor leadership can deeply impact the people in your company. He has spent 25 years counseling people with a wide range of stressors and...
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Alexandra Levit: Reversing the Hiring Crisis
IEDA Podcast
If your equipment business struggles to find employees, you’re not alone. Across all industries, businesses are battling to find anybody who will take their jobs...skilled or unskilled. And business owners are understandably frustrated. However, so are many young people. Some graduate college and can’t get a job. Others can’t seem to find their way, unable to connect their interests to a career and wage they can live on. Our guest expert this month, , brings fresh insight from her new book, Make School Work. This conversation will not only get you thinking about the key concept of...
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Marty McCarthy & Brian Marron: The Business Benefits of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
IEDA Podcast
As the new year begins, many business owners are turning their attention to taxes. In this episode, we sit down with CPAs Marty McCarthy and Brian Marron, both directors at CBIZ who specialize in supporting construction-related companies. Together, they break down several key ways the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) affects independent equipment dealers. One of the most significant benefits under OBBBA is bonus depreciation, and our guests explain how dealers can use these changes not only for tax efficiency, but also as a strategic sales tool—while still maximizing advantages on...
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Dave Gordon: The IEDA “What’s Up” Round-Up
IEDA Podcast
In this last edition of 2025, we’re unpacking two of the association’s most important initiatives: (1) the Foundation’s scholarships for deserving technician students and (2) some exciting changes and highlights for the Annual Meeting February 13–15. If you love the IEDA and love the construction equipment industry, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Host Kim Phelan and IEDA Executive Director Dave Gordon update you on the impressive growth of the association’s scholarship program and how you can engage with the IEDA Foundation to help protect and fuel its successful...
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Mitch Helman: Fall Auction Trends
IEDA Podcast
Mitch Helman, Sales Manager at Sandhills’ AuctionTime, joins the program to talk about heavy construction equipment values, inventories, and other trends he’s observing this fall. To kick things off, we’re unpacking highlights from the Sandhills October Used Construction Equipment Report, and making a few predictions on how November’s report will compare. Mitch talks about different types of equipment buyers and how their mindsets differ. He’s also got something to say about dealers and the root cause of the current inventory situation. Tune in for clues about the stability of...
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Sarah Martin: Seize Opportunities with New Project Data
IEDA Podcast
Sarah Martin from Dodge Construction Network returns this month to share the latest activity trends and her outlook for 2026 and 2027. As associate director of forecasting at Dodge, she brings insights into sectors that are thriving as well as those showing steady momentum. So, are contractors and construction business owners confident? Not exactly. But they have grown accustomed to—and perhaps more tolerant of—the uncertainty surrounding the economy and trade policies. Projects are still moving forward, though Martin notes they’re taking significantly longer to progress from planning to...
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Cody Bork: No Matter What, Scholarships Matter
IEDA Podcast
In this episode, we’re talking with Cody Bork, instructor at Western Technical College’s heavy diesel program. His new fall students are wired for fixing equipment, and he’s in awe of their technical savvy and thirst for learning. Bork has witnessed the effect of IEDA scholarships on several students. Thanks to the IEDA Foundation, individual merit-based scholarships of $5,000 each have a profound impact on hard-working students who are trying to clear all hurdles to achieve their goal of becoming heavy equipment service technicians. Join us as we talk about his observations on trends,...
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Frank Hurtte: Hire Slow, Fire Fast
IEDA Podcast
Although our title may not sound like it, this month we’re talking about helping new and younger sales talent succeed in your dealership so that your dealership reaps success from their work. Our guest expert is Frank Hurtte, an industrial sales pro for almost 50 years and founder of River Heights Consulting. Author of “The New Sales Guy Project” and several other books, as well as a speaker and magazine columnist, Frank recently wrote: “Sales is the only part of your company that consistently turns cost into cash. “Is your sales team an engine driving revenue?” he added. “Or are...
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Jarrett Harris: It’s Never As Bad (or as Good) As You Might Think
IEDA Podcast
Jarrett Harris, director of research at IronAdvisors Insights, returns to the podcast to talk about the latest construction equipment industry activities and trends. How is the industry behaving so far in 2025? “Stable but careful” is his headline. Tune in to find out the surprising thing OEMs are still doing and what the real deal is with OEM-authorized dealers’ inventories. Think it’s a good time to be in rental? Find out what Jarrett sees from his research cockpit. And independent dealers: Discover who’s stealing your playbook! We even persuaded Jarrett to make some predictions...
info_outlineWhen we don’t feel well, we can take our temperature or go for a checkup. When our car is not performing right, we can check different gauges and look at various fluids and things. But is it possible for a dealer to perform checks on his/her equipment business to determine if they’ve got any operational problems?
This month’s guest, Troy Ottmer, has been diagnosing and treating operational issues at equipment dealerships for about 20 years, and his overall industry experience is twice that long. He’s an expert worth talking to when it comes to helping dealers identify potential areas for improvement. When you speak with Troy, two things become apparent: (1) He’s all about staying customer-centric – they should feel like you’re always putting their best interest first. (2) He is also about simplicity. Processes don’t have to be complicated to be effective.
Dealers need the occasional check-up – tune in to see what that looks like and what you should be looking for!
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Produced By: Social Chameleon