MCE: Selling Art of the Possible (ENG)

The work in a Service Business within the Construction Equipment Industry is complex and filled with details. It is within this environment that our employees work day in and day out. These people who I call your “heroes” are the warriors that make your business a success.

The technicians have a forward workload that leaves little room for inefficiency or ineffectiveness. In the shop or the field whether for repair or maintenance or rebuilds the work never ends. Your “heroes” do incredible work keeping up with this activity. They work in difficult working conditions, they deal with specialized equipment and tooling, they do inspections, prepare equipment for sale and make ready equipment for rent and lease. They get to the end of the day and take a deep breathe to indicate that they made it through another day. They deal with the Art of the Possible every single day.

In this class we will explore the major pillars that comprise your business; Buildings, Inventory, People, Technology, Purchasing and Employee Development. We will then apply and show you how to apply the Art of the Possible.

MCE: Selling Balanced Scorecard (ENG)

In the service business we communicate with the marketplace in a variety of methods. We deal with various systems, manually and technologically. We have a responsibility to serve and retain customers while at the same time we have to make money for the business. This is a complicated business.

To assist us in managing the business and help us implement our company strategy we use a business tool that is called the “Balanced Scorecard.” The Balanced Scorecard was developed in the 1990s, designed for use in the planning and implementation of a company’s strategy. The scorecard looks at your business from four directions; finance, internal, innovation and customer. From this vantage point the company can develop a strategy as part of their operating plan.  These plans are meant to help a company achieve its goals.  If a plan cannot be agreed upon and effectively executed, a business cannot effectively reach its goals.

In this class, you will learn the ins and outs of this valuable tool, and the costs we pay in our business when we fail to execute our plans for success in our market.

MCE: Selling Basic Finance (ENG)

Before we can be of any value to anyone else we have to be of value to ourselves. That is an old adage, but it still rings true. Ignorance is not knowing what to do. How can we know what to do if we don’t understand basic finance? This is especially true within the labor business, where the technicians look at their hourly wage and compare it to the labor rate charged to the customer.

We will expose and explain all aspects of the operating statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow forecast. These are the three major documents in the world of finance. We will define and describe all of the terms the accountants use. There will be no mystery to basic finance when we are finished. We will explain cost of sales and what it consists of, as well as all of the various expense elements. Personnel Expenses, Operating Expenses, and Fixed Expenses are discussed so that everyone will be able to understand and accept how and why money is spent and how we make it.

The fundamentals of basic finance have been a mystery for too many people for far too long, especially in the labor business. This program gets past that so that the employees in a parts business will understand the effect of each of their decisions.

MCE: Service Making Money WDC (ENG)

With everything that goes on in a labor business it is easy to forget that we also have a responsibility to make money. We have to make money to be able to pay competitive wages to attract and retain talented employees. We have to make money to have available buildings and equipment that allows us to perform repairs and rebuilds and maintenance on the equipment we represent. We need to make money to be able to provide the most current tooling and training to provide effective and efficient labor.

This program provides you with the understanding of the costs of operating the service business. It exposes you to the means and methods of how to make money. From understanding how the labor prices are created and how those pricing systems work. How the prices are calculated and the variables that are in use. You will learn their effect on the gross profit. The approach used to derive the price points based on skill sets, job degree of difficulty and frequency, will be explained in detail.

When performing repairs and maintenance the employee needs to understand the impact that their work makes on the profitability of the department and in fact, on the dealership as a whole. This class provides all of that.

MCE: Service Market Capture WDC (ENG)

The parts and service businesses within the construction equipment Industries has never had a precise method to calculate the share of the labor market for a specific brand. To some degree this has allowed the service business to operate without a critical performance measure being in place.

This program married the market potential, which is covered in another class, with the actual sales for a dealership for a specific brand. The market potential model allows a dealer to calculate the potential consumption of labor on specific machines. That, together with the actual service sales, allows a calculation to be done arithmetically that determines the percentage of a customer business obtained by a dealer.

This class provides a detailed methodology to calculate the share of the market the dealer obtains. This is the market capture rate that the dealer obtains in the labor business. Ideally, we would be able to perform this calculation by machine model.

Similarly, we touch on the “mean time to failure (MTF)” statistics provided by the OEM’s for their products. With territory potential, market capture we can drive market coverage methods which with the MTF the sales force can be targeting customer needs in a timely manner. This program covers all the details and methods required to perform the calculations required to measure market capture.

MCE: Service Market Segmentation WDC (ENG)

Marketing is the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. That process becomes impossible with the thousands and thousands of customers that you have in your assigned area of responsibility (AOR). As a result of that truth, it becomes important to be able to find out what the customer needs and wants, and then to be able to find common elements of their business that will allow you to group them with other customers of common needs and wants.

That is the aim of market segmentation. Market segmentation is the process by which marketeers divide potential customers into smaller groups that are looking for similar benefits from a product or service. The goal is to isolate a group that prefers these features and benefits, and to develop a sustainable differential advantage that satisfies their needs. All of the methods and processes that are required to perform this are covered in the program.

We cover the industrial focus, the individual demographics, and the psychographics. We also have to assess the dealer strengths and weaknesses, as well as reviewing the same strengths and weaknesses in the competition. All of this and much more is covered in this comprehensive program.

MCE: Service Market Strategy WDC (ENG)

The only way to position your labor business is to provide customers with something they value.  The fundamental principles of customer value are to offer something the customer wants and needs and to provide that offering better than your competition can.

This class provides methods and a road map to follow in developing a strategy. We identify three key strategies for enhancing customer value. Companies focus on being: Better – through the provision of superior quality labor and service. Faster – sensing and meeting changing customer requirements more quickly than others. Closer – creating durable linkages and even partnership with channel members and customers.

This program takes you more deeply into operational excellence offers customers good pricing as well as convenience and reliability. Then we examine labor leadership which is the result of superior product performance. Finally, customer intimacy which utilizes “micro” marketing techniques. These strategies for providing customer value indicate the importance of the marketing focus in overall strategic planning. Customer value offers a way to gain strategic advantage over competitors and to differentiate the company’s products or services.

Communications is the critical element to successful implementation of a strategy for the parts business. The final emphasis of this class is to ensure that the strategy is effectively communicated to all employees so that they will be committed to executing the strategy.

MCE: Service Marketing WDC (ENG)

In this Basic Marketing class, we explore a broadly misunderstood sector of business. It is much more than mailings, promotions, and tradeshows. It is all of the aspects involved in influencing the customer to purchase your products or services.

Marketing is the science of choosing target markets through the use of market analysis and segmentation. This class exposes all aspects of marketing: Relationship Marketing, Business Marketing, Social Marketing and Internal Marketing. In Relationship Marketing, we focus on suppliers and customers, and the goal is to build loyalty. The Business Marketing is all aspects of the traditional marketing functions: advertising, promotion and communications. Social Marketing looks at everything that impacts society. For instance, the impact on the environment from the use of clean engine technology. Internal Marketing, is the broad communications to all employees of everything that we are doing in the business.

This program covers all the basics of marketing: from the four P’s to the more current addition of SIVA. We expose you to everything involved in basic marketing theory today. Without creating the environment where your product or service is understood, you make the job of selling much more difficult. This program aims to provide you with the tools to use to make selling more successful.

MCE: Service Organization WDC (ENG)

The organization of a service department is about more than technicians and clerks and management. Designing the structures is about facts and not feelings. The time for shop and field jobs starts the design. The technology, tooling, and processes used take us the rest of the way. Exploring the service department organization from a factual foundation is the goal of this program.

The density of supervision to technician has long been in dispute in this Industry. This program aims to put that dispute to rest by providing definitive measures of labor efficiency and quality at the forefront, and not having “cost” drive decisions about those two fundamental elements of a service department. From Roman times to the current US Army supervision has been a constant and defining attribute of high performance. We discuss the appropriate levels of supervision and provide a model for the participants to use for their business.

The clerical support in a Service Department covers all aspects of record management, as well as labor controls, job controls, job process and work in process, as well as everything to do with warranty and technical documentation, either in printed or electronic format. The dealer business system is critical in supporting this function. This program will be of benefit to everyone in management and supervision of the service function.

MCE: Service Coaching and Mentoring WDC (ENG)

One of the most important and significant activities in which we can be involved, in our professional lives, is helping in the development of the younger less experienced employees. Whether it is a direct coaching job or we mentor the younger less experienced workers we have a responsibility to transfer our knowledge to them. In older times each new employee was assigned to a “mentor” with whom they spent time. They would take breaks together, have lunch together, and this new employee worked as if they were helpers for the experienced employees.

The dilemma with this is that not everyone is good at transferring their knowledge and some employees will just not do it. Selecting the proper people to assign this responsibility is critical. Starting through all of the job functions, from the beginning to the end. Communicated in a different manner from the time the employee arrives at work until they leave at the end of the day. Everything and anything that pertains to the work.

This is part of developing a strong corporate culture. Culture is aimed at your heart. In this style of “onboarding” new employees, each person will feel part of the team. This is an extremely important function and this class will help you avoid the difficulties in performing this function.