HOW MANY EXHIBITORS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A GOOD SEMA TRUCK SHOW? About 240… By David Herrmeyer

The SEMA Show 2009 had what most considered to be a successful truck show despite our industry’s problems. There were about 240 exhibitors and plenty of buyers. Having said that, it certainly was not SEMA as usual. There were plenty of negatives – like losing nearly half the truck section exhibitor space of prior years; seeing only seven trucks and 33 cars at the Ford booth; seeing four trucks at the Chevy booth and 20 cars; and the fact that we barely beat the number of exhibits in the Restyling Section. Add to that the fact that when you reduce floor space by half you can also have half the buyers and still think the show was pretty busy. The fact is, the attitude was upbeat and positive, no matter what else is said.

I spoke with a number of trusted dealers and manufacturers who have really not had a bad year. People have adjusted as needed. The exhibitor concern was that so many shops have cut back on employees there would be nobody left to run the store if they attended the show. I’m sure that kept some buyers away. These are just my opinions from personal observation.

The really important thing is what I observed for trends. Those of you who are loyal readers have known my attitude about the Internet is that you should be on it, but you should spend as little as possible because you won’t get it back. Mark this date on your calendar. November 4, 2009, Dave changed his mind. Here’s why.

Two major challenges severely limited any individual company’s effort to present information to the public in the manner in which they are accustomed — search engine problems and the huge data entry challenge. I believe those problems are finally behind us, therefore we have arrived at an affordable time for prudent retailers to leverage the Internet in an effective way. Things will continue to change quickly and dramatically, but those changes no longer need come at your expense — if you remain careful and well informed.

Are you aware you can take your iphone into a Lowe’s Home Improvement, for instance, use it to scan the barcode on an item you are considering purchasing, and you get a real-time report of what other stores in the area are charging for the same product, and what the lowest Internet price is? They’ll be able to do the same with your hood shields and trailer hitches. Yes, there’s an app for that!

This will erode margins even more, especially on items that can be do-it-yourself (DIY) installed. These items will increasingly become commodities. When the customer comes to your store and you need to order the product because you don’t stock it, why should he order it from you? He can order it off the Internet and have it delivered direct to his door — and for less money and maybe even faster!

That’s a major part of why I think an Internet presence is now a requirement.

Now, please do not make the assumption you need to close your brick and mortar store — that needs to remain an integral part of your business. Your product knowledge is of immense value to those who come into your store. Being able to tell them brand X fits well on a Ford, but their Chevy fit is poor, and brand Y fits well on a Chevy, but not their Ford model, is always going to be important. Customers can gain a wealth of information from you, but only if you have the chance to interact with them.

Your real store can’t afford to lose all your sales on those e-store DIY volume items — you need to have some low-margin Internet sales. You can also sell installation services. What? Install a product that *#@%* customer bought off the Internet instead of from you? You not only need to offer that service, you need to offer it with a smile.

Whatever you do, don’t make potential customers feel guilty for buying at a lower price. Instead, become their partner in helping them — especially for the installation.

Your installation capability will become increasingly important and will open new profit opportunities for you. It will also bring new customers into your shop where they can see first-hand the advantages of buying the products you recommend.

You may be the best in the business, but if they don’t get to see you, you never have the chance to  prove it to them.

How’s this for a motto? “We’ll not only install your product — we’ll do it with a smile — no matter where you bought it.”

 Not only is this service a potential profit source that needs to be marketed, I think it is inevitable that a group of smart dealers will band together to offer installation services across the country under a common marketable umbrella name that assures quality installation services. Perhaps LTAA could be the key to providing that credibility — who knows?

Regardless, you need to be on the Internet to grab that installation business along with whatever low-margin and low-overhead sales you can get for products. Combining all the above can help keep your doors open.

I can see you shaking your head right now. Cheer up! I think there will come a time when Internet prices will stabilize – especially for our products. There has to be some profit in the long run, or there’s no incentive to have a site.

Consider for a moment who the low-ball sellers are. Many are amateurs who don’t understand business. Some may get a wake-up call when the IRS knocks on their door and explains that there are two halves to social security taxes, and that their income is all taxable and that taxes need to be paid in quarterly. IRS sure has a simple electronic trail to follow for these transactions. The playing field will level out for those who are buying at the best price everyone can live with, and are reporting the income as required by law.

Now, there are two tools you need to know about that can help you sell on line without heavy investment. You can use either or both along with other opportunities you feel can help turn a profit. They are available through DCi in Des Moines, Iowa, and through E-bay. I’ll deal with DCi first.

Hopefully you remember my article on DCi from several years ago when they introduced catalograck.com. Go visit it. I’ve known Nile Cornelison, the owner, for many years. He’s an information guru. His company enters the product data used for printing catalogs for many accessory manufacturers. His database keeps growing. That information can be used for processing orders, looking up information like installation instructions, etc. He has all the information readily available that you could never afford to enter. Now he has made the information available to dealers with a virtual plug-and-play estore. For a set-up and monthly fee, he will train you, provide support, provide a shopping cart, and handle the Google Shopping Feed searching in a way that individual companies can’t.

DCi has over 200 performance and accessory brands & 50 million product applications ready to go! It instantly locates parts from $2billion in inventory at hundreds of warehouse locations and factories across the country.

CatalogRack eStore services provide a turnkey solution designed for brick and mortar stores that need an easy, pre-packaged solution to let them sell online quickly. Features include:

•    Web hosting

•    Plug-in eStore module for an existing website using iframes

•    Complete application product data with year/make/model

•    Complete product data with color, size and other attributes

•    Complete product data for specific engine displacement and years

•    Photo gallery, event calendar, news blog, online polling

•    Monthly Google Shopping data feed for your store

•    Yahoo! and other shopping site feeds available

•    Live chat, can increase conversions to 20%!

•    Integrated shopping cart and one-page checkout

•    Integrated wish list

•    Integrated cross selling, up-selling, and tell-a-friend

•    Live UPS, FedEx and custom shipping rate quotes

•    Gift certificates

•    Limitless coupon promotion and managed order discounts

•    Credit card and PayPal processing

•    Real-time QuickBooks and Shipworks integration

•    Point of Sale order management & processing interface

•    Total customer relationship management inquiry system

•    Customer service support

It also provides all the technical stuff only gurus can understand, so I have not even attempted to list them here. It even integrates into your current site to maintain the same look and feel. They will design a completely custom website for you that will maintain your company image as well as integrate any elements you like from your current website if you have one. It also provides all the technical stuff only gurus can understand, so I have not even attempted to list them here.

You choose which products you want to sell and set your own prices. The CatalogRack eStore service automatically compares your retail price against the manufacturer’s retail MAP price to make sure you are not in violation. You also continue to use your current WD supplier for parts fulfillment.

If a brand you like is not listed, and you don’t want to switch to a competing brand, you can add them yourself using the eStore Pro’s product entry process. Plus, if you are a direct customer of an important vendor that is not yet participating in the CatalogRack eStore Pro sales network, you can send your factory and local rep contacts an email requesting they ask DCi for a participating quote. Just cc NewVendor@DCinet.com. DCi will follow-up on your behalf and advise what they say.

Now, to close my consideration of this service, let me add the following. You will be competing on the Internet with others who use this service, so it would behoove you to be familiar with it. Also, I believe that the consumer’s ability to find more products, more sources, immediate pricing and immediate availability will increase sales of all accessories. Seeing is buying. It will be a good thing for our industry in many ways. That will offset some of the pain we are feeling.

For more information see the demo at www.CatalogRackeStore.com or call DCi’s eStore hotline at 800-276-8486. Please tell them you saw it in Trucking Times.

The second tool to consider is E-bay. E-bay had a major exhibit at the SEMA Show 2009. They made every effort to show how they are relevant to your business, and how they can provide services to help you sell effectively on-line. Again, your competitors are using this service — you need to understand how it works. They are committed to our industry.

Ten years ago, the concept of buying or selling a car online, sight unseen, seemed beyond conventional wisdom. In 2008, eBay Motors surpassed three million passenger vehicles sold since the category was launched six years ago. Here are some facts about ebaymotors.com.

•    The site attracts more than 10.2 million unique visitors every month.

•    eBay Motors has been consistently rated the No. 1 most visited automotive site on the Internet for three consecutive years (Nielsen//NetRatings) with 22 percent of all online automotive minutes spent on the site

•    On average, a part or accessory sells every second

•    More than 9.8 million parts and accessories are available on eBay Motors at any given time.

•    More than 163 million parts and accessories transactions to date have taken place

•    In Q3-09, the worldwide annualized gross merchandise volume for the parts & accessories category was approximately $ 4.9 billion

•    Of the top 10 parts sold by growth (2007 vs. 2008 YOY), Nerf Bars & Running Boards ranked 8th with an increase of 73 percent.

There are fees for their services that scale according to your business plan. They provide all the support you need. They have varied options for how you can sell items. One is an auction-styled format. You may not like it, but investigate it because many consumers apparently prefer to purchase that way. Another is just a buy-it-now listing where you just add it to your shopping cart. The third is a best-offer format, again the preference for a lot of shoppers. There are real-time e-mail alerts that apprise bidders of updates in auction and best offer purchasing so they don’t have to check in all the time to view an item’s status.

For more information visit ebaymotors.com/sellmore. Please tell them you saw it in Trucking Times.

I think you can see why I feel the time is now right to pursue Internet sales. Please just be cautious. Start with the lesser options and build as cash flow starts.  Spend very wisely, and leverage the Internet as best you can, and do it now.

Let’s look at some of the important business development information that came from the show.

I had a great opportunity to sit down with Dennis DeLeonard, Vice President Sales, Marketing and Business Development for TAG — Truck Accessory Group. My guess is that TAG probably has the highest dollar volume sales of any manufacturer in our industry, so I was anxious to see what updates might come from him. First, let me report that their attitude remains positive despite our business downturn. In fact, Dennis has been busy with reorganizing many aspects of the company to build on their strength in many new ways.

As you know, TAG has cap-manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania and California. Century and Leer Brands have been manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana, and within the past few years the Raider brand has moved to Elkhart as well.  Whether by design or good luck, an important thing happened along the way, and TAG is taking full advantage of it.

Since truck caps are delivered by semis loaded to make varied dealer delivery stops, the ability to fill loads and get them out efficiently is vital. Since virtually all truck cap sales are orders for retail customers, the ability to fill truckloads and deliver retail-sold products to dealers quickly and efficiently has always been an important part of the business.  With the significant drop in truck sales the filling of loads while balancing the need for timely delivery would be expected to become an even greater challenge.

“We have been able to efficiently and economically combine shipments of different brands on the same trucks, making it easier to fill loads and to provide even shorter product delivery times,” said DeLeonard. TAG now has 75 semi tractors and 150 trailers to make it easier to fill loads and provide regular and timely deliveries. I think there’s a lemonade story somewhere in this.

“We are also working to increase deliveries in enclosed trucks that provide better protection of the product as it travels,” continued DeLeonard. I recall visiting Martin Brown at his Raider facility in Canada a dozen years ago when the idea of enclosed hauling was in its infancy. Even then I hoped the efforts to move toward enclosed hauling continued to expand and be successful so we could deliver the best possible quality product. It also helps make the economy of backhauls an economic plus.

“Another major move we have made, stated DeLeonard, is that we have acquired the old Covermaster manufacturing facility in Elkhart. That has enabled us to convert our other facilities for state-of-the-art cap manufacturing facilities with separate hard tonneau manufacturing facilities dedicated to that product type. The change has been embraced by management and labor. Changing from a brand-specific manufacturer to a product-specific manufacturer has been a major success as we have sought to build on our strengths.”

Another TAG change has been to train their sales team to sell all four TAG brands (Leer, Raider, Century, and Pace Edwards) so they don’t have to send multiple salesmen out the same area. “This change naturally raised some eyebrows, but it has been accepted by the sales staff and dealers alike. Unique materials-purchasing procedures have enabled the consolidation of purchasing while supporting the continuation of the brand differentiation dealers and customers like. We have gained significant economy of scale from this bold change,” said DeLeonard.”

“We have also begun holding quarterly meetings where the entire team comes together to strategize how we can go forward with our commitments to continue to build on our strengths,” said DeLeonard.

Marketing efforts for the four TAG brands have also been consolidated under the direction of Joel Ayres. This will help tie their web presence together as well.”

DeLeonard also said, “The real driver behind the positive changes is Jim Donohue, Our President & COO.  Jim brought the mindset of an astute businessman accustomed to the sophistication of the aerospace business but with the down home approachability so common in our great industry. I am fortunate he chose me for the sales and marketing charge.”

In response to growing demand for its premium commercial cap, the DCC, Leer has tripled its aluminum production capacity, adding plants in Indiana and California. Commercial cap customers and fleet managers can access important information at www.leerfleet.com.