Before we get into it today, I'd like to take a moment to point out to all our dealer readers that the entry process for our Dealer of the Year competition is currently on-going, with the entry window open until midnight on Friday October 18th.
 
Please do not miss out on this opportunity to get your dealership or valued members of your staff in the running for these fantastic honours. You can nominate your own dealership or your teammates yourself, or your business can be put forward by a third party such as a suppling manufacturer or satisfied customer.
 
It’s a straightforward process to enter and we’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, the value of winning goes beyond merely a certificate to hang on your wall or a logo to stick on your website. The marketing potential to add to your dealership’s prestige is genuinely significant. 

I took the above picture of this poster from Mowers UK on the platform at Basingstoke railway station the other day. Those guys knew what they were doing when they placed it there. Footfall on that platform of commuters heading to and from London each day is genuinely huge. And with the tag line of Garden Machinery Dealer of the Year, proudly displayed right at the top, it will be getting themselves noticed. Well played guys.

Specialist dealers need to make themselves stand out. Stand out from internet-only traders, stand-out from the massive national chains, and stand out from the local competition. Any leverage which can be gained, should be fully grasped.
 
So if you've entered our competition in previous years, or have never thrown your hat in the ring before, I'd genuinely advocate giving it a go this time around. 
 
All the details you require for entering can be found here, so what are you waiting for?! Get involved!
 
How has the season been for you?
 
Like every single season before it, 2024 has presented our dealer readers with multiple challenges. Be that new routes to market, a shuffling of franchise territories, the wider political and social scene, or our old frenemy, the unpredictable British weather. 

Dealers are a hardy, resilient bunch, but even so, several of our colleagues’ businesses have fallen this year. It wasn’t long ago that it felt like we were reporting on another closure each week in this Weekly Update.

But if you’re reading this today, chances are you’re doing something right. And more than just right, you’re doing something well. Because when I’ve been chatting to dealers recently, I keep hearing about just how busy everyone seems to be. 

Rushed off our feet. A waiting list for service. These are the kind of things I’ve been hearing a lot.

Obviously, we’ve been told by the AEA throughout the year how registrations of new agricultural tractors have been down throughout 2024 on previous years. Unfortunately though we’re not privy to similar reports on professional groundscare or domestic machinery. We rely more on anecdotal evidence from readers to gain a sense of that.

But if sales of new machinery are down, is this why we’re being told that workshops are so full? Are customers across the spectrum of householders, commercial users and farmers, all choosing to make older machinery last for longer?

 
It'll be interesting to see if this theory is reflected in the results of our brief survey that we're running today, where we'd love to hear from as many of our dealer readers as possible. We traditionally run one like this in the autumn each year, asking you to look back upon the preceding months. It makes for a tidy round-up of the season in our final magazine of the year and indeed, acts as a talking point when we arrive at November’s Service Dealer Conference.

Also, we want to know what’s gone particularly well for your dealership this year? Have you diversified? Taken on a new brand? Had a re-jig in the showroom? Or just carried on doing what you've always done - but even better!? Let us know in the extended comments section what you've been doing in your dealership that's worked for you. We want to spread the word about positivity, creativity and entrepreneurship in the network.
 
It would be fantastic if you were able to spare a few moments to let us know how things have been for your dealership, by taking the survey. We shall report the results and feature as many of your comments as we can in the upcoming issue of Service Dealer magazine.
 
Thanks in advance for your help.
 
TAKE THE SURVEY