Firstly today, I'd like to draw attention to the fact that there is now only seven days remaining to get nominations in for 2024's Dealer Of The Year Awards.

That's seven days for you to enter your own dealership or one of your valued teammates - or seven days for a supplier or third party to nominate a dealership they have a relationship with.

When you receive this Weekly Update next Friday, no doubt we'll remind you again, but there'll only be a matter of hours left by that point! So don't delay. Get thinking about which categories you feel you deserve recognition in, get your nomination up together and get entering!

The team behind the scenes organising the Awards this year, tell me they've had some cracking entries so far - both for amazing dealerships and on behalf of amazing individuals. But we want more. We want more dealerships to put their own hands up and tell us why they are great. And we want manufacturers and distributors to also get in touch to tell us who across your network is putting a real shift in.

Personally, reading through the entries each year is a genuine tonic. Compiling industry news each week inevitably includes a proportion of less-than-cheerful stories. Companies failing, things going on fire . . . you know what I mean. But when it comes time to asses all the entries to the Dealer Of The Year competition, it reveals a side to the dealer network that doesn't hit the headlines each week. It highlights great companies, doing their job well - plus fantastic people making their colleagues' and their customers' lives better.

This is what we are aware happens week in, week out, in showrooms and workshops up and down the country. But if you don't tell us about it, we can't shine a national spotlight on it!

So please, make sure your business, your colleagues, or members of your network, are in the running this year. Click here to tell us all about them.

Long-term employees

One aspect of any business that without a doubt enhances its standing, and could easily put them in the running for an award, is the experience of its employees. I suspect our dealer readers are more acutely aware of this than many other sectors. Retaining quality members of the team is straight-up vital for dealers in our industry - especially when recruiting fresh blood is so difficult.

We have a fantastic story today that illustrates just what a long-standing member of staff can mean for a dealership, with the story that Willie Bilsland has retired from Hamilton Ross Group, after a quite extraordinary 63 years. 

Jamie Gardiner, group operations director at the dealership tells us, "People like Willie are what make businesses' succeed and we owe him so much for his hard work and joyful attitude that he brought to work every single day."

Hopefully everyone reading this, will have a colleague like Willie in their dealership. And if you don't, I suspect it's not controversial to suggest that you'd like one?!

Because as Jamie implies, it's not just a pleasant experience to have a team-mate in your place of work everyday whose company you enjoy and who lifts the spirits of everyone around them - although that is undeniably important. Beyond that, it genuinely benefits the dealership in a very real business sense.

I'm sure most small business owners would agree that creating a workplace that encourages long-term employee retention is more than just a good human resources strategy. With the retention of skilled, knowledgeable colleagues, dealerships can surely help to foster customer loyalty, maintain their top-notch service levels and possibly even reduce operational costs though not always advertising for and training up new recruits.

I'm sure if you asked your customers what they value most about your business, many would cite your expertise and the trust they place in your company. A dealership who encourages great employees to stick with them for the long run, will exude these qualities.

So whatever the magic formula is for engendering a loyalty amongst staff - and everyone reading this today will have their own thoughts on that - finding and sticking to it, will offer a myriad of rewards.

The entry process for 2024's Dealer Of The Year Awards will close a week today on Friday October 18th 2024.

Below you will find all the links you'll need for dealerships to enter themselves and their staff for as many awards as they like. 

Also, dealerships and individuals can be nominated by any third party who feels they are deserving of recognition. These nominations can come from manufacturers, suppliers, customers, staff members etc.

Entries must be complete and include a 250-word supporting statement and at least one piece of supporting evidence. The awards will be judged taking into account the 12 months prior to the submission date.

Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke said, "We want to hear from as many of our amazing dealer readers as possible this year. We especially want to hear the human stories behind the business - not just the facts and figures."

More detail on entries can be found by clicking the relevant category links below. Entries must be in by midnight on Friday 18th October 2024.

A judging panel will review all the nominations prior to the Awards Ceremony on the 28th November. All entries for the categories below will be considered by the judging panel for the prestigious Overall Dealer of the Year award (sponsored by Kress).

Below are the categories available for dealers to enter themselves, or be nominated by a third party.

Garden Machinery Dealer of the Year - sponsored by Husqvarna

Have you gone above and beyond this year to satisfy your domestic customers?

ENTER GARDEN MACHINERY DEALER OF THE YEAR

Farm Machinery Dealer of the Year - sponsored by Ibcos

Would your farming customers say you are outstanding in your field?

ENTER FARM MACHINERY DEALER OF THE YEAR

Forestry Equipment Dealer of the Year - sponsored by Societe Generale Equipment Finance

Is your dealership at the top of the tree when it comes to supplying forestry equipment?

ENTER FORESTRY EQUIPMENT DEALER OF THE YEAR

Professional Turfcare Dealer of the Year - sponsored by Toro UK

Is your team firing on all cylinders when it comes to your commercial turfcare customers?

ENTER PROFESSIONAL TURFCARE DEALER OF THE YEAR

ATV/Quad Dealer of the Year - sponsored by Yamaha

Are you the dealership customers turn to for tackling all terrain in the outdoor sector?

ENTER ATV/QUAD DEALER OF THE YEAR

New Technician of the Year - sponsored by Kubota

Technicians are the staff who keep the wheels turning - this is your chance to highlight someone in their first four years of the role.

ENTER NEW TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR

Star of the Dealership - sponsored by EGO

Do you have a staff member who’s made an exceptional contribution to the business?

ENTER STAR OF THE DEALERSHIP

Best New Initiative - sponsored by STIHL

Have you implemented something new - be it a fresh idea, some renovation, diversification, or branching out with new tech, let us know!

ENTER BEST NEW INITIATIVE

Leadership Award - Sponsored by AGCO

Does your dealership benefit from a great team leader who leads from the front and acts as a great example to all?

ENTER LEADERSHIP AWARD

The Awards will be presented at the Gala Dinner following the Service Dealer Conference that takes place on Thursday 28th November 2024 at the Crowne Plaza, Stratford upon Avon. The theme for this year's event is Driving Success.

According to figures released by the AEA, the pattern seen in recent months continued with the number of agricultural tractors registered for the first time in the UK in September was lower than a year ago.

The monthly total of 899 machines was 19% down on the level recorded in September 2023 and was 17% below the average for the same month over the previous five years. Indeed, it was the lowest September figure since 2015.

Agricultural economist at the Association, Stephen Howarth, explained, "That brought the total for the first three-quarters of the year to 8,224 machines, 15% lower than in January to September 2023 and 13% behind the average for the opening nine months of the year."

Iseki UK & Ireland welcomed over 120 attendees from across the UK, Ireland and Europe to their 2024 Dealer Conference recently, for a combination of outdoor training, seminars and product announcements.

Sixty dealers representing the UK, Ireland and Iceland were joined by the managing director of Iseki Europe, Mr Ota, and Mr Suzuki from Iseki Japan at the Forest of Arden Hotel & Country Club for the one-day conference.

The company says the event provided a platform for dealers to engage in hands-on and practical demonstrations of the company's latest machinery. On either side of the practical demonstrations, attendees also participated in a series of seminars led by Iseki's technical and commercial experts. 

David Withers, managing director of Iseki UK and Ireland, said, "We are thrilled with the level of engagement and enthusiasm from our dealers at this year's conference. The demonstrations and seminars have hopefully empowered our dealers with the tools and knowledge they need to better serve their customers and win against our competitors."

The conference also saw the introduction of Iseki's new PartSmart spare parts system, which the company said was brought in as part of their commitment to ensuring dealer success. They said the new system promises to streamline ordering processes, reduce downtime, and improve overall customer service across the dealer network.

Managers from some of the largest groundscare contractors in the UK and over 50 representatives from Ventrac’s UK dealer network attended demonstration days at the Carden Park Resort in Cheshire recently.

Hosted by the UK importer, Price Turfcare, the event was split into two days; the first day exclusively for contractors and the following day for the dealer staff. 

This was the largest gathering of Ventrac equipment ever assembled in the UK. Both days followed a similar format with a mid-morning ‘meet & greet’ over coffee followed by a presentation on the Price Turfcare company and the Ventrac product offering from managing director Rupert Price. Following a light lunch, the afternoon sessions were dedicated to demonstrations of the numerous attachments in the range and the opportunity for delegates to operate some of the equipment. 

Commenting at the conclusion of the second day, Rupert Price said, “I was absolutely delighted with the success of the meeting. We had eight tractor units and over 20 attachments and it was the biggest gathering of equipment we’ve ever had at one location.

“The second day was the first time, since we launched the business back in 2017, that we were able get our UK dealers together. We have had unprecedented success with this product, in fact there are now well over 400 machines operating in the UK today. Many of the dealer staff present have sold multiple machines and I wanted to remind some of the others that this a unique piece of equipment and once demonstrated, there’s a high percentage of a sale.

“Carden Park was the ideal venue and Peter Pattenden, the Golf Courses and estate manager, and his team were very accommodating in allowing us to use their facilities. They could not have been more helpful and they allowed us to use the trencher, stump grinder and power rake; pieces of equipment that are quite aggressive, enabling some of the delegates to see them in action for the first time.

“All in all, a very successful couple of days.”

Suzuki have appointed ARK ATVs as an authorised dealer in the southwest of England for its KingQuad all-terrain vehicles.

The ARK ATVs team

ARK is a well-established specialist ATV sales and service centre based near Minehead in Somerset. Family-owned and run since 1997, the business was originally set up by Rob and Kathy Blomfield-Richards alongside Tony Leader and it is still going strong to this day. Rob and Tony have over 75 years of ATV experience between them, selling over 10,000 ATVs during this time.

James Westwood from ARK ATVs said, “We are so pleased to be adding Suzuki KingQuads to our product range. These machines are so robust and reliable we know they are already popular among farmers, and we are looking forward to being able to offer them exclusively to our customers.”

Mark Beeley, head of ATV & Marine for Suzuki GB said, “It is great to welcome ARK ATVs to the Suzuki family. We know they will do a great job in representing our brand and we are looking forward to working with them.”

Nick Gardener (pictured) has joined the Reesink team as the new area sales manager for Shropshire and Staffordshire, bringing experience from the greenkeeping world.

Before joining the supplier, Nick, a former tour player, earned his certifications as an apprentice greenkeeper at Broadway Golf Club in 2015, worked as area sales manager with Tallis Amos and became head greenkeeper at the Heythrop Park Golf Club. 

“What attracted me to this industry as an ex-greenkeeper was meeting the people who use our tools on the ground every day,” Nick explains. “It allows me to learn from them and help them further enhance their golf course, sports or commercial business for the future, especially with premium products and solutions like Toro.” 

Beginning his new role, Nick is eager to support turfcare professionals and strengthen Reesink’s presence in Shropshire and Staffordshire - and through this appointment, the company now offers full service and training for Toro machines in the area. 

“By going to customers directly, we can guarantee a great standard of care, giving precise and straightforward answers whenever a client needs our advice. Being the sole distributor of Toro commercial and grounds products in the UK, we can provide access to experienced product specialists and genuine Toro parts right on your doorstep. At the end of the day, it’s about first-class service.”

As a former head greenkeeper, Nick says he's looking to develop existing and new relationships in the area through open days where turfcare professionals can see new Toro machines up close and freely discuss future plans. 

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