Advertise on podcast: IEDA Podcast

In this episode, we're unpacking, frankly, no one's favorite topic…naming and understanding an enemy that needs to be stopped: fraud. Our guest is Dave Lempko, senior vice president and sales manager for the equipment finance division at First Business Bank, a recent new member of IEDA. A veteran finance professional, Lempko has seen his share of fraudulent activity, and he's passionate about helping construction equipment dealers prevent it by knowing the signs. A major red flag: If a buyer is rushing the deal, doesn't negotiate at all, and tries to make you skip some of your processes, that could be a signal they're using a false identity and counting on speed to throw you off your game.  Give yourself and your team a refresh on what to look for to protect yourself, your real customers, and everyone's reputation.   Connect with Dave: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

There's an "air gap" in the equipment channel, and it's causing your dealership to miss out on buying events. So says this month's podcast guest, Martin Roth, who is co-founder of a new equipment dealer-specific tech company, Filmore. "The air gap is the space between what's happening in the field and what's sitting in your system," he says.  Data is publicly available that shows when a contractor in your region has won a big contract, signaling that an equipment investment is about to happen. Your salesperson might never see it, and neither will your competitor's — but whoever figures out how to see it first has the best chance to win the deal for the next machine they buy. "It's not that the information doesn't exist," says Roth. "It's that there's no plumbing between the information and the person who could do something about it." Enter Filmore. It finds the contractors in your market who are about to buy, rent, or need service on equipment, and puts them in front of your salespeople in the tools they already use. If your sales team learns about buying activity in the past tense, listen in how one AI-driven technology puts dealers ahead of the curve and provides real-time, actionable information – including the human contact – into the hands of your salespeople.  With roots in the heavy equipment business, Roth says he and his partner created Filmore "because I kept meeting dealers who were buying data and not using it." Join us for some insights that will expand your scope of what's out there…and what competitors are starting to use.   Connect with Martin: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

Over 75% of rental customers fail to meet insurance requirements at the time of rental. It's a stunning statistic. Verifying certificates of insurance (COIs) is not just a box to check – it serves as the goalkeeper for your rental operation in terms of transferring risk away from the equipment business – risk that could quickly turn into hundreds of thousands of dollars in real cost on any rental transaction. That much you already know, but what about the risk of losing a good customer because the process at your rental counter is slow and cumbersome? They want speed, but you need assurance that your iron is protected.  In this episode, we're exploring the headaches involved with the manual verification process, the dangers of cutting corners in that process, and how technology can solve both problems.  Two experts break down the solutions created by an AI-powered software product from Evident. They explain why COI verification is an ideal manual process to be replaced with technology — a technology that removes a logjam from the rental checkout, lets your rental personnel do their jobs efficiently, and can also turn an insurance shortfall into a revenue opportunity for your dealership.  Protecting rental assets and unclogging bottlenecks isn't just for the big dogs. It's for all independent equipment dealers with a rental operation, and here's how you can harness a simple technology to do it.   Connect with Justin: LinkedIn   Connect with Jamie: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

Does your equipment business routinely conduct credit reporting for every customer and every transaction?  In this episode, our featured expert, Yesinne Alvarez, walks you through the business case for understanding the current business health of every company you do business with, large, medium, and small. Regular and consistent credit checks are considered a business best practice, and it shouldn't be a one-and-done event for new customers only, Alvarez says. Credit reports help protect your equipment business from many risks: From guarding against fraud and theft to just discovering the legal name and real owner of everyone who wants to buy, rent, and receive equipment service from you, credit reports are like a second form of insurance. You can also use credit reports as a growth tool. All this and more are packed inside this month's program. Give it a listen and get ready to learn the benefits of leveraging this vital business information asset.   Connect with Yesinne: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

On Sept. 30, the federal surface transportation bill — The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — will expire. How will Congress act? Will Congress act on time? These are key questions, and the answers will have enormous impact on states' ability to keep up with ever-increasing maintenance and rebuilds of their roads and bridges.  In this episode, we welcome Rocky Moretti to the mic — he's the director of policy and research at TRIP – the National Transportation Research Group, and for the next half-hour, we're introducing what this major research and voice-to-the-media organization is doing to inform the public, state legislatures, and Congress on the dire road and bridge infrastructure needs of the country.  Listen in as we discuss exactly what's at stake with the federal bill, how public safety is a major consideration, the trends that are hindering states in road funding, and what long-term reauthorization means to construction equipment dealers.   Connect with TRIP: Website   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 of equipment buyers — what they're concerned about and whether optimism or pessimism prevails so far this year. Join us as we discuss buying and pricing trends, too, as well as what dealers can do to sweeten the pot on a stagnating deal.   Connect with Mike: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 problems, and for the last 11 years, he has provided counseling services to employees of the US Postal Service. Besides identifying good and bad leadership traits, our guest talks about positive ways to give work-related criticism, the importance of empathy, and inspiring employees to embrace your company's mission and find their "purpose."   Connect with William: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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, Alexandra Levit, brings fresh insight from her new book, Make School Work. This conversation will not only get you thinking about the key concept of work-based learning, it may inspire you to take action that will benefit both your dealership and your community. "Smaller companies are in the perfect place to accomplish a really meaningful work-based learning program," says Levit. If random acts of work-based learning aren't working – like doing one-off career fairs or giving one group of students a tour of your company – maybe it's time for something more intentional and long-lasting.  Is this about apprenticeships? Yes, but there's so much more. Will it be work for you? Yes, but it will be a worthwhile effort. Levit hands you ideas and resources for creating a work-based learning blueprint that fits your business. But don't worry: "You don't have to boil the ocean all at once," she adds. Join us for some new perspective on a nagging problem you might finally be able to fix.    Connect with Alexandra: LinkedIn   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 the rental side of the business. The conversation also covers permanent increases to estate and gift tax exemptions, which can support long-term estate planning, as well as changes to interest expense deductions for capital-intensive operations. For IEDA members, these provisions present real opportunities to improve cash flow and make more informed business decisions. McCarthy and Marron emphasize the importance of regularly reviewing tax structures, accounting methods, and planning strategies to ensure dealers are fully leveraging current tax laws. Step one: tune in for their expert insights, practical explanations, and actionable advice.   Connect with our Guests: Marty McCarthy Brian Marron   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 trajectory.  We're also throwing the spotlight on important Know Before You Go details about the grandest IEDA event of the year coming to Orlando at the Reunion Resort. Listen up for big auction news, our "killer" keynote, plus a brand-new gathering just for IEDA wives and significant others. Guys: It's Valentine's weekend, so plan now to bring the lady in your life!  PS: We've got the inside scoop on IEDA's big bash at ConExpo, too. Grab your phone or laptop and join us for this light and informative December episode.   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 the used market and what he's expecting from November and December auction outcomes. You'll also hear his two pieces of advice for IEDA dealers before we cross the end zone on this month's episode.   Connect with Mitch: LinkedIn AuctionTime Website Sandhills Website   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 groundbreaking, a trend worth watching. Learn how the Dodge Momentum Index—published each month in IEDA's Scoop newsletter—can serve as a practical tool for independent dealers, along with other free data and trend reports available from Dodge.   Connect with Sarah: LinkedIn Dodge Construction Network Website   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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, the importance of company culture and communication, and what's essential to the next generation of young technicians entering the CE industry.    Visit Western Technical College: https://www.westerntc.edu/   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 they a herd of expense-report addicts wandering aimlessly from customer to customer like stray cats? If you're just spending on sales, you're doing it wrong. Sales isn't supposed to be a warm body with a logo shirt and a business card. It's supposed to be your sharpest weapon." He doesn't mince words. In this month's episode, we explore the role of the sales manager in coaching and mentoring new salespeople, as well as the kind of structure needed to bring them along and hold them accountable. We also talk about communication and value – and what the new sales guy or gal needs to bring to the table with each customer interaction.   Connect with Frank: LinkedIn River Heights Consulting Website   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon

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 for the remainder of the year. You'll like listening to Jarrett so much you're going to want to hear more.  Wish granted: He's speaking at the Midyear Meeting in Austin, Sept. 11-12 –– bringing literally up-to-the minute data and insights you shouldn't miss.    Connect with Jarrett: LinkedIn Company Website   Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events   Produced By: Social Chameleon