Another year is in the books for the trailer industry. At the North American Trailer Dealers Association( NATDA), we are preparing for another successful year of growth for not only our association, but our members as well. 2017 was one of the association’ s most productive years and we look to continue that trend.
Through sponsorships with our partners, we provided free hotel rooms to over 300 trailer dealers that attended the 2017 NATDA Trade Show & Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Many of those dealers were present early Thursday morning for our biggest technical training and dealer education seminars, yet. From hitch installations to our brand new NATDA Dealership Performance Training classes, almost every seminar was filled to the brim with interested dealers.
This year was filled with new, free program offerings for NATDA members, too. The 2017 NATDA Buyer’ s Guide, featuring the top trailer manufacturers in the business, now makes things easier if you are looking to add to your dealership. Not only can you find company descriptions and contact information for manufacturers, but you can determine exactly what companies offer and even contact their sales teams directly. With 100 + manufacturers in the guide, it is now easier than ever to provide your customers with new products.
The 2017 NATDA Buyer’ s Guide helps you provide more for your customers. Our new NATDA Dealership Performance Training ensures your dealership is providing more for you. With online modules and documented processes, you can now improve every aspect of your dealership – from the parts department to customer service. For a personal touch, our NATDA Dealer Success Groups connect you and your dealership’ s management with industry experts and other dealership owners through regularly scheduled online meetings for each of your dealership’ s departments.
A new member benefit, Trailer Makers Dealers Insurance Program, offers features specifically for NATDA members. With insurance coverage, risk management services, business continuation planning and more, this member benefit is provided to protect your bottom line.
This year, we took our free dealer education webinars to the next level with classes such as The High-Performance Service Technician and Marketing Against The Big Trailer Competition. With guests like Bob Clements International’ s Bob Clements and AM Consulting’ s Mark Wagner, 2017’ s round of webinars saw a dramatic increase in dealer interest and participation.
Also new to the association, the NATDA Industry Job Search now provides positions across the country and industry. From welders to regional sales representatives, manufacturers and dealers have increasingly found the job board as a place to post their positions to reach a wider, industry-skilled audience.
Throughout the entirety of 2017, everything the association did was done to help dealerships across the country while collectively improving the industry. We look forward to developing more programs and offerings for you, the dealer, in 2018.
8 NATDA Magazine www. natda. org