The definition of a “blog” as listed by the Webster Dictionary is:

            A Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.

I thought I would mix it up and take advantage of the personal side!

Each week I write different articles or ideas about things specific to the RV Industry or try to provide information about an idea either mine or someone smarter than me that will make you think. I had a great article done on different sales ideas and things that work and blah blah blah and to be honest with you I have had so much other stuff on my mind lately that I felt I would give you and especially me a break this week and give you a whole lot of information about nothing!

Lets see since last week what’s been going on?

I remember back around 1996 in the car business when you would go to seminars or meetings and some guy would be standing up in front of the crowd preaching about this “internet” thing that was the future of the car business. You looked around the room and would see person after person begin to smile and then watch as their face began to express for all to see, “yea right, if you say so!”

Well without restating the history of the Internet part 1 in the automotive industry, I would like to fast forward to where we are today and where we have to go as an industry.

Last week I wrote an article about how the beginning of show season is upon us and excitement was high in the market place. The market place did not let us down at this years Washington DC RV Show!

 Over 13 dealers representing numerous models current year and few previous years were on display last weekend. We represented Airstream and Trailmanor at our display and I can tell you I was more than pleased with the results!

This is one of those years were if you chose not to attend the show you made a mistake. Traffic was up over 50% over last year and from first hand experience I can tell you I don’t ever remember working a show at that location with as much traffic as was there over the weekend.

I had several conversations with dealers that had product on display and each and every one made the same statement, “ This place is crazy!” There was a lot of excitement from not only the dealers but also more importantly the consumers!

Show season has finally arrived! I don’t know about you but I’m ready and I know my staff is ready. Our first show of the season is this weekend at the 24th Annual Washington Camping and RV show at the Dulles Expo center in Northern Virginia.

Every year I sit and contemplate the inevitable, “do I go to the show or not?” In the end I always make the same decision, “you have to go Steve.” Last year in the mist of the economic downturn I began to second-guess my decision on the shows after last years show season. I saw the decrease in traffic, the slipping of the sales, the cost had gone up, on paper just didn’t make sense to me.

You sit back look at market trends, you read what’s going on in the industry on sites like this and make decisions on what to do or not do. I think based on what our industry is saying customers are out there and demanding us to get things back to normal in our industry. RV customers are conditioned for this time of the year to be the beginning of show season. Just in the last week alone I have seen my phone traffic triple with the predominant question being, “can you give me details about the shows?”

Last evening I was watching the television series, “The Biggest Looser” and their 2-hour premier. I can honestly say this was the first time I watched the show. As my daughter looked at me with her teenage how have you never seen this show dad glare, I sat back and watched as these contestants released all of their pinned up frustrations about being obese and picked on about their size for years into a positive change in their lives.

I became captivated by the immediate transformation not only in their weight in a 7-day period but how you can see by letting go they can now begin their move toward future happiness, success and healthful bliss! There was nothing better than a 51-year-old quiet mom beating a heavy bag with boxing gloves on just letting go!

It made me think of things I have seen built up in our industry over the past few years and how maybe its time for all of us to release our frustrations not only as an industry or as a dealer or as a consumer but also as a person.

Do an online search of the word “EGO”, and you will find the definition of a word that pretty much epitomizes our psyche as sales people. Wikipedia list EGO as:

An inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others. 

There is no secret here; if you work in sales and you plan on being successful you have an ego. Now some are bigger than others and some flirt with being egotistical and some even to the point of being down right obnoxious. We all know who they are and you all know who “you” are. I have learned over the years that the salesperson with the ego and the desire to be successful and stand out amongst his or her peers, is what you try to surround yourself with.

Most of you are football fans I am sure. , Some probably more so than others. Maybe you played sports aa a youth or in high school or even as an adult. If you remember in sports the feeling of being part of a team and accomplishing the goal the team set out to do at the beginning of the game which was to win on how that made you feel and the euphoric feeling that over takes your body is second to none.

One of the hardest things I had to get accustomed to when I made my transition years ago to the RV business was the seasonality of the industry. For most of my career on the automotive side I worked for Toyota. I was blessed to have walked into the right showroom when I was looking to get into auto sales. It was just as Toyota was positioning itself to go after the big 3 in the mid 1990’s with the Camry and Corolla leading the charge.

Working as a salesperson for Toyota and then into upper management positions, I got prepared each winter for the huge push put on by Toyota and their national marketing campaign, “Toyotathon.”  December turned out each year regardless of weather conditions to be one of the top 3 or 4 months we would have on a yearly basis. It set the mood for the beginning of the year and gave the staff a boost not only in moral but financially in their pockets.