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Who here is a Dealer....

6K views 57 replies 21 participants last post by  The_Modifier 
#1 ·
Who here is a dealer for Generac, Kohler, etc.

What are the real advantages of becoming a dealer in lieu of just purchasing from HD, Norwall or a local supplier and installing. I understand it could be another revenue stream with maintenance and warranty work.

Is it profitable to be a dealer? What is the break-even, either in units you have to sell a year, service calls a month, etc. to make it worth making the investment in the training and other costs associated with becoming a dealer?

Thanks.
 
#43 ·
I myself am a dealer for Generac and Cummins. Yeah yeah I know the dreaded Generac. I am in the same boat as Nrp3 as far as the service end. I just completed the air cooled training from Generac and am awaiting my service credentials. I am not on the "Generac is the be all end all" bandwagon but they have a large part of the residential market, and I am hopeful I can make some money on the service. I am shooting to also get into service with Cummins too but I need the hands on training ($$$$) and have to pace my wallet.
In the beginning with Generac I only became a dealer because I have clients who have or want them installed. I think though I will sell them too service will be my main focus.

Oh and BTW Generac is really more about the sales of units and the like (yes I point blank asked the lady signing me up). Cummins is easier to deal with and thought they have their service people, they could give a ... if you do service or they do. You just need you to be certified to do so or you void the warranty. This is just my opinion and may differ in other areas.
 
#44 ·
How difficult was it to get on the Onan bandwagon? Parts stock and how much for classes? That might be the next step. Briggs classes seem to be less than the generac and the parts less. Paperwork similar. Local rep came to visit me on a jobsite. Friendly enough.
 
#45 ·
Cummins is decent I have done all online classes (kinda like Generac). Been with them for a couple months now I don't get huge discounts on their gensets or switches now but will get better "dealer" pricing (I have no idea what that exactly means) after I complete the service training. They are also realistic on the training times as they understand we have businesses to run.
The funny thing is even before I was in with them they screwed up and listed me on the dealer website. It really f ed me up one day when 3-4 people called for estimates, that's how I found out.

Btw does anyone have any good ways to do service contacts? I really wish there was a good ipad app. I could use to make a template to reuse. If anyone knows of one please tell me.
 
#47 ·
Btw does anyone have any good ways to do service contacts? I really wish there was a good ipad app. I could use to make a template to reuse. If anyone knows of one please tell me.
If you find a well written service contract, then you just need to put it into PDF format and you can pull it up on your iPad with any PDF viewer app. Many apps will also allow you to sign it right on the iPad.

I use the free Adobe PDF app to have customer's sign agreements and forms in my iPad. Then I e-mail the filled out and signed PDF to both the customer and myself. When I get home the signed PDF is waiting in my e-mail, I just drop it into the correct folder and I'm done.
 
#46 ·
Sorry Nrp3 I do not know the pricing for the hands on. Let me see if I can find out this week. Also there are 2 of their warehouses here (Baltimore Md. and Manassas Va.) I have been focusing on the Generac training lately as I have needed to do it.
 
#48 ·
Hack does it work good when filing in a lot of line items or just for signatures?
I'd like to have a template maker that would make check lists or like some apps have the little slider toggle on/off for yes/no. But I think that's hoping too much.
 
#49 ·
You can have everything that stays the same filled out by default on the PDF. Then you just add in the information that you need. Basically, you just set the PDF up so there are text boxes on each line and then when you want to enter info you just click on the text box and the keyboard comes up.

I typically enter all the customer info before I get to the job.
 
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