KSM Sales

When an equipment dealership represents a wide variety of industryleading brands, selling the machinery might seem an easy task — to the extent that brand performance and reliability sell themselves. Yet, there always are underlying market currents that can weaken foundational assumptions about who is going to buy how many of what type of equipment.

As vice president of sales at Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc., Gavin Cole is tasked with managing the direction of the company’s sales strategy, which means he needs to be able to interpret what he is seeing in the market and to anticipate what he can’t see so that the growth of the company is not slowed. That is a big job.

Cole called 2023 a “transitional year” for contractors after surviving the various challenges of the pandemic, followed by the accelerated growth and supply chain issues of 2022 — disrupted projects, unanticipated labor shortages and availability issues on machinery, parts and labor. Now, equipment owners face even more change as finance rates increase, the lending environment tightens and residential development patterns shift.

“A lot of contractors are looking at the services they’ve historically provided and then taking inventory of how to expand and remain flexi- ble with market demands,” Cole said. “For example, if they were doing utility work or residential site work, they might be thinking about taking on some highway projects as an alternative. Our contractors who had been affected by a decline in oil and gas activity may now be finding themselves moving back into the Permian Basin to pursue new opportunities.”

Kirby-Smith is in many equipment markets, of course, so contractors moving to where they see opportunity doesn’t necessarily mean they will cease being Kirby-Smith customers. Yet, the sales force must per- ceive the customer’s change in focus and to be there with equipment solutions.

Cole called 2023 a “transitional year” for contractors after surviving the various challenges of the pandemic, followed by the accelerated growth and supply chain issues of 2022 — disrupted projects, unanticipated labor shortages and availability issues on machinery, parts and labor.

“We move with the industry,” Cole said.

Cole is both a veteran of heavy equipment sales in the region served by Kirby-Smith and a relative newcomer at the company, coming aboard just two years ago. For a 40-year-old organization to have pairs of new eyes in key positions generally is a plus.

Another example of the benefits of fresh thinking is Sam Schneider, the company’s general manager of industrial equipment. He just joined Kirby-Smith in August of last year. This spring, the dealership began to represent the Vacall vacuum truck line, a leading brand in the vacuum excavation and sewer cleaning industry.

“Sam’s strong relationship with Gradall [which now owns Vacall] was an important factor in Kirby-Smith now representing the product line,” Cole said.

So, yes, it is superior products that are the foundation of any dealership, but it is the people who keep them moving off the lot and onto job- sites. Cole said the company has a sterling lineup of salespeople — some of whom are specialists with a particular type of equipment, others are generalists who can cross over to help any customers with machinery needs.

Owners face even more change as finance rates increase, the lending environment tightens and residential development patterns shift.

“It is our people who really make it all happen,” Cole said, “our boots-on-the-ground people who are building relationships with customers. We have a tremendous, very valuable and well-trained sales force.” 

(All photos courtesy of KSM.)