IronDirect’s e-commerce site, irondirect.com, launched in mid-September. Online, the company offers Lonking excavators and wheel loaders, and Shantui dozers, along with Magni telehandlers, Berco undercarriages, Paladin attachments and a Case IH/Miskin tractor/pull-behind scraper combo. With the launch, the company announced its “Service your way” three-pronged model:
- Customers could, if approved, perform warranty repairs in their own facilities, an approach IronDirect expects to be attractive to larger fleets.
- Customers could also choose their own local dealer, which would go through a pre-authorization process, and in turn receive parts and support material to service the equipment.
- Finally, dealers could directly become an authorized service partner with IronDirect.
“We’re looking for service providers of all types, both OEM dealers and independents,” says Tim Frank, IronDirect president, adding that in reality, although most dealers keep it low profile, OEM dealers already service all brands. “They’re built to do it,” he says. “They want to do service work.”
In addition to the offer to dealers to become IronDirect authorized service providers, the company is now soliciting dealers to sell its brands across non-exclusive unlimited territories. “Dealers can use us to add to their rental fleet, grow their new product line up, and do it all with support services well beyond what their current manufacturers provide,” Frank says. “And we’ve got a dozer line that goes head to head with Cat, yet is 40 percent less.” Initially, dealers will be asked to stock a minimum of $200,000 in machines, but would not be required to stock a set amount of parts.
Dealers will also be able to sell all the products in their portfolio in addition to their used equipment inventory on irondirect.com. “No matter what brands a dealer carries, it can list them for sale on our site at prices they select, in their assigned territory,” Frank says.
These two services are backed up by the online marketplace of Liquidity Services, IronDirect’s parent firm. Funds are collected online, and then remitted to the dealer to fulfill the order.
According to Frank, the company has 144 authorized service locations. “More are under review and will be added each month,” he says. Service providers get 110 percent reimbursement of their retail rate, full MSRP on parts, travel and mileage reimbursements up to $300 per event, sales tools and training. “Dealers typically don’t like warranty work because it’s less profitable,” Frank says, “’but with us you can charge 110 of your shop charge out rate. We’re making what would normally happen after the warranty happen during the warranty period.”
Dealers will also have access to IronDirect’s Experience Center in Asheville, North Carolina, to demo equipment for customers, which will be open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sales partners
The company has also announced a sales partner program, available to sales professionals in North America to direct sell IronDirect’s equipment lineup. According to Joe Krider, IronDirect’s vice president of sales, these reps will set their own hours and decide what they want to sell. “Sell one unit or 100, it’s up to you,” Krider says. And he says it doesn’t matter if a person is just beginning, in mid-career or retired: “We want to talk to you.”
“Our site has everything a sales person gets from a dealer,” Frank says. “We believe there are approximately 30,000 men and women in equipment sales, and some of them will be attracted to this program.”
Once approved, these representatives will participate in training at the company’s 100-acre facility in Asheville, North Carolina. (The first sales training event will occur November 16-17.) The company says reps will be able to earn “up to a 4 percent straight commission,” and have the ability to sell machines across North America with no geographic limits.
