Product mix, staff, customer service and having a special niche all play a large role for surviving a downturn.
“But you can’t sell yourself out of bad times; product mix can only do so much, and if you don’t have excellent service, you’re already out of business,” said Dave Aylward, general rental and used manager for Liftech Equipment Companies located in Syracuse, NY.
“It is the responsibility of the management team to recognize the approach of bad times like those in 2008. I have been with companies that had the intuition to see it coming and, with others that did not react until well after the dive. Both scenarios shared a common thread, staff – one having a good staff the other, not so good.
“Having good employees allows good companies to stay good. A good staff helps companies adjust to market fluctuations and makes down times more manageable. One case in point was where I worked previously. The owners saw the 2008 downturn coming and hired a general manager who was very qualified to handle the decline in sales and make the required adjustments.
“He surrounded himself with stable people who did not overreact to the situation and who understood how to motivate people in a down time. When 2010 came along, we were ready for the boom, thanks to systems we had in place and the other early moves that helped us avoid the mistakes other companies had made. Ironically, the general manager saw the writing on the wall and left knowing his methods would not work in a bull market.
"By being proactive, the owners saw the downturn coming, prepared their management team accordingly, and gave them the tools to make the required adjustments. A solid management team can anticipate the ebb and flow and make the changes both require. Whether it’s a downturn or a boom, and one usually follows the other, forward-looking owners, a solid management team, and an excellent senior staff can make all the difference.”
Liftech Companies is a large industrial, construction, and ag dealership with seven locations throughout the Northeast. Headquartered in Syracuse, the company employs 160 people and rents a wide variety of forklifts, boom lifts, and scissor lifts, along with other construction-related equipment.
