  On November 9th, NATM launched its first annual giving campaign – NATM Feeds America – an opportunity for the industry and NATM to join together in giving back to charitable organizations. For 2020, NATM chose to support Feeding America, an organization that works nationwide to provide meals to those in need. With 98.7% of all funding going directly into programming, Feeding America is able to turn each dollar donated into 10 meals.
With more than 54 million Americans expected to face food insecurity this year as a result of the pandemic and wildfires, feeding our neighbors is more important than perhaps it has ever been. As a new wave of COVID-19 continues to debilitate the country and with schools choosing to go remote this winter, it is estimated 18 million children will face food insecurity – many of whom rely on school for meals. When NATM launched this campaign in early November, the Association set the goal of raising $5,000 from members and promised to match that first $5,000 dollar for dollar. In less than 36 hours, the trailer industry showed up and exceeded that goal. The fundraising bar was then raised to $8,000 and just 10 days after launching the campaign, the industry again exceeded the goal. We’re asking for your help to raise $11,000 and create 100,000 meals for those in need. NATM will contribute the promised $5,000 creating an additional 50,000 meals. Help NATM Feed America today! To thank our members for giving back, the company that collectively contributes the most will be covered in NATM’s marketing of the campaign, both in print and online via various industry publications, and receive a free full-page ad in Tracks. And, for every $100 donated, you get one entry into a drawing for a free full Convention registration – the more you give the more entries you get!
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The 2021 membership renewals are hitting inboxes, which is the perfect time for the Association to reflect on how membership dues are critical in supporting the actions, services, and educational programming that NATM provides for its members and the light- and medium-duty trailer industry. NATM is constantly evaluating costs and benefits to ensure your annual membership investment is being met with valuable returns.
In 2020, membership dues allowed NATM to:
NATM’s commitment is to its members and ultimately to trailer safety. Supporting NATM members’ ability to grow and prosper, while also contributing to the safety of the nation’s roadways, is what drives the Association’s work. Your support of this mission and your feedback along the way is vital to NATM’s success. NATM looks forward to continuing this important work in the coming year! 2021 NATM Membership Dues Your 2021 NATM membership renewal notice was mailed to the attention of your accounts payable department in November. For international members, invoices were emailed. For 2021, Membership Dues are remaining the same:
You have the option to renew your membership online at www.NATM.com. Log into the Members Only section to view and pay the invoice. Should you decide to pay online, please advise accounts payable to disregard the notice. Your membership login credentials are below. Pay Membership Dues Online Instantly:
Membership dues must be paid no later than January 31, 2021. If dues are not received by Jan. 31, the member company will be considered delinquent and all membership benefits will be terminated until paid per the NATM Bylaws. Thank you for your continued support of the Association. Please don’t hesitate to contact Meghan Ryan, NATM Assistant Director, at Meghan.Ryan@natm.com if you have any questions or concerns. An excerpt from “You’re the Problem (and the Solution)” by Bob Clements and Sara Hey Have you ever had a small rock in your shoe? I enjoy running and have spent much of my adult life running as a form of exercise and stress relief. It’s a lot easier to run out your aggression than to punch someone in the face and go to jail, but again, I digress. I get that, to many people, this makes me weird, but I’m okay with it.
There have been times I have put on my running shoes and immediately noticed a small rock inside. Did I put the rock there on purpose? No. But that doesn’t change the fact that the rock is still there. Regardless of how the rock found its way into my shoe, all I could think about at that moment, is that silly little rock. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like or how hard my run is, this one tiny, annoying, little rock, that I did not put in my shoe, takes all of my attention. So, what’s the solution? I have to stop what I’m doing, take off my shoe, and remove the rock. Does it take time to stop, take off my shoe, and get the rock out? Yes. Is it an inconvenience? Yes. However, within a moment, something interesting happens. The time, pain, and inconvenience caused by the rock are quickly a distant memory, and I’m experiencing utter relief and able to move forward with my run. Successful dealers understand that often the changes they need to make don’t require a complete overhaul of their dealership or even a department. Most of the time the changes that need to be made are little things that have a big impact. You don’t always understand how significant the impact is or how much something was weighing on you until you remove the issue. The moment you make the change, things start to become easier, and the issue, like the rock in your shoe, becomes a distant memory. A small change in your service department that will alleviate pain may include having your technicians clocking in and out of work orders. Sure, it could be an inconvenience to implement this but, after you do, the ability to understand where time is going and what you can do to change the profitability of the department will change the department as a whole. A small change in your parts department might be the decision to burn down inventory about three months before your slow season, giving you the cash you need to survive a slower time of the year. It’s not often that your employees will take parts, as payment, in place of a paycheck when business slows down, and the extra cash can make a big difference to you. Yes, you and your employees will have to learn a new skill, and it will take time; however, the small amount of pain and inconvenience you experience will be paid back with increased cash flow during a historically slow time. In whole goods, this small change could be having your salespeople track their follow-up on quotes or bids and the results they were having. As we work with dealerships, we require salespeople to make a minimum of five follow-ups on any quote or bid they have given. Why? Because studies have said that most salespeople make only one follow-up call yet on average it takes five for the average quote or bid to be accepted. Yes, it’s a change from how you have done things in the past, but the effects of the change will create more consistent cash flow into your dealership throughout the year. No one puts a rock in their shoe on purpose. My guess is that you and your team are already doing a lot of things right or you wouldn’t still be in business. What will separate you from where you are and where you want to be is identifying where the rock slipped in and what you can do to get the rock out. Before you know it, the rock will be a distant memory for you and your team. |
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