Morning Momentum: Dr. Rick Goodman Brings the Energy to the NATM Dealer Summit

Donuts, coffee, a room full of trailer dealers, and Dr. Rick Goodman with a microphone. It was an energetic way to kick off education at the 2026 NATM Dealer Summit.  

The National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) welcomed dealers to Nashville at the NATDA Trailer Show with "Morning Momentum: How to Build a High-Velocity Sales Team," presented by leadership and sales expert Dr. Rick Goodman.  

Before Goodman took the stage, attendees fueled up thanks to session sponsor Optronics International, which provided coffee and a donut wall to get the morning started. NATM also thanks LaVanture Products Company, the overall Education Summit Sponsor, for supporting education throughout the 2026 NATM Dealer Summit.  

Then came Goodman with enough energy of his own to wake up the room.  

Start with Mindset  

Goodman was a familiar face for some NATM attendees after presenting at the 2025 NATM Convention & Trade Show. This time, he brought his rapid-fire approach to the dealer community, challenging attendees to look at their mindset, their customer relationships, and the way they lead their sales teams.  

“Whatever you focus on is going to happen,” Goodman told attendees.  

That mindset carries into how sales teams approach their customers. Goodman encouraged attendees to bring energy to those interactions and understand that commitment continues after the initial excitement wears off.  

For Goodman, building a high-velocity sales team comes down to three things: simplicity, speed, and efficiency. He also challenged leaders to create an inspiring vision, get their teams invested in delivering that vision, manage its delivery, and build relationships based on trust.  

Step Into the Customer’s Reality  

One of Goodman’s central messages focused on understanding the difference between a business’s operating reality and its customer’s reality. For a trailer dealer, that means looking beyond the trailer sitting on the lot and understanding what the person standing in front of you is actually trying to accomplish.  

What does the customer need? What problem are they trying to solve? What result are they looking for? Goodman encouraged attendees to use LAER — Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, Respond — to better understand those needs.  

“LAER is a deposit in the relationship bank,” Goodman said.  

Listening becomes especially important when the goal is to move the conversation away from simply making a sale and toward helping the customer find a solution. Goodman encouraged dealers to identify customer pain points, involve the customer in the solution, guide the process as the expert, and provide enough value that their business becomes the customer's clear choice.  

Bring the Energy Back to Your Team  

Goodman also turned the conversation inward. Building a successful sales team requires leaders to give their people direction, motivation, and a vision they can understand and deliver. Organization matters. Communication matters. So does the energy leaders bring into their businesses each day.  

Goodman also discussed how artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT can support sales operations, including customer engagement, lead generation, and sales proposals.  

With a full day of Dealer Summit education still ahead, "Morning Momentum" gave attendees plenty to think about as they considered their own sales processes, customer conversations, and teams.  

And the learning continued even after Goodman put down the microphone as attendees received a copy of his book, "The Solutions Oriented Leader," and Goodman stayed after the session to sign books, answer questions, and spend time with participants.  

The session set the tone for a day centered on learning from one another and bringing new ideas back to the dealership. 

The NATM Dealer Summit focuses on education to help dealers strengthen their businesses, build partnerships, and address industry challenges. The summit aims to provide valuable insights, meaningful discussions, and actionable ideas for attendees, covering leadership, compliance, and the industry's future. It's an opportunity to extend the educational experience valued by NATM members to a broader audience at the NATDA Trailer Show.