IEDA Podcast

Hosted by Kim Phelan

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Sep 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the IEDA Podcast, we support a network of independent dealers in the used equipment industry who pride themselves on being reputable, highly qualified professionals buying and selling heavy equipment worldwide. Our Members are all approved by our Board of Directors and offer their products and services to the core group. Each episode will highlight a valued member of our network and is designed to add value and insight that you can apply to your own business. It's also a great way for our listeners to get to know who the reputable dealers of the IEDA network are - not only on a professional level, but on a personal level as well. Leading the way is our Host, IEDA Marketing Director, Kim Phelan.

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60 recent

October 23, 2026Episode 7347 min

Luke Powers: Closing the Contractor's Coordination Gap

A machine goes down on the jobsite, setting in motion a series of calls, forms, and protocols taking place internally at your customer's company. Undoubtedly, internal and external problems will pop up — problems that our guest, Luke Powers, calls the coordination gap. These include information issues are tied to communication, capacity, and visibility, and it's just a matter of time before the dealer will enter the fray. During the 2026 Midyear Meeting near Chicago, Powers, who is CEO and co-founder of Gearflow, brought dealers into the world upstream where parts and service needs originate. In this Midyear "flashback" episode, he takes the problem apart and shows how AI is finally closing it. For contractors, the gap shows up in three costly ways, Powers says. Communication breaks down between the field and the office. Mechanics lose hours waiting on parts with no idea when they'll arrive. And managers can't see what's happening until it's already too late to fix. And the last thing any one wants is to fill out more paperwork. Powers explains why the industry may be drowning in data while still flying blind, and why the next wave of AI is about helping people make the right decision in the moment, not handing them another report to read next month. His solution is a new AI-enabled, natural language technology that dealers can white label that can revolutionize the customer experience with your dealership. If you've ever wished your customers, your counter, and your shop could all be on the same page, this is the conversation you won't want to miss. Connect with Luke: Website Email: luke@gearflow.com Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

September 18, 2026Episode 7245 min

Dave Lempko: Don't Rush The Deal

In this episode, we're unpacking, frankly, no one's favorite topic…naming and understanding an enemy that needs to be stopped: fraud. Our guest is Dave Lempko, senior vice president and sales manager for the equipment finance division at First Business Bank, a recent new member of IEDA. A veteran finance professional, Lempko has seen his share of fraudulent activity, and he's passionate about helping construction equipment dealers prevent it by knowing the signs. A major red flag: If a buyer is rushing the deal, doesn't negotiate at all, and tries to make you skip some of your processes, that could be a signal they're using a false identity and counting on speed to throw you off your game. Give yourself and your team a refresh on what to look for to protect yourself, your real customers, and everyone's reputation. Connect with Dave: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

August 21, 2026Episode 7140 min

Martin Roth: Participate in Every Deal

There's an "air gap" in the equipment channel, and it's causing your dealership to miss out on buying events. So says this month's podcast guest, Martin Roth, who is co-founder of a new equipment dealer-specific tech company, Filmore. "The air gap is the space between what's happening in the field and what's sitting in your system," he says. Data is publicly available that shows when a contractor in your region has won a big contract, signaling that an equipment investment is about to happen. Your salesperson might never see it, and neither will your competitor's — but whoever figures out how to see it first has the best chance to win the deal for the next machine they buy. "It's not that the information doesn't exist," says Roth. "It's that there's no plumbing between the information and the person who could do something about it." Enter Filmore. It finds the contractors in your market who are about to buy, rent, or need service on equipment, and puts them in front of your salespeople in the tools they already use. If your sales team learns about buying activity in the past tense, listen in how one AI-driven technology puts dealers ahead of the curve and provides real-time, actionable information – including the human contact – into the hands of your salespeople. With roots in the heavy equipment business, Roth says he and his partner created Filmore "because I kept meeting dealers who were buying data and not using it." Join us for some insights that will expand your scope of what's out there…and what competitors are starting to use. Connect with Martin: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

July 24, 2026Episode 6739 min

Justin Leslie & Jamie Luminais: Make It Easy for Customers to Rent from You

Over 75% of rental customers fail to meet insurance requirements at the time of rental. It's a stunning statistic. Verifying certificates of insurance (COIs) is not just a box to check – it serves as the goalkeeper for your rental operation in terms of transferring risk away from the equipment business – risk that could quickly turn into hundreds of thousands of dollars in real cost on any rental transaction. That much you already know, but what about the risk of losing a good customer because the process at your rental counter is slow and cumbersome? They want speed, but you need assurance that your iron is protected. In this episode, we're exploring the headaches involved with the manual verification process, the dangers of cutting corners in that process, and how technology can solve both problems. Two experts break down the solutions created by an AI-powered software product from Evident. They explain why COI verification is an ideal manual process to be replaced with technology — a technology that removes a logjam from the rental checkout, lets your rental personnel do their jobs efficiently, and can also turn an insurance shortfall into a revenue opportunity for your dealership. Protecting rental assets and unclogging bottlenecks isn't just for the big dogs. It's for all independent equipment dealers with a rental operation, and here's how you can harness a simple technology to do it. Connect with Justin: LinkedIn Connect with Jamie: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

June 19, 2026Episode 6930 min

Yesinne Alvarez: Credit Reports: You Need to Know What You Don't Know

Does your equipment business routinely conduct credit reporting for every customer and every transaction? In this episode, our featured expert, Yesinne Alvarez, walks you through the business case for understanding the current business health of every company you do business with, large, medium, and small. Regular and consistent credit checks are considered a business best practice, and it shouldn't be a one-and-done event for new customers only, Alvarez says. Credit reports help protect your equipment business from many risks: From guarding against fraud and theft to just discovering the legal name and real owner of everyone who wants to buy, rent, and receive equipment service from you, credit reports are like a second form of insurance. You can also use credit reports as a growth tool. All this and more are packed inside this month's program. Give it a listen and get ready to learn the benefits of leveraging this vital business information asset. Connect with Yesinne: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

May 22, 2026Episode 6833 min

Rocky Moretti: The Research Force that Helps Win Highway Construction Funding

On Sept. 30, the federal surface transportation bill — The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — will expire. How will Congress act? Will Congress act on time? These are key questions, and the answers will have enormous impact on states' ability to keep up with ever-increasing maintenance and rebuilds of their roads and bridges. In this episode, we welcome Rocky Moretti to the mic — he's the director of policy and research at TRIP – the National Transportation Research Group, and for the next half-hour, we're introducing what this major research and voice-to-the-media organization is doing to inform the public, state legislatures, and Congress on the dire road and bridge infrastructure needs of the country. Listen in as we discuss exactly what's at stake with the federal bill, how public safety is a major consideration, the trends that are hindering states in road funding, and what long-term reauthorization means to construction equipment dealers. Connect with TRIP: Website Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

April 24, 2026Episode 6731 min

Mike Harmon: Customer Insight Through a Lender's Lens

Tune in for some customer intelligence and perspective, but not from an equipment buyer…but rather from someone who has a front-row seat on buyer activity every day. This month, we're talking to Mike Harmon, vice president of sales at IEDA Associate Member AFG. A well-known IEDA sponsor and advertiser, Harmon brings us some market insight through the back door, you might say, based on his daily interactions with equipment end users as well as independent dealers. Kicking off with a look at trends and rates in the construction equipment finance sector, we then explore what's on the minds of equipment buyers — what they're concerned about and whether optimism or pessimism prevails so far this year. Join us as we discuss buying and pricing trends, too, as well as what dealers can do to sweeten the pot on a stagnating deal. Connect with Mike: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

March 27, 2026Episode 6630 min

William Zilinski: Are You a Good Leader?

In the early days of your journey to build up a profitable equipment business, you might not have put a lot of emphasis on what it would be like to become a leader. Now that you've got a team, whether small or large, applying good leadership skills may be on your radar, especially when problems crop up. In this episode, we welcome a professional counselor to the mic, bringing a different kind of perspective on what good leadership looks like – and how poor leadership can deeply impact the people in your company. He has spent 25 years counseling people with a wide range of stressors and problems, and for the last 11 years, he has provided counseling services to employees of the US Postal Service. Besides identifying good and bad leadership traits, our guest talks about positive ways to give work-related criticism, the importance of empathy, and inspiring employees to embrace your company's mission and find their "purpose." Connect with William: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

February 27, 2026Episode 6538 min

Alexandra Levit: Reversing the Hiring Crisis

If your equipment business struggles to find employees, you're not alone. Across all industries, businesses are battling to find anybody who will take their jobs...skilled or unskilled. And business owners are understandably frustrated. However, so are many young people. Some graduate college and can't get a job. Others can't seem to find their way, unable to connect their interests to a career and wage they can live on. Our guest expert this month, Alexandra Levit , brings fresh insight from her new book, Make School Work. This conversation will not only get you thinking about the key concept of work-based learning, it may inspire you to take action that will benefit both your dealership and your community. "Smaller companies are in the perfect place to accomplish a really meaningful work-based learning program," says Levit. If random acts of work-based learning aren't working – like doing one-off career fairs or giving one group of students a tour of your company – maybe it's time for something more intentional and long-lasting. Is this about apprenticeships? Yes, but there's so much more. Will it be work for you? Yes, but it will be a worthwhile effort. Levit hands you ideas and resources for creating a work-based learning blueprint that fits your business. But don't worry: "You don't have to boil the ocean all at once," she adds. Join us for some new perspective on a nagging problem you might finally be able to fix. Connect with Alexandra: LinkedIn Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon

January 23, 2026Episode 6430 min

Marty McCarthy & Brian Marron: The Business Benefits of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"

As the new year begins, many business owners are turning their attention to taxes. In this episode, we sit down with CPAs Marty McCarthy and Brian Marron, both directors at CBIZ who specialize in supporting construction-related companies. Together, they break down several key ways the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) affects independent equipment dealers. One of the most significant benefits under OBBBA is bonus depreciation, and our guests explain how dealers can use these changes not only for tax efficiency, but also as a strategic sales tool—while still maximizing advantages on the rental side of the business. The conversation also covers permanent increases to estate and gift tax exemptions, which can support long-term estate planning, as well as changes to interest expense deductions for capital-intensive operations. For IEDA members, these provisions present real opportunities to improve cash flow and make more informed business decisions. McCarthy and Marron emphasize the importance of regularly reviewing tax structures, accounting methods, and planning strategies to ensure dealers are fully leveraging current tax laws. Step one: tune in for their expert insights, practical explanations, and actionable advice. Connect with our Guests: Marty McCarthy Brian Marron Connect with IEDA: Visit IEDA Group Website IEDA Events Produced By: Social Chameleon