A longtime fixture in Des Moines, Iowa, Housby (online.housby.com) originally opened for business as a Mack dealership is 1969. Since that time, however, the company has grown into a nationwide, single-source solution provider.

"With the Mack/Isuzu Truck Dealership, Volvo Heavy Equipment Dealership, Load King Trailers, Transportation Division, Housby Online Sales, and all of the service associated with those companies, we have created a business model that very few can offer," says Jared Modlin, National Sales Manager as Housby.

A Solution-Driven Approach
Under the leadership of partners Kelly and Kevin Housby, the dealership takes a consultative and solution-driven approach to sales, Modlin says. It also provides its customers with parts, services, and rentals. In recent years, Sandhills Global platforms such as AuctionTime have added new opportunities for the company's growth.

"Housby has been pleased with the partnership on all levels," says Modlin. "Not only have we been able to utilize the retail sites for advertising our dealership product lines, but we have also had success with AuctionTime on moving some of our aged dealership inventory that returned strong pricing. Bringing us in on auction sale opportunities has really opened our eyes on how big we feel this opportunity can get and has gotten a large number of people within our organization excited about it."

Success with Truck Paper
On the retail side, Housby consistently runs full-page ads and occasional supplemental quarter pages in Truck Paper. "The increase in activity provided by accessing Truck Paper and Machinery Trader's buyer bases through those respective marketing avenues has yielded a noticeable increase of interest in our used dealership inventories." Modlin says. "It is widely known and accepted that these publications carry some of the most expansive buyer bases across the industry, and the leads that we have received confirm this fact."

Representative Michaela Wallace, Justin Coffey, and Jake Bergen assist Housby with multiple Sandhill sales tools. "All three have been incredible to work with," says Modlin. "There has been constant follow-up and all three have been open to questions without making it feel like it was a burden. The customer service, coupled with the opportunities all of the representatives have brought Housby staff in on, have been a great step in promoting our company's success."

Entering 2021 Strong
The year 2020 was anything but business as usual, but Modlin notes that Housby has been able to weather the pandemic better than many other types of businesses. "I'm appreciative that I've been involved with a company that has taken the proper precautions when dealing with COVID-19," he says. "It has created a need to get innovative with respect to completing normal business operations. I think once COVID is under control and the business landscape returns back to normal, we will be better and more efficient because of it."

It's still early days for Housby's relationship with Sandhills, but it has already paid dividends for both companies and opened up possibilities for the future. "We have a few AuctionTime/Housby Online Sales partnerships in the works where we will be tasked with providing auction services for AuctionTime customers that we are really excited about," Modlin says. "We look forward to the opportunities that will be presented in the coming year in this line of the business."

View the article on sandhills.com. (pages 26-27)