Joel McCabe: Bobcat Advantage

For Joel McCabe, a Bobcat salesperson who started with the company 20 years ago sweeping floors, relationship selling is the backbone of his success.

"I do honest selling, I'm straightforward and I don't down-talk the competition," says McCabe. "I sell a cutting-edge product, and I offer my customers trust, honesty and continued loyalty, which I get back from them as well."

With a background in everything from parts, service, warranties, parts management, public relations and sales, McCabe came from 10 years with C.R. Tractors in Baldwin Park to Inland Bobcat of Riverside, where he's also been for 10 years.

After stints as both parts and service managers, he settled into sales at Inland.

"I very much like sales. You never understand the customer's needs until you're out there with them, then you respect them on a different level. The customers appreciate you much more, and they involve you in the success of their businesses," he says.

"As salespeople, we all have cell phones and business cards," explains McCabe. "And I wanted something different for my customers."

So he built a website, www.bobcatadvantage.com, where he's also building a community for his customers to access company information.

"I look at my website as a personalized calling card," McCabe says. "The website is a constant marketing tool, it's always available and always changing."

His goal - to develop a Bobcat community where customers can discuss issues and share ideas with each other - ensures all of his customers are always on the same page McCabe is.

And like all forward thinkers, McCabe is the first one doing this at Bobcat.

"I offer information that shows I understand what my customers need, and they in turn trust me to know what's right for them," he says.

Right now McCabe is catering to his customer base and says the website is well received. He says customers never had access to this type of information before, and as a result they had to trust that their salesperson was offering them the best deals. But now they can go on the website and see for themselves what the company offerings are.

"I like to make sure everyone has all the information...I treat all my customers like I want to be treated," says McCabe.

The key to his sales technique is simple.

"I like to say my ears are bigger than my mouth. You need to hear what the customer is saying before you speak," he explains. "And if a customer has a need and they're asking for you to be there, you need to be there, whatever time that might be."

His confidence comes from knowing what customers need and want. And since 90 percent of McCabe's business is owner-operator, he says he's able to maintain very personalized relationships with his customers.

"When I sell, I rely on my product as a whole and what it can do," adds McCabe.

And it can do a lot. Bobcat can maneuver in tight spaces, turn within its own length, and offers fast, secure attachment changes, of which McCabe says there are over 200.

But like all companies, Bobcat is a company made up of people - people who offered support to him and his family during a very trying time.

When his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer six and a half years ago while she was seven months pregnant with their third child, Inland Bobcat offered emotional support for McCabe and stood by him.

"I have extreme loyalty to Inland Bobcat because they helped me through that time," he says. "I also learned that nothing is more important in life than life itself. That makes it easier for me to help my customers, because sometimes what they see as a giant problem, I see an easy solution to."

As for what the future holds, McCabe says he'd like to add local outlooks on the economy, forecasting and future jobs to his website so his customers can gauge what's going to happen around them in the next few years.

As for the market McCabe's in, the Inland Empire includes 50 cities and two counties, with a population of well over three million, and destination spots including Palm Springs, Barstow, Desert Hot Springs and Lake Arrowhead.

According to the CB Richard Ellis "Inland Empire Market Index Brief, 4th Quarter 2002" report, the Inland Empire is appealing to migrating companies, and continues to be one of the fastest-growing markets in the United States.

Plus, the report indicates that as population in the Inland Empire continues to grow, it brings a highly skilled and educated work force to the area.

All of which can only help business - both McCabe's and his customers.

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