Ohio-Based Aaron’s Truck & Equipment Creates New Revenue Streams With Sandhills Tools

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Aaron’s Truck & Equipment's website is hosted by Truck Paper.

Aaron’s Truck & Equipment is a truck dealership in London, Ohio. Owner John Sells and sales manager Joe Sesnowich handle nearly all sales for the company. Aaron’s reaches buyers worldwide using Sandhills Global tools, a consistent quarter-page ad in Truck Paper magazine, and a Truck Paper-hosted website at AaronsTruckAndEquipment.com.

“We sell worldwide,” says Sesnowich. “There was a time when a big part of our business was exporting equipment to Africa. We wouldn’t have had that reach without Truck Paper. Truck Paper provides us with credibility with our customers. We sell in South America and have established relationships all over the country and world, and that’s all due to Truck Paper and its audience and reach.”

A Diverse Inventory

Aaron’s Truck & Equipment brings its customers over 40 years of experience selling trucks, trailers, farm machinery, construction equipment, parts, and attachments. Aaron’s also takes equipment on consignment. Over time, the company has become proficient at reading the needs of its customer base, such as local farmers, and catering to them with appropriate niche and seasonal equipment.

“Something that has kept us in business this long is that we have a pretty eclectic inventory. We don’t put all our eggs in one basket. We sell everything from skid steers to 7-axle dump trucks and everything in between,” says Sesnowich. “We’re able to recognize when the time is right for certain pieces of equipment, and we’ll actively seek that kind of inventory out.”

Understanding The Market

Sesnowich says a big component of the success Aaron’s has with Sandhills comes from Sandhills’ asset valuation data and market analysis. The company uses tools like Value Insight Portal (VIP) and market trend reports to learn which equipment is most profitable at what times.

Sandhills sales representative Kaiston Terry has also been very helpful in this area, says Sesnowich. “Aside from being extremely knowledgeable and helping me navigate through any questions or problems I’m having with listings or the technical side, he’s been a good sounding board when I need another opinion on current market values,” Sesnowich adds. “It’s really good to have the reassurance that what I’m seeing is what he’s seeing and that our numbers are pretty accurate.”

Generating Revenue With AuctionTime

Aaron’s Truck & Equipment has also found a steady revenue stream in AuctionTime, Sandhills’ platform for weekly online auctions. Aaron’s uses AuctionTime to sell its own inventory and to sell equipment from customers on consignment.

Aaron’s regularly runs print ads in AuctionTime magazine, including a recent cover ad. This generates interest for items before sales and helps listings rank higher in search results on AuctionTime.com and Sandhills trade sites, such as TruckPaper.com, where assets are cross-listed according to industry. 

Sensowich says AuctionTime results are a good barometer for upcoming sales. He references the last six months of auction results when valuing equipment the company plans to purchase. He also uses auction results for valuations on trade-ins.

“If I have to absolutely move a piece of equipment that’s not selling at retail, AuctionTime helps me understand what I can expect to get in a worst-case scenario,” he says. “We’ve also started to understand there’s certain equipment there’s an auction audience for and a retail audience for, and they’re very seldom the same audience.”

Embracing Pre-AuctionTime

On Terry’s suggestion, Aaron’s Truck & Equipment began using Pre-AuctionTime more frequently to move trucks on consignment from transportation companies. Pre-AuctionTime lets sellers advertise equipment at retail and wholesale before moving to AuctionTime. Terry says this has created a new source of revenue for Aaron’s, which recently sold a wheel loader on consignment for a concrete company.

Moving forward, Aaron’s plans to focus more on its parts business, including acquiring a bigger presence through Truck Paper to sell larger components. Sesnowich says, “John and I have really enjoyed our relationship with Truck Paper. They’ve gone above and beyond for us. I’m not sure where we would be without them, to be honest.”

“Truck Paper has done a good job creating the website we wanted,” says Aaron’s Truck & Equipment Sales Manager Joe Sesnowich. “Compared to other hosting companies, the navigation tools and basic layout seem better with Truck Paper.”

A version of this article first appeared in Sandhills Magazine. You can find the current issue and back issues in the Sandhills Magazine Archive.