Over the next few weeks, TPS will share in-depth conversations with this year's six nominees, detailing how they found their way to the truck dealer business, how they've navigated the industry, their efforts to lead their businesses and more. These conversations will lead up to the announcement of the 2025 ATD Truck Dealer of the Year Award, which will be announced Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the ATD Show in New Orleans by Procede Software CEO Larry Kettler and TPS Editor Lucas Deal.
Mike Clark, Dobbs Peterbilt, 2025 ATD Truck Dealer of the Year Nominee
How did you get into the truck dealer industry?
You can say that I was born into the industry. My father was a manufacturer’s rep in the heavy-duty industry and I learned about trucks, freight and what it takes to keep trucks running at an early age. I even recall counting out trailer skin rivets as a fifth grader for my dad’s customers. Later, I worked at a warehouse distributor in high school, stocking parts, doing cycle counts and cleaning the warehouse. After college, I started my career at Fenco Truck Accessories doing a wide variety of jobs that gave me an excellent foundation in the business. I am truly grateful to have spent my entire career in such an amazing industry. It is a small, large industry.
How have you risen in the industry and your company to reach where you are today?
I have built a career by doing the best job I can at the job I have. I concentrate on learning from people, situations, mistakes and successes to create the best results I or a team can deliver. I have had many bosses, mentors and friends in the industry that have gone out of their way to help develop me, point me in a positive direction and coach me through challenges.
[RELATED: Dobbs rebrands Tennessee location]
I think some of keys in my career have been, learning from others, willingness to take opportunities that challenged me, a supporting wife and family, a deep desire to be exceptional while lifting and developing others along the way.
What do you like most about being a truck dealer?
I love having an impact on our customer’s success in an industry that is vital to our nation. Our company has an opportunity to make a material difference to people’s livelihoods.
Describe your leadership style. How do you pilot your business?
I consider myself a visionary leader. I tend to start anything with a picture of what success looks like. At Dobbs Peterbilt, we strive to be the best commercial truck dealer group in the industry. I like to find extremely capable people with a similar desire to excel, put them in a position to succeed, support them and give them room to be great.
What do you believe is the most important skill for a truck dealer? How have you cultivated that skill?
The most important skill is developing organizational capabilities that help our customer’s succeed. This happens through listening. The better Dobbs Peterbilt is at helping a customer achieve their goals, the more valuable we will be to them. As an example, we have developed our Uptime Center to support our products with customers by helping facilitate campaigns, expedite over-the-road repairs and provide a liaison to Peterbilt support groups.
How do you differentiate your business from your competitors?
The two primary differentiators of Dobbs Peterbilt are the focus on providing value as defined by our customer and providing an opportunity for exceptional talent to be involved in creating a top tier company.
[RELATED: Dobbs Peterbilt named 2023 Montgomery Transportation Group Partner of the Year]
Dobbs Peterbilt strives to establish working partnerships with our customers by identifying the key drivers of success as defined by our customers that we have organizational capabilities to effectively provide. By understanding our customer’s business drivers, we can focus on presenting our products or offerings in a way that supports their goals and objectives. As an example, a customer that runs all 48 lower states may value uptime as a key to their business. For a customer like this, truck issues or repairs outside their home network are often costly, time consuming and frustrating to drivers. In this case, we explain our Uptime Center’s capability to utilize our relationships with fellow dealers to expedite repairs beyond what they can receive from other brands. By matching a differentiating capability with a customer need, we separate ourselves from our competition in a way that is material to our customer.
Secondly, Dobbs Peterbilt is in the early stages of our mission to be the premier commercial truck dealer group. To reach the top of our field, we need to be unique not only in our ability to match capabilities to customer needs, but in the culture, environment and approach of Dobbs Peterbilt. At the vast majority of companies, these were established many years ago. At Dobbs Peterbilt, we offer great people an opportunity to help build a great organization. The opportunity to have their fingerprints on building something great is unique and creates a rewarding career experience that few people get an opportunity to enjoy.
What is the most difficult part of your job?
My job is very dynamic, one of the primary reasons I deeply enjoy my job. However, in a dynamic environment there are a number of competing priorities. Many times, there are multiple places, people or situations that demand my focus and attention. It can be very difficult to balance my time between not only demands of my job, but also personal and family priorities. The best way I have found to handle multiple demands is to surround yourself with great people and empower/trust them. It is also very important to communicate the demands on my time and choices very well to those involved.
How does ATD help you run your business?
There are three primary areas that ATD helps Dobbs Peterbilt. First, we participate in an ATD 20 Group. The group provides relationships with fellow dealers that introduce best practices, industry information and motivation to excel in all aspects of our business. Second, ATD has a very important and valued voice with legislators. Through ATD, we and other dealers can inform and shape the understanding and importance of truck dealer businesses on the industry as well as in our communities. Thirdly, ATD provides excellent dealer training that helps advance our employee’s knowledge and effectiveness in their roles.
Why do you believe you were nominated for the ATD Truck Dealer of the Year Award?
It is very humbling to be a nominee for ATD Truck Dealer of the Year. There are so many admirable dealer groups and leaders of these groups. If there is one thing that may have encouraged our nomination, it is Dobbs Peterbilt’s positive impact beyond our own business. We truly work to make things better for our customers, our OEM and fellow dealers.
