Selking International knows how to teach dealer operations. The Selking family has run an International dealership for six decades across multiple generations, evolving and steadily expanding the business from one store in Decatur, Ind., into the 11-location Midwestern operation it is today.
Shepherding a business that long in a mature, competitive industry takes real talent, and President Joe Selking says his family’s strongest skill has always been its ability to find great people and teach them how to be an asset in their operation.
The trucking industry is unquestionably stressful but it’s not impermeable, he says. Customer service drives success — not the other way around — and employees who are willing to make that their north star and learn the dealer business are what makes Selking International thrive.
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“We feel very strongly our customer service reputation is what sets us apart,” Joe Selking says. “Something we talk about across our entire organization is ‘Do you give a crap? Do you care about our customers? About our teammates and fellow employees?’”
He adds, “We’re a dealer. What we do and what [services] we provide are not that much different from the next dealer. But what distinguishes us is the service we offer and the care we put into what we do.”
That care regularly nabs Selking International honors as one of International’s strongest North American dealer operations, and in 2025 has earned it a position as a finalist for the 2025 Successful Dealer Award.
“We are absolutely, positively in the business of hiring good people,” says Jordan Selking, truck sales lead. “We can teach trucks, but it’s hard to teach somebody to be a good person.”
And having great people is the bedrock of the company’s entire go-to-market strategy.
“When we find a good person, we make room for them,” says Joe Selking. “It’s happened multiple times where someone has applied for a role or has been referred to us and we’ve created a position for them because we knew they could help our business.”
But the training that follows a hire shouldn’t be overlooked. Beyond on all OEM and vendor provided instruction, Selking International also has onboarding for new hires and specialized curriculum tracks for technicians, salespeople, parts associates and leadership. These courses provide department-specific expertise but also include cross-department variables and, in some cases, mentorship guidance to build the strongest, most well-rounded workforce Selking International can provide.
Those employees are then sent into the market as a true team, capable of working together to act on any customer need or opportunity to improve.
Says Director of Parts Patrick Johnson, “We are always asking for employee input on how we can get better. How the team can get better. And that is a direct result of us always trying to find a customer a solution to get him back on the road as quickly as possible.”
And uptime is more than just a buzzword around the business.
All Selking International locations are Prestige Certified, and its mobile service fleet, express diagnostics bays, external parts warehouses and customizable leasing packages all demonstrate a company driven to deliver uptime.
“We want to deliver more than just trucks,” says Aaron Selking, general manager. “We want to deliver uptime, trust and long-term value to our customers.”
Joe Selking adds, “Everyone has the opportunity each and every day to affect a customer and their business … . When we look at decisions, we always ask, ‘Is this good for the customer?’ and if it is, that’s what we do. We want to have long-term relationships with customers where they know we’ll always do right by them.”
The tactic works. Selking International has nearly as many multi-generational customers and it has multi-generational members of its workforce.
Senior Vice President John Selking is one of those associates, and he attributes the company’s retention success to the values his father Reinhard installed when he and partners bought the Decatur store in 1966.
“There are hundreds of thousands of books about customer relationships and retention but [on this topic] I think about my father a lot because his philosophy was so easy. There was one sentence that kinds of sums it up, ‘Do what you say you are going to do,’” he says. “What he meant was let your yeses be yeses.”
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He continues, “He would always say, we are not selling anything, we’re providing solutions to customer issues.”
“We focus on being easy to do business with,” adds Dustin Ringger, director of service.
That approachability also can be seen through the company’s generosity.
Selking International has more than a dozen annual charitable sponsorships and extends a hand to new groups each year. Within its business, it provides free health care for employees and has employee assistance programs to help colleagues in times of need.
“Sometimes life is hard, and there are challenges that are outside of our control,” Joe Selking says. “We attempt to go above and beyond to show our care in action and support our people.”
The Successful Dealer Award is sponsored by Automann, Interstate Billing Service, National Truck Protection and Premium 2000 and Procede Software. The 2025 Successful Dealer Award will be presented Sept. 30, at a private awards banquet in Nashville.
