dealer profile

Burke Outdoor Combines Product Sales with Industry Knowledge

By Heather Wilson

In 1996 , Burke Outdoor opened its doors in the foothills between Charlotte and Asheville , North Carolina . Approaching three decades of sales and service , the dealership continues to innovate and serve its customers .

“ My mom and dad started it ,” said General Manager Rein Behlke , III . “ My dad started working at another power equipment dealership in town when he was 14 or 15 years old . So , he had roots in it . Then , he had an opportunity to purchase the power equipment portion of an ACE hardware in town .”

With a variety of brands , from Scag to Ferris to Stihl and more , Behlke has tried to fine tune and reduce brand offerings to ease the sales presentation process .

“ We had Echo , Husqvarna and Stihl when we started , and we ’ ve narrowed it down to Stihl for handheld equipment ,” Behlke said . “ We spend less time explaining . There are still a tremendous number of models within each brand . We get what we feel are the best brands for that task .”

He said building relationships with suppliers is key to success with the brands they carry . “ You can have the best products in the world , but if you can ’ t get along with the suppliers or if they don ’ t offer the support we need to take care of our customers , then it ’ s basically worthless ,” Behlke said . “ We are big on relationships . I may be able to get something cheaper somewhere else , but if I ’ ve got an ongoing relationship and it costs me a little bit more , we ’ re going to maintain that and be loyal to that company .”

Filling a Need Shortly after the dealership began carrying specialty equipment for arborists , about two or three years ago , Behlke was approached by one of his customers who had been in the industry for going on 30 years .

“ He asked if we would have any interest in creating grassroots arborist educational meetings or a series of sorts ,” Behlke said . “ I was thrilled that he was even interested , because we were trying to get into the arborist niche and learn as much as we can .”

They began to work together to create small , informal canopy classes at a facility about a quarter mile down the road that has large , mature trees that allows for them to demonstrate techniques and such .

“ Now , we ’ ve established a committee of about four or five professional arborists , so we try to sit down and discuss the class content and get a schedule together ,” he added .

The dealership handles the majority of the organizing and marketing of it , as well as recruiting sponsorship for giveaways . Attendance averages 40-50 people ; some people drive as much as four hours to the class .

Located in the foothills north of Charlotte , N . C . Burke Outdoor serves a growing client base with equipment and education .

30 OPE Business July 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com