14 • April 2025 • Powersports Business

Some of you may know that I have recently pivoted within the powersports industry. While I wouldn’ t say that I was fully recruited, drafted or traded for this MELISSA COFFEY position, it was rather the perfect intersection of timing, opportunity and years of relationship building that landed me with Action Recruiting. While this first month has been nothing short of exhilarating and full immersion, I have received many questions from y’ all about what we do and how we do it— so here goes.

Whether or not you have worked in the motorcycle or powersports industry, recruiting for it might seem pretty straightforward. Post a job, review some resumes, conduct a couple of interviews, and voila— new hire. However, those of us in the trenches know better. Recruiting in this niche world is a unique blend of research, instinct, industry insight, and relationship building.

Here are 10 things most people don’ t know about recruiting in the motorcycle and powersports industry:

1. The best recruiters would never flip a resume. A strong recruiter doesn’ t mindlessly pass along a stack of resumes, hoping one sticks. Instead, we curate, and vet candidates based on in-depth conversations, personality fit, and long-term compatibility with the role and company culture. A piece of paper only tells a fraction of the story.

2. The most important part of recruiting happens before the first candidate is contacted. Research is everything. We dive deep into the role, the company, the market, and the potential talent pool before we ever make a single outreach. Great recruiting starts with preparation— it’ s about knowing exactly who you’ re looking for and why they’ d say yes.

3. We’ re a bit like bartenders or hairstylists. Candidates tell us things they wouldn’ t dream of saying in an interview— about their goals, frustrations, work environments, and personal lives. Why? Because we’ re a safe space. They trust us to keep things confidential and help guide them through big decisions. The human side of recruiting is often the most important part.

4. Sometimes it takes one phone call, and sometimes it takes six months. Recruiting is never predictable. There are weeks when the stars align, and we place someone with a single email. Other times, it’ s a long game of timing, follow-ups, and perseverance. Every placement has its own rhythm.

5. It’ s a small world and practicing confidentiality is critical. If someone is let go at 9 a. m. on a Tuesday, it’ s not unusual for us to hear both sides of the story by 10 a. m. That’ s the nature of a tight-knit industry— word travels fast, and relationships matter. We have to be thoughtful, respectful, and discreet in everything we do.

6. We obsess over fit. At Action Recruiting, we don’ t just send candidates— we send the right ones. Every finalist goes through a deep-dive video meeting where we explore not just skills, but motivations, communication style, and longterm goals. We also offer complimentary professional reference checks at the end of the process to help clients make confident hiring decisions.

7. Most recruiters work in silos. We don’ t. A lot of recruiters operate alone from start to finish. At Action, we do things differently. We collaborate as a team, which means more perspectives, more feedback and, ultimately, stronger results. When multiple experienced recruiters put eyes on a candidate, the cream rises to the top.

8. Every day feels like a scavenger hunt. We’ re constantly searching— digging through LinkedIn, calling old contacts, reading between the lines of resumes, and piecing together candidate stories. Some days we’ re detectives, other days we’ re matchmakers. But there’ s never a dull moment.

9. It takes one to know one. Sure, you can be a generalist recruiter and try to place someone in the industry, but there’ s a difference when you’ ve lived inside the bubble for 20 or 30 years. Industry insiders who know the culture, the customers, and the quirks do well in talent search. That kind of insight can’ t be faked— it’ s what gives us the edge. We are consumers, enthusiasts and industry veterans.

10. We work when others don’ t. Our candidates are wrenching, riding, and selling during normal business hours. That means we have to be available early in the morning, after dinner, or on weekends. The job doesn’ t fit neatly into a 9−to−5 box— and honestly, we’ re okay with that. This industry runs on passion, and so do we.

Recruiting in the motorcycle and powersports world is equal parts science and art. It takes patience, grit, empathy, and a true love for the industry. At the end of the day, we’ re not just filling seats— we’ re helping businesses grow and people find the next great chapter in their careers. And if we’ re doing our job right, you’ ll never even see the ten things on this list. You’ ll just see the results.

Till next time, shiny side up and checkered flags!

Melissa Coffey is a 2x PSB“ Women With Spark” award winner and a powersports & motorsports industry veteran. She currently serves as a full-time Executive Recruiter with ACTION Recruiting and oversees her consulting firm CATCH.

BY GLENN HANSEN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Here is our annual look at social media trends for service professionals, business owners, marketers and casual users of any social media property. In this third-annual report, I again referred to the work of Minneapolis-based social media expert Arik Hanson. I add my perspectives as a social media user and insider in the outdoor power equipment and powrsports industries. I boiled down Hanson’ s predictions into five ideas— let’ s get to it.

1. MAYBE REDDIT ACTUALLY IS A PLACE FOR BRANDS

Hanson points to REI’ s CEO Jerry Strizke who took to r / campingandhiking to do an AMA last fall( and to plug that the company gave all employees a paid day off on Black Friday). Many of the users who have loved Reddit for years have been anti brand interaction, thinking it as too promotional. Is this a trend? Could this work for smaller brands with less passionate followers than REI? Hanson shares three points in support of brands raising their own awareness of Reddit:

• Reddit results showing up in Google searches

• Reddit is offering more advertising options

• Reddit is what social was originally meant to be, an unfiltered community-focused discussion place. I see OPE brands on Reddit such as

Mammotion Technology, Milwaukee Tools, and Ego. Active user communities exist around big brands like John Deere, which should be monitoring this community closing.

With other social sites losing popularity, including Twitter / X, Facebook and Instagram, or leaving the U. S.( TikTok), Reddit can gain attention and users. At the very least, search Reddit communities to learn if there is an opportunity for your brand, expertise or service. And join user communities to listen and learn about product use trends and consumer needs.

The site has seen a greater-than 40 % increase in daily actives over the past year, outpacing every other social app’ s growth. Reddit said that, in December, it averaged 101.7 million daily active users. As reported by SocialMediaToday. com, Reddit made a deal with Google that allows the search giant to display Reddit insights in Search, while also using Reddit’ s trove of product-related discussion to help power its AI responses via its Gemini tools. That’ s seen Reddit get a lot more exposure in Google’ s products. And it has helped Reddit boost its stock price, and improve its market standing, making it the hot social media sector buy of the moment.

The site has received some criticism of late for its new use of an“ AI-powered conversational interface”( that’ s Reddit’ s term). I’ m a casual fan of Reddit, and I do follow sub-Reddits like r / photography, r / motorcycles and r / xcountryskiing. Though many users of such online forums loathe to interact with company officials, most people today appreciate helpful advice from experts, including manufacturer representatives. It’ s all in the communication style. Be helpful; don’ t sell.

2. LINKEDIN, FOR THREE REASONS Hanson is bullish on LinkedIn for 2025, and three of his top trends involve the Microsoft-owned professional social platform. We combine them into one here( and we plan to make this professional platform a focus for OPE + in 2025). LinkedIn is a good opportunity for any business professional, not just job seekers. The site’ s B2B focus makes it perfect for professional communication. Yes, you will see some personal posts( even“ political” ones). But this isn’ t Facebook, and the personal side is a positive trend according to Hanson.

First, consider a LinkedIn newsletter. The site has infrastructure that makes it easy for people and brands to create newsletters, and the analytics are excellent. According to Hanson, companies that create LinkedIn newsletters find very high subscription rates. Hanson suggests you create a LinkedIn newsletter if you can fulfill it at least once a month, or ideally every week. Be careful, though, and don’ t make LinkedIn your only distribution source for a newsletter. Doing so would put LinkedIn, not you, in control of your audience. Build and maintain your own email list and supplement it with other communication platforms.

Second, be unique and thought-provoking with your LinkedIn posting; be a thought leader. Hanson posits that 2025 could be the year of the LinkedIn“ influencer.” He’ s not saying you should strive to become a LinkedIn influencer, though that possibility exists for active thought leaders. He is saying you should find those LinkedIn users in your industry who have influential content, then engage with them or even partner with them to take advantage of their influence.

Third, Hanson points to the personality trend he’ s seen developing on LinkedIn.“ Real is going to win in 2025,” said Hanson. By“ real,” he means personal and authentic content that shows your humanity and vulnerability, your successes and lessons( failures?), your personal story and professional story. Hanson notes this LinkedIn trend is used by CEOs, managers, and employees across an organization who want social media, LinkedIn specifically, to be more honest and less polished. It’ s not for everyone, but it’ s worth a try. Hanson advises owners and marketers to:

• Identify your employees who want to be on LinkedIn. Focus on them, forget the others.