Machines4U Academy

As a machinery seller himself, Steve created Machines4U in 2006 to make it easier for people to buy and sell machinery.

Having been a salesman, he saw first-hand the problem machinery dealers had moving old machinery after a new machine made its way onto the workshop floor. Time after time his clients would tell them their plans to sell the old machinery, yet it would still sit there gathering dust or they’d be told it was given away for parts.

It was then that Steve realised there had to be a better way, and there had to be a way of doing things online. So, he started Machines4U—a platform made specially to buy and sell machinery online.

“Because we understand it [capital equipment] from a sales point of view, we understood the process and the problems of buyers and sellers, both ways. So, everything we’ve ever made in Machines4U was just to make it easier for both people.”

 —Steve Krebs

Machines4U has called a few places home over the years. The first home and the start of Machines4U was in a share house in Middle Park, Melbourne. From there, Steve realised thanks to the freedom of an online business, they could run it from anywhere. To test the idea they made the move to Anglesea, down the Great Ocean Road.

The next move came when Steve decided to rent their very first office in Port Melbourne and expand the team. This was the start of building a team and hiring salespeople. It was a big step for Steve to have salespeople other than themselves working in the business. And it was even more important for the people who represented the business to be like-minded and care as deeply for their clients as he does.

Fast forward 12 years and now Machines4U resides in Broadbeach on the sunny Gold Coast, Queensland. After escaping some of the coldest months in Melbourne to meet clients on the Gold Coast, Steve and Luke got a taste for the laid back lifestyle and beautiful weather it offered. So, they made the move and haven’t looked back!

The team at Machines4U is currently going through an amazing learning stage. We’re all dedicated to what we’re doing and we all know how to best serve the client. And that’s what it’s all about.

Now the team is a unified hive-mind and is ready to take on the challenges to serve customers to the best of their ability. It’s a culture that Steve has created, and that mindset has spread throughout the team.

The way this has taken shape is through a mantra we recite every Monday morning in our team meetings. This mantra is:

On the way we think, Steve says, “what are we delivering them [the customer]? Are we delivering them 10 times the value of anyone else on the planet? So, that’s the way we think and now all the people who work for us think like that too.”

The team at Machines4U all agree that dealer success is our success. On this, Steve says, “I think it’s one of the things that lets us beat big media companies in our space. Because, everyday we get up and we come to work, and whatever we’re doing we are doing it to help people buy the right machinery, or to help sellers sell more of the right machinery, to the right people.”

When it comes down to it, the foundation of Machines4U is set on caring about the people in the industry and truly helping customers see their results. It’s a big part of why we put the Academy together, so congratulations on completing the onboarding series. We hope you feel more motivated than every to harness the power of marketplace selling and use this knowledge to further your business success.