No Time for the Little Guy

[MESSMAKER]

If everyone had a tractor, you could make a good living with sales and parts. Good customer service comes from the top. If the owner/manager did not allow it it would not happen. You need to vote with your billfold. When you buy your tractor, send a photo of it and a letter explaining why you choose to deal with someone else to the dealership in question. If the salesman was rude( no excuse ever) add his name.

 

[smstonypoint]

I can't speak for any other area, but the economy hasn't affected tractor sales here as they are selling the heck out of them and my dealer added another mechanic to do setups, so no one can get a bargain basement price based on desperation to make a sale.

Ag. tractor & equipment sales depend on farm income. The USDA forecasts that 2010 net farm income is going to be up 24% from last year. Of course, some sectors are doing better than others.

ERS/USDA Briefing Room - Farm Income and Costs: 2010 Farm Sector Income Forecast

Steve

 

[foggy1111]

I have had the indifferent, arrogant, attitude at too many dealerships too....and its pretty irritating. Quite often I even feel this indifference at the parts counter...very irritating. Some of these guys act like they are shell-shocked, and cant deal with numbers or people all day. But lots of people are capable of a busy day. I don't understand it.

I think the attitude partly results from the sales guys not knowing who you are and they are used to working with repeat customers that are well known to them and their dealership.

I've found that doing my research and then calling the dealership gets me far better results than walking in blind. You may need to work one deal against the other to get what you want. I think these salesmen are used to working on the phone these days...and not across the desk as in time gone by. On my last purchase (and implement) the salesman cut the deal to the bone over the phone without me saying a thing. Never met the guy previously (but when I went there to make the deal we had a lot in common) and he still never left his office chair, but gave me a fair deal.

It's this arrogant attitude that drove me away from a new tractor purchase.....and to buying used, even though I had bought a new tractor some years ago and some used machines from this dealership (multi dealer locations) in time gone by. Still, they would not budge from list price....and I walked out....pretty disgruntled on the salesman and his store. (I now refuse to do any biz with this guy...he'd have to beg me.)

The personal relationship side of business seems to be lost in most cases. Maybe it's there after you have bought an item or two from their store?....but not in my case.

 

[RFB]

First, I am absolutely not arguing your ag stats; they are what they are.

Those facts notwithstanding, I would venture that the greatest percentage of the tractor sales and service that is represented by this site is not included in those stats. Even though many on this site may be farming/ranching, there is an equal if not greater percentage distributed into a customer base that has a primary occupation that is not ag, and use their tractors for non-income producing duties.

One post mentioned only X number of business days with zero callback. Unless the tractors are rolling off of the showroom floor like an assembly line, I find even one business day delay unacceptable. The businesses that I have mentioned on this site are exemplary in rapid response, which demonstrates that it can be done.

If business is that good, hire another employee; if business is that bad, maybe that's a reason.

 

[smstonypoint]

First, I am absolutely not arguing your ag stats; they are what they are.

Those facts notwithstanding, I would venture that the greatest percentage of the tractor sales and service that is represented by this site is not included in those stats. Even though many on this site may be farming/ranching, there is an equal if not greater percentage distributed into a customer base that has a primary occupation that is not ag, and use their tractors for non-income producing duties.

Note that I referred to ag. tractors & equipment. I agree that most TBN members are buying/using tractors for non-ag. purposes. Like farmers, non-farmers are more (less) likely to make purchases in flush (hard) economic times.

Steve

 

[arrow]

There is more to this as far as additional sales of tractors. Most of these places have other equipment to sell as well. That old adage of "mans virtue is written in water, his faults are written in stone" can never ring more true. Start treating customers with indifference or worse, that will get around like wildfire and will make thew difference between a going dealership and one that looks as if it got plucked out of a ghost town.

 

[jlsmith]

The way I figure it, is that the dealership makes good money on the tractor sale, and continues to make good money on equipment, service, and repairs. What I would like, and I would think it should work this way, is to be able to call the salesman I bought the tractor from so he could act as my "go to guy" for equipment and service support.

If I were running a business, that's the way it would be. As Huey Long said, "Every man a king."

I still come back to the basic question - is the dealership limited to the number of new tractors they can get each year? If I buy a smaller tractor, is it really a punishment to them? Seems to me that if I order a tractor, they make good money just by filling the paperwork out - they don't have to carry the cost of the tractor while it's on their lot, etc.

The other thing I would have thought, in a depressed economy, is that tractor salesmen would be hungry.

Not all tractor sales mean "big money". Im a small MF dealer and dont make alot on any sale. Yes im one of the owners/salesman/partsperson and sevice man, along with the others that workhere. Everyone that walks threw my doors is welcomed and treated just like the guy that just spent 100k rather its a new tractor or a 50 cent part. As for a manufacturer telling dealer "this is what ur getting on ur lot" this is not true for us. We pick what we want and if we dont have what the customer wants then we get it either from another dealer of straight from the company. Uselly alot faster to transfer from another dealer thow. Not all dealers are bad but sadly there are a few out there. If ur ever in Tx stop by and well have lunch.:thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

Ag. tractor & equipment sales depend on farm income. The USDA forecasts that 2010 net farm income is going to be up 24% from last year. Of course, some sectors are doing better than others.

ERS/USDA Briefing Room - Farm Income and Costs: 2010 Farm Sector Income Forecast

Steve

My wife retired from USDA and we own some farms, so I know a little bit about all of that though certainly not an expert.

All I can say is "in my area" tractors of all types are selling really fast. Most going out of my dealer are non Ag related and no salesman I have spoken to is desperate as was hinted in an earlier post regardless of the economics.

In my experience, a heavy debt load and poor income in any given year does not really affect farmers like you might think; should maybe, but doesn't.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Not all tractor sales mean "big money". Im a small MF dealer and dont make alot on any sale. Yes im one of the owners/salesman/partsperson and sevice man, along with the others that workhere. Everyone that walks threw my doors is welcomed and treated just like the guy that just spent 100k rather its a new tractor or a 50 cent part. As for a manufacturer telling dealer "this is what ur getting on ur lot" this is not true for us. We pick what we want and if we dont have what the customer wants then we get it either from another dealer of straight from the company. Uselly alot faster to transfer from another dealer thow. Not all dealers are bad but sadly there are a few out there. If ur ever in Tx stop by and well have lunch.:thumbsup:

If I were further South I would be doing business with you. I've dealt with a number of outfits like yours over the years and I usually drive past several competitors to get to your kiind of business.

I live in Lamar County, 20 miles out of Paris on the Red River. A little too far away in your case.

Keep up the good work.

 

[jlsmith]

If I were further South I would be doing business with you. I've dealt with a number of outfits like yours over the years and I usually drive past several competitors to get to your kiind of business.

I live in Lamar County, 20 miles out of Paris on the Red River. A little too far away in your case.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Ive done alot of fishing on the Red River and know where u are. I lived in Paris for a while and grew up in New Boston.