New Tractor Sales Are Declining

[MinnesotaEric]

It's not just that, but certain degrees are required before you can even take the bar exam. Abraham Lincoln wouldn't be admitted to practice law today.

My grandfather graduated from the same trade school I did in 1920s as a mechanical engineer after a couple of years. I spat out with an Associates in Automotive Technology (mechanic) after two years. Now that same trade school is a college and engineering has long been a four-year degree and you've better go off and get your PE once you have experience, Meanwhile that same trade school was considered so lowly, that I had to fight and write a letter campaign to Congressmen so it could take my GI Bill back in the day.

If I had kids, I'd send them off to sparky and HVAC school, then get them to get a two-year business associates degree so they know how to run a business, then I'd urge them to replicate their skillsets by hiring kids out of school and buying more trucks for them to run around in.

 

[PreacherM]

I have interviewed many people over the years that had decades of experience in their field and didn't know anything. There are MANY in the work force that have done nothing with themselves. They coasted on the coat tails of their degree, experience, resume and the reputation of the company they work for hoping that the next boss they interview with will not be prudent enough to ask the right questions.

Unfortunately, what I have been seeing is many of these people get very skilled at B.Sing their way into jobs instead of developing the necessary skills to do the job. This makes the job of people like myself that much more difficult and time consuming because a lot of the interview is conducted in a way to screen for deception and fraud.

You must work with Dilbert then?

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

You must work with Dilbert then?

No idea who Dilbert is.

 

[TN8Man]

Problem with that is, most people won’t hire you without a legit degree. We’ve been conditioned to believe that degrees, especially ivy league degrees, are a guarantee of intelligence.

Problem with that is, most people won’t hire you without a legit degree. We’ve been conditioned to believe that degrees, especially ivy league degrees, are a guarantee of intelligence.

We have been told you need a degree to get a good job but a good hiring manager will put priority on experience and proven performance over a degree if they want to be successful.

 

[Hay Dude]

We have been told you need a degree to get a good job but a good hiring manager will put priority on experience and proven performance over a degree if they want to be successful.

There’s also a cost element. Hiring an experienced employee might cost you 100K, while a college grad might be 1/2 that. I know I paid experienced guys a lot more than someone I’d have to train, but at least they’d learn to do things the way I wanted them done.

 

[TN8Man]

There’s also a cost element. Hiring an experienced employee might cost you 100K, while a college grad might be 1/2 that. I know I paid experienced guys a lot more than someone I’d have to train, but at least they’d learn to do things the way I wanted them done.

If you hire someone without a degree but has the experience and proven performance then they should hire in at a higher compensation compared to the person with a degree without experience. People that stay at the company and move up the ranks based on performance with or without a degree can be very valuable to the company.

 

[tradosaurus]

If you hire someone without a degree but has the experience and proven performance then they should hire in at a higher compensation compared to the person with a degree without experience. People that stay at the company and move up the ranks based on performance with or without a degree can be very valuable to the company.

Experience can save you a lot of money. Mistake can be expensive.
When my Dad started as an engineer in 1950 right out of college he was trained for 2 years in the workings of the refinery. He wasn't just thrown to the wolves. The company invested in him and he retire with a pension after 34 yrs. Too bad that business model went away years ago.
So now companies get turnover because younger people know how to play the game. Work a few years and then find another job that pays more and keep doing that every few years.

 

[forgeblast]

Well back to tractor sales lol , I went to a local (30 mins away) kubota dealer to see what they had in the way of UTV/Side by Side. They had one really nice diesel on the lot but i noticed they had 20 bx23s with bucket and hoe all lined up with a lot of other equipment there too. I wasn't able to get a price as I was just looking and the salesman was busy with a client who was buying I didn't want to rush his sale.
I then went to a huge dealer of powersports and looked at the polaris they had in stock. their showroom was filled. So now its a waiting game.....

 

[rScotty]

There’s also a cost element. Hiring an experienced employee might cost you 100K, while a college grad might be 1/2 that. I know I paid experienced guys a lot more than someone I’d have to train, but at least they’d learn to do things the way I wanted them done.

I have seen the same thing. To me, that says that our educational system has really failed their students, and the parents failed their children. Neither taught them what they were going to need.

I used to be able to expect that anyone looking for work had basic work and educational skills. More education or experience meant they had more skills. That isn't the case any longer, and experience wins out. It shouldn't be so uneven.

 

[rScotty]

Well back to tractor sales lol , I went to a local (30 mins away) kubota dealer to see what they had in the way of UTV/Side by Side. They had one really nice diesel on the lot but i noticed they had 20 bx23s with bucket and hoe all lined up with a lot of other equipment there too. I wasn't able to get a price as I was just looking and the salesman was busy with a client who was buying I didn't want to rush his sale.
I then went to a huge dealer of powersports and looked at the polaris they had in stock. their showroom was filled. So now its a waiting game.....

Waiting for what?

 

[scootr]

Waiting for what?

A big sales event?

 

[TN8Man]

Experience can save you a lot of money. Mistake can be expensive.
When my Dad started as an engineer in 1950 right out of college he was trained for 2 years in the workings of the refinery. He wasn't just thrown to the wolves. The company invested in him and he retire with a pension after 34 yrs. Too bad that business model went away years ago.
So now companies get turnover because younger people know how to play the game. Work a few years and then find another job that pays more and keep doing that every few years.

I worked as senior electrical engineer and project manager when I retired from aerospace but I started 35 years before as a expediter (aka gofer). After a few years I took a military leave of absence and was trained as a electronic tech as I served my country. Went back to the company as a experienced electronic tech and received the 4 years in the military as retirement credit and seniority in the company. Moved up the ranks as a tech, then a engineer, section manager and then project management. They kept promoting me because I did my job well and they knew I could do the next the job well. I never received a formal degree but I took several specialty courses that directly applied to the job I was doing at the time.

My brother worked at the same company and also started at the bottom as a stock clerk and moved up the ranks to a senior project manager. My son is doing the same thing now.

In aerospace there were a lot of people bouncing around from company to company for pay increases but most of the ones I knew never went far. They were considered hired help that might leave at any point and the first to go when a layoff started.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Well back to tractor sales lol , I went to a local (30 mins away) kubota dealer to see what they had in the way of UTV/Side by Side. They had one really nice diesel on the lot but i noticed they had 20 bx23s with bucket and hoe all lined up with a lot of other equipment there too. I wasn't able to get a price as I was just looking and the salesman was busy with a client who was buying I didn't want to rush his sale.
I then went to a huge dealer of powersports and looked at the polaris they had in stock. their showroom was filled. So now its a waiting game.....

Thanks for the feedback Forge.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I never received a formal degree but I took several specialty courses that directly applied to the job I was doing at the time.

The big difference here is you pursued it on your own, nobody spoon fed it to you and then promised you a certificate at the end that meant you were qualified. Your qualification came with practice and seat time.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Over the years that I was in the work force, I have found that there are book smart people, and world smart people. Book smarts very seldom translates to a great employee. I used to prefer world smart folks, that could actually use their brains to figure out real solutions to actual problems, not the ones that would just throw crap at the wall, and hope something would finally stick to it. It is nice to see and hear that some lots re starting to fillup with tractors and farm equipment. Hopefully people will be able to hold off on their purchases long enough to see prices get back to fair and reasonable once again.

 

[rScotty]

A big sales event?

It would be nice, but not very likely to happen.

 

[Hay Dude]

Over the years that I was in the work force, I have found that there are book smart people, and world smart people. Book smarts very seldom translates to a great employee. I used to prefer world smart folks, that could actually use their brains to figure out real solutions to actual problems, not the ones that would just throw crap at the wall, and hope something would finally stick to it. It is nice to see and hear that some lots re starting to fillup with tractors and farm equipment. Hopefully people will be able to hold off on their purchases long enough to see prices get back to fair and reasonable once again.

I think it has to happen. You can’t combine high prices and high interest rates and expect people to buy.
The plandemic is over. Those sales were made. Now we are back to a non-pandemic mentality (for now-you never know what may happen next) and I don’t think we will see the “fear/panic” buying we saw in 19-21

 

[scootr]

Wait for it ... periods of out of control inflation are always followed by periods of reduced sales caused by the consumers reduced buying power. Reduced sales lead to incentive based reduced pricing.
But you have to wait for it... as the majority will. A few guys will buy. Most will wait.
Hey, we bought a car last month... not as nice a car as we wanted and we paid cash because we had to have something. Not because the market was enticing because it was NOT.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Anyone that buys a tractor right now is just asking to be fleeced. It's clear as day now this industry is headed for a major price correction. If consumers can hold off purchasing right now I believe they will be handsomely rewarded.

 

[forgeblast]

Waiting for what?

company deals/incentives, and i want a good down payment. plus i do not want to buy something new go out of town and have it stolen so I have a couple of months to wait.