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.

 

[jml755]

Anyone else have experiences like this?

When I need parts for my "stuff", I always call the local dealer first and then do an Internet search. If the price is comparable and in stock, I'll buy locally. However, in the last several weeks, I have had to replace a number of items for my equipment. In each case, the local guys did NOT have the items in stock. Sure, they could "order them" but it would take at least a week, 2 in some cases. In all cases, I got online, found the parts cheaper (even including the shipping), in stock and had them in my hand in 4-5 days. Don't know if this is a trend, but it sure seems like stuff you could get "off the shelf" just isn't there anymore. Plus, I have been put on hold, told to call back later and even told that the p/n I'm looking for isn't in their computer without any attempt to figure out why. As others said, good customer service goes a long way.

 

[jlsmith]

When I need parts for my "stuff", I always call the local dealer first and then do an Internet search. If the price is comparable and in stock, I'll buy locally. However, in the last several weeks, I have had to replace a number of items for my equipment. In each case, the local guys did NOT have the items in stock. Sure, they could "order them" but it would take at least a week, 2 in some cases. In all cases, I got online, found the parts cheaper (even including the shipping), in stock and had them in my hand in 4-5 days. Don't know if this is a trend, but it sure seems like stuff you could get "off the shelf" just isn't there anymore. Plus, I have been put on hold, told to call back later and even told that the p/n I'm looking for isn't in their computer without any attempt to figure out why. As others said, good customer service goes a long way.

Not trying to be rude but dealers cant afford to stock every item for tractors. I do try it get the part within one to two days but that depends on where im getting the part and if they have it in stock or not. As far as being put on hold maybe they had a customer there at the counter they were helping. I know if i have someoe who walked into my shop looking for parts and someone calls wanting parts i will help the man who walked in first, and call the other customer back.

 

[TripleR]

My dealer will order parts he doesn't have and I will pay shipping if I want it really quick or he will bundle me in with another order to save if I am in no hurry. He will even drop it off if he is going to be in my area.

 

[jlsmith]

My dealer will order parts he doesn't have and I will pay shipping if I want it really quick or he will bundle me in with another order to save if I am in no hurry. He will even drop it off if he is going to be in my area.

TripleR sounds like u have a great dealer, I do the same here.

 

[TripleR]

TripleR sounds like u have a great dealer, I do the same here.

He really is. Davis Farm Supply started out in business in the 50's in Perryville, MO as a Ford dealer and picked up Kubota over the years and recently, three years ago I think, opened a new place in Fruitland, MO. The one in Fruitland is a fairly small dealership, one salesman, but they sure do a lot of business. The owner, who travels between locations will always go over and talk to the customers like old friends. We first met him on a cold winter day when we were looking at a BX2660 and he spent quite a bit of time talking to us about farming and just passing the time of day while we crawled all over the tractors. We have gotten t know him and we always pass the time of day with him even when we are buying no more than a filter or ANOTHER tail light lens for our BX2660.

One of the things we really like is that they treat my wife exactly the same as anyone else, don't talk down to her and are very friendly. I can't say enough good about them.

I sure wish you were in our area as I won't even go into the MF dealership anymore and we bought a tractor there once.

 

[TGF]

I have sort of experienced this but being a former business owner, I can understand both sides of this. I hope you can too.

First off the guy I deal with at my dealership is the commercial Ag sales guy so I am small potatoes, honestly he probably wouldn't even notice if I wasn't a customer but at the same time he does take care of me. He allowed me to rent a new box blade when I wasn't sure if I wanted one or if my tractor could handle it. He also gives me pretty good price breaks.

On to the business side of things.

I owned a computer repairs/profesional wiring services business. What I discovered over the three years I was in business all three of them profitable, was that 80% of my customers only made up 20% of my revenue and that 20% of my customers made up 80% of my revenue (primarily they were the three business I dealt with rather than individuals). After my first year in business I had 250k in sales and about 30k in net. My account and I went through the books and discovered that if I eliminated 80% of my customers and spent that time persuing more of the 20% that made up the bulk of my revenue, I could become more profitable with less work.

I took his advice and was able to add 2 more business the next year and my revnue jumped up to 330k and net went up to about 40k. The third year I added one more customer and had a revenue just shy of 400k and net of about 45k. At this point I sold the business to a local giant in the industry for 75k.

During the second and third year I did have several complaints from customers that I was not as availible as I used to be and pre-sales service was slow, however I made good on all warranty and SLA's I had in place.

I guess what I am saying is having been on both sides, I understand that the commercial tractor guy really isn't interested in my business and while yes he makes some commision off my sales, I know that in his own way he feels he is doing me a favor. Understanding this helps me remain calm and collected when a quote I expected Friday comes in next Wednesday. He has never left me hanging on needed equipment, he always delivers when I need him to.

 

[smstonypoint]

TGF,

Good points. It's amazing how often the 80-20 rule holds.

Steve

 

[MBDiagMan]

I have sort of experienced this but being a former business owner, I can understand both sides of this. I hope you can too.

First off the guy I deal with at my dealership is the commercial Ag sales guy so I am small potatoes, honestly he probably wouldn't even notice if I wasn't a customer but at the same time he does take care of me. He allowed me to rent a new box blade when I wasn't sure if I wanted one or if my tractor could handle it. He also gives me pretty good price breaks.

On to the business side of things.

I owned a computer repairs/profesional wiring services business. What I discovered over the three years I was in business all three of them profitable, was that 80% of my customers only made up 20% of my revenue and that 20% of my customers made up 80% of my revenue (primarily they were the three business I dealt with rather than individuals). After my first year in business I had 250k in sales and about 30k in net. My account and I went through the books and discovered that if I eliminated 80% of my customers and spent that time persuing more of the 20% that made up the bulk of my revenue, I could become more profitable with less work.

I took his advice and was able to add 2 more business the next year and my revnue jumped up to 330k and net went up to about 40k. The third year I added one more customer and had a revenue just shy of 400k and net of about 45k. At this point I sold the business to a local giant in the industry for 75k.

During the second and third year I did have several complaints from customers that I was not as availible as I used to be and pre-sales service was slow, however I made good on all warranty and SLA's I had in place.

I guess what I am saying is having been on both sides, I understand that the commercial tractor guy really isn't interested in my business and while yes he makes some commision off my sales, I know that in his own way he feels he is doing me a favor. Understanding this helps me remain calm and collected when a quote I expected Friday comes in next Wednesday. He has never left me hanging on needed equipment, he always delivers when I need him to.

I spent over 15 years in the Automation Software World, about half of that time in sales, only due to my technical understanding of the products and how to apply them, not because of my non existent sales skills, so I understand EXACTLY what you're saying.

That said, your experience is with B2B sales, not selling to the public and walk in business. With a walk in business, I believe that it is He!! for important that every person walking in the door be dealt with as if they're the only customer you have. It is impossible to tell by looking at someone if they are a little guy, a big guy, a tire kicker or a serious buyer.

My Grand Dad was a successful rancher. He loved to go buy a new car or pick up somewhere where they didn't know him. He did this while wearing bib overalls, which was not his normal attire, with hundred dollar or even thousand dollar bills in his bib pocket. I guess it was sort of his own study in Psychology.

 

[Mace Canute]

My Grand Dad was a successful rancher. He loved to go buy a new car or pick up somewhere where they didn't know him. He did this while wearing bib overalls, which was not his normal attire, with hundred dollar or even thousand dollar bills in his bib pocket. I guess it was sort of his own study in Psychology.

That reminds me of an older pair of farmers here back in the 70's. A brother and sister (not that you could tell which one was the female by looking at them) who dressed in the rattiest clothes you can imagine, came into the Chevy dealer looking for a new grain truck. They struck a deal and when the issue of finances came up, they simply started to go through their pockets and pulled out thousands of dollars in cash!

 

[johnrex62]

I can testify to the effectiveness of a quality dealer.

I am of the temperament that lends itself toward excessive preparation and research when parting with my money. I take great pleasure in scoping out every detail and comparison possible to ensure I have made the proper and correct decision for my circumstances and opportunities. I have taken a year to pick a VCR, 3 years to pick a car. I do not often rush a purchase, even when there is a need rather than a desire.

I had myself convinced for years that it was cheaper to hire my mowing than to purchase a tractor. 400-600 per year to hire mowers vs purchase price and maintenance for a tractor and mower, no contest.

Recently my mowers became less reliable and I was unable to keep my property in check while depending on their schedules to permit them to show up. I decided my cost for hiring should be updated to include my dissatisfaction with my overgrown field between calling for mowing and them arriving. This caused me to start window shopping to educate myself on what owning and operating a tractor would involve.

I foresaw this education period to last about a year or so, and the negotiations for a tractor (should I decided to take the plunge) to be another 3-6 months.

My second dealer visit, however, changed all of that. Taylor Kubota in Taylor Texas impressed me to the point that a mere week and a half into my education period I placed my tractor order. My wife was speechless and my children had my fingerprints taken while I was asleep and would have taken blood tests too if they thought I would keep sleeping.

My L3700SU was delivered at the end of the week and I have never been happier with a purchase or a vendor in my life. Every promise he made has been kept and he did a few things I did not expect just as course of business. My metal sunshade was not delivered in time for the tractor delivery, so he sent two men out the following week to install it onsite at no charge to me. This is a 60ish mile trip, and after a free delivery of the tractor.

One of the things that won my business on my visit to his dealership was his attitude and willingness to serve his customers needs over his own. The owner was working the sales floor because one of his salesmen was on a personal day and the other called in sick. The store hours were until noon on saturdays and I showed up at 11:00 expecting to poke around the lot and not much more. He spent a couple hours educating me on the various types of tractors, drives, implements and features I would like and dislike for my purposes. He did not just tell me I wanted HST, he told me why and how it would benefit me.

While he was spending time with me, a phone call came in and he promised another person he would stay open until they got there to look at a garden tractor. I hung around to watch how he treated them and was impressed by how he treated them as thought they were family when they showed up with their parents, brother-in-law and all the kids to look over the mowers. He was still showing them around at 3:30 when I left. His service desk people stayed the whole time answering the phone and pulling brochures for him while I was there too. Remember, the shop had a noon closing time and nobody looked upset or frustrated at staying past closing time.

I got the call from the owner at 5:15pm that my financing application had been approved, so we could proceed in choosing a tractor and implements at my pleasure. We made the application on the upper end of equipment choices applicable to my tasks based on retail price. We negotiated the package I bought separately knowing it would be less than the already approved amount.

The closest thing I have to a regret is that I did not know how much fun operating this tractor is and how many new things I could find to do with it. I bought bigger than I thought I needed knowing I would add chores, but now I see even bigger tasks I never thought I would consider tackling are within my grasp and would have been even easier with a L4400 or even a Grand L. :laughing: If only my checkbook was as expansive as my ambitions.