It must be good for dealers and suppliers at the moment

[thesilentone]

The apathy towards customers and people in general has gone down hill badly in the last 20 years. It is refreshing to encounter a Company or Shop with good service, that make you feel valued, these businesses will always do well.

One supplier of Cars (and power products) educates there suppliers to treat everyone as if they were a potential customer or influencer. Whether it be the cleaner, delivery man, postman or anyone who they come into contact with should be dealt with courteously and efficiently as they may be in the market soon, or know someone else who is.

 

[SRRC]

Best friend was Audi Quattro mad in the 80's, had several. Couldn't make up his mind about colour (only 4 to choose from if I remember correctly), one of the dealers he had spoken to called "can you come over this afternoon?".
So he did, the dealer had begged and borrowed and had assembled a line up of Quattros in the four available colours.
Deal done.
Beaconsfield somewhere.

 

[prlekija agrarvideos]

Agri tech fair in Slovenia.

 

[Flat 10]

Its fairly obvious that a decent amount of the money that farmers get in subsidies is ending up in the agricultural supply chain, hence why they can afford to pay 'salesmen' who don't attempt to sell anything, and have expensive trade show stands and not bother to follow up the sales leads so generated. It certainly doesn't seem like a sector where costs have been pared to the bone and every bit of potential trade is pounced on eagerly. Seems like there's a fair few economies that could be made........

Couldn't agree more.

 

[kfpben]

I used to work in sales.

At the Dairy Event a few years ago an African man came on the stand in full traditional dress- not exactly our traditional target market. We got talking and it turned out he was a vet from Tanzania looking for teat dip in 1ltr bottles so families with one or two cows could afford to use it.

We were able to do it and 6 weeks later a pallet of teat dip in small bottles had arrived in Tanzania! Probably my most unusual sale.

 

[Scribus]

A lot of dealers are saying they can't get the stock at the moment. It was noted on another thread that McHales have sold all their rakes for this year and I'm told that anything with a Deutz engine is waiting for said engine to arrive from the Deutz factory. Little point in trying to sell new stuff if you haven't got it, but it would still be courteous to return a call.

 

[FirsttimeFarmer1985]

It does make me wonder if the same people phone all the time asking about price of different items of machinery and don't buy anything and dealers get fed up of them and stop returning calls.

Any dealers/salespeople on here care to comment?

I guess it can work both ways. Demoing machines to potential customers all the costs that came with it, you would follow up with phone calls visits to the farm (never about) and next time you pulled in the yard there would be a new or 2nd hand machine there.
Not even a phone call back to say thanks but no thanks
I understand they may have found it cheaper elsewhere or didn’t like the machine but they wouldn’t tell you either way!!
Best one yet for me was calling on my area dropping cards in when no one about and one day the farmer was there invited me in for a coffee then bitched and moaned about how I’ve never met him and I don’t call in yet all over his desk was my note pads!!
Pointed these out to him and yet still complained it was my fault I hadn’t met him.
Not all sales people are bad just like not all farmers are whiners!

 

[Scribus]

It does make me wonder if the same people phone all the time asking about price of different items of machinery and don't buy anything and dealers get fed up of them and stop returning calls.

Any dealers/salespeople on here care to comment?

A lot of dealers won't put prices on their websites so people have to call and waste the salesman's time enquiring after them.

 

[Drillman]

I had a rep call yesterday, telling me how busy they were and then said they weren’t making any money and complaining that customers were using different dealers as a way of beating them down on price!

I said if you were a customer you would do the same. He didn’t have an answer.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him the machine he was trying to sell me was a lot more expensive than other prices I have on the table!

 

[Goweresque]

A lot of dealers won't put prices on their websites so people have to call and waste the salesman's time enquiring after them.

One day a machinery/tractor dealership is going to publish an actual price list of all their new kit, with all the options priced up too, at competitive 'take them or leave them' prices, and clean up. So you can go on their website, order a new machine, with extra options X,Y and Z, pay for it, and have it delivered without ever having to see a person, making pretty much the entire sales force redundant.

I really don't know why ag machinery dealerships have salesmen. They're just brochure delivery people really. Farming is such that the customer knows when he wants a new machine, no salesman is going to sell a farmer a new tractor if he doesn't need one. So the customer approaches the dealership when he wants something, not the other way around. In this day and age of the internet making all the information freely available to see 24/7 on any given machine, and videos of them operating also everywhere, what exactly are machinery salesmen for?

Get rid of them, put all the stuff on the web at competitive prices, and say to customers 'If you want one of our machines, buy it online'.

 

[Cowabunga]

Get rid of them, put all the stuff on the web at competitive prices, and say to customers 'If you want one of our machines, buy it online'.

There's a lot to be said for it. Not least that dealers would also be unnecessary and the farmer would sell his used machinery himself any way he could. If he could. Also assemble the machine and repair it himself. All good cost-cutting stuff. Turn the whole operation into something like Amazon.com.

You Click - You Buy - You Pay - We Send - Bye Bye.

 

[Drillman]

One day a machinery/tractor dealership is going to publish an actual price list of all their new kit, with all the options priced up too, at competitive 'take them or leave them' prices, and clean up. So you can go on their website, order a new machine, with extra options X,Y and Z, pay for it, and have it delivered without ever having to see a person, making pretty much the entire sales force redundant.

I really don't know why ag machinery dealerships have salesmen. They're just brochure delivery people really. Farming is such that the customer knows when he wants a new machine, no salesman is going to sell a farmer a new tractor if he doesn't need one. So the customer approaches the dealership when he wants something, not the other way around. In this day and age of the internet making all the information freely available to see 24/7 on any given machine, and videos of them operating also everywhere, what exactly are machinery salesmen for?

Get rid of them, put all the stuff on the web at competitive prices, and say to customers 'If you want one of our machines, buy it online'.

To be honest in recent times when we’ve bought odd new bits of kit it hasn’t been nessecary for the salesman to spend hours in the kitchen yabbering and drinking coffee. The majority of the work has been done via phone and email and a physical visit is only required on the rare occasion a part ex is involved.

Edit - I actively discourage reps from cold calling as it’s usually a waste of there time and mine. Any new rep (especially machinery ones) who does appear is asked to leave a business card and keep an up to date website. Then if they have something I’m after I will call them.

 

[Grassman]

There's a lot to be said for it. Not least that dealers would also be unnecessary and the farmer would sell his used machinery himself any way he could. If he could. Also assemble the machine and repair it himself. All good cost-cutting stuff. Turn the whole operation into something like Amazon.com.

You Click - You Buy - You Pay - We Send - Bye Bye.

Can you imagine the warranty discussions. "Sorry you didn't put the bolt in the right hole so your warranty is void"

 

[Cowabunga]

Can you imagine the warranty discussions. "Sorry you didn't put the bolt in the right hole so your warranty is void"

Up to the customer to return the machine/tractor to the factory for warranty work I should think. No dealer there to help with that. Either that or they sort it out for themselves any way they can.

Its not so far fetched actually. I mean the brand could employ three or four men, or two man teams, with vans to cover the country for more serious issues. What do Deutz engine charge for an engineer callout these days? Near £1000 sure to be, for one man to plug in a laptop and diagnose only.

Its the future. Beware what you wish for.

 

[Scribus]

One day a machinery/tractor dealership is going to publish an actual price list of all their new kit, with all the options priced up too, at competitive 'take them or leave them' prices, and clean up. So you can go on their website, order a new machine, with extra options X,Y and Z, pay for it, and have it delivered without ever having to see a person, making pretty much the entire sales force redundant.

I really don't know why ag machinery dealerships have salesmen. They're just brochure delivery people really. Farming is such that the customer knows when he wants a new machine, no salesman is going to sell a farmer a new tractor if he doesn't need one. So the customer approaches the dealership when he wants something, not the other way around. In this day and age of the internet making all the information freely available to see 24/7 on any given machine, and videos of them operating also everywhere, what exactly are machinery salesmen for?

Get rid of them, put all the stuff on the web at competitive prices, and say to customers 'If you want one of our machines, buy it online'.

There is one company I know of that is thinking along those lines but they still need a dealer network to service the machines, stock spares etc. So even though you might buy the machine online it will still be 'sold' to you by a local dealer.

 

[DRC]

To be fair the dealership locally selling kubotas and KV has MD and salesman that are very hands on , and will get folks up and running etc.
Helps if they’ve been on the spanner’s .
My friend and independent mechanic , has just started selling tractors as a sub dealer, and I’m confident he will give great back up.

 

[Scribus]

To be fair the dealership locally selling kubotas and KV has MD and salesman that are very hands on , and will get folks up and running etc.
Helps if they’ve been on the spanner’s .
My friend and independent mechanic , has just started selling tractors as a sub dealer, and I’m confident he will give great back up.

Much of a demand for U boats in your part of the world then?

 

[DRC]

Much of a demand for U boats in your part of the world then?

 

[kiwi pom]

One day a machinery/tractor dealership is going to publish an actual price list of all their new kit, with all the options priced up too, at competitive 'take them or leave them' prices, and clean up. So you can go on their website, order a new machine, with extra options X,Y and Z, pay for it, and have it delivered without ever having to see a person, making pretty much the entire sales force redundant.

I really don't know why ag machinery dealerships have salesmen. They're just brochure delivery people really. Farming is such that the customer knows when he wants a new machine, no salesman is going to sell a farmer a new tractor if he doesn't need one. So the customer approaches the dealership when he wants something, not the other way around. In this day and age of the internet making all the information freely available to see 24/7 on any given machine, and videos of them operating also everywhere, what exactly are machinery salesmen for?

Get rid of them, put all the stuff on the web at competitive prices, and say to customers 'If you want one of our machines, buy it online'.

Unfortunately the dealership that does that will go bust, because anyone buying will build their machine from the dealers list, total up the price and go to a rival dealer and say, 'if you can beat that, you can have the deal'.

The customer can approach the dealer now (notice I said approach not email) say 'I want this at this spec' order it and pay whatever the dealer works the total out at. Why don't they do it now?

 

[Goweresque]

The customer can approach the dealer now (notice I said approach not email) say 'I want this at this spec' order it and pay whatever the dealer works the total out at. Why don't they do it now?

Because we're all fed up at having the mysterious 'price' withheld from us all, and having to go through some ludicrous 'negotiation' process whereupon the final figure is revealed like some tablet of stone being brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai.

The first dealer who prices openly, honestly and competitively online will clean up.