Lamma and lack of quotes

[Clive]

so what if..............

you could fill out a simple form with as much detail of the machine you wanted a quote for and that quote was automatically sent out to a long list of dealers all of which came back with their best price ? all this at no cost to the farmer

very much like CarWow www.carwow.co.uk but for tractors and farm machinery ?


who would use such a service ?

 

[jamesy]

Bit different to back in the 80’s when you filled in the little free post tear out cards from the back of ‘What’s New In Farming’. The bollockings I used to get from dad when reps use to phone him or call on him about machines he had no idea he wanted, I, as a spotty teenager just wanted the brochures to paw over. @Magnum Man was just as guilty as me! Oh the good old days !

Did exactly the same thing, only I was living & working with Grandparents. 80 year old Grandad was not happy about all the phone calls regarding new equipment he didn’t want!

Did a similar thing to ag college lecturer... signed him up for sex toy catalogue from an ad in the daily sport...... never heard a cheep about that one though!!

 

[Banana Bar]

I've started writing to them now, people who don't follow up or give you shocking service DFS Colchester case in point:


To the Sales Trainer, ( if you have one )

I feel I need to write this to warn you of how utterly terrible our "potential" buying experience was. This can't be repeated or you will end in a race to the bottom in terms of pricing structure against your competition.

Before Christmas my wife and I went into your Colchester store to "buy" a sofa for our apartment in Monaco. We successfully managed to walk round the store twice before someone acknowledged us. We could not have given more buying signals if we tried. Seriously, sitting on the sofa, measuring the sofa, taking the fabric samples into the light. Reluctantly one of your staff came over, no ice break, not introduction nothing, did the bare minimum to answer our questions certainly did not take our details, or worst still did not ask for the order. Criminal. By this time I was fuming so we left to look round your competition. Failing to find anything we liked we returned to ask about shipping. Again not acknowledged but evenly the same guy came back sat on the arm of the sofa with his hands in his pockets and asked "What do you want." Needless to say I left.

Roll forward to Monday, I had just finished 5 days at the London Boat-Show dealing with all sorts of clients from the general public to a Sheikh all of which were created with a smile, enthusiasm and guess what business was done.

The wife and I return to the Colchester store, where I was ready to deal. Blow me the same thing happens. We walk round twice and actively watch 4-5 of your sales staff enjoying a nice cup of tea and a pack of digestives. That is the most expensive cup of tea your firm has ever paid for!

Are these sales staff on such a high basic they do not need to earn commission. Is the commission so low they do not need to sell? Or are they just order takers? In fact they couldn't do that.

I would be delighted to discuss this further with you, my fear is this is endemic though-out your branches.

The fact is I STILL WANT TO BUY A SOFA!!!

Kindest Regards,

Matthew

Had a very similar experience in the Merc garage in Colchester.

Hope all well Matt.

BB

 

[Tractorstant]

so what if..............

you could fill out a simple form with as much detail of the machine you wanted a quote for and that quote was automatically sent out to a long list of dealers all of which came back with their best price ? all this at no cost to the farmer

very much like CarWow www.carwow.co.uk but for tractors and farm machinery ?


who would use such a service ?

Needs a separate Thread I think Clive.

 

[thesilentone]

I find the content of this thread to be a little depressing, mainly because it is becoming the norm, and not only in agriculture.

There used to be a saying, "there's nowt done until the salesman's done it" in other words, no service, no spare parts sales etc until the initial sale is complete.

Any enquiry for a purchase should be given 100% priority, without any pre-conceived ideas about " will he/she or won't he/she buy"

In addition, every enquiry should be treated like gold dust, especially if taken at a exhibition/show and handled and managed accordingly.

The ag sector has been guilty of employing enthusiastic amateurs for many years, the cost is efficiency.

This is a Sales Management failing, and one that needs urgent attention.

After Brexit we enter a real salesman's paradise........

Those not willing to get off their jeer and follow up an enquiry or think that quotations are not free, will soon become a casualty.

 

[Drillman]

so what if..............

you could fill out a simple form with as much detail of the machine you wanted a quote for and that quote was automatically sent out to a long list of dealers all of which came back with their best price ? all this at no cost to the farmer

very much like CarWow www.carwow.co.uk but for tractors and farm machinery ?


who would use such a service ?

I'm afraid it would be a complete waste of time as most dealers wouldn't reply or would want to call back via phone.

Personally Though i think dealers should use email more as it's a lot better to be able to go over specs and pricing than it is trying to do it while bouncing around in a tractor or pickup on a hands free system.

 

[Clive]

I'm afraid it would be a complete waste of time as most dealers wouldn't reply or would want to call back via phone.

Personally Though i think dealers should use email more as it's a lot better to be able to go over specs and pricing than it is trying to do it while bouncing around in a tractor or pickup on a hands free system.

I've started a separate thread as suggested above

https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/getting-quotes-for-machinery.209812/#post-4749980

personally find it hard to believe that dealers and salesmen are doing so well that they cant be bothered to follow leads !

 

[Surgery]

Lack of quotes probably as they cannot afford to buy enough chairs , please sit down before I continue

 

[Drillman]

personally find it hard to believe that dealers and salesmen are doing so well that they cant be bothered to follow leads !

I agree but that's been my experience recently when i've been trying to spend 25-30k on a tractor.

 

[Surgery]

I agree but that's been my experience recently when i've been trying to spend 25-30k on a tractor.

its called lazy and complacent , phone the owner direct and tell him what's going on , done the same and it's funny how the rights words can get a very good deal done

 

[Drillman]

its called lazy and complacent , phone the owner direct and tell him what's going on , done the same and it's funny how the rights words can get a very good deal done

Haha i had the owner of one company phone me once he found out what had (or in this case hadn't gone on) to say he wasn't happy was an understatement.

The rest can wither and die as far as i'm concerned. If there not interested in my business i'm not interested in there's.

Still some good dealers out there who do want our business

 

[nick...]

Very large plant dealer not far from me selling a world beating brand of backhoes and construction equipment,main dealer i should add.not many years ago the rep used to go back and forth between 2 huge plant hire companies and just sell to those two .both companies would buy in bulk too so rep just took his commisions and never worried about anyone else
Nick...

 

[Surgery]

Haha i had the owner of one company phone me once he found out what had (or in this case hadn't gone on) to say he wasn't happy was an understatement.

The rest can wither and die as far as i'm concerned. If there not interested in my business i'm not interested in there's.

Still some good dealers out there who do want our business

How very true , I feel the same , big boys tend to be run around after 'yes sir no sir new combine demo sir' when it comes down to the family farm size 'sorry but demo is out here there everywhere' or get some crap they forgot.

I tend to deal now with smaller firms direct to the boss.

 

[Sprayer 1]

In 25 years of buying sp sprayers, and the promise of on farm demos , not one has happened. I went to cereals last year to check the market as the sprayer is up for changing this spring and there were 3 makes I was interested in as well as my usual brand. They all phoned back to tell me that if I was to place an order it would be between ten months and eighteen months before I could have it. If I was still interested they could find me a demo. The new one will be here in spring from my usual supplier.

 

[Clive]

to be fair to dealers demo's must cost a fair bit to do and for every buyer there must be a load of tyre kickers out there

However not quoting someone is indefensible really and just lazy ! I bet if the reps boss knew that quotes were not being done when asked for they would be out of a job fast !

 

[Mounty]

Contacted a non ag company today for the 4th time regarding a repair to an item they supplied us with. Its their product and we can't go to anyone else to get the work done.
They've been out and assessed the damage but as we don't hold an account with them they need payment upfront !! Its about £1200 so originally I said, send the invoice, we will pay by return. Reason for 4th phone call today was same as previous 3. To get them to actually send the bloody invoice. Does my head in.

Also just bought about £7.5k worth of wheels and tyres. Asked 4 companies to quote, 1 did, 1 got quote totally wrong, the other 2 never bothered.

Contacted another company via email who make loader attachments. They replied and asked for some more detail and they would be in touch. Sent all the detail and said we were in a hurry. That was 8 weeks ago.

Contacted 14 ag dealers about used telehandler's they had for sale. Only 4 replied.

I once had a message to ring someone who had enquired about getting some soil sampling done. I was in a meeting at the time but rang him back within an hour of getting the message explaining I'd been in a meeting. He said, sorry, you're too late. I'm sorted now!!

 

[GTB]

I don't have much bother sourcing new equipment locally. Most reps are helpful enough and if they can't be bothered I shop elsewhere. The only place I come across lazy/snobbish reps is at shows. They are normally from the manufacturer and not from a dealership who could actually close a deal.

 

[76masseyman]

We may get better responses from the younger reps if we texted, snap chat, tweeted, what's app'd them or whatever communication technique they prefer nowadays.
I certainly find with some that face to face interaction is certainly something they struggle with at times. But if a person has gone to a show, surely that is what they're after, interaction.

 

[GTB]

But if a person has gone to a show, surely that is what they're after, interaction.

I find that in local shows the reps are always very keen to do a deal, it's the big national shows where no one wants to bother usually.

 

[Robt]

on a slight tangent. I was contacted for prices and Info. I spoke to the customer then emailed more detail. The customer considered my offer then kindly contacted me to thank me for my time but to say he had bought an alternative. Sounds normal. However in 20 years of sales I’ve only ever had a customer contact me on their own back to say thanks but no thanks 5 times....
It meant a lot and I will happily quote again should he request. He will know who is on here and with that business attitude will go a long way.