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Volume 7, No. 1, Spring 2013


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FEATURES


Market Opportunities: Nurseries Take Stock of Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Highlight reliability, simplicity and durability when selling equipment to nursery owners.


Dealer Profi le


Create Your Niche to Increase Parts Sales . . . . . . 22 Jeff’s Small Engine increases parts revenues by supplying smaller dealers and the recreational market.


Season-To-Season


Heritage Tractor Creates Reasons to Buy This Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Challenges this spring: Turn seasonal optimism into equipment purchases and manage employee transitions.


How-To-Sell


New Ways to Sell an Old Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Dealers can move beyond only project-based selling of post hole diggers through effective stocking, package deals and rental.


What Rural Lifestylers Want From You


Ecological Lawn & Tree Care Grows Business with ‘Earth Friendly’ Approach. . . . . . . . 62 Owner John DeFilippi chooses propane and


battery-powered equipment to set his landscaping business apart. .


62 34


Rural Lifestyle Dealer is published 4 times per year (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall issues). Visit www.rurallifestyledealer.com for subscription information. Published and copyrighted 2013 by Lessiter Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to FARM EQUIPMENT, P.O. Box 624, Brookfi eld, WI 53008-0624.


4 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER  SPRING 2013 22


Exclusively Online Heritage Tractor Video Series


 Video Interview with John DeFilippi, owner of Ecological Lawn & Tree Care


 Q&A: How Are You Gearing Up for the Spring Selling Season?


www.rurallifestyledealer.com Time to Sell


to Recovering Nursery Market


§ Find Your Parts Niche § Create Reasons to Buy § Gear Up for Spring Selling


ON THE COVER With the nursery market recovering, it’s time for dealers to expand their outreach to this market segment. Highlight equipment reliability, simplicity and durability when selling.


001_Cover_RLD_0413.indd 1 3/27/13 12:03 PM COLUMNS


From the Field Sell to the Owner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6


Industry Q&A How are you gearing up for the spring selling season? . . . .70


Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . .77


Marketing Matters How to Choose the Most


PRODUCTS


Tractors • Fencing • Fertilizing & Spraying • Rotary Cutters • Seeders & Planters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72


Effective Spring Ad Mix . . . . . . . .78 Start with a website and layer in other strategies.


Contents


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