One problem Todd and Summer King encountered when they bought the dealership was a lack of inventory. They’ve boosted inventory levels 65% over 3 years and work hard to turn around purchases. “There’s not a lot of money there to begin with,” Todd says, “so you can’t drag it out. Complete it, sell it, move it.”
get a trailer and put it behind a pickup truck. It becomes an ordeal.” When the Kings bought the dealer-
ship, they pushed for a more eager, motivated service department. They started advertising that technicians will work on any brand of equipment, and spent time and money to beef up customer participation in winter ser- vice programs.
Hillman says winter discount pro- ON THE WEB:
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grams on parts and labor, and free pickup and delivery of equipment for participants, is getting more custom- ers and jobs through the doors. In the parts department, Kingline started carrying parts for competitors’ equip- ment, on the theory that developing a relationship with potential customers could generate sales down the road. “Our main objective is that they come in one color and come out blue,” Todd says. “It doesn’t happen every time, but with their next pur- chase we might be considered.” The moves have been more than suc- cessful. Kingline’s 2009 absorption rate was 118%, which is outstanding whether it’s a rural lifestyle or ag equipment deal- ership being examined. The increased jobs booked in the service department generated $210,000 in revenue in 2009, and sales in both the parts and service departments have gone up every month in 2010 when compared to the previous year’s totals. “We’re constantly tweaking what we do. We have real programs, not used-car-lot stuff. We do it with flyers, direct mail, all kinds of stuff,” Hillman says. “A lot of it is word of mouth, too, with things I see when people have their equipment in here. They may not want to spend the money on it now, but I suggest it to them and, for the most part, they listen.”
‘Look Like You’re in the Business’
Most experts in the equipment mar- ket say rural lifestyle customers aren’t patient buyers. They’ll move on to another dealership or brand if some- thing they want to buy isn’t in stock. That was another rule that PT&E was ignoring, the Kings say. The deal- ership rarely carried more than a handful of each tractor and mower model, but in reality a dealership “has to look like it’s in the business,” to be successful, Todd says. “Everybody wants to touch it, sit on it, feel it.” To address the problem, Kingline is stocking more New Holland tractors on its lot, and has added 3 new zero- turn mower lines, each offering some- thing different for landscape contrac- tors and consumers. Inventory levels are up 65% compared to 3 years ago. Having heard about the high-qual- ity grass-catching system offered by Walker mowers, Kingline asked the manufacturer to carry their line and was approved.
After that, Kingline succeeded in adding Ferris mowers at the dealer- ship. The Kings saw Ferris’ suspen- sion system as a key draw for cus- tomers, and the decision was also marketing-driven. “Ferris does a lot of advertising,” Todd says. “We feel if we’re going to take on a brand, we
16 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER DEALERSHIP OF THE YEAR SPECIAL REPORT JUNE 2013
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