tractors, including 10-15 with backhoes and most of the rest with front-end loaders. “If we don’t start out with that many, we can’t keep up with sales,” says Little. “We want them ready to go for delivery.
“I’ve been told that I’m nuts for keeping so much equipment around, but a lot of our customers are impulse buyers,” says Little. “I don’t think a dealer can make up a customer’s mind, and too many things can happen in a few months. That’s my philosophy. So we really push same-day delivery. When a customer comes in and buys a tractor, it’s there that day or the next. And if he wants a rotary cutter, box blade or a tiller we always have those in stock.”
Besides the fact that the rural lifestyle customer also prefers to touch and see what he’s buying, Little believes that maintaining a large product inventory gives him other advantages, especially in this period of escalating inflation. “Lately, the price of my trailers has gone up every time I order. The last load went up $2,300 each from the time I ordered until they were delivered,” he says. “So if I have it in stock, I can sell it right there. But if I have to order it, I don’t know what the price is going to be. “I know it’s risky, but I knew we had a price increase
coming on rotary cutters, so I ordered $500,000 worth. That way, I had a better price for my customers and it gave me a price advantage over my competitors right off the bat,” Little says.
He’s also a big believer in having the customer drive a tractor and use attachments before he buys it. Behind the dealership, he keeps dirt and rock piles so customers can use the loaders and backhoes. If they prefer, the dealership will allow potential buyers to take the tractor home and use it for up to 2 hours.
Internet Sales Growing
It didn’t take Little long to discover that the Internet is rapidly becoming an essential sales tool for the rural life- style crowd. He’s also found that an easily accessible web- site can dramatically expand his market reach. “We have a website and now we’re selling product all over the U.S.,” he says. “This is getting more and more important all the time because even our local customers are emailing us instead of calling. People are just so busy.” Little says the dealership has even sold tractors from its website. “Most of these sales are to people who already know us and have bought from us. If they’re knowledgeable about tractors and know what they want, we’ll take their specs, match it to the model they need and email them a quote with all of the financials, pricing and delivery information. Then we’ll follow up within a day or two by phone if we haven’t heard back from them.
“If they don’t know what they need, I pick up the phone and call them. The important thing is it’s easy to reach us and do business with us. Customers like the option of shop- ping and doing business over the Internet,” says Little.
He also tells of a customer in California who found the dealership through the Internet and now buys most every- thing he needs from Little Tractor. In fact, he’s purchased four or five tractors as well as other equipment from the dealership during the past few years.
“I guess he just likes doing business with us,” Little says. “He got stung by a dealer out there and since he’s started working with us, he says he doesn’t want to work with any- one else.
“Whenever he wants something big, he comes down with a truck and trailer and picks it up and takes it back with him. He makes his living with his equipment and can’t afford to be down. He can handle nearly any repair him- self, but if he has a service issue, he calls and we talk him through it over the phone. He showed up last year at our open house,” Little says.
Hard Work & Customer Care
Phillips, the Kioti TM, notes that while Little Tractor & Equipment’s most noticeable success may be measured in sales, service is really the cornerstone of the dealership. From Phillip’s point of view, there’s no magic formula or marketing secrets behind how the dealership operates. “It’s difficult to define Little Tractor’s success because so much of it is the result of James Little’s personality and his per- sonal philosophies about hard work and customer service,” Phillips says.
“He’s at work at 6:30 in the morning and when the store closes at 5:30 he’s off delivering tractors, picking up trac- tors for service or evaluating trade-ins. It’s not uncommon that I talk to him at 9 or 10 at night. He’s usually on his way back from looking at a trade or dropping a piece of equipment off.”
“If I were to sit down with another dealer and they want- ed to know what James’ secret to success is, I would have to say it’s hard work and aggressive marketing. But, by far, it’s his business philosophy of taking care of the customer,” Phillips says.
“He’s instilled this in all of his employees and they follow his lead. They do whatever it takes to make sure the cus- tomer is happy. This has done more for his business than anything else because word-of-mouth advertising will either make you or break you.” Little says that his goal is to double sales to $12 million in the next 10 years. While he already has tractors displayed in two other lots around town for sales only, he doesn’t believe he’ll need to expand to another location in order to do it.
“I don’t think that expansion into new areas will be nec- essary and I can keep my costs down by operating out of this one location. That’s not to say that I won’t ever build or buy another store,” Little says. He also believes that simply continuing to do what the dealership has done so far is what it’ll take. “I feel like hard work is what will do it. If you take care of your customers, the rest will take care of itself.”
RLD
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