Mid-State Equipment’s rural lifestyle store is designed to enhance the shopping experience. A large showroom displays popular equipment and merchandise. Customers walk through the equipment and merchandise to reach the parts, ser- vice and rental departments and power tools area.
The showroom features 25-foot
ceilings, windows on three sides, and a center display area featuring popular equipment like Gator util- ity vehicles and lawn tractors and a collection of John Deere merchan- dise. Point-of-purchase displays call out specials and new products. An open path through the retail space leads to the power tools area, rental and parts counters, and service cen- ter. Before making their way through the store, customers are greeted by Cindy Reilly, the administrative assistant, or by salespeople, Jenny Green or Larry Schlender. Green and Schlender split duties to make sure every segment of the market is covered.
“Larry is on the road 50% of his time calling on contractors, commercial fleet owners, municipalities and gov- ernment agencies, and doing demos. Jenny is responsible for in-store traf- fic,” Frodel says.
Hanson and Frodel work to estab-
lish a company culture built on the motto, “You Can Count on Us.” “It’s putting the customer first and doing the simple stuff. When people walk in the door, you acknowledge them and try to make them feel wel- come. It’s crucial that people feel wel- come and are being helped. We let them know they are appreciated for their business,” Frodel says.
For instance, after a sale is made, Green or Schlender introduces the cus- tomer to the service manager and the parts manager.
“I know we can’t have 100% custom- er satisfaction, but that is our goal. Every customer is important,” Hanson says.
Adding Rental, Mobile Service
That “every customer” mentality led to Mid-State’s additional offerings for the rural lifestyle market — rental and mobile service.
“We always rented equipment to farmers and customers who were
ag-related. We found that some prod- ucts crossed over to homeowners and smaller contractors,” says Hanson. The store began offering skid steers and mini-excavators for rent. They added more equipment based on cus- tomer requests and vendor recommen- dations, including towable boom lifts, concrete equipment and various land- scaping tools.
“It brings a different customer in the door. It brings in the weekender that isn’t going to own right now, and it has result- ed in future purchases,” Frodel says. They regularly evaluate whether the rental divi- sion makes sense for the dealership. “We run the numbers each month. We make ourselves prove it all the time,” she says.
They also watch for ways to grow the rental business. Managers at each store keep a log of equipment requests. The decision to offer mobile service for rural lifestylers was also based on what the dealership offered its ag and large commercial customers, whose equipment is either too large or too numerous to transport.
“Could we do this for a residential person with two pieces of equipment, like a Gator and a tractor?” Hanson says. It also fit with John Deere’s
Video Interviews with
Mid-State Equipment
Scan the QR code or visit www.
ruraldealer.com to view the video interviews with Bryan Hanson and
Chris Frodel of Mid-State Equipment. They share best practices for how to be successful in the rural life- style market. Sheyenne Tooling & Manufacturing is the exclusive spon- sor for this video series. Topics include: • Focusing exclusively on the rural lifestyle customer
• Designing the rural lifestyle store
• Marketing and merchandising best practices
Bryan Hanson, president, and Chris Frodel, vice president, are the second-genera- tion owners of Mid-State Equipment. The brother-and-sister team’s best practices for management include monthly financial reviews with key staff.
• Setting up a rental division • Developing mobile service • Monthly management review • “Must-haves” for success
6 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER DEALERSHIP OF THE YEAR SPECIAL REPORT JUNE 2013
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