and then the drought came and nobody was spending any dollars,” says McGhee, referring to last year’s early spring and sales-devastating drought. This spring, the area received much-needed moisture, but the cooler temperatures delayed spring mowing and outside projects. McGhee says the dealership can’t get sidetracked by the unpredictable weather.
“From a sales point of view, it’s important to look at trends. You can’t look at just month to month or even year to year, but about how your business is trending,” he says. “We focus largely on specifi c model seg- ment growth, market share and gross margin trends. These metrics truly allow us to forecast and measure our business. The consistency of these metrics allows us to gauge year-after- year performance.” And, the trend looks good. “This spring has been strong for sales. We’ve seen a lot more premium buy- ers than in years past and seeing a lot more of the big box store type purchases,” says McGhee, referring to increased sales of its X300 Select Series lawn tractor over its D100 series of lawn tractors. They are also seeing more attachment upgrades being purchased, such as dump carts, rear blades and loaders.
Top sellers this season for rural lifestylers also include the X500 and
Heritage Tractor, Baldwin City, Kan.
Founded: 1998, with stores also in Atchison, Kansas City, Kearney, Lawrence, Topeka and Paola, Kan. and Clinton, Harrisonville, and Platte City, Mo.
Location: On a main highway on the outskirts of Baldwin City, Kan., and near metro areas of Lawrence, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo.
Lines: John Deere, John Deere Landscapes, Frontier, Honda, Land Pride, Schaben Industries, Stihl and Polaris
Challenge & Solution: Heritage Tractor strives to convince customers to both purchase John Deere and purchase from the dealership. Special events and new service and parts programs promote the dealership as a brand.
X700 series lawn tractors and the 1 series subcompact utility tractors. Commercial cutters are especially interested in the new QuikTrak stand- on mowers. Heritage is seeing strong interest in used equipment, too, with the dealership’s new website driving that interest. “We’re seeing an increase in email and Internet leads for used equipment. That has really picked up in the last few months. We might get 6-10 leads a day. A lot of people are feeling positive and a lot more are interested in check- ing out equipment and spending dol- lars this year,” says David Stockwood, marketing manager. The new website features pre- owned inventory prominently on the home page. Customers can browse inventory, request a quote or send in an email request.
New Service Offering Heritage is building on its strong sales with a new service program. “We’re putting together extended maintenance plans on the integrated solutions side of the business. We always run winter specials, but we wanted to put together some extended maintenance options and brand those unique to our dealer organization,” McGhee says. “We see it as a great opportunity to engage with customers after the sale.”
The new program for rural lifesty- lers bundles several years of mainte- nance with discounts, along with pick- up and delivery discounts. McGhee is developing a special name for the pro- gram and other elements to generate interest and make sure it’s linked to the Heritage brand. A similar program is being developed for the commer- cial landscapers that will offer extend- ed maintenance and priority service response times.
McGhee sought input from custom- ers to develop the program. “I had dis- cussions with customers and visited commercial landscapers to find out the best way to fulfi ll their needs and go beyond what their expectations are for Heritage Tractor.”
Heritage wants to make sure the
program delivers on its promise, so they are working with John Deere to integrate these new service agree- ments into its existing business man- agement system. “We better deliver the fi rst time to the customer, so it’s vital to have a tracking system in place,” McGhee says.
continued on pg 32 Ready to Purchase
Heritage Tractor’s Drive Green event at its Harrisonville, Mo., location brought in new and existing custom- ers. Some were just looking, but oth- ers were serious about buying. For instance, Everett Fields of Urich, Mo., is a retired farmer and truck driver. He recently sold the equipment from his sideline contract baling business. He has been a Heritage customer at the Clinton, Mo., location. “I’ve farmed all my life and I’ve always had a tractor,” Fields says. “If I’m buying, it’s going to be green. My dad owned John Deeres, my brother owned John Deeres and I’ve owned John Deeres.”
These days, he’s mainly looking for a tractor to mow his acreage. He’ll use his existing Bush Hog mower, but will probably purchase a loader as well. Kevin Jones, of Smithville, Mo., is new to the rural lifestyle and has never owned a tractor before. He and his family own 11 acres and need equipment to mow and clear trees. “I’m looking at engine response,
comfort and the ease of adding attach- ments,” he says. He had been working with the sales team at the Platte City location and came over to the event at Harrisonville. Eventually, he may con- sider purchasing a loader, too. Dave Vandeberg is part of the land-
scaping crew for Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Mo. He mows 68 acres for the college. The college leases two 72-in. John Deere riding mowers. This year, the lease includes a parts cabi- net, which he considers a major ben- efi t since he maintains the machines. Vandeberg says his dealer relation- ship is more important than the manu- facturer. He drives 5 miles farther to work with the Harrisonville dealership. “I’m on
Lawnsite.com and other discussion groups. People are always asking ‘Which mower is the best?’ My standard response is the one where you have the best relationship with your dealer. Machines are going to break down and I need a dealer who is going to take care of us,” Vandeberg says.
RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER SUMMER 2013 29
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