Dave Vandeberg (right) is part of the landscaping crew for Calvary Bible College in Kansas City. He tested out new mowers with his friends, Daron (left), Alex (middle) and Trevor.
continued from pg 29
Parts Program Speeds Delivery
This commitment to delivery is evi- dent in Heritage’s new parts program. The dealership has equipped a special van and hired a driver to deliver parts to its northern locations one day and to southern locations the next day. The program helps with inventory management and customer service. “As our organization continues to grow, we have continual challenges as it relates to inventory. We want to max- imize our inventory dollars and make better use of what’s sitting on the shelf. “John Deere has a good system to get inventory, but when a customer is standing across the parts coun- ter they want that part yesterday,” McGhee says.
He says each location will always
Retired farmer Everett Fields checks out equipment at a Drive Green event. He recently sold all his equipment and needs a tractor mainly for mowing.
stock common parts, such as mower blades. But, for higher priced items, like a transmission for a compact trac- tor or cab windows, they can stock 1 or 2 for the organization.
The new parts route ensures cus- tomers receive the part in a timely man- ner and avoid rush shipping charges. Heritage’s vice president of parts over- sees the deliveries, which are tracked in the existing business system. “We didn’t re-invent the wheel. Some other dealers are already doing this, but we fit it into our business model,” McGhee says.
Special Events DEALER TAKEAWAYS
• Be creative with parts and ser- vice packages to offer a compel- ling solution for your customer.
• Think of your dealership as a brand, not just the equipment you sell.
• Find ways to extend the reach of a special event, such as phone calls before and thank you notes after the event.
• Leverage your entire dealer- ship team for sales support and internal training.
Build Relationships Heritage takes a similar approach to its special events, such as the Drive Green demo events for rural lifestylers. They have the usual elements, such as food, tents, signs, lots of equipment to demo, and salespeople on hand. However, Jerry Stanton, John Deere project manager and instructor for tac- tical marketing, describes it this way: “They do everything fi rst class.” Stanton attends Drive Green events nationwide, offering customer training and dealership support. He says Heritage is especially good at advertising, relating to the rural life- style customer and making sure they have lots of equipment to test drive. (See the sidebar “Salesperson’s View of Customer Service” on page 36.) “They look at the compact utility customer as a true business with great opportunity for them,” Stanton says. Marketing manager David
32 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER SUMMER 2013
Stockwood advertises the dealership’s special events in several ways, includ- ing radio advertising, direct mail post cards and phone calls. As an incentive, the dealership offered $500 off the pur- chase of a tractor.
Finding the right timing to mar- ket special events can be tricky. Stockwood says it’s best to start con- tacting people about 10 days before the event.
“We want to keep it top of mind, but I know that I don’t plan my weekends a month ahead.”
Follow-up is also built into the event planning. For instance, Stockwood sends thank you notes to customers who entered to win the national Drive Green giveaway, a 1023E tractor with continued on pg 36
View Video Interviews with Heritage Tractor
View video interviews with the Heritage Tractor team by scanning the QR code or visiting
www.rurallife-
styledealer.com. • David
Stockwood, Heritage Tractor’s market- ing manager, defi nes a suc-
cessful special event.
• Dale VanSlyke, manager for Heritage Tractor’s Harrisonville, Mo., location, outlines why his sales team is successful.
• JD
St.Clair, salesperson for Heritage Tractor’s Harrisonville location, talks about the importance of special events for sales and leveraging his service team.
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