Q. AS PRECISION TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, HOW DO YOU SEE THIS IMPACTING YOUR DEALERSHIP?
BA – As more precision technology becomes standard on machines, the bigger part it will play in the support side of things. I also feel there’s going to be more demand for people in positions like ours where they have a dual role in support- ing both the sales and service side. While I don’t think precision aftermarket products will totally disappear over the next 10 years, it will be harder to make those sales. Fortunately, since we are an equipment dealership, we will always have equipment support. The technology that ties in with the equipment will need someone who can play that middle man role, which I feel will be huge going forward.
BI – I think precision ag will become more com- monplace as producers continue to get bigger and bigger. It’s just a fact of the ag economy. Larger producers need to have precision farming. It’s not a transactional occurrence anymore, they are buying smart technology.
GI – What it boils down to in the precision arena is, “Who has the best service?” Any dealership can sell precision products by offering big dis- counts; it’s the dealerships with employees who take care of the customers that matters most. We’ve seen that first-hand in our dealerships, where we’ve gained customers not because we sold them something, but because of our custom- er service.
HA – We will continue to look at what possibili- ties we have for adding precision at our other two stores and work to build relationships with those
Photo credit: Grosshans Inc. Mar/Apr | The Retailer Magazine | 19
farmers so we can recommend products that will meet their needs. This business is constantly changing, so it’s vital that we stay on top of any new technology available out there. We always are on the lookout for new products to add to our product offerings. For example, we recently picked up a drone line to sell to co-ops so they can sell that service to their customers.
LI – I think there’s going to be a big opportunity with data and helping customers turn this into knowledge to improve their operations. Our chal- lenge will be, “How do we fit in there?” I still feel we are the conduit that helps the data move from the machine to the right people that make the data work for the customer – not the ones doing the interpretation.
PI – The more productive farmers are adapting the precision technology for spraying, fertilizing, planting and so forth. This results in more one- on-one conversations with farmers about how data can enhance the piece of equipment they are using. At the same time, this data should lead to selling a better piece of equipment or an attach- ment that can help things perform even better. I truly believe that data is going to help improve equipment sales.
Photo credit: Grosshans Inc.
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