A second manufacturers’ complaint we hear consistently, especially from independent shortlines, “How do I motivate dealers to sell my equipment?”
Some companies are fortunate enough to have partnerships with mainline manufacturers. This ties the financing of a shortline implement to the same ticket as the mainline tractor — making it much easier for the customer to buy. So every time a tractor sells, it’s that much easier to sell an implement. But independent shortline manufacturers have trouble making those sales, because without that partnership, dealers aren’t motivated to push shortline products.
We address this in the dealer side of the book, but we also have some suggestions on the manufacturing side of things to help independent shortlines to move more iron!
- Focus on Customer Service
Being a smaller fish in a big pond means you have to focus on things other than name recognition. The best way to set yourself apart is through customer service. Your products are well built, but if they break, they should be the easiest to get fixed. A customer will stay with a product that has been easy to maintain over the years. Customer service is a simple path to faithful customers. - Your Representatives Should Be the Most Friendly and Helpful
Along the same lines, you should also focus on dealer service — that is your representatives should be the most helpful in the territory.
When a dealer sees a rep coming, they think two things:
This guy is back to push me around some more! or This guy wants my dealership to succeed!
How your dealers see your rep, will define how seriously they try to sell your products. Dealers work a lot harder for people on their side! - Understand Your Industry Position
You don’t have the name recognition of a mainline manufacturer. This is just the cold, hard truth of the class-system that is the equipment industry. Farmers buy tractors and 90% of the time the implements are just an afterthought. Can you make great money as a shortline manufacturer? Absolutely. Will you one day be a household name, the likes of John Deere? Probably not. This boils down to one thing:
You can not afford to be demanding of your dealers. Make everything as simple as you can for them. Easy co-op, easy inventory, easy maintenance and warranty systems. Never get in the way of a dealer selling your equipment.