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Dr. Jim Weber
Business of Selling

Cultivating Customer Share

By Dr. Jim Weber posted on July 19, 2013
Rather than waiting for a potential customer to get a flat tire in front of the dealership or chasing low margin roll-over customers to amp up the dealership's volume bonus, dealers and sales managers, together with their salesforce, would be far better served developing meaningful and lasting relationships with the overwhelming number of customers that are seeking such a partnership.
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Dr. Jim Weber
Business of Selling

Gathering Storm Clouds

By Dr. Jim Weber posted on July 18, 2013
Fifteen years ago during a series of speeches I delivered to various equipment dealer associations throughout North America, I predicted that the agricultural equipment industry would lose between 25-40% of its dealers during the first decade of the third millennium.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

Dealer Used Combine Inventory Rated as High

June 24, 2013 | Posted in Data & Forecasts
The word on the street is John Deere will once again allocate combines in 2014 and may even reduce its allocations to help its dealers get their arms around the used combine situation that's been making a lot of dealers nervous for at least the past 3 or 4 years. No one should be surprised by Deere's decision and don't be surprised if they reduce the allocation to dealers who are struggling to get their inventories under control.
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Dr. Jim Weber
Business of Selling

Nurturing Customer Share

By Dr. Jim Weber posted on June 9, 2013
Unprecedented commodity prices that have led to a sustained demand for agricultural equipment over the past 4 years have resulted in two types of regrettable sales techniques. First, because many end-users are flush with cash, many sales people in turn believe they can be successful by just sitting in the dealership and waiting for their next victim to waltz through the door.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

You Win Some and You Lose Some

By Dave Kanicki posted on May 15, 2013 | Posted in Data & Forecasts
Source: dkanicki@lesspub.com
First, in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, USDA lowered its price estimates on corn, soybeans and wheat for the 2013 crop, a bearish signal for the industry. Later in the day, the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers reported that U.S. and Canada tractor and combine sales were up pretty much across the board in March.
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From the Desk of Dave Kanicki

The ABCs of Germany's Tiered Dealership System

By Dave Kanicki posted on April 30, 2013 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues
I'm not sure dealers in North America will find much comfort in knowing that the situation between farm equipment dealers and their mainline suppliers here isn't very different from that of their German colleagues. Or that ag machinery dealers are facing very similar challenges to the retailers of automobiles and other equipment. But sometimes it's good to know you're not alone out there.
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Two Rate Cuts Possibly by Year End

Two Rate Cuts Possibly by Year End

In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Benzi America, Greg Roberg, vice president of sales for AgDirect, shares his expectations for potential rate cuts yet this year based on the FOMC’s comments in late July. In the Technology Corner, Noah Newman highlights the upcoming Precision Specialist Week. Also in this episode, one manufacturer who supplies a number of OEMs says “Ag is on the fastest roller coaster ride down in a quarter-century” and TractorZoom’s Andy Campbell provides an outlook on the used equipment market for the remainder of 2024.
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