“As dealers we need to know what we need to be doing today to be successful and figure out what our action plan is to achieve our goals,” says Ron Birkey, chairman of Birkey’s Farm Stores.
The year 2015 may well be a trying one for many farm equipment dealerships. Recent record profits and tax incentives have allowed farmers to own a fleet of new or nearly new equipment. In the future, equipment purchases may be severely restricted if there are changes in earnings or tax rules.
In this part of the special report, the Western Equipment Dealers Assn. (WEDA) provided an analysis of finances and operations of a hypothetical dealership named Brookfield Farm Equipment, or BFE, using the 2014 Cost of Doing Business study for comparison purposes. This particular dealer would fall in the larger group of dealers with more than $75 million in annual sales.
Any farm equipment dealer who's been around more than a few years knows how dramatically this business has changed. For one thing, everything about agriculture seems to have gotten bigger: bigger dealers with bigger sales territories; bigger customers with bigger demands; bigger and more expensive equipment; bigger top and bottom lines.
While some farm equipment dealers have managed to attain 100%-plus parts and service absorption rates, the industry as a whole only achieves about a 62% rate, according to the 2014 Western Equipment Dealers Assn.’s Cost of Doing Business study. The industry’s benchmark for absorption is 80%-plus. At the same time, ag equipment dealers are often compared to construction equipment and other dealers who handle heavy equipment and typically achieve higher absorption rates.
While Farm Equipment’s special report on dealers cost of doing business, which appeared in its June 2015 issue, covers the period of 1970 through 2014 in 5-year increments, the data actually goes all the way back to 1947. The following charts track four of farm equipment dealers’ financial measurements for the 11 year period between 1947-1957.
Two of the most important responsibilities of an equipment salesperson are to maintain relationships with existing customers while simultaneously securing new customers. One of the primary responsibilities of the dealer/sales manager, therefore, is to see that those responsibilities are done efficiently and effectively. One way of accomplishing this is to establish meaningful territories for each salesperson and to periodically review how each salesperson is performing within that territory.
The technology behind variable frequency drives (VFD) is nothing new in machine shops and various other industrial applications. But with the advent of faster and more precise switching capabilities of modern microprocessors, the mechanically simple, multi-speed, multi-voltage, variable reluctance motors used in VFDs are poised to make a move into agricultural applications.
A coach’s job is to foster one-to-one relationships that challenge people to rise to higher levels of competence and responsibility. This article will discuss three key characteristics of an effective coach.
The year 2015 may well be a trying one for many farm equipment dealerships. Recent record profits and tax incentives have allowed farmers to own a fleet of new or nearly new equipment. In the future, equipment purchases may be severely restricted if there are changes in earnings or tax rules.
In this part of the special report, the Western Equipment Dealers Assn. (WEDA) provided an analysis of finances and operations of a hypothetical dealership named Brookfield Farm Equipment, or BFE, using the 2014 Cost of Doing Business study for comparison purposes. This particular dealer would fall in the larger group of dealers with more than $75 million in annual sales.
Any farm equipment dealer who's been around more than a few years knows how dramatically this business has changed. For one thing, everything about agriculture seems to have gotten bigger: bigger dealers with bigger sales territories; bigger customers with bigger demands; bigger and more expensive equipment; bigger top and bottom lines.
While some farm equipment dealers have managed to attain 100%-plus parts and service absorption rates, the industry as a whole only achieves about a 62% rate, according to the 2014 Western Equipment Dealers Assn.’s Cost of Doing Business study. The industry’s benchmark for absorption is 80%-plus. At the same time, ag equipment dealers are often compared to construction equipment and other dealers who handle heavy equipment and typically achieve higher absorption rates.
“As dealers we need to know what we need to be doing today to be successful and figure out what our action plan is to achieve our goals,” says Ron Birkey, chairman of Birkey’s Farm Stores.
The year 2015 may well be a trying one for many farm equipment dealerships. Recent record profits and tax incentives have allowed farmers to own a fleet of new or nearly new equipment. In the future, equipment purchases may be severely restricted if there are changes in earnings or tax rules.
In this part of the special report, the Western Equipment Dealers Assn. (WEDA) provided an analysis of finances and operations of a hypothetical dealership named Brookfield Farm Equipment, or BFE, using the 2014 Cost of Doing Business study for comparison purposes. This particular dealer would fall in the larger group of dealers with more than $75 million in annual sales.
Any farm equipment dealer who's been around more than a few years knows how dramatically this business has changed. For one thing, everything about agriculture seems to have gotten bigger: bigger dealers with bigger sales territories; bigger customers with bigger demands; bigger and more expensive equipment; bigger top and bottom lines.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we look at Titan Machinery’s Q4 and FY 2025 earnings, and the improvement in inventory levels over the last 2 quarters
Built on 90 years of expertise, Yetter Farm Equipment leads the agriculture industry in designing effective and innovative equipment for residue management, seedbed preparation, precision fertilizer placement, harvest attachments, strip-tillage, and more.
At Machinery Scope, we believe you deserve the best risk management solutions for your investments in heavy equipment. Since 2013, we have been proud to offer extended warranty, appraisals, and inspections. Machinery Scope is a family-owned business built on our experience in farming and equipment dealerships. We understand your business and provide a personalized and professional level of customer service. Machinery Scope has built a strong warranty product with our customers in mind, offering the same professional level of service from the time you get a quote, through the processing of a claim.
Finance Scope is able to provide the best financing opportunities for equipment dealers and customers through a diverse mix of lending companies under one single platform. Our large group of lenders, allows for competitive rates regardless of credit scores. Additionally, dealers and customers have access to the industry’s best expertise surrounding finance and lease structures, for all purposes, within the agricultural and construction industries. We provide all of this into one online platform to provide our customers with the best available tailored finance solution for their equipment.