Two years ago in this space, the discussion centered on “Margin or Volume?” It appears this may deserve some more attention as dealers continue to confront this age-old retail battle.

What I’ve got is a kitchen table education. I come from a long line of wholegoods managers. A lot of you know my dad, Roy. I presented the following ideas to him in 2005 when things were a mess.

Used equipment experts agree that there’s no silver bullet when it comes to a compensation plan. There are numerous variables, personalities and ways of doing business and no single program is a panacea. But like most things, as a manager, you get to choose which behaviors you most want to drive, and also the set of challenges that go along with them.

While visiting a Case IH dealer several years ago a farmer walked into the dealership. As he joined in on our conversation it was clear he was a loyal John Deere customer, but he was also a good friend of the owner of the Case IH dealership. He said, “I just came from my dealer down the road and you know what? They don’t have a quart of green paint in that store. They told me they could have it for me by tomorrow. Can you believe that?”

The recent article "What Consultants Say About Shortline-Only Farm Equipment Dealerships" brought to mind the dealer surveys that Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. (FEMA) conducted during the early 2000s.

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