Although demand for passenger and fleet vehicles is starting to normalize in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, most car dealers have yet to tap into a key market that could offer them considerable profits: the agricultural sector.
On this episode of Driving Solutions, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by Pat Driscoll, CEO and President of The Certified Agriculture Group. The Certified Agriculture Group is the only business equipping retailers with the resources to serve farmers and ranchers, who bring their own challenges and preferences to the vehicle purchasing process. Now, Driscoll explains how his firm can help dealers grow their brands and why they should consider entering the agriculture sector.
Key Takeaways
1. Driscoll explains that there are two million farms in the U.S., 46% of which replace at least one truck annually. This adds up to nearly one million units per year. Apart from The Certified Agriculture Group, there is no other company connecting dealers with farmers or ranchers in the automotive industry.
2. Driscoll notes that customers from the agricultural sector look for three things when purchasing vehicles for their businesses: product durability, return on investment, and seller knowledge. This means that retailers must educate themselves on the farming industry if they are to serve these clients properly.
3. The Certified Agriculture Group not only provides education and training to car dealers but also offers the “AgPack,” an exclusive package that secures discounts for farmers and ranchers on products they use at their businesses. These can be worth thousands of dollars and are a crucial selling point that dealers can use to guarantee an ROI for their customers.
4. The Certified Agriculture Group is also helping its dealers offer financing to their customers through CADFi. Driscoll notes farmers need specific terms that allow them to make payments on an annual basis rather than month-to-month.
5. Driscoll attests that farmers who work with an agricultural-certified dealership are so shocked at the level of expertise and flexibility in pricing available to them that it has actually made it challenging to convince some clients that they are not getting scammed.
To learn more about the agricultural sector or how your dealership can benefit from serving local farmers and ranchers, be sure to visit The Certified Agriculture Group at their website or at booth #7013N at the 2024 NADA Show.
"[Farmers] are used to working with...dealers who do nothing but work with farmers. And when they go in to buy a farm truck or a ranch truck and they have to buy it from a minivan sales guy, no offense to the minivan guys, but it's not the same as working with somebody that understands them. So we put a big check in that box through our training and our ongoing education." — Pat Driscoll
