Get FinancingSmart Farm Machinery Sales Strategies Start With Sandhills Ag Platforms
For decades, Sandhills Global’s ag brands have been the go-to resources for buyers and sellers of hay and forage equipment, tractors, planters, harvesters, and other farm equipment. These powerhouse platforms, including TractorHouse, MarketBook, and SpecialtyCropEQ, reach a global audience and provide the tools and advertising options to set sellers up for success.
Everything Farmers Need
TractorHouse and the other ag platforms allow sellers to list more than just large equipment. Dealers can also sell attachments, parts, generators, ATVs, UTVs, trailers, loaders, and other necessities for the wide range of tasks farmers perform.
Target Local, Reach Global
TractorHouse, the original Sandhills platform for farm machinery, combines print and online exposure to reach a vast audience of farmers, ranchers, and other buyers looking for tractors, sprayers, trailers, and more.
TractorHouse magazine is printed in eight weekly regional editions. Dealers can select which areas to target in print. Every asset advertised in the magazine receives an online listing on TractorHouse.com, where it reaches buyers around the world. The powerful combination of regional print and global online reach brings more leads and sales. Regular print advertisers can also list their entire inventory on TractorHouse.com as general listings.
Listings online include photos, videos, detailed descriptions, and asset locations, plus a multitude of ways to contact sellers directly, including by phone, WhatsApp, Messenger, email, and video chat.
Branching Out
Sellers with specialized ag equipment can use SpecialtyCropEQ.com to target buyers of niche farm machinery, such as harvesters, pruners, and shakers, designed for orchards, vineyards, and nut production. All equipment listed on SpecialtyCropEQ.com is also cross-posted for added visibility on TractorHouse.com and on international farm machinery sites such as MarketBook.ca in Canada. Sellers can also opt to advertise in print in TractorHouse magazine and other ag publications for even greater reach.
Continental Reach
For sellers in Canada and Mexico, or those looking to expand their reach into those countries, there’s MarketBook Canada (MarketBook.ca) and MarketBook Latin America (MarketBook.mx). MarketBook is an all-in-one platform covering the agriculture, construction, and trucking industries. In Canada, MarketBook is printed in two weekly regional editions, Eastern Canada and Western Canada. Online, MarketBook Canada also has a French-language site, MarketBook.qc.ca, to serve the province of Quebec. MarketBook Latin America connects buyers and sellers in Mexico and Central and South America with a Spanish-language magazine printed every two weeks.
Advertise Strategically
The size and type of ad determine the order in which it appears in searches on TractorHouse.com. Dealers can improve their assets’ rankings online by advertising them with larger print ads (such as moving from a half-page ad to a full-page ad or a multi-page spread) or with priority page ads (front cover, the first or last couple of pages, or the centerfold). Consistent advertisers reap a major benefit: free general listings for all the rest of their inventory on TractorHouse.com and other Sandhills ag platforms.
Equipment advertised with priority page spots appears online above equipment in other ad types. Front-cover priority page ads appear first, followed by back cover, centerfold, and the first and last couple of pages. These spots are followed by photo listings, multi-page spreads, and full-, half-, and quarter-page ads. Dealers can further expand their online presence with banner ads and marketing email blasts.
Buy & Sell On The Go
Sellers and buyers can take all the features of TractorHouse.com with them wherever they go with the TractorHouse app. Available for iOS and Android devices, the app has all the features of the website, including all the latest inventory updates. Users can list inventory for sale, browse tractors, combines, planting equipment, chemical applicators, and other farm machinery, add items to their watchlist, and click to call, text, email, or video chat with buyers or sellers.
Tools For Success
Sellers who use Sandhills ag equipment platforms have access to an array of tools to help them succeed, including asset valuations, buyer services to facilitate sales, ROI tracking, and more.
Sellers can track their ROI through the CallStats and WebStats apps, which detail customer call data, screen impressions, click-throughs, and more via charts.
When a buyer finds a machine they want to purchase on TractorHouse.com, MarketBook.ca, SpecialtyCropEQ.com, or other Sandhills equipment platforms in the U.S. or Canada, they can click the Currency Apply For Financing or FR8Star Get Shipping Quotes buttons on the listing to apply for financing or arrange transport, respectively.
The Value Insight Portal+ (VIP+), formerly known as FleetEvaluator, provides dealers, fleets, and asset managers with market-backed auction, wholesale, market, and asking values to help sellers make smarter pricing and trade decisions with less risk.
“With the recent enhancements to our value-added services, VIP+ stands out as a key offering,” says Sales Manager Ryan Dolezal. “It provides our customers with real-time valuations on their assets or potential trades. In today’s market, access to up-to-date valuations is essential for making informed decisions, enabling customers to acquire inventory at the right price and turn it over more quickly on our trade sites.”
Sell At Auction
Farm machinery listed on Sandhills auction platforms—AuctionTime for online auctions and Equipmentfacts for simulcast live auctions—is cross-posted on TractorHouse.com for even greater exposure before the sale. Auction listings appear at the top of search results, followed by assets listed through Pre-AuctionTime, to highlight their limited-time availability and encourage buyers to act. The listings display whether the auction is online or on-site, the total number of bids placed, the current bid, and the time remaining.
Create Your Ad Plan
Talk to your Sandhills rep to learn more about advertising farm machinery on any of Sandhills’ ag equipment platforms, or to create a strategy that uses a combination of platforms to target specific customers or regions.
A version of this article first appeared in Sandhills Magazine. You can find current and back issues in the Sandhills Magazine Archive.