Dealer Playbook: What Top John Deere Dealers Are Doing Differently Right Now

The ag equipment market has humbled a lot of dealerships over the last few years. Used inventory is sitting. Margins are thinner. Teams that spent the early 2020s as order-takers are being asked, suddenly, to actually sell.

But not every dealership is struggling the same way.

We sat down with executive leaders from four John Deere dealer groups, representing more than 120 combined rooftops across the Midwest, South, Plains, and Northeast. Different geographies, different market mixes, different organizational structures. But one message came through loud and clear: The dealers gaining ground right now aren't doing something radically new. They're executing the fundamentals with more discipline, more speed, and more clarity than they were two years ago.

Here's a look at what they're doing and what you can take back to your own organization.

The dealers we spoke with:

• Coy Burns, VP of Sales, Greenway Equipment
• Nate Janssen, Centralized & Connected Support Manager, C&B Equipment
• Ryan Payment, VP & CFO, LandPro Equipment
• Scott Eisenhauer, CEO, P&K Equipment

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What top John Deere dealers are doing differently

1. They're acting decisively on people and process, and they’re not just waiting. Every dealer touched on workforce restructuring. Delaying inevitable changes, whether that's a personnel decision or a broken process, makes the pain worse. Act, explain the why, and move forward.

2. They're turning order-takers into deal-makers. The 2020–2021 boom – where salespeople never had to prospect, negotiate, or fight for a deal – is over. The dealers investing in real sales coaching now will have elite teams when the cycle turns.

3. They're treating inaction as a risk, not a safe default. Panic selling and paralysis are equally dangerous. The winning posture is intentional, criteria-driven decision-making. As Ryan Payment, CFO of LandPro Equipment, puts it: staying calm is not the same as standing still.

4. They're pulling inventory levers early. Used equipment values, aging inventory, and floorplan interest are the dominant financial pressures right now. The dealers managing this best have established clear thresholds for when and how to act.

5. They're making data role-specific, not just available. Dealerships have more data than ever. The dealers winning are building role-specific dashboards, surfacing targeted daily priorities, and using integrated tools like Anvil Pro to bring lead data, customer contacts, and prospect activity together in one place.

6. They're leading through change, not just announcing it. Resistance to new systems is universal. The dealers with the strongest adoption track records are the ones who built culture and trust before they needed to lean on it, communicating the why behind every change.

7. They're hiring for attitude first, and training for everything else. Adaptability, persistence, and digital fluency now matter more than product knowledge. Product knowledge can be taught.

8. They're using the slow period to build the foundation. Training, process standardization, AI exploration, and system integration – the dealers who will lead the next upswing aren't waiting. They're sharpening the organization now, while they have the bandwidth.

"We know ag is a cyclical business, but we all get addicted to the order-taking when it's great. But it sets us up for something like this. So how do we manage that?" — Coy Burns, VP of Sales, Greenway Equipment

Want to read the full playbook?

We've packaged the complete insights from these dealer conversations into a short, practical guide built for dealer owners, executives, and managers. No fluff. No pitch. Just what dealers are actually doing and how you can apply it.

Inside, you'll find:

• The #1 operational adjustment high-performing dealers made in the last 12–24 months
• How leading dealers are turning data into daily action, not just reports
• What effective change management actually looks like, from dealers who've done it
• The talent profile that's working right now – and what to stop prioritizing
• A self-assessment checklist to identify where execution risk lives in your dealership
• Direct insights from dealer executives managing dozens of rooftops

The dealers winning right now aren't waiting for the market to come back. They're building the organization that will dominate when it does.

[Download the Playbook]

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