Sow it, Grow it, Mow it

Many dealers want to be a one-stop shop for their customers. They offer equipment, parts, service, and sometimes even lawn care and garden supplies like mulch and chemicals.

Paul Smith founded and established Sigma Organics, manufacturer and distributor of organic fertilizers, in 1999. During the next few years he was joined by brother Roger Smith and sisters Lisa Frith and Melanie Smith to help run the company.

For the Smith family, taking on an established outdoor power equipment dealership gave them the opportunity to offer even more to their customer base of golf courses, parks, municipalities and landscape contractors.

“By having an equipment division, we are able to offer a full line of service,” says Roger. The Smiths have gone on to expand the parts and equipment offering as well as offer educational opportunities for customers. Through it all, they have positioned themselves as a reliable resource in both businesses.

Maintaining a parts focus

The Smiths purchased the established Chilton Turf Center with locations in Nashville and Arrington, TN, in 2006. The dealership was known for its strong parts focus with a large inventory of parts numbers. The Smiths continue to offer a large inventory both in-store and now online.

“Because the Chilton name has been synonymous with small engine parts since 1975, we continue to focus on parts availability,” says Roger. “A significant part of the dealership’s total sales come from parts and accessories.”

While the majority of total sales come from parts, online parts sales represent a small amount of sales overall. The online service was added to increase customer satisfaction.

“The main goal of the online parts lookup availability was to add another service for our equipment-purchasing customers. Any other online part sales are simply an added bonus,” explains Roger. “The online parts availability allows both the commercial and consumer customers to view equipment at their leisure and order service parts for delivery or pick-up at the store.”

Offering the parts lookup is especially attractive to commercial customers who work past the dealership’s closing time and on weekends. They are able to order parts any time of the night and pick them up at the designated commercial-only parts counter at either of the two dealership locations. “Melanie is the magic behind the curtain,” says Roger. “She makes the extensive inventory of 25,000 parts manageable and profitable. She relies heavily on her business sense and the parts management system to keep parts inventory balanced and current.”

The parts kept in stock at Chilton Turf Center are primarily service parts for the brands they sell. “With the service parts in-stock, we can offer a quick turnaround on most service orders,” explains Roger. “This is highly appreciated by the commercial as well as the consumer customer.”

Offering more for thehomeowner

The parts inventory is not the only thing that has seen expansion. When the Smith family took over Chilton Turf Center in 2006, the dealership had a strong focus on commercial-level equipment. With homeowners coming in for service and eyeing equipment beyond their needs, the Smiths saw a need to re-evaluate their product lines.

They have expanded their equipment offering to include more options for the homeowner and in turn have grown their customer base greatly. They see more traffic on the showroom floor and in the service department.

“Our original customer base was the commercial customer, but as situations changed we put more effort into attracting the homeowners,” says Roger. “We offer more products, parts and service for the consumer. We have also increased our advertising in both TV and radio with the consumer in mind.”

Making these changes has shifted their customer base from nearly 100% commercial to 70% commercial and 30% consumer. The increase in consumer customers brought an increase in the overall customer base, tripling sales since they purchased the dealership five years ago.