There are profits to be made for dealers who sell and service the ever-changing mix of precision farming goods and services.

With product margins shrinking, billable support is an increasingly vital part of creating a consistent precision revenue stream. So how are dealers implementing bankable strategies to package, price and promote service plans?

Putting together a precision farming service plan can be a messy process. What to include — and exclude — how to bill and of course, what to charge, are key decisions that need to be made prior to launching a package.

Multitasking was the name of the game while riding along with Nathan Zimmerman, precision farming manager for A.C. McCartney, for our latest Day in the Cab profile. With the sun finally breaking winter’s gloom and temperatures in the mid-60s, spring had taken root in northern Illinois, making area farmers anxious to get in the field.

Jason Pennycook, precision specialist at Johnson Tractor (4 stores in Wisconsin and Illinois), says Johnson is still working on the internal management issues, including how service plans are billed, who is responsible and how to get all locations on the same page, as many farmers will use one or more stores. “We’re working on ways to make sure every service manager at every store knows when a farmer is on a service plan so he doesn’t get billed incorrectly.”

After years of “giving unapplied service labor away for free when it came to precision technologies” the dealer panel presentation on capturing revenue in service plans for precision was of keen interest for Summit attendees.