When Kentucky-based Hutson Inc., 2023 Farm Equipment Dealership of the Year, expanded into Michigan, its new stores and staff were significantly behind the curve on the technology and the “mainstreamed” goals of the business. Travis Kiesel, vice president of precision ag for Hutson, was tasked with training both the dealership staff and customers on the new precision technology that could help their operations. 

“The dealers we acquired in Michigan had a good basic level understanding in precision but struggled with the high-end technology adoption,” says Kiesel, in contrast to the technology adoption curve in Hutson’s southern-states regions. “They struggled to train both farmers and employees, and as a result, their customers didn’t pursue it. While our precision had been mainstreamed for 3 years or more, it was just starting to take hold in Michigan.” 

In short order, Kiesel and the Hutson team needed to recruit new employees and properly train the team in Michigan. Kiesel will explain how he brought 18 new stores up to speed on precision technology during an insightful kickoff session at the 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Summit. He’ll also detail his dealership’s innovative approach to staff and customer education, share tips for training staff and customers on precision technology, explain how to mainstream precision throughout the entire dealership and how to tie sales compensation to precision training. 

The 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Summit will take place Jan. 8-9 in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. The two-day event offers a mix of general sessions and classrooms featuring top industry experts, profit-boosting dealer-to-dealer panels and highly interactive roundtable discussions. To download the full 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Summit program or to register, visit PrecisionSummit.com.