At the end of the day, sales is about people.
Connecting customers with services, solutions and products to fit their needs is the name of the game.
If you’re considering a position in heavy equipment sales, this holds true.
However, selling large machinery — whether it’s construction, forestry, paving, mining, agriculture or another type — is also different from other sales jobs in some ways.
At RDO Equipment Co., we have salespeople throughout the U.S. who sell equipment from manufacturers like John Deere, Vermeer and WIRTGEN GROUP.
It’s uncomfortable to start a job that’s not what you expected. To give you a better understanding of what it’s like to work in heavy equipment sales, in this article, we’ll outline eight skills that, in our experience, make someone successful.
1) Competitive Nature
The business world is competitive. Companies are constantly comparing their performance to competitors and to their previous periods.
Are they growing or shrinking? Are they winning or losing?
These are the questions companies want to answer.
Sales is at the front line of every organization. Without great salespeople, a company can’t increase market share and grow.
Salespeople have to be competitive — especially in the heavy equipment industry, where many companies make great products, and the buyer’s cycle is long.
The most successful heavy equipment salespeople want to win. This desire to beat the competition in sales, service and customer satisfaction drives them.
If you’re competitive, this will be helpful in this field.
2) Time Management
When you’re passionate about your work, there’s never enough time in the day. This is true in heavy equipment sales jobs.
Whether it’s prospecting new leads, calling on potential customers, meeting with current customers, driving to a job site, working with the parts department or administrative tasks like answering emails and attending department meetings, there’s a lot to juggle in this role.
The best heavy equipment salespeople have good time management skills. It’s up to you to build your day and ensure the highest-impact tasks are done on time.
If you have a history of prioritizing your workload and managing your own schedule, you’ll use these skills in heavy equipment sales.
3) Passionate About Learning
There is a lot to know when selling heavy equipment. If you’re familiar with sales, you know having a solid understanding of the product you’re selling is crucial to your success.
One of the cool things about this industry is the constant innovation. New product lines and technologies come out regularly.
When this happens, it’s up to salespeople to learn about them so they can communicate their value and help customers fit them into their operations.
People who aren’t passionate about constant learning might not like this aspect of the job.
4) Self Motivated
To be successful in these sales roles, self-motivation is crucial. While you will have an onboarding experience, direction from your leaders and ongoing support, nobody will build your day for you.
Instead, as a heavy equipment salesperson, you’re in charge of structuring your time on the job when you do what or go where is up to you.
It’s fair to say you get what you put into these jobs. There is a lot of money to be made in these positions. If you’re self-motivated and driven to succeed, you will be more successful than if you’re not.
Hard-working, motivated salespeople can become as successful as they want.
5) Entrepreneurial
Another thing many salespeople like about working in heavy equipment is the entrepreneurial feel of it.
In a lot of ways, heavy equipment sales is like owning a business. For example, you can build a reliable, stable book of business through proper time management and doing the little things.
It's like building a business: You own your time and have the freedom to use it to your advantage.
If you’ve wanted to own a business or have always had an entrepreneurial mindset, this could be an excellent position for you.
6) Honesty
This skill comes down to the people aspect of these careers.
Sales are built on person-to-person relationships. Honesty is an often overlooked sales skill. You’ll need it to be successful in heavy equipment sales.
A unique aspect of this industry is the highly educated customer base. Sometimes, a customer could know more about a piece of equipment than the salesperson.
Because of this, it’s important to lead with honesty as a salesperson. If you don’t know the answer to a question or if you’re not sure about the right solution, be honest. Overpromising and underdelivering won’t do you any favors in heavy equipment sales.
If honesty and transparency come naturally to you, this won’t be a problem and will set you up for success.
7) Being Flexible
Planning for things to change is a good way to sum up this skill. The heavy equipment industry is fast-paced and ever-changing.
No two days are exactly the same in a heavy equipment sales role. Often, just when you have your day planned out, something will pop up (customer concern, business opportunity, question from a coworker, etc.) and your day will change.
Pivoting your plans and attacking unexpected challenges will take you far in a heavy equipment sales position.
8) Background With Heavy Equipment
Although the final skill on this list is not always required to get a job in this industry (or to succeed in it), it is very helpful. Many successful heavy equipment salespeople have a background in machinery.
Whether it’s as an operator or in another part of the industry (like parts or service), familiarity with the equipment and customers can help you get ahead.
Among other things, this background helps you “speak the language” with customers and understand how the machinery integrates into their operations. In turn, this can help you develop relationships faster and even sell more equipment.
Join the Sales Team At RDO!
Now that you know how high-value skills like being competitive, flexible, good at time management, self-motivated and passionate about learning can help you succeed in a heavy equipment sales career, is it for you?
Ultimately, if you have a passion for these products and a willingness to put in the work, you have a good chance to be successful.
However, you probably have a few more questions before you jump into a career in this field.
For one, you want to make sure that a day in this role is something you can see yourself doing.
Next, read A Day in the Life in Sales at RDO Equipment Co.: What to Know to find out what to expect.
If you’re ready, find an opening in your area here.
Matt James
Matt has been with RDO Equipment Co. since 2023 when he joined the team in Burnsville as a member of our sales department. Matt's passion for customer service, heavy equipment, and developing relationships have helped him succeed. Matt enjoys the unique challenge every day brings as an RDO Sales Professional as he works to help his customers grow their businesses.
