Tyler Equipment has a small geographic footprint which covers three out of the seven smallest states in the U.S.: Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Despite their smaller territory, they have become one of the top Sennebogen dealerships. Tyler Equipment finished as one of the top three dealers last year and was the top tree care dealer in 2022.
"Sales is not about sales. It is about service, support, and stocking inventory. That's how one becomes the top Sennebogen tree care dealer in North America," says both Brooke Tyler IV, vice president of product support at Tyler Equipment, and Bill O'Keefe, a Sennebogen specialist at Tyler Equipment.
Tyler Equipment has five Sennebogen road service technicians on staff to help users keep their machines up and running. They also have a dedicated Sennebogen parts person to order all needed parts. Service technicians also submit all warranty claims in the field, too.
"We look after it all," says O'Keefe.
O'Keefe recounted a recent event where one of their tree care machines was on a highway job in Rhode Island. They got a service call early in the afternoon and within three hours of the initial call, the machine was up and running.
"The Sennebogen tree care handlers are unique machines. You have to spend a lot to own one," says O'Keefe. "But it's a great deal easier to spend that money when you know the support is there and that if your machine is down it will be back up quickly. The other key factor is inventory. The Tyler family, who are actively involved on a day-to-day basis, have invested heavily in inventory based on their belief that if you don't have the machine when a customer is looking for it, you are going to lose the sale."
Brooke Tyler and Bill O'Keefe explained it very simply: "Our customers are not only our friends but our partners too. Today, we're proud of our business reputation and the overwhelming majority of our deals with our ongoing customers are done with a handshake. We also encourage prospective customers to ask one of our existing customers about Tyler Equipment. We are confident that they will give us a five-star review and then go on to tell them about our service. It's that simple."
Tyler Equipment takes the time to identify the type of work its contractors do. This means segmenting the tree care market into several smaller markets: DOT contractors; residential, university, parks and recreation, commercial, and municipal contractors; and rail/utility right-of-way contractors. One contractor even mounted their 718 with rail trucks like a self-propelled handcar. Other segments that Tyler has identified include those specializing in storm cleanup and biomass operations.
"The key reason we are successful at selling Sennebogen tree care and material handlers is because our service just knocks it out of the park," says O'Keefe. "Granted, the Sennebogen tree care machines are in their own category without a lot of competition. However, before a customer spends that kind of money they want to know that they have Tyler Equipment behind them. That's exactly what we do."
