AGCO’s Journey Building a Data-Driven Sales Funnel

THE PROBLEM

AGCO (NYSE: AGCO), one of the world’s largest agricultural equipment sellers, has a vast global dealer network.

AGCO takes a long term view towards the performance of it's dealer network. With two primary goals:
  • Ensure and Increase Dealer Profitability: Maintaining a strong and stable dealer network is essential for AGCO’s long-term sustainability and success.
  • Increase AGCO Market Share: Higher market share, is a long term goal of the AGCO leadership team.
Mark Casement, Director of Dealer Sales Management at AGCO, noticed that AGCO was leaving market share opportunity on the table and Dealers were missing profitable opportunities because Dealers weren't optimised in how they planned towards hitting their annual sales targets.

Mark knew that there is enough historical information and industry data to create a surefire plan for each dealership on how they can achieve their targets each year - rather than putting a figure out and hoping for the best.

Mark tried to implement an Excel-based system to solve the problem. However, the excel sheet lacked usability, and adoption among dealers was limited.

‍Changing behaviour required more than just numbers—it required a solution that was easy to use, offered immediate value, and encouraged adoption at scale.

The Solution: EmpoweRing Dealers With THE RIGHT TOOL

Mark approached our team with a clear objective: to transform how dealers approached hitting their annual targets, making data a central part of their strategy.

AGCO wanted something scalable, and that could integrate seamlessly with AGCO’s existing systems, Single Sign-On (SSO) and CRM.

This was no small task, given AGCO’s multiple brands, each with its own product hierarchy. Additionally, the tool would need to account for regional differences in dealer performance and product preferences.

A Strategic Tool for Dealers
Our team analyzed AGCO’s needs and implemented Clear arc. By inputting sales figures and sales funnel KPIs, Clear arc calculates the minimum number of quotes each dealer needs to generate to meet both market share and retail unit goals.

‍The tool is intuitive, allowing dealers to easily monitor their progress and adjust their approach throughout the year. By making data accessible, AGCO is empowering its dealers to manage their own success.

AT A GLANCE

PROBLEM
  1. AGCO’s dealers were often relying on intuition rather than data, leading to inconsistent sales outcomes across the network.
  2. AGCO faced challenges benchmarking dealers, identifying under-performers, and therefore was less able to offer targeted support.
  3. AGCO data lacked the data needed to fully predict dealer performance. This made it challenging to optimise incentives, allocate marketing spend effectively, and drive strategic improvements across the network.
SOLUTION + IMPLEMENTATION
  • Clear arc for Dealer Sales Optimization: AGCO implemented Clear arc, a SaaS platform designed to provide clear visibility into dealer performance metrics, allowing dealers to better track targets and sales goals.
  • Clear arc equipped dealers with real-time insights into their sales funnel, enabling them to benchmark their performance against peers and improve decision-making based on reliable data.
  • The platform offered a scalable solution that could be deployed across AGCO’s global network, with features such as forecasting tools, goal setting, and performance-based incentives that worked regionally and globally.

Implementing Clear Arc

We rolled out the solution to a pilot group of dealers across the AGCO network. The system allowed dealers to input sales data, split by salesperson and horsepower sector, and provided real-time feedback on core sales KPIs. Dealers could now monitor how many quotes they needed to generate each month to stay on track with end-of-year targets.

The tool intelligently handled differing product hierarchies and regional differences across AGCO’s ecosystem. Dealers in Europe, North & South America, and Asia/Pacific had distinct product offerings due to market conditions, requiring us to build regional flexibility into the platform.

Despite the tool’s potential, adoption was slow at first. Many dealers resisted changing their habits, concerned that the tool might add unnecessary complexity. The Dealer Performance teams faced pushback as dealers were reluctant to move away from their intuition-driven methods.

SCALING Tool

However, through focused communication, engagement with Area Sales Managers (ASMs), dealer sales management training sessions, and clear demonstration of how the tool simplified target management, AGCO turned the tide.

Once dealers embrace the tool, the benefits become clear. Sales teams become more efficient in quoting, and the accuracy of their forecasts improves, which has tailwind effects on marketing and demand planning. Dealers are now able to track how many quotes they need to generate to meet their sales goals, broken down by product type and salesperson. This leads to better-targeted sales efforts, more meaningful conversations with AGCO management, and ultimately, improved dealer performance.

Following the success in early-adopting markets across Europe, AGCO expanded the tool globally. Dealers in North America, South America, and Africa began using the system, customizing it to fit their local market conditions. As a result, AGCO now has a standardized process for monitoring and improving dealer sales funnel management and performance across the world.

A NEW ERA FOR AGCO'S DEALERS

With full deployment of the tool, AGCO’s approach to dealer performance management has been transformed. What was once inconsistent, intuition-driven activity is now a data-driven approach, empowering dealers to take control of their sales pipeline, and drive better use of CRM systems to achieve their objectives. Dealers no longer have to guess how many quotes are needed—they know exactly what is required to hit their targets.

AGCO, in turn, benefits from a clear understanding of how dealer performance varies across dealers, markets, and regions, allowing it to provide tailored support and target development activity based on real-time data.

‍A Data-Driven Future
AGCO’s journey, from trying to improve dealer performance with an Excel sheet to the global adoption of Clear arc, exemplifies the power of technology and strategy working together. Thanks to Clear arc, AGCO’s dealers are better positioned to meet their sales goals with a higher level of profitability, and the company is able to foster more effective relationships with its dealer network worldwide.

If your team is interested in exploring how Clear arc could improve your processes and distribution systems, send me an email at marcel@cleararc.co.

BENEFITS

1

Higher Market Share & Target Achievement: Dealers now have the tools to set more accurate sales targets and plan their activities based on reliable, real-time data, improving overall performance and goal achievement.

2

Better Demand Forecasting and Resource Allocation: With improved data visibility, AGCO can more accurately forecast demand, optimize marketing spend, and align operational strategies with real market conditions.

3

Standardised Sales Reviews Across the Network: AGCO now conducts more valuable and data-driven sales reviews globally, allowing for tailored dealer support, strategic decision-making, and a focus on metrics that directly impact the bottom line.
"With Clear arc we take a much more proactive approach to managing our dealer network. We now set forward-looking targets, and make strategic adjustments across our network.
‍
This proactive mindset has been a game-changer for our business.
Mark Casement - Director, Dealer Sales Management | AGCO Corporation