Company Spotlight: Outdoor Power Source, Inc.

Creating opportunities for businesses to grow and become more efficient is what Sandhills Global’s products and services–including TractorHouse, AuctionTime, and FR8Star–are all about. Take, for example, Outdoor Power Source (OutdoorPowerSourceKY.com), a lawn, garden, and farm equipment seller in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, that also offers parts and a service department. Years ago, customers didn’t know what equipment the company had for sale unless they drove by the store or called to ask, says Matt Bewley, director of sales.

“Only so many people drive up and down this road every day. Now, we put our equipment on their screens, on their phones, on their computers—to the entire nation. It’s huge,” Bewley says. “I have nothing but praise for TractorHouse, AuctionTime, and FR8Star. They take us from a town of 30,000 out to the entire nation in terms of what we can sell and buy and how we communicate with customers. They expand everything.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Matt’s father, Rick, acquired Outdoor Power Source in 2001 after retiring from his previous job. Today, Matt’s sister, Megan, is the company’s general manager; his brother, Will, is the service manager; and his mother, Carolyn, is an owner and company president. Bewley says the company’s family-operated dynamic is 100% by design, and it extends to how the Bewleys treat their customers, which include professional and hobby farmers, commercial lawn and landscaping companies, and homeowners. “You’re dealing with a family, and we treat your business less as a transaction and more as a relationship. That’s how we’re built,” Bewley says. “We don’t want to just sell you one thing and be done. We want to form a relationship that’s growing all the time. You’re a part of the family.”

NATIONWIDE REACH

Outdoor Power Source sells commercial and residential mowers, UTVs, turf equipment, implements, outdoor power tools, and more from brands like Kubota, Grasshopper, Land Pride, Stihl, and Walker. For years, it ran ads in TractorHouse off and on to advertise its equipment. Last February, however, it stopped using competing platforms entirely because “Sandhills just has way more to offer to us” in terms of the nationwide marketing reach, integrated services, and all-around capabilities, Bewley says. TractorHouse print ads and listings on TractorHouse.com have generated calls and sales for the company from buyers in Florida, Maine, and Washington, as well as Louisiana and Ohio where the company recently sold tractors. Outdoor Power Source has also experienced good success using AuctionTime, including the sale of two Kubota tractors and a finishing mower in a mid-November sale. It also uses AuctionTime to buy equipment and to gauge market values of equipment from brands it sells. “Honestly, AuctionTime.com does such a good job of selling equipment, it often sells for way more than we can pay for it, which is good for whoever you’re selling it for,” Bewley says.

FR8STAR CREATES OPPORTUNITIES

Bewley has been particularly pleased with the service, user experience, costs savings, and expanded opportunities he’s had using FR8Star, Sandhills’ service for booking all-inclusive heavyhaul transport. He especially likes that FR8Star is integrated into listings on Sandhills’ trade sites like TractorHouse.com and AuctionTime.com. Bewley has booked 17 loads through FR8Star this year, including equipment transported from New Hampshire, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and North Carolina to Kentucky. Before FR8Star, Bewley had to hire a driver who charged $3 to $4 a mile for both directions. FR8Star, however, connects him to drivers already in designated pickup areas. Additionally, FR8Star creates “a ton of opportunities” for buying equipment outside of Kentucky. “Yesterday, I booked a $2,000 mower for transport from Webster, Texas, to here. That would have been impossible before,” he says. “A driver would have charged me $2,000 to do it, which would have eaten up all our profit.” Even when Bewley sells equipment outside of TractorHouse or AuctionTime, he uses FR8Star to transport it.

SUPPORT AT THE READY

After posting a load on FR8Star.com, Bewley typically lets it sit for 24 hours to allow drivers located in the designated pickup area see it. “The booking is super easy. Bids from all the drivers are all on one page for me to see. Everything I need is right in front of me. It couldn’t be easier to use,” he says.

When Outdoor Power Source does run into issues that require assistance, Bewley says, Sandhills sales rep Paul Kenny is always available. “I can text or email him at any time, and he’ll answer in a minute,” Bewley says. “He’s always texting or emailing to let me know if there’s something I need to change or get updated on. He’s on the money every time.”