Your dealership has a number for almost everything — absorption rate, parts margin, labor utilization. What happens when a customer tries to reach you probably isn't one of them. This study gives you something to measure it against.
How you respond matters more than it used to. Customers can find information anywhere now — increasingly by asking AI — so your response is one of the few things still in your control.
Phone calls and walk-ins are only part of the picture. Customers reach you through web forms, Facebook Messenger, text and listing platforms.
A missed inquiry isn't a lost order. It's a lost machine, and every parts and service dollar that machine would have earned for the rest of its life.
Nobody has published what good looks like. This is the first benchmark of its kind. 17 quick questions. About 5 minutes.
All those who contribute receive the full report free, before others. For those who don't contribute, the original insights and report from IronBenchmark are valued at .
US-based respondents only · Anonymous and aggregated · Independent research — no sponsors
Anything you add in an optional box may be quoted in the report — never with your name or your dealership's.
Your email is used only to send you the report. It will not be shared, sold, or used for sales outreach. IronBenchmark is independent research.
IronBenchmark has two other open studies — both free for respondents:
Heavy Equipment State of Marketing 2026 — budget allocation, cost-per-lead benchmarks by channel, digital adoption, and what's actually delivering ROI across the industry.
AI in Heavy Equipment Sales: 2026 Benchmark — the first study on AI adoption in equipment sales. Tool usage, barriers, competitor confidence gap, and where the industry is headed.