The agriculture economy has been solid for several years now. If you have been capitalizing on the market’s performance this is great news for your company, but the boom is unlikely to last forever. Here are a few sales techniques to keep in mind to help prepare for any eventual agribusiness decline, or to take full advantage of the strong market now.
1. Order takers vs. Salespeople: If your business has people who are making farm visits and asking people if they want to buy something – and that’s it – then they are order takers. If they ask enough people to buy, they can hit their numbers, but how many people are they missing along the way who don’t realize they want to buy something? Part of the rep’s job is to help potential customers realize that they have needs they weren’t aware of, and that your company can help – that’s being a salesperson. The real challenge with the order taker group is that they have appeared productive to this point, but will quickly be exposed if and when the tide changes. You need to help them learn how to be salespeople and create sales rather than finding them.
2. Demos: These “free rentals” can be a death knell for an organization. The all-too-common problem is the agriculture sales rep who uses demos as a crutch to get someone to buy. Demos should be a final tipping point in a sale, not a way to get the conversation started. Does your company track demo-to-close ratios? It might surprise you how much time, money and resources are wasted conducting demos that don’t turn into sales. Do your people have criteria for the prospective client to use before the demo to decide if it will work or not? Don’t fall victim to statements like “if it pulls faster in the field,” as the term “faster” needs to be qualified and must be measurable.
3. Store Managers: Are your store managers getting bogged down with parts, service, and storefront challenges? Are they then unable to find time to truly manage the sales reps? The store manager position can be overwhelming. It is critical for this manager level to have reliable pipelines from their reps to maximize their time. Does the store manager understand what behaviors are required to keep the pipeline full? Your organization should have a companywide sales process that allows for everyone to be on the same page, and for them to more quickly debrief after sales opportunities rather than having to tell a 15 minute story about the call.
There’s a lot of room for growth in the agriculture sales business, but if you only plan for the good times, your company will be in trouble if and when they end. Using these three tactics will help you fully profit from a strong agriculture economy, and will help you stay prepared for a leaner market as well.