One of my old pals who owns a regional turf supply company told me recently, “There are two kinds of salespeople in our business…consultants and order-takers. The difference between the two is knowledge and passion.”

If you’re a turf rep who’s reading this right now, I suspect you fall into the consultative sales category. You care deeply about your customers, you have strong relationships beyond just occasionally dropping a dozen donuts by a customer’s shop, and you have armed yourself with advanced agronomic expertise. You are a partner to your customers, not a vendor.

When our friends at BASF Turf asked us to develop a new way for them to support you – their distributor sales team – we jumped at the chance to create this publication and develop other educational tools you’ll see soon. Why? Two reasons:

First, we’re a lot like you…we want to be partners with our clients instead of vendors. We’re at our best when we’re collaborating with companies and trying to create solutions together rather than just selling them some ad pages. Sure, we won’t turn down an order, but it’s way more fun to create something new together.

Second, you guys deserve it.

Good salespeople are the backbone of this business. Modern agronomy is incredibly complex and today’s business environment means even more scrutiny and more pressure to create more with less. You guys are the key to that formula.”

Good salespeople are the backbone of this business. Modern agronomy is incredibly complex and today’s business environment means even more scrutiny and more pressure to create more with less. You guys are the key to that formula. Smart supers know they can’t do it without you.

And I’m on record as saying that interrelationship between manufacturers, turf suppliers and superintendents will be even more critical in future. Labor is increasingly scarce and expensive, there’s a growing shortage of talented young turfheads in the pipeline and clubs will increasingly be challenged to provide awesome conditions that attract and retain members.

I cringe every time I hear a turhead joke about sales being “the dark side” or how reps have it easy. That’s crap. That’s like a NASCAR driver discounting the value of his pit crew or pro athlete saying he doesn’t need trainers or coaches. Good supers understand that this is a team business and their local distribution partners are critical players in their success.

One measure of that can be found in the results of GCI’s State of the Industry report. We asked supers about who they buy from and how much they buy during EOP. The results suggest that more than half of all supers buy more than half of all their soft goods during EOP from one partner. In short, courses are continuing to consolidate more of their spend with their best distribution partners. Despite the fact that there are an abundance of people to buy chemicals from, most supers are buying from fewer reps. That’s good news if you’re the high-value, consultative salesperson they trust and rely on most.

So how do you get to be “that guy” who commands the respect and the spend of your territory’s best customers? How do you maximize your earnings through programs brought to you by BASF and others? How can you be a top gun rep?

Well, hopefully you agree that the information we’re providing via this partnership with BASF will help you do just that. But, we’re only as good as the advice we get from you since, in this case, you’re our customer. Let me know what you think about this publication and what other topics you’d like us to cover. We’d love to make this as valuable as possible for you.

I’ll wrap this up with one final thought: never forget that the best thing about this business is that we’re brothers in turf. If you treat your customer like a fellow member of the fraternity, they’re likely to return the favor. Happy selling!

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It’s a myth that you can manage time — but you can learn to manage yourself. At least that’s what one sales expert says.

“Business people make a mistake when they view time as a resource — it’s really a priority,” notes David Waits, principal of Florida-based Waits Consulting Group. “The successful sales representative prioritizes better and sets better objectives than his or her competitor. Following this approach takes the mystery out of the process and simplifies sales behavior.”

Waits advises setting three objectives for each day and not allowing yourself to quit work until they are done. They might be: make sure to see three of you’re A-list customers; spend time filling the pipeline — or turning cold prospects into warm prospects; follow-up on yesterday’s calls.

“Not following up on calls is a common oversight,” notes Waits, a sales trainer for 20 years. “It could cost you the sale. Getting busy is no excuse. Do not let secondary or tertiary commitments conflict with your goals. This is what separates those that get things done from those who don’t.”

Identifying Three Target Types

Patricia Fripp agrees that sales representatives should identify and prioritize the groups of people they serve. A California-based executive speech coach and sales presentation skills trainer, Fripp recommends dividing sales time among three main groups of people:

• Those people who know and love you — your current customers
• Those people you are already in conversation with — good prospects
• Those people who are unaware of you — cold calls

“Put your major focus on the second group of people — the warm prospects,” says Fripp, a British-born sales expert who has lived and worked in the U.S. for several decades. “Call your current customers at the end of the day with the goal of leaving a personal and interesting voice message that will make them smile. Never make a sales call without doing some research first — always mention something you know about them, whether it’s an award they’ve won, a recent tweet they’ve sent, something in their LinkedIn profile or a meeting they have attended.”

Making Cold Calls Second Nature

Cold calls tend to be scary, continues Fripp, but they need to be second-nature for a successful sales person. You can save time by knowing specifically what you will say when you pick up the phone or walk into an office or network at a trade show.

“The first question I usually hear on a phone sales call is: How are you today? I always respond, ‘Busy!’” adds Fripp. “You need to make a connection by mentioning something you know about them or relating something newsy or of value. And don’t use sloppy language. Don’t say ‘stuff’ and ‘sort of’ and ‘anyway.’ Instead, use precise language.”

Documenting Performance Increases

Always have hard numbers available at your fingertips, advises Paul Cherry, managing partner and founder of Performance Based Results, a sales consulting firm in Delaware. Document all increases in performance, output and profitability, as well as improvements in customer service.

“Customers often have unreliable memories when it comes to how your solutions have impacted their bottom lines,” says Cherry. “It is your job to remind them, especially if they may be shopping around. Meanwhile, prospects always want to see evidence of what you’ve accomplished for others in similar situations.”

Cherry also suggests getting prospects involved and demonstrating their commitment to making the sale. “Ask your contact to bring in a peer or boss,” he adds. “Request they organize a trial study, a visit to your facility or agree to a pilot program. Getting skin in the game means more commitment up-front.”

Taking Follow-Up to Next Level

Darlene Hunter warns against the biggest time wasters sales people face in their day-to-day work: worry, negative thinking, fear, lack of follow-up and disorganization. A motivational speaker, author and life coach, Hunter says worrying over what has already happened is a huge drawback for sales professionals. Developing a winning attitude will benefit your health as well as your career.

“Lack of follow-up is perhaps the biggest pitfall for sales success,” adds Hunter, president of Darlene Hunter & Associates, LLC, based in New Jersey. “Any time you work with people, it’s critical to follow up with phone calls, leads and appointments. Failing to do that will delay reaching your goals and growing your network.”

Offering customized solutions goes a long way toward winning the sale, adds Cherry. Each customer deserves a unique plan. “It costs you nothing to make a customer feel special, but it has a huge impact,” he notes.

By the same token, it’s okay to walk away in cases where you have exhausted all of your sales strategies. “If you have unmotivated customers or dysfunctional organizational dynamics, you need to cut your losses,” Cherry says. “Simply put, don’t waste time chasing your tail.”

After Action Analysis

After every sales conversation, do an After Action Analysis, adds Fripp. “Invest time in revisiting your contact and asking what went right, what went wrong and what you can improve,” she explains. “Learning from your own experience – and the experiences of others – saves time in the long run.”

Success doesn’t mean perfection, says Waits. “When it goes bad – and it does go bad sometimes – think back historically,” he adds. “You had a bad day, but it doesn’t define who you are. It breeds success when you pass through quitting points and get back on the other side … It all circles back to self- management.”

Jerry, do you abide by a daily sales routine?

Seldom. I have a large sales territory – Ohio (except for the northeast), Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky. I try and accommodate customers based on their needs and this most often does not lend to an efficient logistical pattern to my sales efforts. With this large territory there are many differences in the seasonal urgency of different products.

How important is relationship building?

Extremely important with both existing customers and new customers. Relationships many times are the key differential in the level of support we as sales people get from customers.

Explain how you generate new customers and increase your client portfolio?

Never give up on a potential customer. Things happen that create an opportunity to sell a new customer. I try to create the image of always caring about what is important to the customer and this needs to be sincere and genuine. It is important to have indirect promoters of our products from distribution sales reps and from key influential end-users.

In addition to selling turf chemicals, what other support do you offer customers?

I offer advice on sprayer nozzle selection, calibration, sprayer coverage, water quality, understanding of chemical mode of action, proper mixing sequence of the various chemical formulation classes; advice for establishment and weed control for golf course natural roughs; and advice for how to achieve the best esthetic value to the landscape from all of the ornamental plant varieties. I offer this from my experience in managing an agribusiness and from my days as a basic manufacture rep on the crop side of the business.

When working with a client, how do you successfully transition from being a partial to a primary chemical supplier … In short, how do you earn more of their business?

Just by being myself and utilizing my experience and expertise in the way that I talk with the customer. Provide timely and professional follow up to a customer’s questions. I try and sell in a non-traditional way that gives the customer a real reason to increase their support with BASF.

What's the most common sales mistake that happens in your line of work?

That would be not putting the customer as the primary focus. In this line of work, always know what is important to the customer and know what the seasonal demands are for your customers. Sales people need to use our two ears, two eyes and one mouth in the same proportion when trying to communicate with our customers.

How do you work through or manage a seasonal sales slump or slow down?

I'd say there is no real difference. The hard work continues regardless of how the season is progressing, such as weather patterns and other reasons that are out of the sales reps control.

What’s the best piece of advice you were given about being successful in sales?

Always show the customer that you really care about them being successful. Customers also like sales people who can take the customer down a path of an organized selling process. Sales people are selling 12 months out of the year and many times only getting a physical sales order just a few times during the course of the season.