Use a Cropping Plan –

Early orders have been the Achilles heel for seed sellers as long as I can remember.

Most sales reps have come to believe that it’s nearly impossible to write orders before harvest because the customer isn’t ready to commit prior to that. This is the reason so many sellers don’t even try to write orders until after harvest.

Not only is that plan diametrically opposed to growing a seed sales territory, it also takes the farmer in the opposite direction of where he needs to go to grow his business.

Producing a top crop today is a lot more complicated than it was in the past. There are so many more important decisions to make regarding where specific technology-integrated products fit in a particular farmer’s operation, that more time must be spent in planning.

In an attempt to get farmers to order earlier, seed companies have been using programs such as early order discounts, trips and other incentives, to try to get growers to buy earlier in the season. None of those programs have worked.

None of these programs are incentive enough to make farmers change their buying cycle (a.k.a. the Ag Cycle) and when they make their seed decisions.

How do I know this?

Because I’ve tried them all.

For years, I worked like a dog, trying everything I could to get earlier orders.

While I did get sales increases, I soon realized that there had to be a better way.

The answer was to start using a Cropping Plan with each and every one of my customers.

But why a Cropping Plan?

First, it gave me my life back by allowing me to get the order writing process started much sooner with my growers, putting them on MY schedule instead of me being on theirs. Once I could manage my time better, I had more time to create a specific plan for each grower which allowed me to place the right products on my customers’ farms and fields.

My chances of winning and their chances for success with my varieties skyrocketed.

Secondly, instead of trying to save customers a few dollars via discounts, I showed them how I could help them make an extra $30 -$60 per acre profit just by developing their cropping plans prior to harvest.

So what is a Cropping Plan? How do I get started? Do I really need one?

To find out, watch this websiode from Seed Seller Training TV, featuring live footage from our CAMP training.