Channel the power of DISC styles
Bad news…down markets…increased costs…It’s all over the agribusiness headlines. Every day, the outlook for farmer profitability is reported as dismal and getting worse. When it comes to agribusiness company news, it doesn’t get any better. Sales and profits are down, generating work force reductions, mergers or location closures.
This may sound strange, but this is great news for you as an Ag sales professional. You now have a huge opportunity to grow your sales position as a resource to your customers and your company. I didn’t say grow your sales. I said grow your sales position. When times are tough for your customer, that’s when they need you more than ever before. That’s when they need you to step up your focus on helping them stay in business. As a farmer once told me, “Greg, you’re out here trying to help me sell corn at $6.50/bushel. Anyone can sell 6.50 corn and make money. We needed you out here when corn was $3.50”. This was said at a time when breakeven on corn was in the $3.75/bushel range. His comment really stuck with me. Most of us that sell to farmers love to sell when they are making a lot of money. They are happier. They buy more of our products with less price objections. However, those good times don’t last and soon we find ourselves in today’s environment.
What to do? First, don’t avoid making sales calls. Keep in contact, even when they are not happy. They are not angry at you. They are frustrated with the industry and the market dynamics. They are just venting. Let them vent, but do not jump into the quagmire of commiserating with them. So, my second piece of advice is to steer the conversation back to their farming operation. Avoid jumping in and complaining alongside them. I’m sure most of them have enough friends at the local coffee shop for doing that. Instead, get back to the task at hand, which is them managing their farm for the best possible outcome.
To accomplish this task, it is going to challenge your selling skills. Each farmer will act differently in tough environments. Some will loudly complain and blame. Some will quietly recede into depression and appear stoic. To be more effective in your ability to help these different reactions, salespeople can use the DISC profiling system. If not familiar, feel free to reach out. It is a very common business training tool used in sales to improve communications. When a person is under stress, they will resort to their strongest DISC style.
Here are the four styles, with how they react to stress and tough times
D – Dominance:
This person reacts with control. When times are tough, they will act out by trying to control what they can and eliminate anything that takes that control away. This is not the time to impart a lot of policies on a person like this. Instead, bring them options. They love to solve problems. So, bring them the factors or choices, AND…Ask their opinion. They don’t engage until they have had a chance to vent their thoughts.
I – Influence:
This producer loves all the volatility, change and looking towards better times. The key to helping them is keeping them on track. They are prone to jumping on the next big thing. As their trusted advisor, you want to provide some stability in their decisions. Help them by putting their goals in writing and occasionally reminding them of what you both agreed is the best way to reach those goals. They may be too quick to abandon an idea or farming practice that hasn’t had time to prove successful. Provide the reminder that the process is working towards the longer range goal.
S – Steadiness:
The secret to helping this person is in the name of this style: Steady. This group is often under some of the greatest stress, but never show it. They go along to get along. They avoid conflict, which often causes more conflict in the long run. And right now, as times get tough, there is a lot of conflict. Budget conflicts come to the surface for most farmers right now. The farmer with the Steadiness profile will struggle over every decision on what to spend and what to cut costs on. A big concern is, how to make ends meet so that everyone is happy. Support this producer with social proof that others are going through this same struggle. Help them connect with others if you can. Change is a big struggle for this group. As much as it seems like the world is changing around them, reassure them of how often this has happened in the history of farming. Help them make changes gradually. How can they try it out before committing their entire farming operation to the change?
C – Compliance:
This personality style loves to prove everything in their own way. During stress, they will resort to over-analyzing. Possibly even reaching the analysis paralysis stage. This can seem counter productive to changing quick enough to survive in a down market. Yet, you must continue to provide the needed information they crave to make decisions. Start with how they are making decisions. Then, try to fit into their methodology. They will also have certain people they follow in the industry. I call it their own “Center of Excellence”. For grain marketing, it might be one of the five or six grain marketing advisors that provide newsletters on it. If animal nutrition, it might be one of the universities that specialize in dairy (Cornell), horse (Texas A&M), etc. Find out who they follow and follow them as well.
Selling to unhappy farmers, who are struggling in financially tough times is not as easy or fun as selling during the high profitability times. However, as an Ag sales professional, this is your time to shine. You can set yourself apart from all the other salespeople driving onto the farm. I know it’s an easy trap to commiserate over the low prices on corn, beans, milk, or cattle. It may even feel good if you too are a farmer and struggle with these challenges.
As mentioned, to stand out and be of greater help to your customers, I have one piece of advice, “Don’t do it”. Instead, connect with them in their DISC style and help them get through it.
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