Sales Coaching Archives

April 11, 2018 | Rod Osthus

The secret to success in seed sales is staying in control of the sale. If control is not maintained, the chance of getting the seed you sold planted decreases dramatically. Every year there are seed sellers who struggle to meet sales goals and this y…

March 15, 2018 | Rod Osthus

General George S. Patton once said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn’t thinking.” I’ve been in the seed business for 45 years and continue to love it, but I’ve discovered many companies in this industry think alike. So, some…

February 8, 2018 | Rod Osthus

When I tell salespeople to stop listening to their customers, they stop listening to me. They think I’m nuts. It’s because they’ve been taught the No. 1 thing to do if they want to get sales is to be good listeners when talking with prospects a…

January 12, 2018 | Rod Osthus

How many ways are there to get sales increases? Every field seller knows there are just two: get new buyers and sell more to current ones. As simple as that sounds, many companies continue to struggle to get the increases they need. Why? Because they…

December 9, 2017 | Rod Osthus

Do you spend time every year worrying whether or not your salespeople are going to achieve their sales goals? Most managers do, and for good reason. Salespeople are getting weaker. It’s not because the marketplace is getting tougher, and they’re …

November 9, 2017 | Rod Osthus

How do you develop top salespeople in your company? How do you get everyone from new hires, to your so-called veterans, to achieve their sales goals? Too often, neither one of those groups meets their company’s expectations because they’re missin…

October 5, 2017 | Rod Osthus

My mother passed away of cancer in 1988. Back then, they didn’t know as much about treatments for her type of illness, so the doctors used every technique they knew. Every day they would come into her room with a new treatment plan, a new test to p…

September 7, 2017 | Rod Osthus

Issues involving product performance are something no company wants to face, but when dealing with a living organism such as seed, they’re likely to occur someplace every year. When your varieties meet or exceed customer expectations, everyone is h…

August 9, 2017 | Rod Osthus

How many ag sales reps forecasted a sales increase this year? All of them. How many will actually achieve that goal? Less than 5 percent. Why? Because the other 95 percent will not use the No. 1 secret to achieving their sales goals every year — th…

July 6, 2017 | Rod Osthus

Every ag company is looking for a top salesperson. Why? Because they believe the sales rep is their No. 1 point of differentiation in the marketplace. People buy from people, right? True, but there is a lot more to it. As important as top sales reps …