Category: Business Topics

Letters from Lisa

A new year means a fresh slate. Many people say it is a good idea to start the year with a fresh perspective and focus on how to put your best foot forward. 

There’s a Buddhist parable called The Second Arrow. The story explains that in life, things that don’t go the way we desire is inevitable. This is likened to being shot by an arrow – an instance which is outside of your personal control.  

The option of pulling out that arrow and then complaining about the event is entirely on you. This is referred to as the second arrow. Here are a few tips to help you with that second arrow so you start the year with a clean slate as opposed to leaving remnants of those first arrows. 

Practice Gratitude 

Being truly grateful assists you in fresh perspective and putting your best foot forward. 

Make a No “What Ifs” Rule 

Spinning on what might have been keeps you from moving forward. Your thoughts may seem to circle back again and again to the things you think you could, or should, have done differently. When you catch yourself thinking a “what if,” just recognize that you didn’t, and move forward. 

Get Physical 

Take a weightlifting or yoga class or give one-foot barn cleaning or ballroom dancing a go. When you choose an activity that requires your focus to balance or to learn a sequence of motions, your brain will be busy doing something other than ruminating on arrow one. I really need to get this incorporated into my life in 2023.  Stay tuned for how that goes. 

Make a To-Do List 

Having a plan for today keeps you from feeling ungrounded. If you fill your day with meaningful tasks, you will have something to keep you from focused forward and grounded. This takes time, but the payoff is seriously worth it. 

Remember, Happiness is a Choice 

In every moment, you have the choice to be happy. Victor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust and founded the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy, is said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” If you are choosing your old perspective as a pattern, consciously make the decision to replace it with a fresh perspective. 

Start with a Mantra or Affirmation 

If your day begins with a thought like, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” or “I’m excited for what today will bring,” it keeps your focus on the present and future. Choose a positive affirmation to start each day. One of my favorite gifts during the last year was a set of Daily Prayer cards given to me by a friend who lost her husband too early as well.  Each card is a very short Bible verse focused on the good God provides.  I would say those cards have helped my perspective each day more than anything. It does work. Try it! 

Perspective – yours, mine and others – are all equally important. Take the time to know them all so you can ensure yours is fresh. 

Dealer Spotlight: Darlington Feed, LLC

Show us a dealer with ambition, a wide network of diverse producers and a willingness to use the tools provided, and we’ll show you Darlington Feed, LLC. Matt Weigel at Darlington, Wisconsin, has been a BioZyme dealer for nine years, and says the best thing about the BioZyme products is that they always do what they say they will.

“I’m not selling them anything. I feel like I am helping my customers,” he said. “Whenever I am talking to anyone – in the store or somewhere else, I ask them ‘how are things at the ranch?’. They will always tell you what is wrong, then you know what to offer them to help them. It’s a simple conversation starter to help them.”

Weigel and his staff are helping a diverse group of producers. He said his team does a great job and is always confident selling the BioZyme products, knowing the products will do what they are needed to do.

One of his most popular products is VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® 5/S; however, the Vita Charge® Clench Gel is also increasing in demand with the dairies in his area. Dairy producers like to keep 2-3 cases of Clench Gel on hand when calving.

Another event that has grown for Darlington Feed is Chick Days, and Weigel has seen the benefits of putting Backyard Boost® in his chicks’ water.

Not only does he recognize the diversity and quality of products that he gets from BioZyme, but he also appreciates the presence that the marketing and sales staff offers from the tools they provide from signage and training.

“Everything is there for you to use. You just have to use it,” he said.

In 2022, Weigel was able to build his own store, giving customers a brighter, neater shopping experience. He said the investment shows his customers there is security in his business, and he intends to be able to provide them service for the long haul.

In addition to building his own store front, he has partnered with Eastland Feed, who has the ability to manufacture feed for him and adds Amaferm® to rations when customers request it.

BioZyme is proud to have ambitious, young dealers who use the tools that are offered to them to provide care that comes full circle. Thanks, Darlington Feed, for being a BioZyme dealer!

Know your Checkbook: It is more Blessed to Give than to Receive

In our household, the second grader regularly reminds her dad and me that “sharing is caring.” This bold statement can be applied to something small like sharing her apples with me while she eats her popcorn on Sunday night or agreeing to fill a few extra shoeboxes for boys and girls during Operation Christmas Child during the holidays. In other words, she enjoys sharing and knows the importance of it.

As we approach the holiday season, it seems like there are numerous opportunities to give. You can give your time, you can give gifts, you can give blood. You can give as an individual, a family or a business. Giving can be a spontaneous gesture like dropping a donation in the red kettle or it can be planned. Any way you give this season, and throughout the year, remember that it is indeed “more blessed to give than receive.”

Not only will you be blessed as you give, giving is healthy. Studies have shown there are several health benefits to giving. They include lower blood pressure, less anxiety and depression and increased self-esteem. Anytime you can do something good for others and improve your own health, that seems like a win-win.

Giving also makes us happy. Research shows that giving both money and time provides humans an emotional surge because feeling good is a product of doing good. It’s built into our neurochemistry. Giving triggers feel-good chemicals like endorphins, dopamine and oxytocin. And it’s true across cultural and economic lines, too, according to a Harvard Business School study.

Who doesn’t want to reduce their stress levels? It turns out that giving also lowers your stress. When we are overall happier, we are less stressed. Studies also show that volunteering and giving to others can help us with improved self-esteem and can reduce cases of depression.

Giving is contagious. Have you heard of paying it forward? It is a real phenomenon. It feels pretty amazing to be in the fast food or coffee line, and when you get to the window to pay, the clerk announces that the car in front of you has paid for your order. Because of your happiness, and the fact that giving is contagious, you will likely pay for the person behind you. It is a true chain reaction.

Giving builds relationships. If you give your money, time or material gifts, you must have a connection to an individual or an organization that you believe in. That contact is someone you can build a relationship with. You never know where that relationship can lead. It could lead to further relationships, a future employee or customer.

As you can see, the benefits of giving are many. Not only are you helping others, but you are also reaping the rewards, too, in terms of better health, less stress and more happiness. It truly is better to give than receive. There are numerous opportunities to give around the holidays. Give where you can.

Know your Customer: Help your Customer Set Goals for the New Year

As we start thinking about closing out this year and preparing for a new one, there isn’t much time to reflect on the past. We need to start looking ahead to what we want to achieve in 2023, and our customers are not any different. They are likely going to rely on you – their feed and supplement dealer – for some good nutrition advice. You know about their program and understand their challenges.

Once you do understand the overarching goals for their program, it is a good idea to ask them if they have planned out their year to see how they can best make progress. A good method to establishing goals

is to make sure that they are S.M.A.R.T. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Let’s explore how you can help your customers set goals that match this set of criteria.

SPECIFIC

Help your customers define as many details for their goals as possible. Who is involved? Is there a deadline? Where and when will these goals be achieved? For instance, maybe you have a customer who is planning their first production sale. A very specific goal could be to host a production sale in March to sell 40 yearling bulls and average $4,000.

MEASURABLE

Every goal that is set should have a unit of measurement to indicate success. For example, your customer doesn’t just want to breed a majority of his or her cows. The measurable goal would be to have 95% conception rate.

ATTAINABLE

It is great to dream big; however, goals should be set that can be reached. Remember, Rome was not built in a day, and goals likely won’t be achieved overnight either.

RELEVANT

The goals defined should align with the overall goals of the operation. If the operation wants to raise bulls that produce high-performance calves for the feedlot, the owner or manager probably wants to focus on sires that have desirable growth and carcass traits. A goal to have 100% conception rates isn’t relevant if your customer puts one 2-year-old bull out with 50 cows.

TIME-BOUND

Make sure every goal set has a deadline and work ambitiously to meet those deadlines. Take that one step further and expand your goals to include short-term and long-term goals. Perhaps a short-term goal for the operation is to purchase a new a ram before breeding season (within two months). A long-term goal might be to host an on-farm club lamb sale in the spring (within the next year).

Now is a great time to work with your customers to help them set S.M.A.R.T. goals for their next production year. It’s always good to encourage writing down the goals where they will see them on a regular basis and posting deadlines that they can measure on a calendar that they also see regularly. Make sure their goals include a quality nutrition program. They will thank you, and you can watch your business grow.

Effective Action: Care that Comes Full Circle Comes from the Heart

Have you ever wondered about the phrase “care that comes full circle”? It isn’t just a fancy little catch phrase that BioZyme® throws around. It is the company motto that the company and its employees live by each day. Where does the care come from? It comes from the heart.

One of the things that sets BioZyme apart from other companies is this care that comes full circle. It’s in our people. It’s in our products. It’s in our research. President and CEO Lisa Norton compares it to a boomerang that is properly thrown.

“When you throw a boomerang properly, it will always come back to you. If we make supplements at BioZyme that help animals perform to their fullest, then that care we provide to them will ultimately, come full circle and put food on our plate. Now that is care that comes full circle,” Norton said.

Simply put, caring comes from the heart. This is true if you are talking about making nutrition products for a chicken with a with a rather short lifespan or a newborn child who depends on you for its every need.

Caring about what you do and how you do it always starts with the heart. If you start from the inside out – with the heart – not only will your care shine bright, but that care will boomerang back or “come full circle.”

Our research shows care. With more than 100 published studies, BioZyme never introduces a product until it has been carefully and fully researched. Research starts with a team of scientists and continues to real-life scenarios. Our proprietary fermentation processes are backed by 70 years of research – both in the lab and applied.

Our products show care. It’s no secret that the products that we market and sell do what we say they do. With a research-proven prebiotic like Amaferm® that has been studied and used for more than 70 years, you and your customers can rest assured that the products are carefully manufactured. Amaferm is made one place in the world – St. Joseph, Missouri.

Our people show care. Our people care about the products they make, the way they promote them and the people they work with. They are carefully trained in production best practices and safety manufacturing. They keep safety for themselves, others and the product top of mind.

Not only do our people show care about products and people within the BioZyme family, they extend that care into the greater community. They are active in civic organizations, community projects and helping neighbors. They know that care that comes full circle is a boomerang effect.

From the research, products and people, our care that comes full circle starts in the heart. We know that our dealers have heart too. We hope that you never forget your heart and how to give, and receive, that care.

Tell Everyone: Marketing Plans Start NOW

Marketing is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Regardless of if you are selling widgets or high-quality feed supplements, marketing is going to help you grow your business, build relationships with your customers and increase your profits.

As we move into 2023, there are more marketing opportunities than ever before. We no longer live in your grandpa’s world of driving downtown and putting an advertisement in the local newspaper made with clipart provided by the local cattle association, hoping for results.

Dealers, you have so many options available to you. So, grab your yellow legal pad or even your iPad, and take notes, because your marketing plans start now.

Make a plan. Divide your year into quarters and break each quarter into months. Decide what is important to your customers during those given months. If it starts getting hot in March or April where you live, you will probably want to start promoting a mineral that includes HEAT® in February or even earlier to make it top of mind. Market Sure Champ® products in the months leading up to and during livestock shows in your area. If you have a big wall calendar or like to use excel spreadsheets, use these tools to help visualize your plan.

Create a budget. Do you know how much money you have to spend on marketing? Do you plan to spend money each month? Every other month? Is the dollar amount dependent on sales or time of year? As you prepare your annual budget, set aside some marketing dollars for advertising, promotional items and even a producer meeting. If you have those funds budgeted early on, you should not spend them on other items, and know that you have the money reserved specifically for marketing efforts.

Choose your vehicles. Once you know your budget and what you plan to market, determine which outlets you would like to use for your marketing. Do you plan to rely solely on social media? Will you print stuffers to go with your invoices to promote new or timely products? Do you plan to advertise on the local radio station or with the local sports boosters on the high school football programs? If you know your customers or the potential customers you are trying to reach, you can determine which of the vehicles are relevant to them. Whichever vehicle you decide on, make sure you know the cost, the deadline and the file format you need to provide if it is an external company like a newspaper or radio station.

Use social media. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok are growing in popularity. Social media offers several benefits, with the most popular being that it is free. Other benefits include that it is widely accessible by most people anywhere, including at their fingertips, and it allows you to interact with your customers, whereas traditional advertising only allows for one-way communication. Use social media to your advantage. If you are not fully comfortable with some of the tools and platforms, remember that BioZyme offers Promoboxx as free service, and you can link your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for free content.

Evaluate your action. After you have conducted your marketing action, it is always important to evaluate the outcome. Did a particular advertisement or promotion drive customers to the store? Did your business experience an increase in sales due to your marketing efforts? Take notes. If the sales didn’t increase, chalk one up for experience. If the sales went through the roof, write it down and plan for something very similar for the same time the next year.

Marketing is ever evolving. You don’t have to do it alone. Be sure to reach out to your ASM, use the tools provided to you in the Online Dealer Center or contact a member of the BioZyme Marketing Team. We are here to help you market your business and increase your sales.

Letters from Lisa – December 2022

December is my favorite month. This is because I get to give many “gifts” to those around me. These gifts include the most days off work of any month, end of year performance reviews, the annual Christmas bonus, Christmas gifts, happy New Year hugs and pausing to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.

The word in there I would like to focus on this month is pausing.

Pausing at times — even for just a few seconds — can make a major difference in how we think and react. Before you dismiss this as simple common sense, remember: the pause is easy in theory, difficult in practice.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) includes the ability to understand and manage our emotions, using them to work for us instead of against us. Emotional intelligence can help us think logically, rather than solely reacting with emotion. Like any ability, it can be learned, exercised and honed to help produce desirable outcomes. What one action can sharpen your EQ?

The pause.

The pause isn’t only effective when dealing with upsetting situations. Often, we are tempted to jump on opportunities that look really good at the time but that we haven’t really thought through. Used effectively, the pause can help reduce those “What was I thinking?” moments. Now wouldn’t that be a nice gift to give everyone around us?

How to Use the Pause Effectively

  1. Stop. Resist the urge to act immediately.
  2. Take a deep, long breath.
  3. If possible, take a walk. At least 10 to 15 minutes is great; longer is even better.

Using the pause can help us look to the future with more optimism. It is the pause that allows us to digest information and begin to use that information effectively. We can move logically through the processes of thinking, then planning and then doing. The order is important, and it is that order that allows the future to be all it can be for you and for your business.

Some situations do require immediate responses, and a pause may not always be an option. Time is money, but in big decisions that may have great impact, a pause can pay dividends.

Take the time this process requires, and you will find better decisions throughout business.

Now that’s a gift worth giving and receiving!

Know your Checkbook: Quality Customer Service can Increase your Bottom Line

Providing excellent customer service doesn’t cost your business anything. However, if even one customer has even a somewhat bad experience, it could cost you everything. Customer service is crucial to business and ultimately sales. Think about how fast news spreads, especially in a small community, and even more so with the aid of social media. People share positive experiences, and they are like endorsements. But one bad experience can make its way through the rumor mill in record speed, ruining your reputation and your sales.

A recent survey of American Express showed that 70% of customers are willing to spend 13% more on average with companies they believe provide exceptional customer service. Making a conscious effort to impress your customers creates the kind of reputation that promotes word-of-mouth referrals and upsell opportunities – ultimately increasing sales.

Another study showed that a 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect as decreasing costs by 10%. In an environment where businesses are increasingly concerned with their bottom line, companies may focus a lot more on improving customer satisfaction.

The best part of increasing your customer satisfaction levels is that customers keep coming back. These retained customers cost less than new customers. Why? Because you aren’t spending marketing dollars trying to get them in your stores – services you’re already providing are convincing them to come back.

Just what is that returning customer worth? According to an online article on Lireo.com:

  • Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase your profits up to 125%
  • Loyal customers are worth 10 times as much as their first purchase on average
  • Companies that make customer service a priority make 60% higher profits than their competitors

How to Improve Your Customers’ Experiences and Retain Them

  • Ask your customers for feedback – When you show that you care and that you’re willing to listen to your customers, they will appreciate it and want to give you their business. Really listen and try to implement their suggestions and feedback, and then show what changes you have made based on their suggestions.
  • Offer a good mix of products – Make sure you have the products that your customers use the most on-hand including seasonal items relevant to the animals’ nutritional development.
  • Keep your store easy to navigate – Keep your aisles clear, and set up a good flow. Keep like or complimentary products together so your customers don’t have to go from corner to corner to get the two products they came for.
  • Train your employees on how to handle complaints respectfully – Negative interactions spread to twice as many people as positive interactions. If an employee handles a complaint well, the chance of the dissatisfied customer spreading his or her discontentment decreases.

Customer service is something we strive to perfect each day but now that you know it can help your profits, be sure to give a little extra attention to the customers. Your customers will surely notice, and you can watch your business grow.

Effective Action: Taking Action Equals Growth

Do you remember the tale of the tortoise and the hare? To summarize, the hare had a lot of enthusiasm, but he didn’t take advantage of that enthusiasm. The tortoise, a little slower paced, knew he was at a disadvantage; however, he kept moving forward, and he WON THE RACE…Action wins.

This fable offers a valuable lesson even in the modern business world. Any action you take will help your business succeed. That is one reason BioZyme® created the Action Awards Program. We want to encourage dealers to take action – marketing, promotion, education – so their businesses will grow. Not only are dealers rewarded with their own sales growth and profits, but BioZyme also rewards them through the various items they can earn with their Action Awards points.

“We know that when dealers participate in our programs, whether it is an educational program like the Master Dealer Program or a marketing program like sending out the quarterly postcard, it helps their business grow. They are getting more information to share with their customers, and they are giving their company added recognition. Action equals growth. That is important to BioZyme,” said Jennifer Miller, Outreach Sales & Support Senior Manager.

Opportunities for Action – BioZyme offers several opportunities for dealers to take action to grow their businesses. With dedicated teams in sales, business development, outreach support and marketing, there are a multitude of ways for dealers to participate in programs that BioZyme offers. Dealers who participated in Promoboxx (an easy-to- use social media platform) grew on average 139.99%. Other marketing action opportunities include in-store displays, sending out a mailer or newsletter, print or radio advertising and helping an ASM at a trade show or educational event.

Dealers can act by gathering and submitting hay samples for a customer. They can host a producer meeting, offering a form of education and promotion about the products and their business. They can participate in the Master Dealer program, increasing their knowledge about the BioZyme brands. And they can participate in an after-hours training on any topic with a member of the Outreach Team.

Rewards for Action – By enrolling in the Action Awards Program, dealers are rewarded for their actions, not only by growing their business; but BioZyme offers points for each action taken. Once points are accumulated, they can be redeemed for items that range from promotional swag like shirts and caps to items to help grow your business further like hay probes and iPads.

Caleb Day of Cordell Farm & Ranch Store in Kaufman, Texas, said he appreciates the Action Awards points, and redeems them for wearables to give back to his customers.

“If they buy a certain number of bags of your product, they get a cap, if they buy more, they get a jacket. It incentivizes them. They might buy one more bag to get a cap or sweatshirt. And they appreciate getting something extra when they buy the product they already like,” Day said.

Miller reminds the dealers that points can be rewarded for any action. Contact her or your ASM if you do something a little different that isn’t listed, and she will make sure you are credited.

“We want your business to grow, and we want you to succeed. Take action, get your business name out there. We will gladly give you some points if you are doing the work to improve your business,” she said.

Take the action. Earn the points. Grow your business.

Know your Customer: Listening to Customers will Build Relationships

We’ve heard it and probably said it repeatedly — the customer is always right. Listening to your customers is a great way to build relationships and create customer loyalty. The one thing we know about loyal customers is they are repeat customers who tell others about your business.  

Customers, like everyone, are busy people. When they are comfortable enough with you to share their challenges, goals and concerns, that means they are in the relationship building phase. It is important to them, and your business, to actively listen to what they have to say. 

Let’s explore five tips to actively listen to your customers. 

  1. Pay attention. 

Make sure you give your customer your full attention so you can acknowledge the concern. Make eye contact and realize that your body language speaks volumes. Try to avoid folded arms or excessive looking around and being distracted. 

  1. Show that you are listening. 

Smile and use body language, like an occasional nod, to show you are paying attention. Take notes if it is something of great detail like a ration. Make sure your posture is open and inviting, with your head up, shoulders back and your arms to your side and not crossed. Small comments like “yes” or “hmm” also note that you are listening. 

  1. Provide feedback. 

Ask questions to clarify any points of confusion or to clarify a particular point. If you need more information, ask for it when the customer is finished talking. 

  1. Defer judgment.  

Allow the customer to finish sharing his or her message with you. Interrupting will seem disrespectful and could lose a sale and a friendship 

  1. Respond appropriately. 

Treat the customer like you would want your mother treated — with respect and understanding. Be candid and honest with your response, and don’t make promises you can’t keep. If you don’t have an immediate answer, let them know. “I hear your concerns about XYZ. Let me talk to my distributor, ASM or another person, and I will get back to you within X days,” is always a good response. They should respect the time you have given them to hear your concerns and the time you are going to take to further investigate.  

Listening to customers will help build trust, strengthen relationship and create loyalty. It also provides opportunities for cross selling and upselling. Did you have a customer come into your feedstore to buy cattle mineral and hear him also talk about the goats his wife recently bought? That sounds like a great opportunity to talk about DuraFerm® Goat Mineral.  

Listening can take shape in multiple forms. Be present. Listen to your customers. Build their trust. Keep their business.