Dealer Spotlight: Field Farms

BioZyme® dealer Mitch Field at Field Farms shares his own personal success stories with the products to gain the trust and business of potential customers. He and his family had positive experiences with the VitaFerm® products on their Angus operation in Erhard, Minn., but the closest dealer to him was 100 miles away, so Field decided to become a dealer. He started sharing his success stories, has conducted producer meetings and has taken his message to social media, all while watching his business grow during the past two years.

“The biggest challenge for me has been getting people on a strict mineral program. But I’m working to get them feeding it all year, so it is better for their cows too, and some of them are starting to come around,” Field said.

In an area where farming is the dominant profession and most producers have less than 50 head, Field said getting them on a year-round program has been a battle. However, when they see the benefits of the Amaferm advantage, they are starting to realize the importance of providing excellent nutrition to their herd all year.

Field said he promotes the mineral program by seasons and production cycle. When he and his family only had to treat one sick calf out of 150 at weaning after using Vita Charge® Drench and Stress Tubs, that definitely grew his customer base. He has his producer meetings in the fall just prior to weaning to sell the benefits of the Vita Charge program. He also notes with the humidity and the number of lakes they have in their area, the VitaFerm HEAT® mineral has been easy to sell.

“With where we live in Minnesota, we run into a lot of fly issues in the summer, so I tell people about the HEAT mineral. Once they try it, they really like it, and they don’t have to worry about pinkeye issues either,” Field said.

Though his own experiences have helped him educate producers in his area about the benefits of a high-quality mineral program, he’s also gone a step further, and shares some of his experiences on social media. He shares his personal experiences on Twitter and said that he’s had a few other cattle producers reach out to him about mineral programs. He was able to refer them to BioZyme dealers in their area, and at least one purchased product.

“I always have people ask certain things. Since I’ve had good luck with the product, I share personal experiences with my followers,” Field said.

Educating others on the value of the mineral program is key; however, the biggest benefit to becoming a dealer is the personal network that Field has made. He said he has made connections with people in his own area he didn’t even know raised livestock and made valuable friendships with other BioZyme dealers and staff that he looks forward to talking with on a regular basis.

“I’ve made some good friends along the way. I talk to Keith Micke (Dealer in Wyoming) about once a month and Rowdy Pope (ASM in Florida) about once a week.”

For Field, it’s more than a mineral program. Being a dealer has allowed him to share his experiences, help others help their herds and cultivate friendships and connections along the way. That’s care that comes full circle.

QUARTER 2 MAILERS ARE HERE!

Quarter 2 mailers are here. If you have a current customer or prospect mailing list on file with us, be sure to check your email TODAY to opt-in for this Q2 mailer to your customers.

This program is open to any dealer that has a customer/prospect mailing list on file with us. We will use the most current list we have on file. If you’d like to update yours, please send those updates to your ASM and we will get that list updated for the next quarter’s mailing.

Opt-in date ends May 31st so don’t wait!

MAY PROMOBOXX CAMPAIGNS

This month on Promoboxx we are excited to announce our launch of three new campaigns for VitaFerm, Vitalize and Sure Champ!

The Vitalize campaign focuses on how Vitalize helps elevate horses health at all ages and stages of their life.

Summer Prep with Sure Champ is a campaign that features helpful tips and testimonials.

See the Difference with VitaFerm is a campaign to highlight the difference VitaFerm and Vita Charge can make in your customer’s cow herd with these testimonials and videos.

If you have the automation feature set up on Promoboxx, a new post will go up weekly for each campaign. Visit www.biozymedealermktg.com to get started.

Producer Meetings are an Ideal Venue to Promote the Program

Producer meetings are a great way to gather a group of like-minded people to talk about the BioZyme® products, exchange ideas and see your customers and potential customers all in one setting. Depending on your location, it’s probably best to host these meetings in the fall or spring, when producers are not swamped with field work or busy with calving, weaning or breeding.

One of the best topics that can be discussed at a producer meeting is the overall benefit of the Amaferm® advantage that animals receive through all BioZyme products, according to Jake Warntjes, National Sales Director and Area Sales Manager for Kansas, Western Oklahoma and Northwest Texas.

“First, educating producers on the benefits of Amaferm provides a common thread and basis of understanding of the ingredient in all BioZyme products. From there, selling the value of Amaferm and how its metabolic impacts on the animal will increase the bottom line will help position value over cost.,” Warntjes said.

Once they know about the benefits of Amaferm, producers need to understand the benefits of a year-round mineral program, the second topic you will want to address at your producer meeting. Some producers want to use a mineral at breeding or calving; however, to receive the maximum benefits, a year-round program is essential.

Educating the producer on a program, not only helps their herd, it also will help your bottom line (see charts below).

“You have to help them understand it is something you can’t do just part of the year like right before breeding or right at weaning. It is something you need through all production phases to see the full value of using it for a full year,” Warntjes said. “You have to keep Amaferm in them year-round whether you keep them on Concept•Aid® or Cattlemen’s Blend™. They have to realize the importance of keeping them on Amaferm all year.”

The best way to help your producers establish a nutrition program is to visit with them about their goals. Determine what they want to establish in terms of increased conception rates, heavier weaning weights, healthier cattle or how they might want to market their calves on a value-added program using the VitaFerm® or Gain Smart® mineral programs.

It’s more than a mineral. It’s a program. Not only does that program help your customers have higher-performing, healthier animals, according to the numbers below, your sales and income will grow too. Producer meetings are a great way to share that “program” message with your producers. Start with educating them on the benefits of the Amaferm advantage and watch your business grow.


Education is Key to Product Launches

Change is inevitable. It is a sign of growth; however, it usually doesn’t come without a few growing pains. One of the most exciting changes a business can make is to launch a new product. New products mean new education and sales strategies, but with the BioZyme products, there are some things to remember. First, no new products are introduced without proven research to back them, and all products include the Amaferm® advantage.

“We don’t come out with these products on a whim. Our company does a lot of research and have requests for these types of products before our leadership decides to make them,” said Jake Warntjes, National Sales Director and Area Sales Manager for Western Kansas, Western Oklahoma and Northwest Texas. “All new products have much thought, time and research devoted to them.”

Whenever BioZyme does introduce a new product, it does its very best to provide the information and education to its dealers in a timely and concise manner. Information is available in the Online Dealer Center and multiple webinars are scheduled that allow interaction between the dealers and the staff to learn and ask any questions they have. Typically, ASMs are armed with information prior to these webinars so they are available to help the dealers learn or answer any further questions they have.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that all of the BioZyme products work together as part of a program, so when a new product is introduced, it will usually fit into an existing program, and be an improvement. Think about Gain Smart® Stocker HEAT®. This was an improvement on an existing product that many find beneficial during the summer months. It is part of a program, still offers the benefits of Amaferm, but wouldn’t necessarily replace Gain Smart Stocker in every climate or every time of year.

“The best way to launch a new product is to show how it fits into a particular program. Show how it can work with the other products you’ve been offering, how they work together and how and when to use them. Use them different ways and different times of year. It all goes back to promoting the programs,” Warntjes said.

Remember, not all new products will be suited to all your customers. Once you know about a new product, prepare a target list of customer who the product would benefit and develop a strategy to reach out to let them know what you have, how it works, and how it will fit into to their existing program. It is common that most people will have to hear about this new product several times in multiple mediums before they make a purchasing decision, so be persistent if you feel it will truly benefit their operation.

Change is a necessary part of growth. Growth is needed in order for a business to succeed. Growing pains are part of those changes, but they don’t have to be painful. Plan ahead, educate yourself, your staff and your customers on new products and changes, and watch your business grow.

The Benefits of Customer Education

We ask a lot of our employees – be knowledgeable about the products, provide outstanding customer services and sell, sell, sell the product! But did you know there is another important task that we need to have them do? Yes, we need to start educating the customers on the products and services.

Education is not the same as marketing, and when you educate your customers, they feel empowered to make greater decisions. Customer education happens when you present the facts. According to the article by Customer Think, when you educate your customers, you “equip customers with the knowledge & skills needed to make the most out of your product or services.”

So, how is that different from marketing? With education, you are only presenting them the facts to help them solve their problems or meet their goals. With marketing, you are getting emotionally involved and persuading them to purchase a product or service through elaborating on features and benefits of the product or service.

Although marketing is key to making the sale, let’s explore the three key benefits to providing customer education.

  1. Build Customer Trust. Any time you provide information and take time to present that information, you are communicating with your customers. Communication builds trust and trust builds loyalty. According to the Customer Think article, people will trust a business that has presented several solutions to their challenge; not just tried to sell them one product that will do the job.
  2. Reduce Complaints. When the initial trust is built between the customer and the business, the number of complaints will decrease. Furthermore, when the customer is fully educated about a product or process, he or she can do some of his or her own troubleshooting, which will free up your support staff’s time.
  3. Enhance Customer Loyalty. The customer trusts the business because the business took time to provide information. The customer understands the benefits and challenges of the products and how they will help achieve goals. Because of the trust established, the customer will usually remain loyal to the brand or the business.

Now that you’ve learned why you should educate your customers; how will you accomplish it? You are probably already doing several things to provide information but remember to think about the basics when it comes to providing information.

There are several avenues you can use to deliver information to your customers such as producer meetings, in-store meetings, on-farm visits and via social media channels. Use these outlets to provide the most current information about the products. To stay relevant and current on product information, be sure to take advantage of the resources BioZyme ® provides like Master Dealer Training, Dealer Retreat, Online Dealer Center and other communication tools.

Informed customers make informed choices, have trust in a product and company and become loyal customers. Yes, your plate is full, but the time you spend educating your customers will just help you grow your business even more.

 

Resource used in this article: http://customerthink.com/educating-your-customers-the-benefits-how-to-achieve-it/

May 2019 – Letters from Lisa

Education is Part of Care that Comes Full Circle.

At the risk of singing to the choir, I am going to attempt to share how all of us can educate others about our industry and the importance of what we do using “care that comes full circle” as our guide.

According to a study conducted by The Center for Food Integrity, 56% of consumers say they know just a little bit about the farming practices that produce their food, but 80% want to know more. More than half are interested in affordable, healthy food and are confident in its safety. Unfortunately, that means half are not. Stats specific to livestock found that 38% desire meat that is derived from humanely treated animals, while 48% are unsure if that is important to them or not. In addition, 54% are concerned about antibiotic residues in their food.

The study also found that trust is the key to consumers when it comes to sharing information (educating). What drives this trust? Shared values.

A good example of doing this is found in a response by a veterinarian mother.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Dorman! As the mother of three children, it is vitally important to me to ensure that antibiotics are effective when I need them most: when one of my kids is sick. As a veterinarian, I also recognize the importance of antibiotics to the welfare of animals. I took an oath to protect animal health, prevent animal suffering, and to promote human health. Remaining true to this oath is very important to me.”

With these stats and insight, the question is how do each of us educate and then advocate for our industry? I believe the three thoughts below uses a “care that comes full circle” approach. In other words, it is based on the idea that if we take care in our approach to educate; the other party will care enough to listen back with an open mind due to shared values.

  • Listen without judgment to their values to find out what is important to them.
  • Ask questions to acknowledge their perspective and then dig deeper to show you want to understand things more, while trying hard not to comment back or use a defensive tone in any way.
  • Share your perspective through your values and then use resources that have supporting information to that perspective.

If you are interested in seeing this approach in action, you can watch a helpful video that AFIA produced at https://vimeo.com/219907731/df206803cd.

Interestingly enough, this approach is just as useful with things around your business. That might be a great place to practice this approach.

Whether training employees or teaching consumers about agriculture, I think you will find this three-step approach helpful. Listen, ask and share. If we listen before we share, we’ll seem genuinely interested and that is the first step in “care that comes full circle.”

VITA CHARGE STRESS TUBS JUST GOT HOTTER

The same great Vita Charge Stress Tub you love that supports digestive health and promotes feed and water intake during times of stress and recovery is now available with HEAT to help prevent heat stress during temperatures of 70 degrees and above. Vita Charge Stress Tub HEAT is a cooked tub for beef cattle that supports digestive health and conveniently allows beef cattle to get their daily dose of Vita Charge without additional handling.

Contains:

  • Amaferm® to combat stress resulting in increased intake, digestibility and nutrient absorption.
  • MOS to trap bad bacteria limiting their ability to do harm.
  • Capsaicin to help maintain circulation to support animal performance and gain in heat stress situations.
  • Garlic, considered a natural insect repellent.

This product became open for ordering yesterday, May 1st and will begin shipping out the middle of May.