Category: Business Topics

“Be a lifelong student. The more you learn, the more you earn and the moreself-confidence you will have.” – Brian Tracy

Five years ago, BioZyme®launched one of its most successful resources to date, and it just keeps getting better. The Master Dealer Training Program was started in 2017 as an online tool to better familiarize dealers with the wide variety of product lines the company offers. Since that time, the online training portal has expanded its offering to help the dealers become better BioZyme marketers and overall, more successful salespeople.

Now, with three “chapters” or levels, the Master Dealer program offers training on a variety of subject matter, all from the comfort of the dealer’s own computer. Having a slow day in in the office? Log on toMaster Dealer. Hired a new employee? Get that person new credentials in the Online Dealer Center so he or she can receive training from theMaster Dealer Program.

In addition to passing the online courses, the Master Dealer Program has a few other requirements. However, the benefits far outweigh the time and resources needed for the Master Dealer designation. Once the dealer has successfully completed coursework, he or she must also purchase three of the following product lines, before receiving certification as a Master Dealer with all the benefits. Eligible brands include:

1. VitaFerm®
2. .Sure Champ®
3. DuraFerm®
4. Gain Smart®
5. Vita Charge®, Vitalize®, and/or Backyard Boost®

Chapter One is the most extensive online training that gives a company overview of BioZyme, as well as brief summaries of most product lines and how to position them. Once a dealer completes the requirements for Chapter One, the dealership will be designated as a“Master Dealer” on the Dealer Locator, receive signage for the store, and receive a jacket with the Master Dealer logo.

Chapter Two includes targeted courses about marketing HEAT products, using small pack to open doors and other marketing resources. Once a dealer completes Chapter Two, he or she receives a Master Dealer insulated cup and two caps.

Chapter Three was introduced in the spring of 2022with a specific focus on programs and tools for BioZyme dealers and how to make their business more successful. The dealers who complete Chapter Four receive more BioZyme wearables.

Chapter Four is coming this fall and will focus more on the sales support for BioZyme dealers. The reward for this will definitely be something for the entire family.

Just like anything that gets better with time, that is the case for the Master Dealer Program. Now, dealers can complete all courses as they wish with no waiting in between course work. Complete Chapter One today and start Chapter Two; you don’t have to wait a year in between. A dealership can allow multiple employees to complete the coursework and each employee receives the benefits.

To learn more about the Master Dealer Program, log on to the online Dealer Center and click on Training. This is the most comprehensive training you can get without leaving home!

“You can’t win together if you don’t work together.” – Nick Saban

INVESTING IN YOUR TEAM HELPS GROW YOUR BUSINESS With a career record of 232-62-1, Saban obviously knows a little about building WINNING and WOWing teams. Recently, Bob Burkham, BioZyme® National Manager of Supplement Sales, offered his perspective on why it is vital to invest in your teams to grow your business.

“Investing in training is an investment in their success and ultimately the business’s success. You are making your employees more valuable by giving them the tools they need to be more successful in their jobs,”he said.

Those trainings can come in various models and forms, including external trainings like the BioZyme Master Dealer Training Program, a leadership growth program provided by the local chamber of commerce or other organization or a webinar about sales or other products you offer. Regardless of the trainings you offer, the most important resource to share with your team is communication.

Communications is key to building the team, according to Burkham. It is important to remember that communication doesn’t just take shape in reminders posted to a bulletin board or barking orders to workers before your morning cup of coffee.

“Bring everyone together for a roundtable discussion and listen to their ideas. You probably can’t incorporate all the ideas all of the time, but it will help figure out where there are chinks in the armor, and it helps make everyone feel part of the team,” he said.

Another important thing to consider when investing in your team, is time – both theirs and your customers. When investing in trainings, make sure they are the correct trainings for the correct people on the team, so those valuable team players don’t feel like you are wasting their time in another meeting. Ensure the trainings they receive will inspire, motivate and teach them to be better at whatever their role is to help grow your business.

And, when training a salesperson, especially, make sure they are not going to be wasting a potential customer’s time. If the customer doesn’t feel that their time is valued, they probably won’t feel valued at all.

“Everyone has a limited amount of time in this fast-paced world. It is paramount to show up and bring value,” Burkham said.

Finally, Burkham suggests that when sales staff have the proper training, their natural competitive spirit shows up to do better or sell more than their peers. A competitive rivalry is likely to occur if there is more than one salesperson. And even with a one-person sales staff, that person will likely want to outperform the month or quarter previous, due to the competitive nature of sales.

“Your sales team will be racing to the checkered flag, and at the end of the day, the entire company wins when you have taken time to invest in your team,” Burkham said.

Put forth the resources. Open the lines of two-ways communication. Know the value of time. Grow a successful team and watch your business grow!

Summer is a great time to get involved in your community. It doesn’t matter if your community has more than 75,000 people like Saint Joseph, Missouri, where our corporate headquarters is located, or just a few more than 750 dwellers like Alexis, Illinois, where this article is written from, communities thrive in the summer, and people notice when businesses get involved.

From the summer softball leagues to small town festivals, county fairs and pageants, there are a myriad of ways for businesses to get involved in their community. They don’t all have to involve a lot of extra time, money or resources, but they will likely garner some type of appreciation. End users notice when businesses give back and often, that will gain your business a little extra revenue too. Here’s a look at a few ways businesses can get involved on the Local Team this summer.

Be a Mentor

There is often nothing more rewarding than mentoring a young person. Serve as a mentor to a young person who might be interested in pursuing a career in sales, marketing, nutrition or feed manufacturing. Offer your time to the person to come job shadow you at your company for a few days throughout the summer so they can see various aspects of your career, ask questions and get a feel for what you do. Be sure to follow any safety regulations,

Provide a Space

Perhaps there is a group of young people trying to raise money for an educational trip to Washington D.C., or some other place that wants to have a bake sale or sell fresh produce from their garden. Surely you have a place at your store front for an 8-foot table to allow these kids to sell their goodies. These young people won’t forget your kindness, neither will their relatives. And don’t forget to bring some cash that day; you’ll probably need some of Grandma Betty’s cookies or some fresh tomatoes.

Join the Parade

At least in the Midwest, it seems there is never a shortage of parades. Fourth of July. Let’s have a parade. The county fair. Let’s have a parade. A random Wednesday after wheat harvest. Let’s have a parade! Parades often have themes and are a fun, relatively inexpensive way to showcase your business. Showcase your company, your employees’ cute kids and throw out some candy, and get involved.

Support the Fair

One great way to give back to your customers is to support the local fair or livestock show. You can sponsor a show or purchase and an animal at the premium auction to show support for your customers or their kids or grandkids. Although this typically will have some financial cost, the rewards are worth it in thank you notes and customers that are happy to return the business back to you. This truly demonstrates care that comes full circle.

Having a business means being part of a greater community. Get involved in your local community this summer to show that your business is a team player.

How many times have you seen a football team win by a last-second field goal? That kicker has paced the sideline for most of the game practicing his kicks and keeping that leg ready to go, so we don’t always think about him. Although he might not have as much playing time as the quarterback, his participation on the team is of utmost importance.

The same can be said for your customers. You might not see them everyday or even communicate with them on a regular basis. Their “on-field” time might seem minimal in comparison with your employees and vendors, but without customers on your team, you’re not even in the game.

Oftentimes you only hear from a customer if he or she needs product or if the customer is disgruntled with a product or service – and that isn’t what you want to hear. It is important to follow up with every customer and ask for feedback, and let the customer know that positive or negative, the feedback they provide is important to your team.

The book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” states that “when people don’t unload their opinions and feel like they have been listened to, they won’t really get on board.” The first step is to begin the conversation, which you or your sales team can do in a follow up conversation after the sale. Here are three things that companies can do to bring customers into the conversation and engage them as part of the team:

1. Always be receptive and responsive to feedback. Regardless of the timing or channel, organizations who are prepared to receive and acknowledge customer feedback will have more loyal and engaged customers. This includes phone calls, letters, emails and even social media. Learn more about using social media as a customer care tool on the next page.
2. Create an environment built on trust. This means when asking for feedback, clearly state why you want the feedback and what you intend to do with it. In the agricultural world we are accustomed to working in, trust is the foundation of all we do. If your customers don’t trust you, they likely won’t be a part of your team for too long.
3. Empower customer service teams to solve problems and seek feedback simultaneously. Since most dealers are not staffed by a sales team and a customer service team, training all employees about the products and how to work with people is more important than ever.

Once you receive customer feedback and review it, follow up. Customers offer a fresh perspective, and perhaps their idea will help increase sales or bring in a new customer. At the very least, knowing that you acknowledged their feedback will help encourage a positive business relationship and should help your team keep a winning record.

“You can’t win together if you don’t work together.” – Nick Saban

With a career record of 232-62-1, Saban obviously knows a little about building WINNING and WOWing teams. Recently, Bob Burkham, BioZyme® National Manager of Supplement Sales, offered his perspective on why it is vital to invest in your teams to grow your business.

“Investing in training is an investment in their success and ultimately the business’s success. You are making your employees more valuable by giving them the tools they need to be more successful in their jobs,”he said.

Those trainings can come in various models and forms, including external trainings like the BioZyme Master Dealer Training Program, a leadership growth program provided by the local chamber of commerce or other organization or a webinar about sales or other products you offer. Regardless of the trainings you offer, the most important resource to share with your team is communication.

Communications is key to building the team, according to Burkham. It is important to remember that communication doesn’t just take shape in reminders posted to a bulletin board or barking orders to workers before your morning cup of coffee.

“Bring everyone together for a roundtable discussion and listen to their ideas. You probably can’t incorporate all the ideas all of the time, but it will help figure out where there are chinks in the armor, and it helps make everyone feel part of the team,” he said.

Another important thing to consider when investing in your team, is time – both theirs and your customers. When investing in trainings, make sure they are the correct trainings for the correct people on the team, so those valuable team players don’t feel like you are wasting their time in another meeting. Ensure the trainings they receive will inspire, motivate and teach them to be better at whatever their role is to help grow your business.

“Everyone has a limited amount of time in this fast-paced world. It is paramount to show up and bring value,” Burkham said.

Finally, Burkham suggests that when sales staff have the proper training, their natural competitive spirit shows up to do better or sell more than their peers. A competitive rivalry is likely to occur if there is more than one salesperson. And even with a one-person sales staff, that person will likely want to outperform the month or quarter previous, due to the competitive nature of sales.

“Your sales team will be racing to the checkered flag, and at the end of the day, the entire company wins when you have taken time to invest in your team,” Burkham said.

Put forth the resources. Open the lines of two-ways communication. Know the value of time. Grow a successful team and watch your business grow!

Summer is just around the corner. For young people involved in livestock projects, summer is a busy time of the year through many parts of the country. Jackpots, county and state fairs, along with junior nationals make summer an active time for young livestock enthusiast.

Since youth make up the future of the industry and future spokes people for the livestock industry, it is important to support them and their endeavors as much as we can. Here are four simple ways to support the youth in your community this summer.

Show and Nutrition Clinic

Getting both the animals and exhibitors prepared for the showring and hopefully the backdrop doesn’t happen overnight. Many young people look to their local feed store or nutrition source as an expert for all things. So, with this in mind, why not host a fitting, showing and nutrition clinic. If you are not comfortable talking about all subjects, collaborate with others in your community. You can provide information about feed, water and overall health. Someone else can detail the fine points of skin and hair care and halter breaking. Finally, another person can demonstrate proper show-day prep with fitting and showmanship techniques.

Sponsor a Show

You probably get multiple calls through the year asking for show support. The best advice we can offer is to set some boundaries or you could be sponsoring literally every event in a six-county area. Your parameters can be driven by location, customer base, financial need or anything you choose. If you have one location in one county, perhaps you only sponsor shows in that county. If you have customers in multiple locations, maybe you choose to sponsor events where your customers are. Or perhaps you are the type of person that decides you will sponsor an event only if a young person solicits the sponsorship. Once you’ve decided what level you will serve as a sponsor at, decide how you will be a sponsor.

Will you give monetary support for prizes? Do you want a trade show booth? Do you want to sponsor back tags with your dealership name or Sure Champ® on them? Perhaps you want a banner in the showring. Maybe there is an advertisement opportunity or a combination of more than one available. Whatever you decide, be sure you get some company recognition.

Be a Buyer

Much like sponsoring a show or event, there are always ample opportunities to support livestock shows. First, you must know what your budget is and how you will divide it. Some sales want the buyer to actually purchase the animal; some offer just the premium, where you are buying the ribbon and recognition. Other sales ask for a donation and clump together people into buyers’ groups to support young people. One thing is certain. Most young people will always remember who purchased their animals, and their family is often going to support that business or group of businesses, so this is a great investment in youth with a rewarding ROI.

Be a Mentor

Every young person needs at least one solid mentor in his or her life. This chance to give back to a young person is an investment in time and will typically be the most rewarding. Is there someone in the area that is interested in sales or marketing? Do you raise a particular species and share that passion with some young 4-H or FFA member that could use some guidance? Reach out and offer your time and direction. Nothing is more valuable than having a respected figure in the community reach out to serve as a mentor. Who knows where this relationship could lead.

Supporting youth is a great marketing tool because they are the future. They are going to give you the recognition you deserve, and often the young people and their parents will turn into customers if they are not already. The support you give is just one way to show that you care, and that care does not go unnoticed.

You can have the best products or services in the world, but until you put aside time and resources for marketing, you likely aren’t going to see a growth in your sales. Marketing is vital to helping discover and qualify leads and maintain contact prospects. Although many companies traditionally separate sales and marketing into individual pillars, when the two work collaboratively, a company will likely
experience increased performance, which leads to more revenue and ultimately more profit.

How do you choose the marketing system that works for your business? There are many opportunities for marketing from print and radio to social media and in-person trainings to signage and promotions. Therefore, it is best to utilize more than one marketing system to capture your audience and share your message.

“There are so many ways to get your company’s message across that it’s best if you don’t focus on just one,” said Macall Compton, Senior Manager of Marketing Operations at BioZyme Inc. “The goal should be to capture as many potential customers as possible, so you want to be where they are.”

According to Compton, social media is the common place where many customers and potential customers gather. A majority of Americans now have smart phones or tablets, and farmers and ranchers use that technology at their fingertips to get the weather, check the markets and even research and purchase their animal nutrition products.

With the use of social media in mind, the BioZyme Marketing Team created a partnership with Promoboxx, providing its dealers with current content across all
brands to post to their social media platforms. The content is free to use, is updated regularly to align with the national marketin campaigns, and Promobox provides 24-hour customer support. Compton said Promoboxx is simply the easiest way for
dealers to post pre-created content to their social media at no cost.

Another valuable tool she recommends is the producer meeting. Though many dealers are familiar with producer meetings, BioZyme will print and send invitations to customers, with a proper mailing list and adequate preparation time. These meetings are also a great way to interact and let potential customers hear from others who use the products.

Another valuable tool she recommends is the producer meeting. Though many dealers are familiar with producer meetings, BioZyme will print and send invitations to customers, with a proper mailing list and adequate preparation time. These meetings are also a great way to interact and let potential customers hear from others who use the products.

“Producer meetings are a great way to expose more people to your products and get in that valuable face-to-face time,” Compton said. BioZyme staff are available to speak at the meetings and help you help your customers.

Multiple other ways of sharing your message are also available from the Marketing Team, through the Marketing Request Center (see more about this on page 9). BioZyme’s Marketing Team can help you design mailers, print advertisements, radio spots, e-blasts, signage, swag and more!

It’s best to use multiple ways of marketing to reach multiple people. Each person responds differently to different messages, and it takes an average of seven impressions to make a point. Multiple marketing systems work! Reach out. Share your message. Watch your business grow!