Category: Dealers Like You

Simple Actions Grow Dealership

Some people learn about the Amaferm® advantage from feeding one of the many supplements BioZyme® offers. Others read educational material, visit the website and/or ask questions of the Area Sales Managers. And yet, a select group run their own trials so they can experience and witness the benefits first-hand. That’s the case for Cody Stoker, who co-manages LaJunta Mill, LaJunta, Colo., with his brother.

About 10 years ago, LaJunta Mill received a request for a custom show ration with Amaferm added to it, according to Stoker. Unfamiliar with Amaferm, he started doing some research, comparing it to other additives from other companies he had used in the past. Once he saw the results, he was hooked, and has been mixing Amaferm into all his ruminant feeds as well as some horse feeds.

“You see those animals really get a healthier look, and you know if they look healthy on the outside, they are healthy on the inside. I have also seen a reduction in feed intake, especially dry matter intake,” he said.

Stoker has been feeding a custom mineral tub he developed for the Mill with Amaferm included in it for about the past five years. He uses the tub while feeding free-choice cane hay to mature cows. He said he sees a reduction in forage consumption while those cows maintain their body condition score, therefore he knows his cows are getting the maximum nutritional benefits from the Amaferm.

Stoker uses computer software to assist him when it comes to formulating the Mill’s custom mixes and its own brand of feeds. He has been around livestock his entire life and understands the importance of a precision-based prebiotic like Amaferm that aids in intake, digestibility and absorption.

In addition to feed, custom mixes, tubs and show rations, the Mill also includes Amaferm in some of its range cubes. He has one producer who feeds the range cubes to his cows and has seen tremendous response to his cows’ nutrition at calving time.

The biggest challenge Stoker has with suggesting Amaferm as an additive in a custom-mixed feed is the price tag producers see for the bulk order.

“They shy away due to the overall cost when they see a product with Amaferm in it. But if they would do the math and break it down, they would see it’s only costing them about two cents per head, per day,” he said.

A simple suggestion by a customer led one leader at LaJunta Mill to dig deeper. With a little research, some trial and error, Stoker discovered the benefits of Amaferm on his own animals and knew this was a secret he needed to share. Progressive dealers like LaJunta Mill care about their customers and their customers’ animals and that is why they choose Amaferm as a trusted additive for their products.

Simple Actions Grow Dealership

BioZyme® dealers Tod and Sondra Brancel, Next Generation Genetics at Endeavor, Wis., wear many hats. They work together to manage and operate a registered cow herd, both work off-farm jobs and are raising two children involved in activities. Despite their busy schedule, they have experienced significant growth in their BioZyme business and their action rewards points in their second year as dealers. Sondra says their success stems from following the golden rule.

“We try to treat people the way we’d want to be treated if we were the buyer. Be good to all people,” she said. “We aren’t high-pressure sales people. But we’ve used the product, and the product has allowed for us to be not high-pressure sales people because it sells itself.”

The Brancels first started using VitaFerm® products after conducting their own research and trying the products on their cows that were experiencing lowered conception rates, likely due to high iron in the water source. Once they started using Concept•Aid® and saw the results, they became dealers. Word of mouth and their peers knowing they use the product have been good marketing tools.

“Sometimes I feel like we don’t do enough because our lives are so busy, and we are going in so many directions, but I think we just try to keep things simple and let people know about the products we have. The fact that we use what we’re selling, and we first believed in the product before we decided to become a dealer, that holds value for people.”

Sondra also emphasizes that keeping a small, realistic inventory is key to keeping happy customers, while making economic sense to her and Tod. They don’t keep an extensive inventory but do know what their customers need and try to have it because she knows not everyone plans ahead.

“We are willing to have products a customer uses on hand, even if we don’t use them ourselves. I try to circle back with regular customers to make sure their needs haven’t changed before I place an order,” she said.

Involvement with industry organizations and communication with BioZyme staff are also important steps that Tod and Sondra take. Sondra has helped ASM Kevin Arand staff the booth at the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Meeting. Tod and Sondra are also active in the Wisconsin Hereford Association and have hosted a tour stop at their farm, allowing other cattle producers to learn more about the VitaFerm products.

“The Wisconsin Cattlemen’s is a small enough trade show space that we get noticed, have an attractive booth, and other producers like to see me there as a producer who actually uses the products and carries the product. We don’t run down a competitor, but rather show them the data and research behind the products. The product they are using might be just fine for them, but our product might go above and beyond for them if they give it some time. You can’t buy six bags of mineral and expect to see a change overnight,” she said about working the trade show.

In addition to industry involvement and peer interaction, Tod takes his training as a veterinarian and embryologist to help others understand how good nutrition ties back to reproductive health. He is able to create partnerships based on his practical knowledge of using the products and his academic training to explain how and why the products work. He also works closely with Kevin to help customers test feed samples to make sure the customers are getting the right supplements for their animals.

Simple human interactions along with knowledge and tools are what have helped Next Generation Genetics grow their business. Sondra offers four final pieces of advice to any new dealers or those looking to grow:

1. Set goals on what you want to achieve.
2. Be honest and fair with people.
3. Know your product and know why someone would use it.
4. Be knowledgeable; use the tools BioZyme provides so people will turn to you as a trusted source.

“If you are confident in the advice you’ve given your customers, use the sales tools and product information that you’re provided as dealers, and treat others the way you want to be treated, you should experience growth,” Sondra said.

Most of the time we think of community as the area we live – it might be our rural neighborhood, our town or even our county. But for one BioZyme® dealer with a passion for the equine business, her “horse” community stretches from New Mexico to North Carolina and from Wyoming to Florida. Kaycee MacGibbon, from Crouse, N.C., comes by her passion rightly; she is the fourth generation born into a rodeo family. She and her family always worked with horses – raising, training, breaking, showing and competing on them. It wasn’t until tragedy struck in 2014, that she started advocating for their health.

“Equine nutrition has evolved over the years. We always knew how horses worked, unfortunately we didn’t have a good nutrition program back then because we didn’t have all the research and knowledge we do now,” MacGibbon said. “I always tried to feed the best feed I could, but unfortunately in 2014, all my horses died of Rumensin toxicity. That is when I would start educating myself on equine nutrition. Through that and through learning proper diet and nutrition for horses, I found out about Vitalize® , and I started feeding it and it did wonders for all my horses – even the horses I thought were looking good and really healthy. They improved another 75% at least, once I put them on Vitalize.”

Although MacGibbon experienced immediate results when she put her horses on Vitalize, it was almost a year later before she decided to become a dealer. And now, she shares the Vitalize message of the importance of a “good gut feeling” with her equine community, rodeo friends and family both near and far.

“A lot of time when you start new products, the first 60-90 days you are like ‘wow, this is really working,’ then it plateaus, and it quits working. But with Vitalize it did not do that. It improved the animal’s overall health, digestive tract, hoof, hair coat, brain, everything. It continued a year later, which was really impressive to me because I have never seen another product do that. I wanted to become a dealer because I wanted to share this with all my people in the barrel horse industry, rope horse industry, the rodeos, the shows, and everybody to be privy to this information and have this help their horses as much as it has helped mine. And through that I met (ASM) Justin O’Flaherty, and I became a dealer and it has been a huge snowball effect from there,” MacGibbon said.

With such a large network of friends and colleagues in her equine community, MacGibbon said it hasn’t been hard to sell the products. And if she gets people interested in the product too far from home, she will point them in the direction of an another ASM like Rowdy Pope who will help them find a dealer in their area.

MacGibbon said the split is about even with her approaching people to tell them about the products or people coming to her seeking advice about their horses. But her advice and the outcome are almost always the same – the horses usually have gut health issues, and Vitalize typically makes them feel better.

“If the gut’s weakened, the body’s weakened. And 99.99% of the time, it is poor digestibility. Basically, their horse’s digestive tract has shut down, and we get them on the Vitalize. In 10-15 days, I get a text, saying ‘Oh wow! My horse is already looking better. They are happier; they are healthier. Thank you so much.’ I usually say, ‘Don’t thank me. Thank Vitalize,’” she said.

And for the skeptics, who are used to a “supplement on every corner,” and not sure they want to try Vitalize, MacGibbon offers some free product because she knows once they try the Vitalize, they will be hooked. She said to this point, she’s never had one person try a “free” sample, who hasn’t returned as a paying customer, making those samples well worth the investment.

“The product speaks for itself. If they try it, they stay with it,” MacGibbon said.

Reaching out to the equine community is what MacGibbon is passionate about. By raising awareness of a sound nutrition program that starts with gut health, she knows she is making a difference for her generation of equine enthusiasts and those generations to come.

PROBLEM SOLVING IS MEGAN SOUDER’S PRIORITY

Even though she’s been a BioZyme® dealer for just over a year, Megan Souder doesn’t consider herself a salesperson. She likes to think of herself more as a problem solver, and customer service is the key to her success in her first year.

Prior to joining the dealer network in September 2017, Souder, from Mount Holly Springs, Pa., spent 18 years in the pet industry, serving as a company representative selling cat, dog and other small pet products to stores across Pennsylvania. She also cared for her own animals, a mixed herd of sheep, goats and alpacas.

But, when a trusted friend and mentor suggested she shift gears and start selling BioZyme and Umbarger products, it was the nudge she needed to become her own boss and help her friends and neighbors with their livestock, too.

“I just don’t hand out the literature. I go over the product with them, I don’t assume they are going to read it if they take it with them. I attend livestock shows and 4-H meetings, anything that a customer asks me to attend. This is where I grew up, so I’ll attend any event I’m invited to,” she said. “I also make myself available to answer any of their questions. If I don’t know, I’ll get the answers from my sales rep or someone from inside the business, but I don’t fake those answers. I also use all the resources available to me from BioZyme like literature and all the trainings that I can, so I can inform the customers about the products.”

Souder conveys her knowledge to customers and potential customers. She uses the Online Dealer Center and has completed the Master Dealer Training Program. She shares links to the YouTube videos about the products, so her customers have every opportunity to learn and hear others’ testimonials. She also relies on the Outreach Support Center to help provide her the supplies and information she needs.

“Jen Miller has been fantastic to get me anything I need from the inside to help me represent the products,” Souder said.

Another reason Souder says she is successful is because she is able to focus on limited brands and products, giving her attention to just two companies’ product lines.

“I only carry these two lines –BioZyme and Umbarger because I’m a specialized store and I think the focus is key. I want to be excellent at a few things rather than good at many,” she said.

Her “store” is more of warehouse located close to home. She doesn’t keep regular hours, but her customers know she is just a call or text away if they are running low on product, need something specific or are in the area in the evening and need to “drop by” and pick something up, just another way she can provide excellent customer service.

As for her customer successes, she said each one has their own success story, and it pleases her when a customer calls, texts or emails her with a photo of their animals and their results. She often shares these results on her Facebook or Instagram for others to see. She said the goat breeders who use both loose mineral and stress tubs, have claimed to see decreased toxemia in their does during kidding time and also have higher conception rates and better egg counts when they do A.I. Sheep breeders and exhibitors who have used Sure Champ® Climate Control say their sheep are less stressed and breath better during the heat. And, cattle people love the Vita Charge Stress Tubs to quiet down the fresh-weaned calves and calm down new arrivals.

“My customers are awesome and every one of them have their own success stories. My customers want to promote these products because they have worked so great for them,” she said.

Listening, solving problems, and being available for her customers have helped Megan Souder achieve dealer success in her first year. Yet, she said she doesn’t really look at the tonnage sold, just the number of people and animals she’s helped.

“I started with a blank canvas. I just look forward to what my future holds. I make changes daily to how things will go to best utilize my time,” Souder said.

Isaiah Shnurman is a researcher. When he and his family decided to open Shnurman Sire Service, LLC & SP Genetics LLC, a reproductive and embryo transfer (E.T.) facility four years ago in central Iowa, he started exploring the best nutrition he could provide bulls, donors and recips coming to this new facility. The research pointed to BioZyme ® products, and after he saw the results first-hand he joined the dealer network.

“We were looking to fortify the nutritional side of our facility,” Shnurman said. “We really started leaning toward Concept•Aid ® and other VitaFerm® products because they are the most tried, true, proven with research when it comes to numbers and being able to have university data to back up these products. We weren’t going to promote something or use something that wasn’t going to work for us.”

The research behind the BioZyme products assists Shnurman in providing exceptional customer service by showing how to increase efficiencies and profits through a nutrition program. He said any time that producers can learn ways to save money, they are willing to learn, especially when it has real-world data to back it up.

“When it comes to nutrition, anything in the cattle business comes down to dollars and cents and even if we see a 1-2% increase across the board on something we’re using – in the long run that does pay off. With Amaferm ® in the products we are seeing an 8-10% increase in efficiency. On one animal that might not sound like a lot, but on a few thousand, you’re talking about making those cattle more efficient and more productive across the board,” he said.

In addition to the research and data, Shnurman said it has been rewarding to see the products work on the cattle at their facility. He houses and collects some of the most-well known A.I. sires in the business, including the $800,000 Angus bull, SAV Elation. All bulls are on Concept•Aid and Vita Charge ® Stress Tubs. He said the Amaferm advantage in these products has maximized the bulls’ abilities nutritionally to get better quality semen from them.

Education and communication go hand-in-hand for Shnurman. He sends out customer newsletters twice a year with information about new products, what is happening those particular times of year, thanks his customers for their continued business and reminds them he is there for their nutrition needs.

He also hosts producer meetings twice a year. These are more in-depth than the newsletter and offer timely advice about calving, calf resuscitation (CPR) during calving, mating decisions at breeding time, and cow-herd and bull nutrition for increased fertility.

Although newsletters and meetings are good methods of communication, Shnurman says nothing can replace a good face-to-face meeting with a producer at his or her operation, something he tries to do with his all his customers.

“The most important thing a dealer can do is actually go out and visit with their customers and look at cattle with them. Going out and taking a couple of hours out of your day to visit with them about their program will be helpful. They might consider one thing a nutritional hole in their program, but if you go out and actually visit with them, you can learn a lot and helpfully fill in some other holes in their program where they can use some other nutritional fortification.”

In the fall, after harvest is complete, he’ll start working with his customers on forage testing. He said he tests a lot of corn stalk bales to see how those residues will work as a nutritional resource. Then, he starts hay testing to see what nutrients the hay is lacking so the producers can plan their supplementation protocols before the need to feed hay begins. That might be a little more challenging this year according to Shnurman, as good quality hay is at a premium with the early drought and then the excessive rains leading to low production. He knows that everyone faces different challenges and has different goals, and that is what he appreciates about the BioZyme products.

“Not every product we have is for everyone. But we have a product that will do something good for every operation out there,” Shnurman said.

Customer service – making sure all of his customers are happy – is his number one goal. And right behind that is making VIP Dealer Status. With the way that he studies the research, reaches out to his customers and provides top-notch service, Shnurman is well on his way to VIP.

Basore Brothers Emphasize Educational Importance

Education is a way of life for Travis and Tyson Basore, Basore Cattle Company, Appleton City, Mo. When the brothers became dealers last summer, they both jumped at the opportunity to enroll and complete the BioZyme^® Master Dealer Training Program. And for them, becoming students put them on a different side of the desk than what they are used to being on.

Travis is the athletic director, head football coach, teaches weights, and oversees credit recovery and dual-credit courses at Appleton City. Tyson is in his 13th year of education. He teaches high school physical education and weights and is the head varsity boys basketball coach at Adrian. Both their wives are teachers. Their mom also was involved in education.

“As first-time dealers, the Master Dealer Program really helped us gain the most information and knowledge about BioZyme and the products we were going to be selling, outside of Dave (Gallagher),” Travis said. “It was a good investment in our time. I like history anyway, so to get a feel how the company started and from top to bottom I found it very beneficial. We only sell BioZyme products, and if we don’t have even a little information about them, our potential customers might go somewhere else.”

Tyson agrees that the Master Dealer program offered them a vast amount of product knowledge about products they hadn’t used on their own operation. In addition, both brothers appreciate the time and information that their ASM Dave Gallagher shared with them as they got started and continues to share with them. Tyson said he appreciated getting the information that they could pass on to potential customers.

“The training absolutely made our business more marketable. Because we completed the training we were able to share our knowledge about the products,” Tyson said. “We definitely will participate in Master Dealer 2.0 when we can. We are always willing to learn more about the products and do whatever we can to make our business grow.”

Basore Cattle Company used VitaFerm^® HEAT^® on its own cow-calf operation before becoming a dealer. Now that they’ve become dealers, Travis enjoys the opportunity to meet other producers and continues to learn from their customers.

“We deliver all our products, and I’ve enjoyed seeing different operations and trying to learn from our customers about how they do things. It’s great to meet other people in the cattle industry, make new friends and get new ideas,” Travis said.   

Tyson said since becoming a dealer, the most important lesson he’s learned is to treat customers how he wants to be treated when he’s making business decisions. More than anything, he likes to provide accurate information, but if he doesn’t have a definite answer he lets the customer know that and finds the correct information as soon as he can.

Tyson would suggest than all dealers, especially new dealers get out and talk to as many people as they can and share their experiences with the products. He said that their business has definitely grown by word of mouth.

And both brothers agree that gaining as much information as possible and completing trainings like the Master Dealer Program will benefit dealers – both new and experienced.

“I think that everyone that takes the time to take the training would find it very beneficial. If people take the time to set down and do it, they would gain a lot,” Travis said.