Category: Dealers Like You

Dealer Spotlight: Gro-Tex Supply

Relationships Grow this Texas Dealer

Building relationships and knowing how to best help their customers has been the system for success at Gro-Tex Supply in Groesbeck, Texas. The family-owned BioZyme® dealership that includes brothers Ty and Cody deCordova and their cousin Keith Rand, have formed a partnership that has sold 246 tons in their first six months of business.

Ty had seen Alan Lee, Director of National Sales – South, at some Superior Livestock sales in the spring and early summer. Alan tried to convince Ty to become a BioZyme dealer or at least try a few of the products. But, Ty, already busier than he wanted to be, said he did not have time to add one more “job.”

“That’s when my cousin Keith started talking to me about the products and said he was interested in being a dealer,” Ty said. “My brother and I know a lot of people in the cattle business, and Keith does a lot of the leg work, so we make a great partnership.”

The deCordova family also owns and operates the sale barn in Buffalo. Ty is a rep for Superior Livestock Auction, and he said his family helps market a majority of their BioZyme customers’ calves. Never having used the products before mid-2017, Ty said they are now big believers in VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® and HEAT®, and have their cow herd on those products during the appropriate seasons. 

Due to their hectic schedules and size of customers, marketing to those herds that have 500-2500 cows, Gro-Tex relies heavily on customer testimonials and word-of-mouth to help sell the products. They also don’t have to control inventory because they have none on hand. Most of their orders are for truckloads of product going directly to one customer at a time.

“There might come a day when we keep some products around, but for now, this is the more efficient way for us to do business.  Some of our customers are a little way away from us, so having them order a large quantity at a time is good for them and us,” Ty said.

Ty said their biggest seller has been Concept•Aid, and customers have been pleased with the results. One Brahman operation jumped their conception rates from 70% to 92% after making the switch to Concept•Aid. Although they have primarily focused on the cattle sector, he said there are several large horse operations in the area, and their goal is to start marketing Vitalize® to those horse enthusiasts.

“The easiest way to sell the product is to know the people you are dealing with. It all comes back to relationships. Know who to target. Know how to help them, and know who will accept your help,” he said.

Featured Dealer: R&L Feeds

Adolescence can be a scary time in a young person’s life. High school is busy with homework, FFA and cheerleading. Serving as the Northeast Kansas FFA Vice-president, Kansas Angus Association Ambassador, working cattle with family and going to shows takes up a lot of time. Those activities might seem like enough to keep a junior in high school busy, but add in a BioZyme® dealership, and you’ve got the life of 16-year-old Eva Hinrichsen of R&L Feeds near Westmoreland, Kan.

Eva, whose parents, Ron and Lynne, have been BioZyme dealers for nearly five years, decided she would like to take over the dealership and make it her FFA SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience).  She had total support from both her parents and her FFA advisor.

“My dad has been in sales pretty much his whole career and I always thought it was interesting,” Eva said. “I wanted to develop more sales skills and help with my business management skills and this is a different way to get an opportunity to do that.”

While it was slightly daunting for her at first, Eva said the positives definitely outweigh the bad. She has honed in on her sales skills and increased her product knowledge, which was the biggest challenge she faced.

“I was a little nervous at first because I was so young to be doing this,” she said. “I didn’t know how it was going to work out trying to talk to producers about changing their mineral. It was a little nerve-wracking. I just try to convince them to spend a little more money so they have a better return on their investment, and I think I’ve been pretty successful at that. It’s been a great opportunity, and it’s been fun to do that.”

Eva has set goals for both R&L Feeds and her SAE. For her business, she wants to increase the total tonnage she sells on annual basis and expand her product line. For her SAE, she wants the project to be successful and show some revenue. She said there is a lot of records to keep with both.

Initially nervous, Eva says she now talks to producers with ease, and that they have been pretty friendly. She takes advantage of the weekends and evenings to do most of her work for the dealership, and makes contact with a lot of her customers at the cattle shows she and her family compete at on weekends. One of her highlights so far, has been attending a new dealer orientation.

“Getting the knowledge has been beneficial to me owning cattle myself.  I went to Saint Joe and went to a class with other dealers, and I learned about the Amaferm® advantage and how that can increase the digestibility, and how gut health increases immunity. All that helps increase genetic potential. So that has been helpful for me when developing my own feed rations,” she said.

Eva encourages others who are interested in starting a business or becoming a dealer to find the courage to do so.

“It’s a little scary at first because you know you aren’t going to be as good as the trained, older dealers, but it is fun, and I’ve really enjoyed being able to do this.”

Featured Dealer: Dailey Ag

Mike and Nancy Dailey weren’t initially looking to get into the farm store business. Nearly eight years later, the farm couple from Oskaloosa, Kan.,
has built a successful farm store that carries everything from fertilizer
and fencing supplies to fuel and feed, including a complete line of
BioZyme® products.

“Our old co-op went out of business and we bought it so we’d still have access to fertilizer and the other resources we needed to continue farming,” said Nancy Dailey. “And the business just kept growing bigger.”

The family-owned and operated business also includes two daughters, one a student at Kansas State and another in high school that both help as their schedules allow; a son who farms and helps as he can, and a future daughter-in-law, who also works at the store. In addition to the family members who help as they can, Nancy said she has a great team of employees who live by the store motto, “Ag is a Dailey Job.”

“I enjoy seeing my children interested in our business. We want to
continue to build a business that we can be proud to leave them
someday,” Nancy said.

As the Daileys see a need in their rural community, they try to fill it. When the local gas station closed, the Daileys bought those tanks and started offering both off- and on-road diesel. And the same can be said about the BioZyme products. A local livestock producer inquired at Dailey Ag about VitaFerm® HEAT®, and so the Daileys did the research and became dealers
to meet their customers’ needs.

“We didn’t have to do too much advertising. I put on our sign out front that we were VitaFerm dealers, and people would come into me and make their requests. We started with HEAT, and then added Vita Charge® Stress Tubs and now carry a full line,” Nancy said.

Nancy says they have seen tremendous growth in the sales of the BioZyme products since they became dealers in 2016. One advantage she says their dealership has is they can keep their prices lower and pass that cost savings to their customers since they are located about an hour from St. Joseph, and often send their own semis to pick up orders.

She has also taken the opportunity to work with ASM John Jeffrey to learn from him and use him as a resource. At a producer meeting Dailey Ag hosted in August, Jeffrey took the time to talk to customers and potential customers to educate them on the benefits of BioZyme products and to answer their questions individually. Nancy said she appreciated the information as well, and at least two customers told her it was the best meeting they have been to where information, rather than a pushy sales talk, was presented.

“People are familiar with the BioZyme products and they like them. If there is something they need or want they will come in, and we will get the product for them,” Nancy said.

With a customer-service attitude like that, Dailey Ag is sure to be a business to thrive for generations. For more information about Dailey Ag, visit www.daileyag.net.

Featured Dealer: Fayette AG Services

Fayette AG Services Finds Opportunities for Growth

It’s no surprise that Fayette AG Services has operated successfully for 43 years in Northwest Alabama. Although its name has changed during the years, the full-service farm store listens to its customer’s needs and wants, provides follow through and works to become knowledgeable about the products they offer.

Mike Renfroe, a salesman at Fayette AG, located at Fayette, Ala., was one of the first BioZyme® dealers to complete the new Master Dealer Training Program that launched in June.

“I just wanted to know more about the products so we can better help our customers,” Renfroe said. “The Master Dealer training has helped me distinguish what mineral customers need for their programs at given times of year.”

Renfroe added that other employees are hoping to complete the Master Dealer Training, as soon as all computer challenges are solved and will allow more than one person per dealership to participate. In the meantime, their staff is appreciative of the support and education that BioZyme provides.

“We get on the website pretty often to read up on products and learn more about the products we don’t know as much about,” Renfroe said. “BioZyme is a really good company when it comes to training and providing information. They are one of the better companies that we’ve dealt with.”

And although Fayette AG has a long history, their tenure as a BioZyme dealer is relatively short – just starting to sell the products in February of this year. Renfroe said they had customers who called and asked them about the BioZyme products. After doing some research and talking to ASM Rowdy Pope, Renfroe said they decided the products would be a good fit for their store.

The store carries a complete line of products, and has had satisfied customers feed each product line from Vitalize® equine to the VitaFerm® HEAT®.

“Once a customer tries one of these products, they rarely swap out and go back to another mineral program,” Renfroe said.

Their sales have reached nearly 100 ton since February, and their ultimate goal is to reach VIP Dealer status. Programs like the Master Dealer Training are helping them meet their goals so they can better equip themselves to sell the products their producers need.

Featured Dealer: W.T. Carnes

W.T. Carnes Grows His Business with Sub-dealers

In the heart of the Ozarks, there’s a BioZyme® dealer enthusiastic about the product he sells and the people he works with. W.T. Carnes said he’d been feeding the products to his dairy cattle for several years, and in the fall of 2013, decided to become a dealer.

He has taken initiative to grow his business, and says his sales have doubled every year since he started selling products. As an on-farm dealer, he embraces a basic business principle – making a sale is as much about who you know as it is the products you’re selling.

“People buy from people they know,” Carnes said. “My sub-dealers know more people than just the people I know. They can help me move more tonnage.”

Carnes currently works with five sub-dealers, friends that he said used and believed in the products, just as he did. Two of them live within 30 miles of him, but the others are quite a distance from him, expanding his network and opportunity for growth even more.

“The products really sell themselves. Once a producer hears about the products and tries them, they are usually hooked,” he said.

Carnes said he didn’t always have a network of sub-dealers, but his former ASM, and now Key Accounts Manager, Ken Gillig suggested sub-dealers would be a good way for him to grow his business after being a dealer for almost two years.

Carnes, who recently completed the Master Dealer Training Program, said another valuable tool to growing sales is hosting a producer meeting. He hosted his first meeting last fall, and sold a semi-load of mineral that night. He said that everyone that attended the meeting became a customer or has continued buying from him. The producers appreciated hearing from Mike Wadle, Director of National Sales – North, and being able to ask questions to further understand the products.

Currently, VitaFerm® HEAT®, Concept•Aid® and Gain Smart® Stocker mineral are his best-selling products. He offers two pieces of advice to newer dealers and their sub-dealers looking to grow their business, “If you can get producers to try the product, it will sell itself.” And he suggests keeping inventory low to promote freshness of the product.

A sub-dealer network has helped W.T. continue to grow his sales the past few years by multiplying his efforts and his reach all because of relationships he had with others who use and believe in the products. Are you ready to expand? Perhaps creating a sub-dealer system is the next step for you. For more information about reaching out and working with sub-dealers, contact your ASM.

Featured Dealer: Erv & Del Farms

Cliff Linder has the passion to help young people succeed.

Caring for livestock and people are two things that Cliff Linder knows about and is really good at. One way he has cared for his own cattle is by feeding them VitaFerm® for the last 20 years. Therefore, when the opportunity to become a BioZyme® dealer presented itself nearly seven years ago, it was an easy decision for Cliff, who also owns Erv & Del Farms near Louisville, Ohio. A driving force behind his success thus far is that he truly enjoys helping his youngest customers learn and develop their own interest in the livestock industry.

“It is my passion to see kids succeed with their projects,” Cliff said. “Success isn’t always about winning, but I want them to learn how to raise and care for livestock and enjoy it along the way.”

Cliff makes himself available to his customers, young and old, throughout the year, and they know he is just one phone call away. He said if they have a challenge or a question about their project he will help them to the best of his ability. If he can’t answer the question, he will call his ASM, Lindsey Grimes, or someone else in St. Joseph to find an answer, and he appreciates the speed at which his phone calls are returned.

In addition to being accessible on the phone, Cliff makes sure he and his wife, Julie, visit their customers during the spring and summer to make sure all the show stock is eating and gaining. They also make sure they attend a day at the county fairs to support their young customers.

“I enjoy going to the fairs and watching the kids show,” Cliff said. “And they like to see a familiar face. Having a hands-on approach and having them know we support them means a lot, and will make our business stronger.”

Cliff said his love for the county fair spans nearly six decades, as he and his brother started showing at the Stark County Fair in Canton 57 years ago. Last year was his daughter’s last year showing, and there has been just one year in those 57 years, none of his immediate family exhibited livestock at the fair.

Cliff makes sure all the young exhibitors and their animals are ready for the fair by hosting and presenting various clinics and field days that cover nutrition and health for multiple species in the area. He conducted a sheep clinic in mid-March, and typically works with other surrounding counties to teach young people and their parents the importance of a good nutrition program. He also attends spring jackpot shows to display products and discuss the benefits of the BioZyme products.

“If you have animals, you want them to perform. An ounce of preventative maintenance will save you on a vet bill if your animals get sick or go off feed,” Cliff said.

Not only does Cliff work directly with his younger members showing livestock, he works to provide service and answer questions to all his customers, and just hosted his annual dealer meeting this spring. More than 100 customers and potential customers attended the meeting where he and Grimes represented BioZyme, while the Umbarger ASM was also on hand to answer questions since Cliff is also an Umbarger dealer. He said the attendees had a chance to ask questions, learn about new products and everyone left with a door prize and full belly.

As Cliff continues to grow his business, he continues to see more success with his junior customers. Success in and out of the show ring is one thing he is passionate about. With a willing attitude and a passion for the future, Cliff’s business is sure to thrive as well.

;

Featured Dealer: Salem Veterinary Services

Family Business Grows with Passion and Success

Although relatively new to the BioZyme® family, Salem Veterinary Services in Salem, South Dakota, has seen tremendous success since joining the network of dealers in the fall of 2016. What started as a small order to sell some Vita Charge® boluses in the family-owned vet clinic has grown to moving into their garage, and now a 48×60 foot building is under construction to serve as a warehouse for their products to meet the producer demands in their area.

“I was concerned when Dennis Delaney told me we had to buy a pallet of product at a time. I thought 50 bags is a lot,” said Carie Stiefvater, who manages the BioZyme dealership.

The Stiefvater family raises a variety of animals including Angus and Hereford cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and horses. They don’t sell anything to the customers in the vet clinic that they haven’t used and seen positive results with.

“Our clients like to see us use a product first. We will typically use a vaccine for three years before we will sell it,” Carie said.

Last fall, their two oldest daughters ran a trial using the VitaFerm® Sure Start® Weaning Program. Since the Stiefvater family calves in May, after most of their clients are done calving, they typically wean October 1. Last fall, they separated eight head – four Angus and four Herefords – of the same age for a feeding trial that ultimately finished in the top three in the state FFA science fair project for seventh grader Ella. She will find out in late April if her project garnered the first prize and will move on to national competition.

Ella and her older sister, Hadley, a freshman, conducted the month-long trial with two groups – one that was introduced to the Amaferm® advantage, and a control group, without Amaferm. The animals were randomly sorted the first day of the trial by which animal came down the chute. Every other one was tagged with an orange tag and would be part of the Amaferm group and received the Vita Charge Drench; the green-tagged calves were in the control group.

Animals were kept in individual pens, and hay and feed were weighed out individually twice daily with all animals eating the same diet, except for the orange-tagged animals, which had the Stress Tubs in their pens. Each week the animals were weighed, and their growth was recorded. And at the end of the study, the four animals that had Amaferm in their diets outweighed the control group by a total of 90 pounds combined. Although Ella had extra expenses in separate pens and individual tubs, she calculated that after expenses, she put $22 more profit per calf in her pocket from the calves fed Amaferm.

This is just one example of a feeding trial that the family has conducted, with plans to conduct more in the future. The trials work great for this home-schooled family, which also includes brother Colton, a fourth grader, and littlest sister, Skylar, who is four. Carie said they can incorporate the trials into several areas of curriculum including math, where they calculate break-evens, rate-of-gain and net worth; science, where they learn about microorganisms and the purpose of vitamins and minerals for both humans and livestock; and English, where the students must write papers and learn public speaking.

As an example, Ella presented her study findings to vet-clinic customers in the winter months following the trial. During the two-week period leading up to the state FFA competition, Carie said she would give her presentation 2-3 times a day.

“It is a great sales tool while teaching my kids about public speaking. She would present to producers, breeders, fellow veterinarians, Extension agents and anyone who would listen,” Carie said.

And the kids also help out at the vet clinic, where their dad Mike is the solo practitioner. In addition to three employees who are like family, Salem Vet is truly a family operation.

As the kids were learning more about BioZyme and its products, they also became aware of the Action Awards. Carie said a Vita Charge show box caught their attention immediately, as they are currently using a wooden show box that belonged to Carie in her younger days. She said they need 4,000 points to earn the show box, and though she hasn’t looked lately, she was almost certain they were nearly to the half-way mark, only in the fourth month of the year.

“A show box they earn will have a lot more value in it from the experiences they have gained.” Carie said, noting one of their next big marketing pushes will be to promote Sure Champ® to all the young exhibitors in their area.

Until then, the Stiefvater family will continue to use the products, test the products and tell others about the great success they have seen.

Dealer Success Stories: Customer Service is Key

Webster defines success as a “favorable or desirable outcome.” This group of dealers epitomizes that success, growing their sales significantly over the past year. But success doesn’t just happen. Ask any one of them, and they will attribute their success to having a great product, providing top-notch customer service and having great people to work with – customers, employees and BioZyme® support.

Bowman Grain
Bowman, North Dakota

Education and communication are two of the keys to a successful BioZyme dealership, according to Bob White, manager of Bowman Grain in Bowman, North Dakota.

“Having producer meetings is important to us,” White said. “We try to keep the area producers informed about changes in the industry like VFD, and hold meetings during different times of the year to discuss breeding and weaning.”

White says providing outstanding customer service has been key to their sales success. Bowman Grain offers delivery, makes sure their customers know about volume discounts, and follows up with their customers to make sure the products they have purchased are working for their livestock operation.

And the best thing about being a BioZyme dealer, according to Bob, is the support received. “The dealer support we get from our ASM and the company is great. Our ASM goes with our sales staff around the country to talk to potential customers about the benefits of VitaFerm® products.”

Circle L Feed
Quitman, Arkansas

People helping other people is what helps make the sale at Circle L Feed in Quitman, Arkansas. Although they are fairly new BioZyme® dealers, Circle L has been in business for 18 years, and owner Mike Lagasse gives his employees tremendous credit for knowing the products they sell and listening to the customer to find out his or her needs.

“We do take care of our business and don’t worry about the competition. It will always be there,” Lagasse said. “We have professional staff who greets everyone when they walk in the door, answers questions and then sells something that will help the producers make money. BioZyme has a lot of choices for that.”

Many of the Circle L employees have been with the company for years, and Lagasse said they are all cross-trained to work in any part of the store. When they begin selling a new product, the employees learn about it so they can best help their customers.

Dealer Success Stories: Producer Testimonials Sell the Product

Webster defines success as a “favorable or desirable outcome.” This group of dealers epitomizes that success, growing their sales significantly over the past year. But success doesn’t just happen. Ask any one of them, and they will attribute their success to having a great product, providing top-notch customer service and having great people to work with – customers, employees and BioZyme® support.

 

Mike Damon
Knoxville, Iowa

For Mike Damon, becoming a BioZyme dealer seemed like a natural fit. He’s been feeding the product to his own livestock since the 1970s. His dad’s cousin, Deverne Dixon, used to work as the dealer in the area around Knoxville, Iowa, where Mike and his wife, Barb, live today. And, Mike said it is vital to his business success to be available for all producers.

“If I don’t know the answer to a customer’s question, I’ll try to find out,” Mike said as he complimented his ASM for always providing assistance. “The guy who has five cows thinks he is just as important as the guy with 500, and when it comes to sales, he is. Because the guy with five cows can be really positive and help you sell just as much as the guy with 500.”

Mike said some of the best parts about selling BioZyme products are the people and helping the producers. He has left mineral at some farms for years, and never has seen a person, but a positive experience creates a chain reaction, and that producer tells his friends, and then Mike adds two or three more customers.

High Hill Supplements
Schulenburg, Texas

Cultivating relationships and targeting progressive producers has helped High Hill Supplements grow their BioZyme® business during the past year. Kevin Warnken, Schulenburg, Texas, said he works hard to find larger, progressive producers, explains the benefits of using the BioZyme products, and sells them the products that will work for their ranch.

He shared about one customer who had a 92-percent conception rate on 1,200 cows. Warnken convinced the rancher to use VitaFerm® Concept•Aid® the next year. The rancher’s additional $8,000 supplement investment increased his conception rate to 96-percent, which produced about 50 more calves, and put more money in his pocket. He was sold.

And producers of all sizes are singing praises to Warnken, who just received a note from a smaller customer who had used Concept•Aid: “Just wanted to say thanks. 100% calf crop in 2016. 45 out of 45.”

Warnken said that while testimonials from peers will help gain customers, hard work and customer service helps him keep a customer. He said delivering the product and following up with the producer is important, and last year he delivered nearly 450 tons in his pickup.

“We make the deliveries ourselves, ask them what they want and give them twice what they ask for,” he said. “The only thing I’ll sell is something that works. It’s not a glorious life, but it is a great life.”

Dealer Success Stories: BioZyme Support is Vital

Webster defines success as a “favorable or desirable outcome.” This group of dealers epitomizes that success, growing their sales significantly over the past year. But success doesn’t just happen. Ask any one of them, and they will attribute their success to having a great product, providing top-notch customer service and having great people to work with – customers, employees and BioZyme® support.

Tappen Farm Supply
Tappen, North Dakota

For Kurt Bodvig, owner and manager of Tappen Farm Supply in central North Dakota, the combination of a great product from a reputable company and having product readily available is what continues to sell BioZyme to his customers. In his small community of approximately 200 people, there are probably 10 different people who sell animal nutrition products, so keeping customers happy is important.

“Most guys are happy with the product, and as long as they are happy, we are happy,” he said.

In addition to tracking what his customers use and keeping inventory for them, the feed store hosts an annual producer meeting each February, with the assistance of ASMs Dorothy Orts and Katelyn Wendel. Producers enjoy a good meal, and the chance to visit one-on-one with the ASMs to learn more about the products and their benefits, Bodvig said.

K Triangle Feed
Glendo, Wyoming

Keith Micke, Glendo, Wyoming, is a dealer who uses his resources to their full potential, and he never gives up. He says the tools that BioZyme® offers dealers, from the online dealer center to the staff who help him over the phone and in person, are valuable to his success.

“Their nutritionists have come out for producer meetings. And ASM, Britney Creamer has come and helped me at various shows around the state, including the Wyoming State Fair, where she even brought fresh peaches to share with customers,” Micke said. “The folks at BioZyme are great people, and you need to use them to benefit your business.”

He also mentioned the online record keeping tools are valuable to track previous sales, maintain a mailing list and see what products customers ordered at certain times of year. But perhaps just as important as the resources BioZyme offers, he appreciates that it is a family-oriented business that strives to help producers succeed.

Coal Valley Feeds
Cherokee, Kansas

Jackie Coltrane is passionate about the livestock industry. It doesn’t matter if he’s telling you about his three-generation Angus seedstock operation, selling semen for Select Sires, or representing BioZyme, his excitement for helping others succeed can’t be masked.

“Having a product that does what it is supposed to do and a company that will support you are the best parts of being a BioZyme dealer,” Coltrane said. Coltrane gives respect to his ASM John Jeffrey and Erin Creason, Inside Sales Coordinator, for helping him with any questions he has, and continually providing him information.

“Erin is a huge asset to us, as she fills our artillery with educational materials to pass on to customers and potential customers,” Coltrane said.  He added that she is readily available via phone call or text and always responds promptly to his inquiries.

Another resource that Coltrane appreciates is the product education they provide. With so many products, he said it’s nice when they put out new research or educational material so he can best help his customers find the product that will best fit their needs.