Effective Action: Review Past Actions as You Plan Ahead

Everywhere you look, there are signs reminding us how many days there are until Christmas or how many days there are left of this year. To me, it seems like we were just stocking up on bottled water and cash getting ready to ring in the year 2000, Y2K, and now we’re counting down to 2020. As a business owner, you are likely using these last few weeks of 2019 to plan for the new year, finalizing budgets and prioritizing marketing plans. Do you know what those plans look like? How do you plan for the future if you don’t review what you’ve done in the past?

Hopefully, as you’ve made your plans for the year ahead, you have spent time reflecting on what actions you took this year. Were they all successful? Did some of the marketing strategies you implement work better than others? Are there some actions that were smart, but could have used some better implementation? Think back on each strategy, before you plan what you will do in the future.

March on with Successful Strategies
Perhaps you conducted a producer meeting this year that had tremendous turnout, introduced some producers to your products and captured some new customers. That is the definition of success. Think about what made that meeting successful. Was it the speaker? The topics discussed? The audience? Time of year? Whatever made that event successful this year, you will want to capitalize on for the future. As the adage goes, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” move forward with similar events and marketing initiatives in the new year to ensure continued growth for your business.

Fix what Needs Fixin’
As mentioned in the previous article, it is best to debrief or reflect after each event to see what worked well and what didn’t. If you conducted a marketing event during the past year that had some good things going, but didn’t really hit the target, perhaps now is a good time to review those debriefing or post-event notes to recall what didn’t work out so great so you can go back and make necessary changes. Once you review the event, make the changes and add it to your strategy for the forthcoming year, you might find it to be the biggest success of all. Sometimes a little tweak is all that needs fixed to make a good event a great event.

It’s Okay to Call it Quits
Did you conduct a marketing initiative, educational event or promotion that was an absolute flop? That is going to happen once in a while. No, it isn’t ideal, and for those of you driven business leaders, those flops hurt, but we can learn from them and move forward. Maybe it was something as simple as the timing of an event or maybe it was a promotion that just didn’t interest your customer base. Sometimes the biggest lessons come from the hardest times. Your debrief notes should indicate that this was something that your company doesn’t intend to do again. Don’t spend time dwelling on this event. Move on, learn from mistakes and don’t make them again.

Once you have reviewed what worked out well and what didn’t work out so well, you can start making some marketing plans. Try to have a rough plan in place for the next 12 months, so you can start sharing plans with your ASM and creating an outline with more concrete ideas. Remember, there are a plethora of activities and ideas listed in the back office under the Dealer Rewards Center. Or, you can always propose one of your original ideas to your ASM and the Marketing Team.

Reviewing your former marketing strategies is a great way to discover what worked, what didn’t work and what you need to continue to make work in the future.

How Reflection Can Serve as a Successful Meeting Example

Reflect, according to Dictionary.com, means to ponder, think or meditate. But according to an article on inc.com, U.S. military leaders take this definition even deeper, as they work continuously to improve everything they do. Businesses should be no different. You should want to measure performance and success, not only by sales figures, but also by marketing strategies, educational efforts, customer service and basically any action you take, or mission, as it is referred to in the military.

Military leaders use the debrief, a self-facilitated review of how the team performed on the mission, so things can improve for the next time. In other words, they gather all those involved with a project, engagement, training, promotion, and meet as soon afterward as possible to reflect, get feedback and adjust for future success. Author Gene Hammett said, “You should do a debrief when things are going well just as much as you should when things don’t go well. Using the debrief style of meeting in my work with fast-growth companies has given them a faster path to improvement and speeds a transfer of knowledge across all levels of the organization.”

Hammett offers three tips to business leaders to have a productive debrief through reflection, which should help increase sales and foster employee morale.

1. Include Everyone
 Make sure at each debriefing you include every person who was involved, not just those in leadership, but also those who actively participated. They all will have input – both good and bad. As Hammett writes, “Many organizations wonder why they have experience at the top of the company yet lack it at the middle and bottom. One reason is they are not including the full team in the moments of reflection and growth.”

A sign of a good leader is being sure to include everyone. Did you recently host a producer meeting? Have a debrief to reflect on how it was received. Be sure to include those who talked to customers, took orders and even served food. They will all have feedback so you can make future events better for your customers and ultimately your business.

2. Leave Rank at the Door
When you conduct the debrief from your latest “mission” or project, be sure to treat everyone as equals. Yes, that might seem challenging, especially for leaders who like to take charge of meetings. However, it is the best way to hear everyone’s perspective that could ultimately lead to areas for new growth. When everyone is viewed as an equal it is easier to admit faults to create better solutions for the future.

Rob “Waldo” Waldman, a former Air Force Fighter pilot turned author and speaker, offers this advice on the debriefing process: “Leaders must remove their ego. When you leave your rank at the door, you allow others to be open to their mistakes.”

3. Close Effectively
There are two ways to end the meeting with purpose and clarity. First, whoever is leading the meeting should ask for questions. Questions give the opportunity to clarify any topic that wasn’t discussed and ensure that everything that was covered is understood by all. Questions also provide insight about where the leadership might want to improve to make the next project or mission clearer for the audience.

Next, conclude the meeting with a statement that outlines clear and actionable growth steps that need to be made and list who will be responsible for those duties. Once that concluding statement is made, all attendees should be on the same page, and know what to expect for the next project, and they will know their role in making improvements.

The military debriefing might just be the next best thing since Amaferm® . It is a model for you and your employees to follow to reflect and meet after a project or event, so you know how to make the next one even better. Improving your business one day and one project at a time will help you grow your customer base and will help you grow your business.

 

 

 

Letters From Lisa – December 2019

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, who will stick a penny in the sweet blonde’s hat (figured it was worth a try)? This time of year, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the holiday hustle and bustle and spend the entire month of December running around like a crazy Kris Kringle. Add getting all your 2020 budgets and business planning done along with December’s tasks, and one can tend to forget the real reason for the season.

In short, the Messiah’s reasons should become our motivators always, but especially in the month of December. If we listen to John the Baptist carefully, we will hear that there’s never one reason that defines Jesus’ arrival. The Good News is more than just a headline. The Good News and the God who brings this message is everything between you and the infinite.

According to Simon Sinek (whose voice carries much weight as the third most-watched Ted Talk of all time with 46 million views), “the minute we’re born, we’re players in the infinite game, and that means we get one choice in life: how we want to play. We can choose to live our lives with a finite mindset, which means trying to get richer, more powerful than all of our friends, to get more, have more – but what is the point?

“Rather, we want to live a life of service, and that’s what we write on our tombstones – what we did for others. ‘Devoted mother,’ ‘loving husband,’ ‘she inspired us.’ To live an infinite life means to live our lives so that others may benefit from the work that we do – so we will literally live on forever, because we will look at ourselves and say, ‘I am who I am today partly because I carry with me the spirit of someone who’s no longer here, and I will pass their lessons on to my children and my colleagues and my friends.’ In an infinite-minded life, just like in business, trust is better, cooperation is better, ideas are stronger and remarkably those ideals live on beyond us. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Most days, it’s too easy to stay focused on our own lives – our work, our problems, what we have to accomplish and what is stressing us out. But it’s easy to forget that everyone else in the world has just as much on their plate as we do – sometimes even more. During the holiday season especially, it’s important to remember that every person you come in contact with has his or her own story and sometimes all it takes is a simple gift – a sturdy pair of shoes, a warm winter coat, a blanket, a cherry limeade or just a hug. These things may seem small, but they may be the gift that helps to get someone else up on their feet.

This year, after you’ve opened your gifts and shared a few laughs with family and friends, think back on the true meaning of the season and what Christmas means to you. As the always wise Doogie Howser, M.D. said, “Getting is good. Giving is better. Once you understand that, it’s always Christmas.”

Merry Christmas, from all of us here at BioZyme.

Dealer Spotlight: Gillespie Farms

Nathan Gillespie was looking for a more convenient source of the BioZyme® products to use on his family’s operation, Gillespie Farms. His brother suggested that he become a dealer so the products they had relied on for their farm would be right outside their back door. With a little convincing and after visiting with his Area Sales Manager at the time, Nathan decided to become a dealer, and in the three years since, he has grown his business substantially each year. He is also teaching his 16-year-old son, Morgan, about the business. The high school sophomore helps his dad with the warehouse when he can and has learned about the products at the same time.

Although Nathan says that he doesn’t spend many advertising dollars, he attributes his growth as a dealer to two key areas – a familiarity of the products from using them on his family’s farm and using the resources that BioZyme offers him.

“We try to use everything we sell in some aspect. It helps being able to talk about the products, especially the VitaFerm® Gain Smart® lines and the Vita Charge® Stress Tubs,” Nathan said. “We’ve had some tough sales to some people around here, trying to convince them that certain products work, if you give them more than 60 days. That’s been a challenge. People feed their mineral for 60 or 90 days while they get their cows bred, and then we don’t ever see them again until the next year when it’s time to breed again. I don’t know how it works for them, but it doesn’t work for us. That’s been the biggest challenge, convincing people they need to stick the course to see the true results.”

The Gillespie family has experience with most of the product lines, except Vitalize®, as they don’t have horses. However, they run purebred Hereford cows, and Nathan’s dad backgrounds calves. Nathan and his brother feed out freezer beef. He also raises Boer goats – both show wethers and commercial does.

In addition to believing in the products, which helps him spread the word to others in the area, Nathan is an advocate for the programs and services that the company offers its dealer network. He credits his relationship with his Area Salas Manager Ty McGuire for some of his new sales growth.

“Ty has taken me into some areas where I didn’t know many people and introduced me to some new customers. We can make sales calls together, which helps. We communicate 3-4 times a week, either by text or phone call. He is always available and willing to help out,” Nathan said.

The ties to his ASM have helped him meet people, but other programs have helped Nathan build his product knowledge. He completed the Master Dealer Training Program this spring and said that has helped him learn more in-depth about each product line, and how each might help specific customers with their needs. He also conducts producer meetings to introduce other producers in the area to the products, with the goal of starting more targeted meetings, perhaps one for feeders and one more focused on the cow-calf producer.

“Take time to know your customers,” Nathan advises. “Find out what their needs are and then suggest the right products for them so they will get the biggest bang for their bucks.”

Nathan Gillespie became a dealer to fulfill his needs of having a product he relies on readily available to him. In the meantime, he’s been helping others in his area meet their needs too. With continual growth, Nathan understands thinking like his customers and using all the resources available to him.

#TipTuesday For This Holiday Season

With the holiday season approaching, this is a great time to start thinking about ways to give back to the communities that give us so much. From donating to a food bank to hosting a holiday open house, we have some helpful blog pieces to get you in the holiday spirit.
Click here for some inspiration:

Effective, Easy Breeding with Concept•Aid

Vitaferm® Concept•Aid® is a line of vitamin and mineral supplements for beef cattle formulated to promote effective, easy breeding when fed 60 days pre-calving through 60 days post-breeding. High concentrations of vitamin E and organic trace minerals, coupled with the Amaferm® advantage, supports quick repair of the reproductive tract and more energy for reproductive success. Additionally, increased nutrient absorption and digestion leads to healthier and heavier calves giving you performance that pays.

Why Your Customers Need it: 

  • The Amaferm Advantage: Amaferm is a precision prebiotic that provides more intake, feed digestbility and nutrient absorption resulting in amplified breeding performance of the cow.
  • High Vitamin E: Contains high levels of Vitamin E shown to assist in reproductive tract repair.
  • More Stability: Contains organic trace minerals for more stability and higher bioavailability.

Selling Tools:

  • Concept•Aid Quiz: With so many different formulations of Concept•Aid, many customers are not sure which one to choose. To help we’ve created a quiz that asks a variety of questions about their environment and feeding situation. Based on their inputs, it recommends an appropriate Concept•Aid formula for them.
  • Gestation Calculator: We’ve added a gestation calculator and printable gestation table to our website to better serve our customers. In addition to calculating date of birth, it also calculates dates that we recommend feeding Concept•Aid.
  • VitaFerm Conception Calculator: Use this tool to show your customers the additional advantage per calf they can expect from feeding VitaFerm.
  • Progressive Cattlemen rely on VitaFerm: Check out our collection of blogs on why these Progressive Cattlemen rely on VitaFerm.

Position Available: Outreach Support North Coordinator

We are currently hiring for our Outreach Support North Coordinator position. The Outreach Support North Coordinator works with our Outreach Support Center to support dealers and end-users in the northern territories.
If you know someone you think would be a good fit or for more information, click here: http://biozymeinc.com/blog/2019/10/31/outreach-support-north-coordinator/

Take Action: Creative Thinking Helps You Grow and Earn

There are several traditional methods to grow your business. However, BioZyme® offers support to its dealer network for its marketing and outreach efforts and rewards dealers enrolled in the Dealer Rewards Program for their creativity and their efforts.

Area Sales Managers, the Outreach Support Center and the Marketing Team are all available to assist dealers in their marketing and promotion efforts. Brainstorming with these groups will help you find some creative and unique ways to grow your business. You will also find resources that are readily available for your use, like online posts using Promoboxx or mailers and print advertisements.

Some of the most inventive methods of promotion are the results of creative thinking on behalf of a dealer and his or her ASM. Digital billboards, signage at local livestock auctions and targeted producer meetings focused on specific audiences are all some “out of the box” methods to help promote your business.

Year-end Planning

As the end of the year approaches, you will want to think about ways to spur end-of-the-year sales and thank your customers. This might be with a customer open house, a newsletter to talk about calving preparedness or a producer meeting to talk about products. Remember planning these in advance is always a good idea, and the BioZyme staff is available to help.

In addition to growing your business, you can also earn dealer reward points. Dealer Reward points were created to motivate and reward dealers for their participation and efforts to educate and market the BioZyme products. Points can be accumulated through the year for many of the tasks already mentioned. They can also be earned for completing the Master Dealer Training Program, going on a sales call with your ASM, after-hours dealer trainings and much more. Once you have participated in an activity, work with the staff to make sure your points get calculated.

Use the information in the Online Dealer Center to see a complete list of activities that can earn reward points. But, don’t be afraid to propose an idea that isn’t on the list. We always love to hear your original ideas and get especially excited to share them with other dealers. Those new ideas will earn you points as well.

Once you have points, you can redeem them for a variety of items, from caps and jackets representing the various product lines to gift cards, an iPad and even a show box. Points accumulate during the year and need to be redeemed by Jan. 31 the following year or they are wiped out. The rewards make great gifts for customers, employees and even nice swag to keep for yourself to wear with pride as you promote your business.

Get creative with your promotion. Brainstorm with your staff, family members and the BioZyme team that is here to help you. Take action. Earn rewards. Watch your business grow