Embracing the Slog of Future Change in Ag Retail
February 24, 2021 “Eighteen to 36 months. Really? That’s a long time!”
That was me, repeating the obvious during a conversation with personnel consultant David Dam. I was wrapping up my background interviews for a report I’ve been putting together, and one of my contacts suggested I give Dave a call.
In between talking about hobbies, local weather, and the ecstasy and (mostly) agony of being a Cleveland Browns fan, we talked for a truly engaging hour on personnel issues at the retail location, and his style of consulting. But I was most interested to get his take on the process of moving an organization toward consultative selling.
The goal of “aligning the sales force to match our mission and the customer’s needs” was expressed by a number of experts and retailers I spoke with for my report. But at the core of most conversations was the need to get beyond relationship selling and move towards better customer engagement and real problem solving.
David’s approach is his own, and I’m sure there are many ways to get to the personnel promised land for retail managers. But I would imagine that, regardless of the method, the timetable he noted is universal.
Which also got me to thinking about the state of the distribution channel in general, where we are today, and where things are headed.
The positive for all of us is that we’ve survived through quite a bit over the past five years. Some really awful crop years dogged us. Global trade issues created uncertainty. Crop protection manufacturing consolidation has just about reached the apex, changing the nature of our relationship with suppliers. Technology has been a moving target. And in our ranks, the big got bigger, and those in the middle continue to pair off to find the right balance of scale and local service. (And I didn’t even mention the pandemic. Oops.)
So, how do we sustain our businesses for another five years? I was tuning up a presentation recently and noticed that the number of CropLife 100 retailers at or above $50 million has been dead stable at 69% for five straight years. Sales breakouts by inputs and service are not shifting heavily either.
We’ll always need to manage inputs and services and facilities effectively … businesses having trouble in these “table stakes” areas have already gone under, sold out, or soon will. What’s left are really difficult issues that will require tremendous energy.
Evolving the business is going to be a game of yards, not inches. Issues like the aforementioned alignment of the sales force will take time, energy, and commitment. But making progress on them will make a huge difference over the next five years.
As this season unfolds, take note of the challenges that are merely hampering the business now, but that could threaten it in the future. Bring in an outsider to help if necessary. And get after it.
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