Sales Fundamentals
for Agribusiness

Make your team more confident sales people, improve client relationships, and grow your revenue

I’m an agribusiness sales expert who’s sold to New Zealand’s rural community for 30 years. I’m here to up skill your sales team to be confident ambassadors for your business, delivering great results for your bottom line.

Down-to-earth sales coaching for rural business

If you sell to the rural agribusiness community, this coaching programme is for you.

Consultants

Manufacturers

Distributors

Rural service providers

Testimonials

  • "Ian’s an important part of our team and a great support. He’s a top fella, who’s easy to work with. It’s been hard for our team to do things differently, people get set in their ways, but we’re starting to see positive change, and I know we haven’t seen the best of it yet.”

    Tony Houston, Advanced GPS Ag, RDS Systems & Total Ag Control

  • “Spending the day with Ian allowed the STg NZ team to gain a significant better and deeper understanding concerning the fundamental aspects of a High Performing Sales Environment and Culture.  More importantly, the skills gained from his session will enable us as a business to better understand our market, with an even greater focus on customer centricity and value driven relationships. Ian’s true interest in getting to know our business throughout the discovery and initial engagement phase resulted in a very pragmatic, and subsequent high level of engagement from the wider team on the day. Ian’s tools and guidance most definitely will be put into practice as key priority for us to set ourselves up for even greater success in 2023.”

    Rudolph Linde, Director, STg NZ

  • “Ian understands the agricultural sector, knows what triggers customers to buy, and he’s pretty down-to-earth. We’re just getting started with him, but our first workshop was great. Everyone was invested in it, and they were pleasantly surprised with what they didn’t know. And it will make things much easier with new staff having this sales process when we bring them onboard.”

    Willi Thomas, Pastoral Improvements

  • “Marketing and sales is something I’ve never been good at. We build good stuff, but it’s about getting farmers to know about our products. Ian’s not a yes man, which is what I want. I want to hear what I’m not doing. But he’s also easy to talk to, laid back, not pushy at all. Now, our marketing and sales messaging is right and sharp. Before, we looked like a small business, whereas now we look bigger, the professionalism is there.”

    Phil Finnie, Buddy Farm Solutions

  • “Ian conducted “Foundation Skills Business Development Training” for a group of our staff. We are a significant supplier to the Agricultural sector, be it by way of sales of new tractors and machinery, parts or workshop service. Our staff found the training to be very beneficial, and enjoyed the style of delivery and the practical skills learned. We booked the next level in the series, and highly recommend the training and presenter.”

    Tony Alden, Operations Manager, Johnson Gluyas Tractors

  • "We engaged Ian to deliver a Customer Values workshop to help the team understand how we help our customers and how to practically apply our Branch team values. It was a great start to our team development with good foundations to build on going forward and everyone engaged with enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoyed it!"

    Simon Jackson, Dealer Principal, Power Farming Ashburton

  • "I’ve attended numerous training days Ian and I can honestly say yours was one of the best. Great practical advice for our teams at Osflo Fertiliser Limited and Spreading FBT can build on."

    Mel Sorrensen, Group Business Development Manager, Osflo Fertiliser Limited and Spreading FBT

It’s normal if your team hate selling

They might know your product or service inside out, but they’ve never been taught to sell, and selling gives them the fear. They don’t know where to start. Every no feels personal. They think to be good at sales they have to be some flash show pony, and that doesn’t feel like them. But sales doesn’t have to be this way.

 

Selling doesn’t have to be hard

First, I help your team understand that sales is simply solving your customers’ problems. Once they get that, it all feels less scary.

I teach honest, authentic selling, where your team can build great relationships with existing and new customers, simply by being themselves.

At the end of our time together, not only will your people be more confident selling, but you’ll also have robust processes and a clear plan. You’ll be able to forecast revenue more accurately. Best of all, you’ll have stronger, longer customer relationships which equals more money in the bank.

How the sales coaching process works

A customised nine-month sales coaching programme, designed to meet your needs. Improve your team culture, get your people more engaged, and grow your sales.

Your sales coaching investment $24,500+GST

 

1. Discovery & Development

I get to know your business and understand your coaching needs, by spending time with your senior leaders and sales team. This helps me plan your workshop. A pre-workshop briefing gives you confidence I’m addressing all your pain points.

$3,000+GST

 

3. Strategy & Planning

After the workshop, I deliver detailed recommendations to help you implement your new insights. A sales strategy explains how you’ll grow sales, and a sales plan outlines actions for your team to take.

$2,000+GST

2. Workshop

This interactive full day workshop helps your team understand the value you deliver and explores how you can do this for more customers, more often. We cover strategy, client relationships, communication, processes, mindset, and daily actions to grow sales.

$7,500+GST

 

4. Six Months Coaching

Changing behaviour can be hard, so for six months I sit in on monthly meetings to keep your sales team accountable. I’m there to answer questions, offer advice, and coach your people through any tricky situations

$12,000+GST

Topics we will cover together

 

  • Nail your sweet spot and find out how you make more sales like that.

  • Make customers’ lives easier so they feel you’re on their team.

  • Explain what you do clearly and ask better questions.

  • Retain your best customers and attract more like them.

  • Grow your team’s confidence and resilience.

  • Gather momentum with regular wins.

Trust me to improve your
sales team

 

  • For 30 years I’ve sold to the rural community, selling across primary industries from dairy to cropping, and to rural service providers that serve farmers. I understand your customers, and I get the sales problems you face.

  • When I worked for irrigation providers DanfossI grew their South Island sales 300% over three years. My personal best was the year I made two million in under 12 months.

  • Now I help rural businesses and service providers develop their sales and marketing skills, attract more customers, and grow their business. I’ve worked as a sales coach for 5 years, helping New Zealand agri businesses grow their sales. I can help you too.

FAQs

  • The initial program lasts between nine and twelve months, depending on how long it takes to develop and deliver the workshop. Your team’s availability can impact on how long this part of the process takes.

    Some businesses like to extend the coaching phase of the programme for twelve months, because they value the accountability and the sounding board that gives.

  • Ask yourself these questions.

    • Do you really understand how you make your customers’ lives better?

    • Are you struggling to build relationships with your customers?

    • Are you doing as much work with existing customers as you could?

    • Have you competitor proofed your customers by building strong relationships?

    • Are you maximising results from the sales opportunities that arise?

    • Is your sales pipeline unpredictable?

    • Is your sales process clear, repeatable, and scalable?

    If these are pain points for you, sales coaching can help.

    Sales coaching is more than simply a bunch of sales techniques. We look at the whole business development side of your business and improve your entire sales process from marketing to customer service.

  • A few businesses choose to do the first three steps of the programme and forgo the sales coaching. This gives your team a solid foundation in sales and equips you with a sales strategy and action plan.

    But farmers don’t plant a crop and then not water it.

    And most businesses choose coaching to ensure their new insights from the workshop are implemented. The workshop’s a valuable tool. But it’s the action that happens afterwards that makes the difference.

    People often need support to change. Coaching provides accountability. I’m there to be a wise friend who’ll walk beside your team as they learn new skills, to boost their energy, answer their questions, and make sure they don’t revert to old habits.

  • The workshop is customised to your needs, to make sure I address your pain points and tackle your business growth goals.

    The workshop is a fun interactive experience. It’s not a talk fest where I bore on with a thousand slides. Your team will be working together in breakout groups doing hands on exercises that will improve your business results.

    Here are examples of some exercises we may do:

    • Identifying the problems you solve for your customers.

    • Investigating the impact you have on your customers’ businesses.

    • Discussing what your best customers are like, and how you can find more of them.

    • Looking at how you can build better relationships with key customers.

    • Talking about ways to educate your customers about what you offer.

    • Role playing telling customers what you do.

    • Exploring ways to integrate sales into your team’s daily routine.

    I create a safe environment, where your team can ask questions and enjoy playing with new ideas. By the end of the workshop your team will know the principles of effective sales and marketing and be equipped with quick wins they can take away and implement to start growing your business straight away.

  • Yes. I offer one-on-one coaching for sales reps and sales managers.

    I can also serve as a sounding board and mentor for your sales manager, you, or your senior leaders. Email me for more information.

Case Studies

 

How Advanced GPS Ag built a partnership with their main supplier and a nationwide distributor network

Read More

“Marketing and sales is something I’ve never been good at. We build good stuff, but it’s about getting farmers to know about our products. Ian’s not a yes man, which is what I want. I want to hear what I’m not doing. But he’s also easy to talk to, laid back, not pushy at all. Now, our marketing and sales messaging is right and sharp. Before, we looked like a small business, whereas now we look bigger, the professionalism is there.”

— Phil Finnie, Buddy Farm Solutions

Ask about funding for your sales coaching

 

I’m approved as a Regional Business Partner Network service provider. You maybe able to access funding towards your sales coaching. Ask me for more info.

Ready to start selling more?

 

Make your team more confident salespeople, improve client relationships, and grow your revenue with sales coaching for agribusiness and engineers.