Ag Sales Professional's Podcast by Greg Martinelli

A new perspective on your role in sales

I would like to present a unique perspective on what you do as a salesperson in your designated territory with your book of business. 

I’m sharing this view as many salespeople struggle to put all the pieces of their role into one flowing set of efforts. 

To help salespeople understand their role, I like to compare their territory to a river.  “You manage a river of customers running through your territory for your company.” 

Listen in as we discuss how to view your role in sales….Directing the flow of customers into your river!

Does not mean your customer is “bottom line driven”

Within the first 24 hours of anyone’s sales career, they run into the oldest and most common objection: Price.  It happens right away and it continues through your entire sales career. 

Every salesperson can improve how they act, react, and think about price objections. 

Listen in for steps 2 and 3 of managing yourself and your customers through price objections.

Arm your salespeople with one of the most important tools

With thousands of self-assessments on the market, DISC is one of the most important for salespeople.

Typically, after taking the assessment, your company hosts a training session to help you better understand your results.

That’s all great, but that training stops just short of the most important element of DISC in sales.  Understanding yourself is step one.  An important step for sure, but in my opinion, not the most important step in how to use DISC in a selling situation

Listen in as we discuss the most important way to use the power of DISC!

How to use story format to connect with your customers

Every salesperson can help their customers by using a powerful story.    The secret to a successful story in sales follows a format.  These are not just fun or amusing stories that go on and on randomly.  No!  Your selling stories need to have a clear structure and purpose for telling them.

Recently, I came across another story format.  It’s a little more involved than Similar Situation Storytelling, but worth the effort.  This format will set you apart from your competition as it focuses on becoming more than just a product provider.  It sets you up to be a trusted advisor to your customers. 

Sales Story Format: Step 1: …………….

Listen in and see if you can tell your sales story or learn how to build it from the ground up

How to build trust early in a selling situation

Every salesperson can build trust faster, show more empathy, and develop deeper customer relationships by breaking the 4th wall on a sales call. 

What is the 4th wall, and how do I break it?

Listen in as we discuss the 4th wall in sales and how you can use it to build trust and establish empathy quickly!

The most common feedback from sales training and how it can help you

After more than 20 years of training and leading salespeople, I truly enjoy the one-on-one moments of feedback.  

It’s that moment when someone in a training workshop or coaching session opens up about their pivotal learning point from the session. 

These are great, and I love the professionalism this shows on their part.  Acknowledging their compliment, I like to ask one further question after shaking hands: “What do you think was the biggest help for you from the presentation?” 

Over the last nine years of running an Ag-focuses sales training service, I have heard several answers to my question.  I compiled the most common ones below.  I share them as they might help you to understand how your career should include continuous learning.  These discussions might be helpful or open up your perspective on your selling approach.

First and most common is:

“I need to start asking questions!”  or “more questions,” or “better questions.”

Listen in as I go over the top feedback comments to help you sell better!

Selling to the farmer AND the reseller

It can be the best of selling methods and the worst of selling methods.  This, of course, is the sales version of the opening line from the famous book, “A Tale of Two Cities.” 

A recent sales training workshop reminded me that knowing who to focus on isn’t always easy. Selling in agribusiness has its own two worlds or sales structures.  Too many agribusinesses that sell through a reseller channel struggle to balance between these two selling processes.

The first sale is to the end user or consumer of your product.  For most of us, this is the farmer or livestock producer. 

The second sale is to the reseller/dealer/distributor of your products.  They go by several names depending on the product line of farm products you sell.  For the rest of this article, I will refer to them as your dealer network. 

If you sell through a dealer network, then you will forever be deciding on which to focus your efforts and resources on.

Listen in as we discuss the benefits and methods of selling through a dealer network

How did your dad help you become a better salesperson?

As many countries across the world will celebrate Father’s Day this coming weekend, I felt it best to honor all fathers, father figures, and anyone who showed up in your life to somehow make you better at selling.

Many of you might be thinking, “My dad was not in sales and didn’t teach me anything about selling.”  Maybe he wasn’t even in a business role in his job.  Maybe he was a teacher, a police officer, or some other public service.  And you may think you didn’t learn anything about selling from him.  After all, “What could a stressed-out air traffic controller teach me about sales?”

Maybe a little more than you think.

Listen in as we discuss how your father or father figure helped shape you into the salesperson you are!

 How Steve Martin and a performance review can help you close more sales

“How can I close more sales?”

It’s the most common question I get in sales training—and not surprisingly, the most common weak spot when salespeople evaluate themselves.

A recent interview with comedian Steve Martin reminded me of an employee review I once gave, and oddly enough, both experiences highlight the same truth: closing better starts with knowing better.

Listen in as we cover the most requested skill in sales training!

When was the last time you audited your territory or sales team?

Honestly, when was the last time you took a good, hard look at your territory or your sales team?  I mean looking at it like an audit would?

If you’re like most sales managers or business leaders, the answer is probably… never. Sure, we do annual reviews. But typically, reviews are not a deep analysis like a true audit. They often include a few metrics, a few generalized ratings, with some commentary.

Now, think about other areas of your business:  Accounting, operations, and Inventory.  All are audited.  So why not sales?

Why We Avoid Sales Audits

One big reason is what I call the “gray area excuse.” Sales is often viewed as more art than science. We tend to think, “Either they’ve got it or they don’t—just let them go out and sell.”

Another reason? Many sales managers weren’t actually salespeople themselves. That can make them hesitant to dig in or challenge their team’s approach.

But here’s the truth: a well-done audit isn’t about catching people doing something wrong. It’s about helping them grow. A good salesperson should welcome it. I worked as hard as possible to grow my sales.  I wanted to hear ways I could improve.  If my manager wants to ride along, observe, and coach, great! Free coaching and usually a free lunch. What a great day!

How I Discovered the Power of a Sales Audit

Years ago, I inherited a team of 18 salespeople. New team. New territory. New industry segment. It was like drinking from a firehose. I needed a system to stay grounded, focused, and be an effective leader.

Based on my DISC profile, I needed control, accuracy, and meaningful data. (Side note: that combo is great for analytics, but not always for your stress levels!) So I built an audit-style review. It helped me track progress, identify gaps, and most importantly, have productive conversations with each salesperson.

What a Sales Audit Looks Like

My audit covered four core areas:

I used a simple 5-point rating scale—not to label people, but to spark discussion. Here’s the key: I had each salesperson rate themselves before our meeting. Then I rated them. During our conversation, we compared notes.

The magic wasn’t in the numbers. The real value came from the conversations that followed. Where did we agree? Where did we see things differently? And how could we build a plan to close the gaps?

It’s About Growth—Not Gotchas

Most of the time, these audits were incredibly positive. They showed my team I cared about their growth and success. We built development plans together, aligned personal goals with business goals, and clarified how each person fit into the bigger picture.

In the rare situation that someone didn’t want to grow, if they resisted feedback, or refused to improve, then yes, the audit became more of a disciplinary tool. Fortunately, that was rare.

Final Thought

If you want to elevate your sales team, don’t wait for the annual review. Build a simple audit process. Use it to engage your people, help them grow, and make sure everyone’s moving in the same direction.

Sales is just like every other part of the business: what gets measured gets improved.  And if it isn’t measured, it gets lost in the speed of our business.

If you want to learn more about a customized audit for your team, reach out and schedule a discussion.