| WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Its getting harder for
salespeople from agricultural supply companies to roll down rural
roads and make a deal with a firm handshake and a dusty stack of
order forms.
They now tote Palm Pilots and cell phones, use databases to
target individual farmers needs and scramble to keep up with the
wealth of information farmers access through the Internet.
E-commerce has hit the agricultural industry, and learning to do
business in a virtual world was the subject Monday at the 2001
National Conference for Agribusiness at Purdue University.
Farmers are very rapidly moving down the tech road, said
David Downey, director of Purdues Center for Agricultural
Business. And they are much more adept at using technology to
solve problems and answer questions than we might think.
He said studies have shown that up to 75 percent of farmers use
the Internet regularly. This tech-savvy has created a more informed
consumer and changed the role of salespeople at companies that sell
anything from tractors to seeds.
Downey said agribusiness salespeople used to call on farmers and
ask them what they needed to buy.
Now the farmers say, Dont ask me what you can do for me,
tell me what kind of ideas you have that might be able to help me,ݔ
Downey said.
Scott Inks, a marketing professor from Middle Tennessee State
University, said that because farmers can place simple orders
online, salespeople need to act more as consultants, bringing new
ideas to the table.
Salespeople cannot just be the conduit for the transaction,
Inks said. That conduit is going to be e-commerce.
Agribusiness companies have responded by increasing the ways they
interact with farmers. Instead of just cold calls by sales reps,
companies check in via e-mail, send out electronic brochures, make
informative CD-ROMs and set up Web sites that help farmers search
for products that fit their exact need.
Downey mentioned a California company that sends its sales staff
out with Palm Pilots rigged with global positioning software. They
chart a farmers fields and note where a type of fertilizer is
used, or where a certain weed killer would help. The companys
delivery truck will then bring the products right to the areas where
theyre needed.
David Antinetti, a California-based regional salesman for Dow
Agrosciences, doesnt use anything that advanced, but said he
finds farmers are now asking more informed questions about his
products. |