Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60THE world of seed sales in 2016 is far different from what it was in 1996. Scott Downey has been here through all of it, so he knows what today’s seed seller deals with. What worked back then doesn’t work today, and the seed industry has become so aware of that, people like Downey have made it their mission to teach salespeople how to sell effec- tively in today’s environment. The solution? Good communication skills. “Twenty years ago, we taught sales- people how to talk. Most of my time now is spent helping salespeople to listen effectively,” says the associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. “The biggest driver of that shift is the volume of informa- tion farmers have at their fingertips. “Because so much information is out there, there’s a tendency for sellers to flood the market with even more infor- mation so they can stand out, and it gets overwhelming for the farmer.” That information is coming from many different sources other than traditional print advertising, especially this time of year when many farmers are turning come and try to do more talking tend to be an annoyance if they don’t know how to do it the right way,” Downey says. It’s a trend sellers are seeing more and more. Learning how to be heard among all the noise is the challenge of today’s sellers. More importantly, how does a salesperson ultimately make a sale in the modern environment at this time of year? Rod Osthus is president of the top seed sales training firm in the United States. Scott Downey is an associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. 30 To sell seed, you need to learn to communicate effectively in today’s crowded marketplace. Communication is Key their minds to next year’s cropping plans. The Internet has made it easier than ever to bombard farmers with information about new products and programs, and according to Downey, the result is a lot of noise that farmers often end up tuning out. “When they feel overwhelmed with information, people tend to shut down and ignore all of it, and sellers who