b'SEED TREATMENT APPLICATION BUSINESS GROWTHHow Customer Conversations Are Driving Innovation at Summit You Deliver the Best New Genetics? Heres What to Say InsteadJOSEPH YOUNG Director of Business Development, Summit Seed Coatingsjoseph.young@summitseedcoatings.com SHAWN BROOK President, Seed World Groupsbrook@seedworldgroup.comseedworldgroup.com@SeedWorldGroupLETS BE HONEST for most of us in business, our firstStart your story with their challenge or aspiration. Every hero instinct is to make ourselves the hero of the story. We talk aboutbegins with a problem to solve or a dream to chase. Lead with what we built, what we sell, what we know. Its natural. After all,what matters to them, not what you sell. Reflect their worldwere proud of what we do. not yours. Use their language, their visuals, their environment. But heres the truth: youre not the hero. Your customer is. Celebrate their wins, not your company milestones.This is one of the biggest mindset shifts Ive ever had to makeWhen you tell stories of transformationfrom risk to reward, as a storytellerand it completely changed how I approachfrom uncertainty to confidenceyou dont just sell a product, everything from marketing campaigns to interviews. you build a connection.Think of it like the classic heros journey. The hero (your cus- And heres the best part: every great heros journey ends with tomer, your grower, your dealer) faces a challenge. They wantan open door to the next adventure. Thats your call to action. somethinghigher yields, more efficient operations, better seedDont just tell them what you offerinvite them to take the next qualitybut something stands in their way. Then, they meet astep in their story.guide. Thats you. You bring the tools, the insight, the experienceRead how insert new variety here could fit your acres.that helps them overcome the obstacle and succeed. Lets write your success story.Its a subtle but powerful flip. Instead of saying, We deliverThats what great storytelling doesit doesnt make your the best new genetics, say, Growers can unlock new profitaudience a spectator. It makes them the hero.potential with our genetics for Canadian conditions. And when you start seeing your story through their eyes, See the difference? One is about you. The other is abouteverything changes.them.PLANT BREEDING SOFTWAREThinking Outside the BoxENID PEREZ-LARAIndustry Engagement Leader, Agronomix Software, Inc.enid.perez-lara@agronomix.comagronomix.comI WAS BROWSINGthe Seed World U.S. website recently whencan be run time and again, and everyone who needs the infor-I ran across an article making the case that next years success inmation can easily access it, the result is significant time savings, the field begins with seed treatment decisions made this fall. Thatimproved data management, faster decision-making and greater got me to thinking about how those decisions are made and ifaccuracy.there is anything I can do to assist that process. When I talk about our Genovix software, I tend to focus on Ive talked to many in the seed sector over the years whoits value for plant breeders largely because our founder, Dieter tell me they dont have an efficient system for deciding the bestMulitze, came from a plant breeding background and developed treatment for some types of seeds, which raises a bigger ques- the program to address challenges he saw in that sector. But the tion: how can companies quickly and objectively evaluate theirarticle on seed treatment decisions got me thinking about how data to determine the best fertilizers, pesticides, inoculants orour software can be used for so much more than plant breeding. plant varieties for their customers? Over the years, Dieter integrated many experimental designs Regardless of the type of research being done, good data isinto Genovix to meet the wide-ranging needs of agricultural essential. Once collected, a critical bottleneck can crop up whenresearchers and breeders. Those same analytic and statistical that data needs to be analyzed. Most of us with backgroundstools can be used any time data needs to be compared. It doesnt in agriculture, plant breeding, pathology, physiology or relatedmatter whether were talking about plant breeding, fertilizers or fields arent experts in statistical analysis. Much of the time, ourseed treatments. What matters is that technology designed for data is scattered in various Excel files then gathered at some laterone segment of the seed sector can be leveraged by another for date for analysis using specialized software or code. That can bethe benefit of the industry and its customers. time consuming and prone to errors. Regardless of our specific focuses, we all serve the seed However, when data is stored in a central database in a singleindustry and, when we think outside the box, its very likely well software program where experimental designs and data analysisfind the solutions to our problems have already been invented.DECEMBER 2025SEEDWORLD.COM /37'