b'We are the CHAMPIONSBrett Hodnefield talks about how his love for winning drives his love for sales.Alex MartinWHEN YOU THINKof sales, whatsgood bank, so I wanted to be a banker.the first thought that jumps to yourHowever, that wasnt quite where his mind? Is it a novel like the Death of apath led him.Salesman? Steve Carells The OfficeaI did a little bit of a bunch of jobs fake, comedy documentary about paperduring college, but there was an opportu-sellers? Or is it winning? nity to go and sell seed for a seed company If the answers winning, youd have theback home, he says. So, I went back and same thought as Brett Hodnefield. sold seed for about six to seven years. When it comes to sales, Hodnefield,But when it came down to it, co-owner and manager of sales forHodnefield wasnt satisfied just as a seedI dont think you Champion Seed of Ellsworth, Iowa, itseller. He wanted to expand and grow, and wasnt what he thought hed be originallyhe knew that he wouldnt be able to docan be a good sales pursuing in his life. that where he was at.I came from seed sales, he says. ItIn 2002, my brother-in-law and I hadmanager without wasnt necessarily where I thought Id bethe opportunity pop up to open our own heading in my life. seed company, he says. That intriguedhaving that sales uswe thought it would be fun to be our From Banker to Seeds own bosses. experience all Born and raised on a farm in central Iowa,From there, Hodnefield was able to he and his family had everything rangingbranch into new areas of seed hed neverthe time. from livestock to row cropsagriculturegotten to experiencebut he also got to seemed like the easy path for him. Aftercontinue to grow in sales as the manager high school, he headed to Iowa Stateof sales for Champion Seed. University to pursue a degree in agricul- I took the sales manager slash owner, ture business, but he knew what he waswhile Seth, my brother-in-law, took pretty striving to become: a banker. much a little bit of everything else, Growing up on the farm, I always knewHodnefield says. But my experiences that money was a big part of the farmingwith sales really helps us stay ahead of the operation, Hodnefield says. You need agameand I didnt just stop selling.JANUARY 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /47'