Agronomy Sales Specialist

Farmers New Ag; Charles City (IA); On-site; USD 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Farmers New Ag is seeking a qualified agronomy sales professional to build lasting relationships with customers, recommending seed, crop protection and nutrition solutions tailored to each operation.

You will collaborate with location managers and operations teams to service customers, achieve sales goals, and participate in soil mapping and NRCS nutrient planning initiatives. A CDL and strong interpersonal skills are required for success.

Qualifications

• Minimum of an associate’s degree or equivalent experience in agronomy.
• Strong negotiation skills required. Must possess or develop sales skills.
• Must be licensed and insurable to drive. Class A CDL (Commercial Driver s License) with tanker and HazMat endorsement required.
• Must possess an array of interpersonal communication skills for interacting with varyingpersonalities, roles, circumstances and emotional status of teammates, customers, and contractors.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Understand the seasonality of the farm supply business and the in-season time commitment.
• Complete knowledge of custom application and similar agronomy equipment.
• Must possess proficiencies of common computer programs and processes.
• Must understand common mathematics associated with agronomy application processes.
• Possesses problem solving capability and understands the operational processes.

Responsibilities

• Present customers with agronomy services and products that meet the needs of their operations.
• Provide unmatched customer service before, during and after the sale.
• Identify potential customers and work to build relationships with prospects.
• Understand and work to achieve personal, regional, and company-wide sales goals.
• Work to resolve customer disputes as needed and escalate when necessary.
• Assist in creation of SOILMAP recommendations, yield mapping, and NRCS nutrient management plans.
• Assist with agronomy operations as needed to service customers.
• Communicate new agronomy product offerings or procedures with location managers and teams.
• Support loading and delivery of agronomy orders.
• Communicate customer needs to location managers.

Skills

Negotiation

Sales skills

Interpersonal skills

Driver license

CDL (Class A)

Education

Associate degree in agronomy

Job description

Position Summary/Objective:

Develop and maintain strong relationships with agronomy customers and provide seed, crop protection, and crop nutrition solutions which serve their operations.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Include but are not limited to the following:

• Present customers with agronomy services and products that meet the needs of their operations. Understand specific product and service offerings well enough to make unbiased, customized recommendations.
• Provide unmatched customer service before, during and after the sale. Balance achieving sales goals with servicing customers.
• Identify potential customers and work to build relationships with prospects.
• Understand and work to achieve personal, regional, and company-wide sales goals. Periodically provide reports to agronomy region manager, as necessary.
• Work to resolve customer disputes as needed. Escalate disputes to agronomy region manager for assistance when necessary.
• Assist in creation of SOILMAP recommendations, yield mapping, and NRCS nutrient management plans.

Agronomy Operations

• Assist with agronomy operations as needed to service customers in a timely fashion.
• Communicate new agronomy product offerings or procedures with location managers, operations team members, customer service specialists and others involved in the customer lifecycle. Work as a team to provide excellent service.
• Support loading and delivery of agronomy orders.
• Communicate customer needs to location managers and operations team members.

Learning & Development

• Remain knowledgeable and involved in sales marketing programs of agronomy departments.
• Become proficient in cooperative’s sales, accounting, and booking processes.
• Identify areas of opportunity in agronomy and collaborate with other agronomy team members to capitalize on them.
• Expand knowledge of seed, plant nutrition, chemistry, and the cooperative business model. Adopt a mindset of continuous improvement.
• Attend various agronomy trainings to deepen knowledge of products, services, and plant health.
• Seek additional opportunities to grow knowledge of agronomy and sales strategies.

Other

• Promote the company culture that is focused on providing complete sales, service, and employee development.
• Written and oral communication to Location Managers, Agronomy Region Managers, and Agronomy Department Manager as required.
• Maintain a strong professional network to connect with future potential talent or customers.

Basic Employment Expectations:

Safety

• Performs work in a safe manner at all times and uses the appropriate PPE.
• Checks the work area for hazards and corrects/reports unsafe conditions.
• Considers the safety of oneself, and other employees, and customers.
• Follows all safety protocols and seeks advice from supervisor when uncertain.

Communication

• Maintains open communication and cooperates with supervisor, departments, and fellow employees.
• Communicates with supervisor and others immediately when unexpected problems cause absence, lateness, or the need to leave early.

Accountability & Professionalism

• Abides by policies set forth in the employee policy manual.
• Carries a fair share of the workload.
• Promotes NEW Cooperative through positive, friendly, and professional interactions.
• Is punctual, follows directives, and works in an efficient and timely manner; accepts personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of the work.
• Understands that satisfactory attendance is essential to the efficient operations of the work environment.

Customer Service

• Continually works to satisfy customers to address questions/concerns through effective communication, solving problems, responding to questions, and managing their expectations.

Personal/Professional Development

• Establishes personal performance goals and works toward these goals.
• Continually upgrades and demonstrates knowledge of the job.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Minimum of an associate’s degree or equivalent experience in agronomy.
• Strong negotiation skills required. Must possess or develop sales skills.
• Must be licensed and insurable to drive. Class A CDL (Commercial Driver s License) with tanker and HazMat endorsement required.
• Must possess an array of interpersonal communication skills for interacting with varyingpersonalities, roles, circumstances and emotional status of teammates, customers, and contractors.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Understand the seasonality of the farm supply business and the in-season time commitment.
• Complete knowledge of custom application and similar agronomy equipment.
• Must possess proficiencies of common computer programs and processes.
• Must understand common mathematics associated with agronomy application processes.
• Possesses problem solving capability and understands the operational processes.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is rarely required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

Position will rarely work in wet or humid, extreme cold/heat (all non-weather) conditions, work near moving mechanical parts, work in high, precarious places, fumes, or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, outdoor weather conditions, risk of electrical shock, explosive atmosphere, and vibration.

Disclaimer:

This job description indicates the general nature and minimum level of work expected. It is not designed to cover every activity, duty, or responsibility required of the employee. The employee may be asked to perform other duties related to the successful performance of the job.