Busy Doesn't Mean Productive: Rethinking Sales in Agriculture
In sales, it's easy to confuse activity with progress.
A packed calendar, dozens of customer calls, long days on the road, and a full schedule of trade shows can make it feel like you're doing everything right. But at the end of the day, how much of that activity is actually moving the business forward?
That's the question at the center of a recent episode of The Germinate Podcast, where host Joe Sampson welcomes back Brian Kreifels, now with Wyffels Hybrids, for a candid conversation about sales leadership, navigating a difficult agricultural market, and why some of the most effective sales strategies aren't necessarily the most complicated.
From changing careers to challenging traditional sales habits, their conversation highlights an important distinction: Being busy doesn't automatically mean you're being productive.
Finding the Right Fit Matters More Than the Title
Brian recently made a significant career move, transitioning from a large global organization to Wyffels Hybrids, a smaller, family-owned company focused on the Corn Belt.
For many professionals, leaving a well-established position might seem like a step backward. But Brian sees it differently.
His decision wasn't driven by dissatisfaction with his previous employer. Instead, it came down to finding a role that better aligned with his personal priorities and professional goals.
After years of frequent travel, Brian wanted more time at home with his family while still having the opportunity to help grow a business.
It's a perspective that applies to sales professionals at every level. Success isn't always about the biggest company, the highest title, or the most impressive compensation package.
Sometimes it's about finding the environment where you can do your best work.
And that same philosophy applies to leading a sales team.
There's No One-Size-Fits-All Sales Playbook
Every salesperson brings different strengths to the table.
Some thrive on prospecting and closing deals. Others excel at relationship management, customer service, or the operational details that keep accounts running smoothly.
Joe shares the example of a salesperson who loved chasing the next order but had little interest in everything that followed the sale.
Rather than viewing those differences as weaknesses, Brian believes sales leaders should recognize them and build teams that complement one another.
That doesn't mean eliminating expectations or abandoning accountability. It means understanding how to position people for success.
The same goes for sales processes.
A strategy that worked five years ago might still have value today, but that doesn't mean it should be applied without adjustment.
Markets change. Customers change. Technology changes.
The strongest sales leaders know when to follow the playbook and when to adapt it.
Are We Getting Too Comfortable at Farm Shows?
One of the more interesting parts of the conversation centers on agricultural trade shows.
After attending several farm shows, Joe noticed something concerning: sales representatives sitting in booths, looking at their phones, or talking among themselves rather than actively engaging with potential customers.
With companies investing significant money in booth space, travel, displays, and staffing, the question becomes whether they're making the most of those opportunities.
Brian agrees that simply showing up isn't enough.
He points to the importance of reaching out to customers before the event, identifying which prospects will attend, scheduling conversations, and creating reasons for people to visit the booth.
During the Farm Progress Show, Wyffels used activities, customer communication, and a post-show gathering to create opportunities for engagement.
The lesson isn't that every company needs a large event budget.
It's that a successful trade show starts long before the doors open.
Without a plan, even the busiest booth can become an expensive exercise in waiting.
A Tough Market Isn't a Reason to Stop Selling
Agriculture is no stranger to difficult economic cycles.
Commodity prices fluctuate, input costs rise, equipment inventories build, and uncertainty influences purchasing decisions across the industry.
For sales professionals, those conditions can quickly become explanations for missed opportunities.
The market is down. Customers aren't spending. Inventory is too high. Nobody is buying.
Brian doesn't dismiss those challenges. He recognizes that they're real.
But his leadership philosophy is built around helping teams work through them rather than allowing the obstacles to define their performance.
Instead of confronting an overwhelmed salesperson with a demand for better results, Brian prefers to identify the individual challenges and address them one at a time.
What can be controlled? What needs to change? Where are the opportunities? What actions could improve the situation?
Breaking larger problems into smaller, manageable decisions helps turn frustration into a plan.
And importantly, Brian believes those plans should be developed with input from the people closest to the customers.
The Difference Between Activity and Opportunity
Making 50 sales calls doesn't necessarily mean you've had 50 valuable conversations.
Driving hundreds of miles doesn't automatically mean you've made progress.
And visiting the same friendly customer every week doesn't guarantee you're growing your territory.
Joe and Brian discuss the temptation to make what they call comfortable sales calls.
These are the customers who already know you, enjoy talking with you, and rarely push back. Maintaining those relationships matters, but spending too much time there can prevent salespeople from pursuing more meaningful opportunities.
Sometimes growth requires making an uncomfortable call, addressing a customer complaint, or approaching a prospect who has historically purchased from a competitor.
The goal isn't to replace relationship-building with aggressive selling.
It's to become more intentional.
Rather than measuring success exclusively through activity, sales teams should consider whether their efforts are directed toward the right customers, the right conversations, and the right opportunities.
Sales Success Depends on More Than the Sales Team
The conversation also moves into a subject that often gets overlooked in sales discussions: inventory and supply chain management.
Brian explains why reducing inventory isn't always as simple as selling everything sitting on the shelf.
Some products represent slow-moving inventory with limited future demand. Others may be valuable products that are temporarily moving more slowly because of market conditions.
Discounting inventory simply to reach a short-term target can create bigger problems when demand returns.
Lead times are equally important.
If a company wants to carry only 30 days of inventory but requires six months to replenish it, the numbers don't support the strategy.
For Joe and Brian, this reinforces a broader point.
Sales, operations, manufacturing, and supply chain management cannot function as completely separate teams.
A salesperson can build an incredible customer relationship and secure an order, but if the company can't deliver the product when the customer needs it, the relationship still suffers.
Real business growth requires alignment across the entire organization.
Sometimes the Best Sales Strategy Is Simply Listening
Despite the technology, analytics, and sophisticated sales tools available today, Joe and Brian keep returning to one fundamental principle: relationships matter.
A thoughtful question can be more valuable than a perfectly rehearsed pitch.
A genuine conversation can create an opportunity that wasn't on anyone's radar.
And a salesperson who understands a customer's challenges will often be better positioned to explain the value of a product than someone who simply recites its features.
Brian describes his approach to leadership with a familiar reminder: We have two ears and one mouth, and we should use them in that proportion.
It's a principle that applies just as much to customer conversations as it does to managing a sales organization.
Before offering a solution, understand the problem.
Before pushing a product, understand the customer.
And before assuming you know the best strategy, take time to listen to the people who are doing the work.
The Future of Sales Isn't About Doing More
Agricultural sales will always involve challenges outside anyone's control.
Markets will fluctuate. Customer priorities will shift. Technology will continue to evolve.
But the fundamentals of effective selling remain surprisingly consistent.
Understand your customers. Build genuine relationships. Ask better questions. Focus on meaningful opportunities. And make sure your entire organization is working toward delivering value.
Joe and Brian's conversation is a reminder that the answer to a difficult sales environment isn't necessarily more calls, more meetings, or more activity.
Sometimes the biggest improvement comes from taking a closer look at where your effort is going.
Because at the end of the day, the goal isn't to be the busiest salesperson in the room. It's to be the one making the greatest impact.
Listen to the full conversation with Joe Sampson and Brian Kreifels on The Germinate Podcast.
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