Resuming an old habit

There is a popular saying, repeated hundreds of times, almost like a Hindu mantra, which says: “When one door closes, many others open”. In the business world, we deal with this situation daily. In a single day we can start it with one no to a sale and end it with several yeses. It's the wheel of life. Learning to deal with this process of refusal and approval requires a certain balance in personal self-esteem so as not to give up when faced with the no's that appear. After all, every yes is preceded by a lot of work, research, knowledge of the various factors surrounding that situation. And all this to avoid the “perverse” no.

For almost two years, in Brazil and around the world, we have been experiencing a moment of great no. We were unable to go out normally, visit friends, family and, in relation to agribusiness companies, such as LS Tractor, participate in specialized agricultural fairs, which take place throughout the year, in various parts of the country. Rightfully so , for health safety reasons, these events were canceled, to avoid the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. But what did this bring as a consequence?

Fairs such as Show Rural Coopavel, Expodireto Cotrijal, Agrishow, among many others, are extremely important for our business, for three basic reasons. A strong sales channel due to the number of rural producers who attend these events; the opportunity to exchange information with the market and also with your client about how your product is doing in the field and strengthening the brand through your presence at the fair and your marketing actions with the target audience. The cancellation of fairs and events in the sector caused a revolution in marketing planning and the sales sector, which lost one of the main sales channels throughout the year, leaving everyone who works in this agribusiness lost, such was the custom of working within of this calendar already known for many years.

At LS Tractor, due to the market experience that the sales team has, it was possible to react more quickly using an excellent tool. The good old habit of contacting customers in person. In other words, the pandemic did not allow visits to the properties in the first year, but that contact by phone, email or WhatsApp was the “salvation” of the farm so that sales targets remained active. Everyone needed to readapt, and it was interesting to observe how human beings can quickly face adversity and change the situation into something positive.

These two periods, 2019/20 and 2020/21, were challenging, but despite the adversities we faced, it was very positive for us. Not only because of the final balance, where we maintained our market share, but because precisely, given the difficulty imposed by the pandemic, via cancellations of fairs and events, we were able to reinvent the old sales model, when we called the customer, scheduled a visit and had the opportunity to showcase our product. The old habit has been modernized by new digital tools, due to the agility and distance required by the moment, but a sale will always be an act in which two people meet face to face. Whether in person or through digital platforms. And this, I imagine will never change. The fairs were taken away from us, but we reinvented the wheel! I remember my grandfather who said: “Not everything that is old is disposable”!