Skills for handling the sellers

Is it possible it’s that time of year again already? Early order program time? How on earth did that come up on us so quickly?

Late summer/early fall is the time many of we superintendents start allowing for a tiny bit of planning for the following year to creep into our thoughts. I’ve always struggled with this a little. We are still ankles deep in a busy, stressful summer, and trying to even give a little thought to the following season has always been a challenge for me.

But alas, because of the timing of many of these early order programs — we all know them as EOPs, of course — we are forced to cast an eye toward the future a tad earlier than perhaps we would care to. I will point out that the timing itself of many of these programs, particularly the ones that start super early in the fall, is very much open to debate. I know I’m not the only one to think the window of some of these EOPs is way too early.

I would love to plan my EOP purchases at the same time I’m doing my budget. Just seems logical to me. However — for me, at any rate — I don’t sit down to work on the budget until late October at the earliest, although it’s actually more like early November when I finally finish it. By the time I have the budget completed and I’m ready to submit my EOP purchases in November, I’ve already missed the boat on a fair amount of possible savings.

But I digress. I didn’t want to talk about the timing of the programs as much as focusing on the importance of the relationships between the superintendent and the reps who assist us with the EOP programs.

Having a strong relationship with your reps is pivotal to the role they’re able to play in assisting with your EOPs. Let’s face it, these programs, without guidance from the reps, can be a bit daunting.

I am fortunate enough to have two great reps I work with here in western Washington. Of course this means working with them throughout the year, not just when EOPs roll around in the fall.

One of them is Jacob Close, a former superintendent in the region. He is the territory manager for Simplot here in western Washington and my rep at Simplot. Jacob and I have developed a strong relationship over the years, and I’ve come to rely on him for advice as much as anyone I talk with. Having that respect as well as having the ability to ask questions of him without fear of judgement is crucial for me. I think this has become even more important for me, as I’ve been without an assistant for a full year now. Being able to springboard ideas or just pick someone else’s brain has been essential for me to feel I have someone in my corner when things get a bit dicey.

As I talked with Jacob recently about EOPs, it was interesting to get his angle on the programs.

He said about 60 percent of the superintendents he works with across the region utilize the programs at some level. With those who take part, Jacob doesn’t ever suggest full reliance on the programs.

“Generally, I recommend superintendents only order between 40 to 75 percent of items needed for the year through EOPs,” he says. “It’s good to leave some budget so that you can adjust for unexpected weather, or any special disease outbreaks. Once folks get a couple years of EOP ordering under their belts, it becomes pretty easy to plan purchases.”

I usually order all my fungicides (at least planned fungicide use) in the EOP, as well as all plant growth regulators and wetting agents. Herbicides, fertilizers and seed I buy as needed. I’ve settled into this the last few years, and it’s become pretty user-friendly from my end.

I also asked Jacob what he sees, from the seller side, as the benefits of these programs for superintendents.

“One of the biggest upsides to EOPs is that you always get the product at the lowest price,” he says. “Sometimes items are backordered, but an EOP will always be filled. In addition, you are insulated from price increases after the first of the year.”

Jacob listed other purchaser benefits that included rebates, delayed billing until May or June, availability of hard-to-get products, and the comfort of knowing everything you planned is in the shop for the year.

What has worked for me is also splitting up my EOPs between two different companies. Not putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. Also, I like working with two reps as opposed to one — thus, spreading the wealth come EOP time seems logical to me.

In addition to Jacob at Simplot, I also work closely with Greg Van Hollebeke, who is a regional sales rep here in western Washington for Wilbur Ellis. In the last couple of years, I’ve given Greg all of my Syngenta (my largest order by far), BASF and Amguard EOPs, and the other half goes to Jacob at Simplot, who gets my orders for Nufarm, Corteva, Envu, generic products and Simplot.

I chatted with Greg about his thoughts on EOPs. I first asked him how he gets the EOP info from the manufacturers.

“We usually have a meeting in early September to hear about each manufacturer’s EOP,” he says. “They go over important dates, what the program covers, changes from last year, rebates and any other pertinent info.”

I asked Greg about my personal dilemma with EOPs: How some of them start too early or end too early for superintendents to take full advantage of them.

“Yes, this can be a little tricky,” he says. “I know some superintendents do not have their budget done yet for the upcoming year, but they would still like to take advantage of the largest savings they can. With that said, most of them find a way to get their order in before October 31, which is often a first deadline for many of the manufacturers. And while not the majority, there are still quite a few who get in an EOP order prior to the end of the EOP season, which is usually late November or early December.”

Greg also notices that EOPs benefit him as well as the superintendent. “I find they help me as many superintendents use the EOPs to actually build their fungicide program,” he says. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to hear from them what they think worked and what didn’t work the past year. And, having everything well-organized on spreadsheets allows me to be a good and responsive resource for the superintendent.”

One other thing I wanted to mention: Some manufacturers might be heading in a direction that will help superintendents with creative payment plans during other times of year rather than just at EOP time in the fall. Jacob, for example, recently informed me about Syngenta’s SummerPay program, which operates similarly to a traditional EOP.

“With the SummerPay program from Syngenta, you can order some products between August 1 and September 30 this year, and payment can be deferred until June of 2025,” he says. “This is on certain products only, like snow mold protection that many have to deal with in the fall and may not have the budget to handle a sudden outbreak.”

Finding creative ways like this for superintendents to make plant protectant purchases work within the framework of a tight budget will be essential going forward. And you can be sure those hard-working reps will be out there doing the leg work for us by keeping us informed and saving us money. Where would we be without them?

Ron Furlong is the superintendent at Avalon Golf Club in Burlington, Washington, and a frequent Golf Course Industry contributor.