Fast & Easy EOP

When is the best time for superintendents to begin planning their 2018 purchases?
Dave Ravel: With the way our program works, the best time to do the planning and the initial purchases is October. That’s when everything aligns for the entire offer when it comes to the maximum rebates and all the additional incentives that come with it. By planning early and getting everything in place, October is always the best. We have the GreenTrust 365 program and with the lock in as long as you qualify by the end of December, we try to give the flexibility. We try to allow the flexibility of the rebates and incentives throughout the year. You’re locked in from October through September. But the maximum opportunity, with all the little extras and adds, October is the best bet.

What guidance can you offer a superintendent who doesn’t have much experience with Early Order Programs? 
Dave Ravel: There are a couple of things. One, if you are not familiar with it, work with our Syngenta territory managers that are in the field and one of our authorized agents. We have a lot of agents in the local territory. Those are great opportunities if you like that one-on-one interaction to talk through and review the program. Those folks know them very well. The second thing would be going to GreetTrust365.com. The website has a lot of tools. It has the new offers and program sheets. We have those agronomic calculators and those agronomic solutions. They are all interconnected. It’s amazing how technology has given us so many opportunities to pull it all together. We have those agronomic programs that sit out there on the website. For instance, if you’re growing bentgrass on your fairways in the Northeast, you can take a look at an agronomic program that fits your golf course the best. Those agronomic programs will actually link into the rebate calculators and the agronomic planning calculators. You can look at your acres and maybe your past purchases from the prior year and put all of that into the calculator. It will automatically calculate the best format, whether it be in pallets, multipaks, single-use products. It will automatically calculate that out for you and spit out what the total opportunity is. We know it’s a really busy time. It’s a really condensed time. We know superintendents have tons of other things on their plate to do, so we try to make it as easy as possible and give them tools that can help them.

What information and data should a superintendent possess when entering the EOP period? 
Dave Ravel: That’s a great question. Of course, their prior-year purchases and what their agronomic plan was last year. A recap of maybe some of the other hot spots issues that they had the prior year. Some folks complain about the EOP being that it’s at the end of the year and it’s so condensed. But in a positive sense the season is so fresh in their mind. They probably have a very good idea of what worked and what didn’t work in their agronomic plan, and perhaps what additional issues popped up during the year. Having their plan from the prior year, their purchases from the prior year, their current inventory, things they bought that they didn’t use or things that they thought they needed and that background helps. And then having our program in front of them … the new pallets, the multipaks, the offer and the calculator. We try to make it as easy as possible for them to calculate what they used the prior year and any new solutions that they want, and it will automatically calculate everything out for them.

How do the current year’s conditions shape the next year’s purchases or do you even have to go back two, three, four or five years? 
Dave Ravel: That’s a really good point. The superintendents have a good feel on their golf course. They understand that one year was maybe a warmer year or there was more moisture or it was a more disease-prone year, and they had to do a couple of extra applications here and there. When we talk to these folks, there’s probably that baseline program. The thing about our EOP that might be a little different than some others is that they don’t have to buy everything that they need for the whole year. Basically, what you want to do is purchase up to that qualification point. We do give the terms out through July, so there’s a good opportunity to purchase what they think they need as a base program and those normal applications. That locks them into the offer – and then any additional things that they need during the season. They are pretty locked in and they get those rebates all year long, so they don’t have to take those risks and say, ‘I think I need this or I need additional product here.’ They can focus on that base program. A superintendent who has been there for a few years probably has a good feel for what that is.

What roles does a territory manager play in the process?
Dave Ravel: The beauty of the territory manager and what still makes this a people-to-people business is that they do get around and have an opportunity to talk to a lot of superintendents, and they see a lot of trends and things that are going on in that market. What’s really neat about my team is that a lot of them are ex-superintendents. They have a really good background on that agronomic side of the business. They bring a nice opportunity to get in there and take the superintendent’s background on what they need for the golf course and then kind of tie it all together. If you talk to my team, they are driven by the agronomics. They don’t have a problem recommending a competitive product if it’s required. We’re fortunate at Syngenta to have so many solutions for the superintendents. We have a nice portfolio of products that fit those opportunities. They are able to take that program and back it into those agronomic solutions. The first priority is what does that superintendent need on the golf course, and then fit it into the program. It’s not about the program fitting into what they need.

What’s different about GreenTrust 365 this year?
Dave Ravel: We try to keep the program as simple and consistent as we can. The last thing (we want) is my team going out there and trying to explain how the program has changed, because that’s not what it’s all about. I would rather focus on the products and the agronomic solutions, and new things that are coming out. We try to keep it as consistent as possible. In regards to the offer, things that are new this year … We do have some of the newer products that have come out as far as Divanem for nematodes and Contend for snow mold. They are integrated into the offer. There is a bonus points offer for purchasing Secure in the EOP period and there are three new pallets this year that are based around agronomic solutions. One I know that a lot of people are focused on is the new fairy ring solution. It takes Briskway, Velista and Heritage Action, and throws them into a proven agronomic solution that will take care of fairy ring.

What resources does Syngenta provide to help superintendents better understand the ordering process? 
Dave Ravel: We have the calculators, everything from a basic calculator, where they throw everything they bought last year into a calculator and get their savings. It’s pretty basic and then we go all the way upwards to, ‘I want to choose this agronomic solution and what’s a bentgrass program going to cost on 30 acres for season-long control.’ They can pick the solution, how many acres they have and it will automatically calculate all the product they will need, and here’s the savings and everything from there. The calculators are based on what a superintendent wants to do from the very basic to much more focused on a full-solution program. We also offer product assurances. Based on those agronomic programs, we have assurances, using these products and following this time, we assure they are going to get disease control or weed control or insect control, and they can be sure that it will cover them for that season. Then, the pallets and multipaks are convenient ways to buy some of our solutions, some of our key products. There are often savings tied to that, committing to a couple or products in one box or a pallet solution and there’s an opportunity for some additional savings for the golf course. The last thing is that we do offer July summer pay, so taking a position early in the EOP season they don’t have to pay until July. It gives them an opportunity to make sure they get the rounds early in the season and gives them an opportunity to hold off payment. They don’t have to take a position on that as quickly.