Traveling to New Worlds of Sales Relationships
Charts, graphs and a garland of marigolds are some of the tools used by PotashCorp's market researchers.
It is the job of Al Mulhall, Senior Director of Market Research, and Kelly Davey, Manager of Market Research, to understand the market forces that shape the world of agriculture, and to help PotashCorp's stakeholders understand those forces as well.
Listening to and learning from customers is the key to PotashCorp reaching its goal of being the preferred supplier in its markets.
To accomplish this objective, Mulhall and Davey occasionally join the company's salespeople on trips to visit customers around the world. Case in point: in December they traveled to India to see the operations of agricultural cooperative Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) first-hand.
"Our trip to India gave us an opportunity to see how farming villages in different parts of the country are using fertilizer," says Mulhall. He and Davey accompanied PCS Sales President David Delaney, Senior Director of International Sales Chris Reynolds and others on a tour that included visits to IFFCO fertilizer production and distribution centers, a grain buying and distribution center and the local, IFFCO-supported villages where farmers use PotashCorp products.
"Many farmers are spreading fertilizer by hand. They presently are not replacing all the nutrients removed from the soil by their crops, but are eager to improve their farming and nutrient management techniques and their crop yields," he says. "World population is growing and people want better food. These visits allow us to see how that need is being worked out at the local level."
Davey agrees. "Going on these trips gives me a great perspective on the world markets," she says. "There are so many factors that our customers consider, many that we don't usually think about in North America. Internationally, our customers take into consideration issues of food security and more."
During the India visit, Mulhall said, one farmer commented, "I have learned that applying more potash will make me more money and I am looking forward to doing that in the future." On an earlier visit to China, a farmer said to him, "Look at how small the cotton is in this part of the field. Look at how tall it is there, where I put the potash. Using the proper amount of fertilizer has made me a rich farmer. My net income has more than doubled. I want to thank everyone involved with supplying the potash that has made this possible."
Mulhall says one rewarding aspect of research into global issues of fertilizer and crop supply and demand is being able to share this information with PotashCorp employees and other stakeholders such as shareholders, suppliers and customers, and help everyone focus on the end result.
"We made a detailed presentation to IFFCO on global agriculture and the market outlook for our products," Davey says. "This kind of information is increasingly important to people in agriculture worldwide, as markets are constantly changing. It helps our customers achieve their business goals, and helps us build the relationship with our customers."
"We're not just selling fertilizer," says Chris Reynolds. "What it essentially means to people is food. It's a very basic tool to survive."
Reynolds, who sells PotashCorp products in India, Mexico and South America, says, "It's not just about the deal, but a conscious decision to do business with companies that are devoted to sustainable agriculture."
The IFFCO "societies" that Mulhall, Davey and Reynolds visited, for example, are investing in health care and education, as well as farming. IFFCO farmers receive life insurance policies paid for through a portion of the price of each bag of fertilizer they buy, Reynolds says.
"This cooperative of some 55 million farmers is building up the society as it increases crop yields, village by village," Mulhall says. "With every bag of fertilizer that co-op members buy, the crops get more nutrients, the farmers get higher yields, and the communities have more money and food. Fertilizer is one of the keys to sustainable global food production."