The Origin of Purchase: Using Problem Recognition in Seed Sales

Think back to the last time you made a big purchase. A house. A new vehicle. Maybe a new TV. What do you think started that buying journey? Chances are you encountered some kind of problem. You become an empty nester, and the house starts to feel a little too big. Or you’re pulling your new boat to the lake and the truck struggles more than you’d like. Maybe it’s game day and you notice how great the picture looks on your friend’s new 4K OLED TV. These types of “problem recognition” moments happen every day, multiple times per day at varying levels. And they’re often the catalysts that ultimately lead to sales. What does this have to do with the seed business? Well, if you’re interested in selling seed, everything.  

What is problem recognition?

Problem recognition is the result of a mismatch between a desired state and an actual state that activates the decision process.¹ In other words, when there’s a gap between how things are (actual state) and how someone wants it to be (desired state), that tension creates motivation to consider making a change and potentially a purchase. If there is no perceived gap, there is no motivation to change and so there is no purchase. The process of problem recognition to purchase decision can happen very quickly or be drawn out over several months, even years.

Types of purchase decisions

There are three general types of purchase decisions, each with its own level of involvement from the buyer:

• Nominal decisions – These types of decisions can be habitual, like reordering grease or replacement nozzles for a spray rig. Often low cost and low risk, these decisions are unlikely to impact a farmer’s business in any significant way, thus requiring very little time or thought. 
• Limited decisions – In this case, the farmer recognizes the issue and gathers information, but they probably don’t do exhaustive research before purchase. For example, a farmer experiencing weed control issues may try a different herbicide program on a few fields while using their standard program on the rest of the farm. Unlike nominal decisions, limited decisions require a certain degree of time and effort, from perhaps as little as an hour up to a few days.  
• Extended decisions – These are the highest level of purchase decisions. A farmer will commonly spend a great deal of time and energy on them, comparing data, talking with agronomists and evaluating risk. Switching seed companies or adopting a new trait platform is evidence of an extended decision. This type of decision may consume several weeks, months or even years of consideration before being finalized. 

For a seed company, this means that the bigger and more complex the decisions are, the more valuable it is to help the farmer identify, clarify and ultimately rectify the problems that surround it. Being part of the process from the beginning allows for participation in the buying journey that can not only lead to better outcomes for the farmer but can help further solidify your role as a trusted advisor.  

Practical ways to identify problems

Identifying problems and offering solutions may sound intuitive enough…that’s just part of sales, right? While that may be true to some degree, we all know sales organizations tend to fit some kind of bell curve. The top sellers didn’t start that way. They honed their skills over time. So, let’s start with a few simple ways to put yourself into situations where hidden problems can start to surface: 

• Show up – This is probably the most obvious and most difficult thing to do. It’s about looking for opportunities to be on farm. Because when you’re there, it’s more likely you’ll see potential problems. If you need ideas on how to create opportunities to show up more, ask a seasoned salesperson on your team for a few tips.  
• Embrace a “solutions” mindset – As a trusted advisor, your role centers around helping farmers achieve whatever they’re looking to accomplish. Sometimes that deals directly with what you’re selling and sometimes not. That’s OK. The key here is to expand beyond your product-focused view, which opens up more opportunities for problems to come to light. 
• Listen more than you talk – Ask good questions and listen for verbal cues –phrases like “I’m tired of…” or “I sure wish I had…” or “If I could just get that one field to…” and similar. Pay attention to body language. Do they seem dissatisfied or frustrated? These are all strong indicators of potential problems.
• Share data, ideas and information – Farmers don’t have time to stay current on all the seed and agronomic goings on within your company or the industry. Use yield maps, scouting reports, pictures of fields, product comparisons, whatever you have that could add value to the farmer’s knowledge set. Sharing this type of information can help drive deeper conversations and “what if” scenarios that often lead to problem identification. 
• Perform diagnostic evaluations – Use yield maps, scouting reports, etc. to show side-by-side comparisons of actual vs. expected performance. Here, technology can help you point out where your customers may be facing obstacles.
• Follow up on post-harvest results – Talk after harvest to identify patterns like disease hot spots, weed escapes or nutrient deficiencies. Discuss how you may be able to assist in mitigating such challenges next year.
• Anticipate emerging issues – Keep up to date on developments in your region – like weed shifts, new disease pressure, trait resistance, weather trends – and bring these topics up proactively: “From what we’ve been seeing in the area, has it made you think about how it might affect X next year?”

Techniques to help farmers recognize problems and arrive at potential solutions

Once you’ve identified an important problem that you think needs to be addressed, what’s the best way to bring that up with your farmer customer? One approach that’s worked well for many sellers is to guide the conversation so that the strongest argument for a solution comes from the customer, not you. Depending on the complexity of the problem, you may not arrive at the ideal solution during the first interaction. That’s OK. The goal here is to simply start the problem identification journey. If this is done well, there will be future opportunities to solve the problem. Let’s review three key steps to this process:

This type of dialog should be a fairly relaxed, collaborative and equal exchange. If the farmer isn’t engaging or participating, ask some probing questions to help uncover more details. If at some point it feels the farmer isn’t interested in discussing it but you still feel it’s an important problem, don’t push it. Just ask the farmer if it’s OK for you to think about it some more, maybe run it by a few colleagues and get back to them with some ideas. Then next time you’re on the farm, you’ll have a reason to bring it back up and try again. 

Problem identification is a key driver of many on-farm purchase decisions. Whether it’s insect pests, disease, nutrient deficiencies or some other issue, that recognition point often becomes the origin for the solutions that follow. By being observant, listening and asking good questions, you can actively help farmers identify problems before they become irreversible losses. In doing so, you can reinforce your position as a trusted advisor who addresses challenges and delivers real solutions. When your customers feel understood and supported, trust deepens, adoption increases and sales grow as a natural result. 

¹ Gordon Bruner and Richard Pomazal, “Problem Recognition: The Crucial First Stage of the Consumer Decision Process,” Journal of Consumer Marketing 5, no.1 (1988): 53-63, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235253191_Problem_Recognition_The_Crucial_First_Stage_of_the_Consumer_Decision_Process.
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