As a group, your equipment Salespeople are some of the most important people to help you have a successful career in the Turf Industry! I picture a few of the MANY folks who have influenced my career over many years. Sorry to those not pictured, you know who you are!
I am reminded of all these Salespeople at this moment because of the tremendous hot and humid weather we are experiencing right now. Whatever Spray Rig I have had over the years, my Salespeople were there to help during rough weather conditions. No matter if it was an FMC, SDI, Bean, Smithco, Toro, John Deere, etc., these folks will look over your rigs and will calibrate for you, tell you the best nozzles, talk to you about speed, GPM, chemicals, the mix, amount of water, target pests, timing, and much much more.
As I have stated in many of these posts, it’s up to you and your communication skills to get to know these folks selling equipment in your area and become friends and ultimately family. These are invaluable people who want to help us in many ways. Think of what they do for people in the Turf Industry.
- Equipment Sales
- Equipment Demonstrations
- Education Support
- Local, Regional, and National Financial Support
- Golf Event Support
- Mechanical Support
- Loan Equipment for Tournaments (and even work the events)
- Equipment Inventory to Help with Equipment Depreciation
- Help to Create an Equipment 5, 10-year program of replacement and purchases
These are only touching the surface of what Equipment Sales folks do for us. I think back 52 years when I ran into my first Turf Salesperson at Piney Branch Golf Club in 1973. Russ Bull was a GREAT Salesman and a true Gentleman. He followed my career all the way to The Elkridge Club 13 years later and I was buying equipment from him then. Lance Ernst was a friend from High School who I watched jump into sales at Turf Equipment and Supply and is now the Vice President of the Company. He still is a tremendous supporter and a great help to us all on the East Coast.
Paul Brandon worked with many companies but always was my go-to guy wherever he was working. From Cushman/Ryan to John Deere, he was great! Paul was the first person to invite me to play Merion. I show a picture of Paul Schulteis. I have watched his career since the start of this wonderful, helpful man. To this day, even though he is VP of Sales at Finch Services, and I am retired, if I need a hand mower, he will set me up and tell me where to go to get one.
Get to know your equipment salespeople and ALL the salespeople in your area. They are there to help you, not just to sell.
-Mark S. Merrick, CGCS Retired
Introducing ‘Merrick Mondays’, a segment where we hear from Mark Merrick, our resident brand Ambassador, Chief ‘Cool” Officer, and general source of wisdom and secrets of the universe, to spotlight a dose of interview-style content, weekly.