Aug./Sept. 2005TPI

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS
Taking Care of Business....................Page 2 

How to Write a Business Letter that Gets  

Results!

Marketing Tip.................................... Page 3 

The High Cost of Failing to Market

Shrewder Computing........................ Page 3 

Avoid Phishing Scams

NFL Players Opinion Survey Excerpt: Page 4 

" Which Surface do you think is 

more likely to contribute to injury?” 

TPI Action ..........................................Page 4 

— Member Health Insurance Available 

Soon for Owners/Employees 

— TPI Sponsorships of Turfgrass  

Extension Specialists Presents  

TPI Members With a Great Opportunity!

TPI Midwinter Conference  

February 14-17, 2006  
Savannah, Georgia

♦ Working Group & Committee

Meetings 

♦  Savannah City Trolley Tour—with
lunch at the famous "The Lady & 
Sons" 

♦  ITPF Al Gardner Memorial Golf

Tournament 

♦  Pre-Conference Seminar 
♦  General Education Sessions 
♦  Multi-Day Exhibits 
♦ JCB Tour with Dinner & Demo  
♦ Roundtable Forum 
♦  ITPF Banquet & Awards 
♦  Farm Tour

BUSINESS 

MANAGEMENT

Turfgrass Producers International

Price Objections— 

The Bane of Salespeople

No one wants to hear, "Your price is 

too high." Just because one or two 
customers raise a price objection doesn’t 
mean you have to lower your price or 
that your price is out of line. If your 
competition does something stupid, it 
doesn’t mean you have to. To some 
extent, the market helps determine your 
prices and, to a lesser degree, your 
competition can have some impact. 
However, you are really the one who 
controls your prices. 

Every decision you make about 

pricing conveys how much you value 
what you sell. Do you have the courage 
of your convictions to say, "No," when 
someone requests lower prices? Price is 
what they pay; value is what they get. 
The buyer’s motivation when objecting to 
price can suggest your strategy for 
dealing with these objections. 

Buyers who complain they have a 

fixed amount of money or are on a tight 
budget are dealing with insufficient 
resources and expect suppliers to help 
them deal with this problem. One 
solution is to help the buyer find a way 
to pay the higher price. If he rejects your 
attempts to help him, the real problem is 
the buyer’s attitude. It’s not that he can’t 
pay more; he doesn’t want to. 

Attitude-based objections are difficult 

to deal with because they are emotion­
based. His priority is on what he pays, 
not what he gets. It’s an attitude-based 
objection driven by misperceptions. 
Dealing with other’s perceptions is 
difficult because it is subjective. What 
the buyer believes is his "perceived" 
reality. The track record for defeating 
emotion with reason is poor. An 
emotional plea might be your most 
effective strategy: "Mr. Customer, I 
understand your concern about having to 
charge your customers more. We both 
know the value of providing customers 

with the best possibly quality. Which 
do you think poses the greater risk:
1) Paying a little more than you 
anticipated to assure quality, or
2) Taking a chance on installing cheaper 
sod that could come back to haunt you 
when you customer calls to complain 
that ’it doesn't look right” or "it’s full
of weeds'?” 

If the price objection you're dealing 
with is ego driven, money is secondary. 
The buyer uses money as the excuse, but 
his real objective is to win. You must 
"bleed" figuratively and significantly. 
Your best strategy is to ask yourself this 
question before responding to his price 
objection: "How can I help this buyer 
win without caving in on my price?" 
Look for ways to help the buyer save 
face while maintaining your profitability. 

As a turfgrass producer, you have 

earned the right to a profit, so don't give 
it away. At a minimum, work as hard to 
hold the line on pricing as the 
buyer does to whittle away at 
your margins. 

(Source: Tom Reilley Training)

Member Benefits to Stop 

September 1 

for Non-Renewals

If you haven’t already renewed your 
TPI Membership, you need to do so by 
September 1 in order to continue 
receiving Turf News magazine, 
Business Management newsletter, 
2005-06 TPI Membership Directory, 
public access listing on TPI website 
and a wide range of other valuable 
member services. 

If your renewal notice has been 

misplaced, or you’re not sure whether 
you renewed, contact the 
TPI office right away.

Taking Care of Business

By Stephen Bastien 
Bastien Financial Publications  
steve@creditnews. com

How to Write a Business Letter  

That Gets Results!

One of the keys towards becoming 

successful in your company is being able 
to write a persuasive and effective 
business letter. It may be a memo or an 
e-mail to a potential customer, or it could 
be as challenging as a letter to ask for a 
loan. Regardless, writing an effective 
and concise letter is one of the best 
business tools you can use to gain new 
business, establish relationships and 
increase your bottom line. 

Here are seven steps that will enhance 

any business correspondence you write.

1— Use a Letterhead
Always write your letter on 

professional letterhead. Make certain it 
contains: your name, address, phone and 
fax number and your e-mail address.
Try to avoid using the P.O. box in 

your stationery. 

Writing a letter is no different than 
talking with someone in person. You 
want to make the best first impression 
possible.

2— Determine your Audience
Make certain you know who you 

should send the letter to. Don't assume 
that if you send it to “Attention: Buyer,” 
or “Attention: Manager” that it will get to 
the right person. In fact, the chances of 
your letter getting to the right party are 
slim if you address it like that. Always 
address it to the full name of the 
recipient. 

If you are not certain who that is, call 
the company and ask. If you are writing 
a letter to one person and courtesy 
copying another, it is important that you 
“speak to” only the person you are 
writing to. Another surprisingly common 
mistake is to misspell the recipient's 
name which is sure to get your letter 
tossed into the circular file.
3— Gather Information
Before you begin writing a letter, 

gather all the documents pertaining to the 
issue you are writing about. If you are 
writing a collection letter, make certain 
you have all the information pertaining to 
the past due bill, including invoice 
number, amount, shipping date, etc.

If you are writing a sales letter, make 
certain you have all the information on 
the product you are selling as well as 
information on what the company and 
person you are writing to does. You can't 
write a successful business letter if you 
don't understand those important details.

4— Organize Your Thoughts
Make a list of the important points 

you want to include in the letter. If you 
are writing a letter of complaint, gather 
those events in chronological order, 
explaining what happened each step of 
the way. Never embellish. All the reader 
wants is "just the facts," as TV detective 
Joe Friday used to say. By stating just 
the facts, in an organized and 
chronological manner, your letter will be 
taken seriously. Plus, you'll be more 
believable.

5— Determine what you want to get 

out of your letter

What is the goal of writing your 

letter? Is your intent to get the recipient 
to purchase a product, or to solve a 
problem? If so, state it clearly. Give the 
reader a course of action, such as “please 
call” or “please send this to.” The best 
way to get a response is to give a call to 
action in the last two paragraphs of the 
letter. If your letter is time-sensitive, 
give the date of when you need a 
response.

6— Write the letter
You've done all the groundwork; now 

write! The beauty of writing, unlike 
verbal communication, is you can change 
what you want to say. What an 
opportunity! Be careful though. Do not 
be long-winded. Think about the types 
of business letters you like reading. 
They are generally short and to the point. 
Your reader is busy and feels the same. 
Run-on sentences and long paragraphs 
will cause your letter to be tossed. 

Another point is your letter's tone. If 

you are sending a collection letter, the 
tone should be firm. If you are sending a 
sales letter, your tone should convey an 
air of confidence. If you are writing a 
thank-you letter, your tone should be 

sincere. How can you tell if your letter 
conveys the right tone? Simple. How 
does it make you feel when you read it? 
Whatever it is, chances are the reader 
will feel the same way after reading it.

7— Re-read
Once you have finished the letter, put 

it down for a few minutes (or even 
longer). Go back and proofread it for 
grammatical errors and structure, as well 
as for tone. Are you being repetitive? 
Does it say what you want in the right 
tone? Is it short and well organized? 
Recruit another person, unfamiliar with 
the purpose of your letter. Ask him or 
her to proofread it for everything from 
spelling errors to tone. The feedback 
you receive could prove invaluable.

8— Sign and date the letter
The date of the letter should always 

be at the top. Sign your letter with your 
complete name, title and company name 
 9—The P.S.

The P.S. on a letter is the second most 

often read part. Every readers’ eyes 
immediately go from the first sentence 
or two to the P.S. at the bottom. 

I use it in all my correspondences to 
remind customers of other products and 
services I sell. Use it to promote your 
product one more time or to reiterate 
your point ("We must have your 
payment by 10/30 to prevent your 
past due account from being sent to 
an attorney.”)

10—Getting Results
How do you get the best and quickest 

results after you have written a great 
letter? FAX IT. Just as studies have 
shown that business executives respond 
to Fed Ex packages first rather than 
postal mail, business managers pay more 
attention to and read a faxed letter. 
Emails can be deleted, the post office 
loses mail, but a fax can get results. 

(Business Consultant Stephen Bastien 

has founded several successful 
businesses, taught entrepreneurship for 
Northwestern University and authored 
two books. Contact him at 800/407- 
9044 or sieve@creditnews.com)

Marketing Tip By John R. Graham  

Graham Communications 
Quincy, MA

The High Cost of 
Failing to Market

Effective marketing can help generate 
customer inquiries without face-to-face 
sales calls. And, it can help create a 
mindset in potential customers to “make 
the decision to go to you before they even 
make the decision to buy," However, 
marketing costs money but if it’s 
efficient, it can be cost-effective. 

The benefits of a "market-driven” 
strategy are far greater than one that’s 
"sales-driven." Despite mythical claims 
that ’’marketing costs too much,” here are 
four major reasons why just the opposite 
is true.
1— Marketing bullet-proofs a business 

against competitive attack. Too 
often, companies don’t give marketing 
serious attention or effort until 
something goes wrong. It might be a 
suddenly aggressive competitor, 
declining sales or some internal crisis. 
Then everyone expects marketing to 
kick in and instantly solve the 
problem. It doesn’t work that way. 

Companies are much less 

vulnerable to competitor attacks when 
they have armed themselves with a 
well-marketed image of goodwill, 
knowledge and value. And that 
requires a continuing investment of 
time, effort and money.

2— Marketing creates a company’s 
future. When a potential customer 
calls and says, "I've known about you 
for years,” you know your marketing 
efforts are achieving results. If a 
company has done a good marketing 
job, at the moment of need, customers 
will seek you out or welcome your 
sales call. 

Unless a company is actively 

marketing and prospecting two to 10 
years in advance, it will find itself 
always focused on pushing for sales!

3— Marketing makes selling easier. If 

customers have a positive 
predisposition toward doing business 
with your company, making the sale is 
simply easier. This allows the 
salesperson to truly become a 
consultant. Common selling issues 
such as overcoming objectives, 
closing techniques, etc. become 

irrelevant. Relying only on "selling 
skills” to get the order indicates a 
company has not done its marketing 
job. 

Trying to make the sale when 
prospects lack a clear understanding 
of why it’s in their best interest to talk 
to you is a waste of your company’s 
time, personnel and money. Lowering 
the price to increase sales only drives 
your cost even higher. 

The role of marketing is to 

create the best environment for selling 
to be successful. Without it, the cost 
of doing business is too high.

4—  Marketing extends your reach. 

Whether a company’s focus is on 
contacting existing customers to find 
new opportunities or expanding your 
market area, marketing is necessary to 
achieve a successful effort. To grow a 
business today, the company’s 
collective mindset must change from 
"everybody-knows-us,” to "nobody 
knows us.” Without that 
transformation, the sales efforts are 
weakened even though the fault was a 
lack of marketing. 
Here's the message: What’s too costly 

is failing to market. The bottom line 
value of marketing becomes clear when 
you take into account these three factors: 

1- Sales that are going to a better-known 
(but not necessarily more competent) 
competitor 

2- Sales opportunities that are missed 
because you are unaware they even 
exist 

3- Thin-margin sales that are being made 

to "save accounts" or to "get in the 
door." 
The money is going out the door now. 
The goal of marketing is to keep it where 
it belongs—on your books. 
(John R. Graham, president of Graham 
Communications, is author of four books 
and numerous articles on marketing and 
sales. He frequently shares his Magnet 
Power presentations at company and 
association meetings. His e-mail 
is j_graham@grahamcomm.com)

Shrewder 
Computing

Avoid Phishing Scams

"During our regular verification of 
accounts, we couldn't verify your 
information...” Have you received a 
similar e-mail message? It's a scam 
called "phishing" in which Internet 
fraudsters” send spam or pop-up 
messages to con you out of personal 
information (credit card or bank 
account numbers, etc.). Phishers 
appear to be from a familiar business 
or organization, and some even 
threaten dire consequences if you 
don't respond immediately

The Federal Trade Commission 
(FTC) suggests these tips to help 
avoid getting hooked by a phishing 
scam: 

♦  If you get an e-mail or pop-up 

message that asks for personal or 
financial information, do not reply, 
do not click on the message link or 
even the "unsubscribe" link. 
Legitimate companies don't ask for 
this information via e-mail. Contact 
the organization mentioned in the e- 
mail via telephone, if you are 
concerned about your account. 

♦ Use anti-virus software and a 
firewall, and keep them up to date. 
♦  E-mail is not a secure method 

of transmitting personal and 
financial information. Although 
there are indicators to help 
determine if a website is secure, 
such as a lock icon on the browser's 
status bar, or a URL for a website 
that begins "https:" (the "s" stands 
for "secure"). 

♦  Review credit card and bank 

account statements when received to 
check for unauthorized charges. 

♦  Be cautious about opening or 

downloading any attachment or files 
from e-mails, regardless of who sent 
them. 

♦  Forward spam that is 

“phishing” for information to 
spam@uce.gov and to the company, 
bank or organization impersonated 
in the phishing e-mail. 

You can also file your complaint 

at www.ftc.gov

TPI Action

Member Health Insurance Available Soon for 
Owners/Employees

TPI has contracted with Mass Marketing Insurance Company to offer health 

insurance to U.S. farm owners and their employees. Details will be mailed in 
August to TPI member in the U.S. Mass Marketing Insurance is an insurance 
brokerage and, because of the potential participation of TPI members, has agreed 
to offer competitive rates. Each TPI member interested in medical insurance 
through Mass Marketing Insurance Company will receive a custom quote. The 
decision whether to accept Marketing Insurance Company’s recommendation is 
up to the member.

TPI Sponsorships of Turfgrass Extension Specialists 
Presents TPI Members a Great Opportunity!

A recent TPI meeting with state Turfgrass Extension Specialists identified the 
mutual need and desire to work more closely together to better serve the overall 
TPI membership, general green industry and the general public. As a TPI 
member, you can be a significant part of this effort by providing a TPI 
Sponsorship for the state or local Turfgrass Extension Specialist or agent of your 
choice. For your $50 sponsorship, you will receive a number of significant 
benefits including: 1) Mention in Turf News, 2) A fill-in-the-blanks press release 
to distribute to your local news media, and 3) Enhanced relationship with your 
Extension Specialist or Agent. TPI will notify your selected Agent or Specialist 
of your gift and begin receiving Turf News magazine, Business Management 
newsletter and other important information from TPI. To sign up for a Turfgrass 
Extension Specialist sponsorship, contact Terri Berkowitz at the TPI office at 
800/405-8873 or tberkowitz@TurfgrasSod.org

To receive additional information on any of these items, contact the TPI Office  

Tel: 800/405-8873 or 847/649-5555 

Fax: 847/7649-5678  

e-mail: info@TurfGrassSod.org  

Website: http://www.TurfGrassSod.org

Business Management
Turfgrass Producers International 

2 East Main St., East Dundee, IL 60118  

e-mail: info@TurfGrassSod.org

Artificial vs. Natural?
In a 2004 NFLPA Opinion Survey, 
players were asked, “Which surface do 
you think is more likely to contribute to 
injury?” Here are their responses:

Club

Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
St. Louis Rams
San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay

Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans
Washington Redskins
League Totals

Real
Grass
6.3%
10.0%
14.9%
8.8%
8.0%
5.6%
5.8%
10.2%
7.1%
11.4%
15.7%
0.0%
9.3%
7.0%
17.1%
7.3%
8.1%
5.8%
1.8%
16.7%
8.5%
11.4%
14.3%
12.2%
7.8%
4.4%
9.1%
6.7%
4.0%

Artificial 
Turf
93.8%
90.0%
85.1%
91.2%
92.0%
94.4%
94.2%
89.8%
92.9%
88.6%
84.3%
100.0%
90.7%
93.0%
82.9%
92.7%
91.9%
94.2%
98.2%
88.3%
91.5%
88.6%
85.7%
87.8%
92.2%
95.6%
90.9%
93.3%
96.0%

10.3%
8.5%
12.8%
8.82%

89.7%
91.5%
87.2%
91.18%

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