Aug/Sept 1998

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

Business Lesson Reprints Page 2  
Borrowed Ideas for Your Business.

Computer News Briefs Page 3  
Tips for Shrewder Computing.

Customer Relations 
Five ‘Rs’ for Happy Customers.

Page 2 

Guestworker Reform 
Page 1 
Senate Action Impacts U.S. Growers.

Jest for the Fun of It 
Page 4 
TPI’s “funny business" Department.

Human Resource Ideas Page 3  
Three Approaches to Working  
With Your Employees.

Last Look 
TPI 1997-98 Membership Year is  
ending... this may be your last issue!

Page 1 

Taking Care of Business Page 3  
Lower Price Impact on Profits.

Page 4 

TPI Action 
TPI Committees Need Your Help;  
Midwinter Conference in England?;  
International Turf Producers  
Foundation “2-Cents Worth”  
Annual Fundraising Campaign.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Turfgrass Producers International

Hill Day Proves Effective 

‘Guest Worker Reform’ Passes Senate
It is almost certain that because of its 
effectiveness, TPI members will again be 
called upon for assistance when the 
House begins its consideration of this 
legislation. While the House agenda is 
very full, it is hoped that they will be able 
to consider this important issue before 
adjourning.

A workable guestworker program for 
agriculture recently passed the U.S. 
Senate by a 68 to 31 vote, thanks to the 
direct involvement of many TPI members. 
The issue will now move to the House. 
The Senate vote took place just days after 
TPI members lobbied the issue during the 
organization’s first-ever “Hill Day.” 

As part of their activities while on 
Capitol Hill, some 35 TPI members told 
their Senators and Representatives that 
shortages of legal agriculture workers 
were a severe problem across the country 
and that the present H-2A temporary visa 
program was unworkable. 

Within just days after making personal 
visits on the Hill, TPI members also called 
or faxed the Senate offices to seek a 
favorable vote on the issue when it came 
to the floor for consideration. 

For the past several years, TPI has 
teamed-up with the National Council of 
Agricultural Employers (NCAE) to create 
a guestworker program that will help to 
assure the availability of a legal seasonal 
ag. work force. Supporting this position 
was a recent report by the General Office 
of Accounting documenting at that least 
40% of the current ag work force is living 
and working in the U.S. illegally.

Members Address Multiple Issues

While in Washington, D.C. for the 1998 
TPI Summer Convention, the Hill Day 
participants also brought attention to 
other important issues as varied as sod 
production being defined as an agricul­
tural activity, wetlands on turf farms and 
the loss of important chemicals as a 
result of the Worker Protection Standards 
and the Food Quality Protection Act now 
being implemented by the Environmental 
Protection Agency. 

In addition to receiving a thorough 
background on the industry issues, Hill 
Day participants were given leave-behind 
fact sheet folders for each appointment 
they would have during the day. Prior to 
leaving for their appointments, the group 
held a special lunch in the Senate side of 
the Capitol building, where they were 
addressed by Senators Frist and Cochran 
as well as several senior staff members.

This is the last newsletter  

you will receive,  
unless you have renewed your  
TPI Membership by August 31.

If you uncertain whether or not your  

membership was renewed, please call TPI  

at 800/405-8873 or 847/705-9898.

Business Lessons Borrowed from the Experts

Bridging the Gender Gap:  
What Managers Need to Know

Men and women work differently, and 
smart managers need to understand these 
differences in order to make sure they 
treat each group fairly. Sally Helgesen, 
author of The Female Advantage: Women 
Ways of Leadership, explains some of the 
nuances that managers should consider: 

*  Women work at a steady pace, and 
build in small breaks throughout the day 
Men are more likely to work nonstop, at 
a frantic pace, with no breaks. 

*  Women workers tend to see themselves 
at the “center” of things; whereas men 
often view themselves at the “top.” 

*  Women place a high priority on 
relationships in the workplace-with their 
subordinates, peers, and bosses. Because 
of that, they are much more likely to 
make themselves available to peers and 
subordinates than male workers. 

*  Women try harder to make time for 
family and home life. It’s often a high 
priority for them. Men often view the 
home as a “branch office,” and are more 
likely to let work take precedence over 
family and outside activities.

* Women are more comfortable sharing 
information; men tend to collect it, and 
often hoard it. 
-Adapted from The Business Woman’s Advantage

Use these Simple Techniques to  
Save Time on the Telephone

The telephone is obviously a great 
business tool. However, you have to 
control it - not the other way around. 
Once you become a slave to your phone, 
it can actually steal away a lot more 
hours than it saves. Here are some 
simple phone tips you can put to use 
immediately: 

1.  Set time limits on each call. As soon 
as the callers identify themselves and 
their purpose, jot down a time limit on a 
piece of paper where you can see it. 
Otherwise, you run the risk of spending 
too much time with unimportant calls. 

2.  Leave specific voice mail messages. 
If you simply ask for callbacks, you will 
later have to explain to people your 

reason for the original call, wait for them 
to analyze the situation, hold on while 
they make up their minds, and so on. By 
leaving a specific message, callers can 
think about things on their own, and call 
you with an answer. 

3.  Stand up when you answer the phone. 
And keep standing while you talk. You’ll 
spend less time on the call and sound 
more energetic. 

4.  Call “talkers” at the end of the day. We 
all have those business associates who just 
love to talk on the phone. If you need to 
call these people, do so at the end of the 
day, when their apt to spend less time on 
the phone. 

5.  Set up a signal system. When you give 
a signal to another person in your office, 
that person interrupts you to handle an 
important matter. This gives you a 
graceful way to end a seemingly endless 
conversation. 

6.  Use the “hold” technique. If you’re 
having trouble getting someone off the 
phone, imply that you’re busy by asking 
them if it’s okay to put them on hold. Do 
this once or twice and most people will get 
the message and let you go. 
-Adapted from Communication World

Use the '5 Rs' to Keep Customers Happy
* Respect: Consumers today want 
companies to respect their time. They 
resent intrusive communications and 
overbearing companies. Example: An 
IBM focus group turned up one customer 
who said that although he already had 
IBM software and hardware, if he 
received even one more sales call from 
IBM he would change operating systems - 
- no matter how much it cost. Deal with 
customers at their convenience, not yours. 

* Recognition: When customers make 
the monumental decision to give you 
their business, they want you to recog­
nize that fact. Example: Some compa­
nies reward their most valued customers 
with a lunch with the owner. Surveys 
reveal that these customers valued the 
personal recognition that the lunch 
offers as much as they value other more 
expensive forms or recognition. 

Dialogue is essential to maintaining 
good relationships with customers. To 
help you develop and maintain a good 
dialogue with your customers, remember 
the “5 Rs”: recourse, recognition, 
responsiveness, respect and reinforce­
ment: 

* Recourse: Make sure it’s easy for the 
people you deal with to contact you and 
get their problems solved. Example: If a 
customer is unhappy with the turfgrass 
sod or service they got from you, but 
have to wait weeks to get the issue 
resolved... that doesn’t bode well for your 
future relationship or potential referrals. 
Make yourself available to your custom­
ers, and make it easy for them to deal 
with your company. 

* Responsiveness: It’s not enough to 
provide an 800 number and/or e-mail 
address. That’s only the first step. True 
responsiveness means listening to the 
customer, putting what they say in the 
context of their needs and history, and 
making sure their problems are solved 
and their needs are addressed.

* Reinforcement: Customers like to be 
reassured that they made the right buying 
decision. This type of reinforcement 
strengthens your relationship with the 
customer, and can generate repeat 
business and referrals for years after the 
original sale.

Taking Care of Business:  
Lower Prices Impacton Profits
 Pricing and its relationship to profits is 
a constant dilemma for turfgrass sod 
producers. It is a double-edged sword. 

Do you reduce prices in order to 
increase volume and hopefully, profits... 
or do you raise the price and maintain 
acceptable volume to provide increased 
profits? 

My preference is to increase the price 
and offer a discount for early payment. 
This benefits “good customers” who pay 
promptly. It also benefits my company in

Jack Meyers, Meyers Turf Farms  
Stilwell, Kansas

terms of increasing our cash flow and 
reducing the costs associated with billing 
and collections. The higher price paid by 
slower-paying customers helps defray 
billing and collection costs and adds 
profit to the bottom line. 

Lowering prices can effect the whole 
market by forcing others to compete 
based on price, regardless of costs. By 
keeping prices up, taking care of business 
with a quality product and good service 
and maintaining control of your operating 
costs... your profits will grow.

Human Resource Idea Files

Unscheduled absences can destroy 
productivity and cost your company 
hundreds of dollars per employee each 
year. While some last-minute emergen­
cies and other absences can’t be helped, 
there are certain things you can do to 
motivate employees to keep unscheduled 
absences to a bare minimum: 

1. Customize your attendance incentive 
plans. Different things will motivate 
different employees. Some might like 
extra time off; others may want restaurant 
certificates. Find out what kind of 
incentives will work for each employee 
and develop personal, customized 
incentive plans. 

2. Be as creative as possible. You don’t 
have to spend a lot of money to inspire 
employees to avoid unscheduled absences. 
Fill their car’s gas tank for a month, 
award a special parking spot or relieve 
them from an unpleasant task for a period 
of time.

3. Inspire loyalty among coworkers. 
Employees are less likely to have un­
scheduled absences if they feel they are 
letting the team down when they don’t 
show up. 

4. Put peer pressure on employees. Post 
a chart with unscheduled absences. 
Nobody wants to be publicly criticized. 

5. Set up short term goals. Award 
employees for a perfect month - instead of 
a perfect season. This way, the goal 
remains in sight and they won’t lose 
interest. 

6. Make sure employees stay home 
when necessary. Employees who come 
to work when sick can wipe out an entire 
crew. Similarly, injured employees can 
aggravate their injuries by coming into 
work too soon. In your incentive plan, it 
is best to accommodate excused absences, 
rather than creating problems through 
good intentions.

Hold ‘promotion parties’
When you promote an employee, use the 
occasion to inspire and motivate all your 
workers. Close up shop for two hours, 
order pizzas or sandwiches, and throw a 
‘promotion party’ to honor the employee.

I Give a short speech about the qualities 
and achievements that led to the promo­
tion. This recognizes the employee who 
is being promoted, and gives other 
employees a mark to shoot for. 

Introduce support staff to customers
Consider bringing your ‘order-taker’ or 
other support staff on sales calls. The 
support staff will get a better feel for 
customers, and will appreciate the fact 
that you value them enough to introduce 
them to important clients. 

Your customers will enjoy the chance to 
put a face with the voice they hear when 
they call. This should also make for a 
more relaxed sales call for everyone.

Shrewder Computing

* Virus Protection.
If you have access to the Internet 
or exchange storage disks with 
others, you need to be prepared to 
deal with computer viruses. Tens 
of thousands of viruses are now in 
circulation, and about 1,000 
viruses are discovered each month.

* What To Do?
Purchase - and continually update 
- software to detect viruses.
Typical cost: $30 to $70 for an 
effective antivirus program, plus a 
modest fee for periodic updates. 
Examples... 

* IBM Antivirus. 
* McAfee Virusscan. 
* Norton Antivirus 
* Quarterdeck ViruSweep. 

* U.S. Members... Did you know 
that tax deductions for the cost of 
correcting computer programs to 
eliminate the Year 2000 Bug 
(June/July Business Newsletter) 
can be taken either entirely in the 
year they are incurred or amortized 
over three years? 

Where To Go For Help?
Computer-related assistance may 
be closer than you think... 
1. Colleges and even high schools 
in your area may be able to refer 
you to students with significant 
knowledge of computer systems 
and software. 

2. Many TPI members have real- 
world computer experience which 
may be just what you need. After 
all, sharing information is what 
TPI is all about!

Jest For The Fun Of It

More Famous Last Words...

There should be enough gas to get home. 

I can do this with my eyes closed. 

I’ll hold it. You light the fuse. 

OK, this is the last time. 

That’s not a real gun. 

TPI Action

Landscape ordinances, turf farm environmental practices and erosion control 
specification samples are all needed by TPI committees so they can begin to 
develop an industry-friendly set of documents that cover these important areas. 
With the Board’s encouragement, several TPI committee are working on these new 
publications; however, they all need additional input to ensure that the results will 
be practical and usable. Ultimately, these publications will help TPI members 
increase sales and ensure that their farms are being managed in an environmen­
tally responsible manner. If you have any of these materials or suggestions as to 
where they can be obtained, please send them to the TPI office at 1855-A Hicks 
Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. 

“2-Cents Worth” Annual Fundraising Campaign will be kicked-off in the 
September/October issue of “Turf News” magazine. The simple, yet fair and 
effective approach asks all TPI members to make a contribution to the Foundation 
in an amount equal to 2-cents for each pallet or big-roll of turfgrass sod sold 
during the year. The contribution is tax deductible and all proceeds go to support 
industry-specific research or toward the creation of an endowment. 

Does a 2003 Midwinter Conference in England sound interesting to you? If so, 
please contact a TPI Board member or the TPI office so that potential interest and 
participation can be gauged. If you are opposed to England as a meeting site, 
please contact TPI as well. This would be the first time a TPI Conference is held 
outside of North America and while costs would be similar to the 1998 Hawaiian 
meeting, it seems that there is considerable interest in England as a destination.  
Please call today!

To Receive Additional Information On Any of These Items  

Contact the TPI Office 

Phone: 800/405-8873 or 847/705-9898 

Fax: 847/705-8347 or E-mail to Turf-Grass@MSN.COM

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 
Turfgrass Producers International 
1855-A Hicks Road, Rolling Meadow, IL 60008

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