Don Konz Email & Phone Number

Omaha, Ne, Us

Omaha, Ne, Us

Omaha, Nebraska

Greater Omaha Area

Minden, Ia

Exercise my entrepreneurship by conducting all aspects of farming operation and business. Administer operating budget, cash flows, balance sheets, financial planning, financial accounting, FSA forms, tax forms, procurement of fertilizer, seed, chemicals and marketing of grain. Maintained compliance of safety policies & regulations. Work with bankers on operating and real estate loans, loan documentation, lawyers, cooperatives, agronomists, seed representatives, grain merchandisers, insurance companies, suppliers and community affairs.

Greater Omaha Area

Collaborated with clients, strategic partnerships and R&D team to design, develop and deliver, demand driven, cutting edge SaaS solutions catering to farmers and the grain marketing industry, through internal Grain Portal. Initiated product development strategy and vision of multi-year product roadmap for Leadership Team. Created business plans, forecasted revenue growth, analyzed financial data. Initiates problem-solving skills to develop simple solutions to complex problems. Built trust and rapport with CEO’s and top executives of both partners and clients. Led relationship management of key accounts and partnership. Wrote effective marketing material that resonates with prospects and generates sales leads. Trained Sales and Customer Service teams to increase sales and deliver first class service levels. Empowered sales team with effective personal approach in demonstrating products and closing sales. Communicated monthly product updates, project status and KPI to stakeholders. Worked closely with and reporting to VP and CEO. Strong business acumen who can communicate clearly.• Grew customer base, volume, and top-line revenue, year over year (9% in 2017), by supporting sales teams as product expert, build rapport and trust with customer.• Created programs and negotiated pricing terms with brokerage firms and strategic partners for purposes of promotional efforts with customers, shortening sales cycle and increasing revenue.• Merged 2 competing platforms, doubling customer base, volume and revenue to form a best in class application and leading to partner conversions to unified platform with 89% retention.• Increased revenue and reduced churn of customers by designing, implementing and marketing an automated grain hedging system to increase merchandiser efficiency and give farmers 24/7 access to the markets.

Greater Omaha Area

Took over sales effort of Grain Portal with a hands-on approach. Leveraged leadership experience, competitive intelligence and communication skills to change marketing message and value proposition of product to better resonate with prospects and customer base. Assisted sales calls, leveraged sales experience and business relationship to increase sales and maintain customer retention.• Led sales effort by conducting or assisting in 98% of product demonstrations which doubled customer base and transaction volume in first 6 months, among competitive landscape.• Provided counsel and trained sales team on demonstration and presentation, adding top line revenue year over year.• Leveraged knowledge of grain marketing, building rapport instantly and gaining credibility with customer base. Trained merchandisers and producers on product platform operation to significantly increase volume & revenue

Greater Omaha Area

Developed, initiated and managing overall operations of a new wholesale agronomic marketing division within AGP Grain Marketing. Creation of business plan, coordination of all purchasing, inventory management, distribution and technical support. Managed contracts, and negotiations with product manufacturer. Established product testing protocols for independent research groups, to continue evaluation and validation of new product. Conducted and implemented all phases of agronomic field research. Analyzed data from field research trials. Developed and designed effective marketing strategy, sales literature and PowerPoint presentations. Managed 2 office employees and 4 territory representatives. Led team in prospecting, new business development and negotiations.• Conducted product launch, sales and educational presentations, selling new innovative crop nutrient product that was applied on over 70K acres the first year. ($1.9M in sales)• Surpassed goal for sales and promotion of Vistive Soybean Acreage Program with Monsanto, by working directly with AGP local cooperative members and producers in educating and selling program value and services.

Greater Omaha Area

Led seed sales as well as worked with and developed relationships with major seed, chemical, and fertilizer vendors. Trained new merchandisers and location managers on basics of grain origination and trading. Initiated, promoted and administered Farmer Risk Management Marketing Concepts, Tools and Programs. Worked with Monsanto on testing specific hybrids for value-added qualities and completing IP test runs of HFC hybrids through company owned ethanol plant.• Implemented sales strategies with a proven track record of increasing seed sales from $1.2M to $3M, in 4 years.• Trained Seed and Agronomy Sales Team, initiated tactics to increase customer knowledge, supported goal setting, and broaden sales efforts.• Led specialty programs that involved acreage contracting and other value-added products or program, identifying corn hybrids that provided higher fermentation qualities.• Conducted 50+ Market Outlook meetings annually to producer customers from North Dakota to Texas

Greater Omaha Area

Originated grain from local grain elevators and establish transportation to have grain delivered to company owned grain terminals, processing plants, as well as trade into other cross-country markets for arbitrage opportunities. Managed and balanced own grain position as well as company’s position. Performed all day to day transactions of normal business functions, as well as month-end basis analysis.Promoted, educated, merchandised and managed specialty crops, acreage contract programs and logistics with farmers through local cooperatives. Researched and analyzed data for business development plans to grow company profits and to improve efficiencies.Managed grain origination and inbound logistics for 15 million bushel/year company owned ethanol plant. Evaluated market and competition to set and adjust grain prices for 14 country grain elevators. Traded the grain positions for these same elevators, as well as arranged rail and truck logistics. Accomplishments:• Significantly grew company profits through effective merchandising and trading • Successfully implemented the sales and logistics of Specialty Grains and projects with partnering companies• Effectively educated farmers and merchandisers, on grain marketing outlook, plans and options. • Trained all new merchandisers and location managers on the basics of grain origination and trading.