AKRS Equipment is a 27 store John Deere dealership in Nebraska and Kansas, created by a merger between Green Line Equipment, Plains Equipment Group and Stutheit Implement. I lead a team of 11 highly talented Commercial Application Sales & Support Specialists, with a footprint primarily covering Nebraska, with additional relationships in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota. Prior to the creation of AKRS Equipment, I joined the team at Green Line Equipment to develop and lead the John Deere & Hagie Commercial Sprayer Division, covering the Nebraska market. We are a CAD dealer for John Deere and Hagie, providing specialized Nutrient Application equipment, parts and support for Ag Service Providers, National Accounts and Farmers across Nebraska and Kansas. My team strives to equip our customers and staff with up to date training and support on all application products, including a full lineup of short line products as well. I serve as a resource for our sales & support teams, advising on all Application Product sales, financing, service and training. I also evaluate our used sprayer inventory, and ensure that we properly value, recondition and re-market those machines.My team implements a value based sales approach, where we develop a deep understanding of our customers' operations and apply data analytics, agronomic, financial and fleet management knowledge to help them select and optimize the right equipment for their unique operations. My team brings a diverse skill set to our internal and external customers; maximizing return on investment, optimizing cash flow, delivering an unmatched level of customer service - with the fastest response time in the industry.Selling equipment is just a small portion of our customer commitment - we are here to truly understand our customers' goals and deliver unique solutions that fit their needs and maximize their productivity. We seek to become lifelong trusted partners and consultants for our valued customers.

In the Global Accounts Manager role, I was responsible for the business development and management of our International, Distribution and Key Accounts sales teams. At Hagie Manufacturing, we represent the most innovative crop protection application equipment in the industry. The Global Accounts team is focused on continuing to develop and strengthen our key account relationships, while growing the brand presence in all of our target export markets.Through continual market analysis and strategic planning, I work to deliver stable, sustained growth in our export markets. We deliver the best brand experience for our customers, aligned with the Hagie Family Values. Our distribution network spans most major crop producing regions of the world. I successfully coordinated an aggressive dealer recruitment plan, resulting in the addition of several distributors in key export markets (Canada, Australia, Hungary, Ukraine), in addition to hiring several factory representatives - significantly growing the global reach of Hagie application products.As Domestic Sales Manager, I lead the sales teams and business development for Hagie's Western Region, which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Western Missouri. We aim to deliver the best sales and service experience to our customers, through the factory direct business model. This keeps all aspects of our organization closely tied to the customer and is unmatched in the crop application industry. We continue to be creative in our brand strategy, rarely settling for "status quo", focused on delivering unique solutions to the specific challenges that our customers face. While under my leadership, Hagie whole goods sales in NE, KS, OK, TX, MO and CO showed a 95% increase, year over year, from 2014 to 2015, representing the fastest growing region in Hagie's domestic footprint. John Deere acquired majority ownership of Hagie in 2016, and the Hagie brand was then integrated into the John Deere dealer channel.

During my tenure with Monsanto/Gold Country Seed, brand experience and customer satisfaction were the primary strengths that contributed to my team's success. We were driven to deliver the most dynamic supplier/customer experience, coupling agronomic expertise and strong product knowledge, with a genuine approach, while never losing sight of our customers' best interests. We made a personal investment in our customers' success, and built excellent rapport with both our distributors and end users. I implemented and continually coached a process of discovery and call planning that was very successful in identifying the diverse challenges that our customers faced. Enhanced communication skills, agronomic knowledge, product placement and building relationships were qualities that I emphasized with my distribution team. If we had a product failure, we responded immediately and resolved the issue as quickly as possible. My team took pride in "earning" the business, year after year, through an unmatched level of service and expertise, and remained committed to helping our customers achieve their production goals.Strong relationships, a solid agronomic foundation and a deep understanding of our growers' goals and challenges were important contributors to the growth of our district. These pillars resulted in territory sales volume growth of over 300% while under my leadership, and contributed to earning the Monsanto Game Changer Award at our National Sales Meeting in 2013, and Top Corn Sales Increase for 2011 and 2012.

At Progressive Ag Center, I managed all aspects of the retail seed business for corn, soybeans and alfalfa, across multiple locations in Southeast Minnesota. I worked directly with growers, focused on improving profitability for their operations, while strengthening long term relationships. Managing four separate brands provided a constantly evolving landscape of new technology, programs and product offerings. I sought out unique solutions that each brand presented and coached our agronomy sales team on how to best represent the value of our full product line, and how to position those products for our customers, while also owning our Key Account relationships. I implemented a successful Annual Sales Plan, year after year, while coaching our agronomy sales team, resulting in consistent sales and customer growth. While in this role, I was recognized by Winfield Solutions & Croplan Genetics as an Elite and Eagle Squadron Award recipient - honoring the top 5% and 20% of retail seed salesmen across the United States.