Faith, following a dream and believing in the “Golden Rule” guide Jeff Meints and his approach to business.
Sometimes hitting a so-called bottom can springboard you to the top. For each setback, Jeff Meints has comeback 10-fold. Today he’s the president and CEO of Titan PRO, a farmer alongside one of his sons, president of the Independent Professional Seed Association and a delegate to the U.S. Grains Council — not to mention that four of his five children work for Titan PRO.
Google Jeff Meints and you will see a list of challenges he’s had to overcome. He got caught up in the legality of whether seeds can be patented with the landmark case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Then about 10 years later, he discovered fraudulent activity by his business partner, forcing a split. Throw a divorce and the raising of five kids in there and you have an environment that would set some guys on a downward spiral.
Through it all, Meints never thought about walking away or doing something else.
“This was my dream and I never considered abandoning it. I love what I do and I’m very passionate about it. I love being in the seed and chemical business. I love being unique to the industry and delivering that package together. I love creating win-win-win situations.”
If it’s not obvious, Meints takes everything in stride.
“You are going to have good days, and you’re going to have bad days,” he says. “Success is not a straight line up. I’m always thinking about how we can take a situation and make it better. You’ve got to figure out the best path forward and just do it.”
Overcoming Adversity
According to John Maxwell, author of several New York Times bestselling books and an “Inc.” No. 1 leadership expert, adversity in life is a given and it can signal a coming positive transition if responded to correctly.
Maxwell shares three ways to overcome adversity. The first is to recognize that adversity doesn’t exist to bog you down, but rather to teach.
“We learn from moments of difficulty,” Maxwell writes. “Once we reach the peak of the mountain, things are much clearer. Then, we’re prepared for the next mountain to climb.”
Second, Maxwell says when you encounter adversity, take a step back, assess the situation and determine best next steps. Lastly, remember why you started on the path in the first place.
There’s no fancy books, curriculum or business philosophy that the Iowa native buys into. It’s a very simple approach.
“Do what you say you are going to do,” Meints says. “I try to create win-win-win situations: a win for farmers, a win for dealers (our customers) and a win for Titan PRO. If we can do that, everything else will fall into place.”
In leading Titan PRO, Meints draws insight and perspective not only from his conversations with customers but also from his own experiences.
At the ripe age of 19, Meints found himself married, in school and selling insurance, working on commission.
“If we were going to eat, I had to sell,” he says. “That’s where I really cut my teeth. I learned how to make a presentation, how to prospect, recruit and hold someone’s attention.”
After two years, Meints joined his father and brother on the family farm in Sheffield, where they grew corn and soybeans and raised hogs — that was in the late 80s. Then in 1990, Meints had the opportunity to start selling seeds; this was before the introduction of traits.
“Large farm managers were getting big discounts that the local guys couldn’t,” Meints says. “There were several buying groups that you could join but you had to pay a fee to get their discounts. We didn’t want that fee, but we knew we needed the volume to get the best deal possible.
“We started selling seed … and then offered chemicals and then worked to build a dealer force.”
For the first six to eight years, Meints sold seed as a dealer for a number of seed companies, but he saw a need for offering both seeds and chemicals to his customer base.
Volume discounts were common practice for the seed sector, but not at all for the crop protection sector. These are the beginnings of Meints’ career in the agricultural industry.
“As biotech got introduced with Roundup Ready soybeans, we decided to introduce our own seed brand, eventually leading to the forming of Titan PRO in 2009.”
During the transition to Titan PRO, Meints says he only lost five dealers. Everyone else was willing to give him a shot.
“You’ve got to be able to do what you say you’re going to do, and as a business, we expect the same from farmers.”Jeff Meints
“When the time came, I had a meeting with all the dealers laying out the situation as much as I could,” Meints shares. “I was very transparent and open. I shared my vision for Titan PRO, how we were going to operate and that we would do everything in our power to do as we committed.
“We’ve built on that and continually work to keep our business model as simple as possible.”
Today, Titan PRO works with 200 independent dealers and employs about 60 employees, including agronomists, sales managers, truck drivers and office staff. The Titan PRO territory primarily targets Iowa and Minnesota and serves surrounding states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska.
“One of the big things we bring to the table is inhouse expertise, making it easy for dealers to sell both seed and crop protection,” Meints says, explaining without the dual product offering, farmers would have to go to a second dealer for their crop protection needs. Depending on what he needed to sell, he may un-sell your sale.
“We have staff on hand to teach and train on helping farmers find the best input solutions,” he says.
With this business model, all the products offered through the dealer network first come to the Titan PRO headquarters in Clear Lake where they get disbursed. Meints recently added satellite warehouses for distribution in Geneseo, Ill., and Breckenridge, Minn.
Secrets to Success
Meints credits much of Titan PRO’s success to the original vision of combining seed and crop protection at the dealer level.
“You have to bring a unique business proposition to your customer base and show value,” he says. “This is what really set us apart.
“Now is the perfect time to be able to say we bring seed and crop protection because they’re so intertwined, and we have that expertise. We have a structure set up that allows dealers to sell from Day 1.”
Allister Phillips, a founding partner at AgbioInvestor agrees, saying that was a key driver to the recent round of mergers and acquisitions.
“Agriculture is no longer just crop protection or just seed. Now more than ever before, seed is dictating crop protection usage,” Phillips says, pointing to Monsanto’s move to acquire Syngenta which ignited the buying bids.
Meints’ second secret to success is really no secret; it’s all about follow through.
“Business integrity is vital today,” he says. “You’ve got to be able to do what you say you’re going to do, and as a business we expect the same from farmers. It’s a business relationship and it can’t just be good for one side.”
Meints says that within the business they talk a lot on this principle and it even guides the company. Titan PRO’s core values are: “Do what we say we are going to do; treat people fairly; follow through on promises made; expect the same in return.”
“I believe people want to do business with people who tell it like it is, people who are upfront and honest,” Meints says. “They don’t sugar coat it, and they don’t exaggerate it.”
He’s also able to draw on that farm background as he still farms with his son, Derek.
“I enjoy the true farmer hat I get to put on,” Meints says. “I have to make the same business decisions I’m asking customers to make. It keeps me grounded in knowing what my customers face. Do I grow more corn? Do I grow more soybeans? What are the margins? What is the trait landscape? What are the advantages and disadvantages?”
Meints is unique in that he gets to see the business side of providing inputs and the farmer side.
“As a farmer, I’d much rather have a relationship where I don’t have to jump through multiple hoops to get the best value,” Meints explains, as the company doesn’t have a reward system — it’s a straight buy. “Our goal is not to be the lowest cost but to give the best value and competitive pricing. We are offering expertise and support behind the scenes and have relationships with key suppliers for the best genetics and technology.”
Meints also knows that agriculture is unique in that every year, you get to hit a reset button. Just as farmers get another chance at growing a crop, dealers and sales professionals get another shot to sell their products and support them.
For Meints, like many independent seed professionals, agriculture is family and family is business.
“It’s relationship based and when you do things correctly, you can make a difference,” he says. “I am living the American dream, but this wouldn’t be the case if I hadn’t been through all these trials and tribulations. There’s nothing more rewarding as a father than to have your children a part of the business and to want to be a part of it. This is a family business and they’ve been here from Day 1.”
