Mike Buiter joined the Concept AgriTek team in late 2021. With a year under his belt, our team caught up with Mike to learn more about his day-to-day role as a District Sales Manager for Indiana, Northern Illinois and Michigan, to share what he has learned from his CA teammates during his time with the company.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Soil and Crop Science from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, Mike knew that the intersection of agronomy and helping farmers meet their production goals was in his future.
“I worked for a co-op system in Wisconsin for three years,” he shares, “and then I move to Illinois and worked in another co-op system for another three.”
With a strong background in retail and a passion for finding agronomic solutions, the transition to Concept AgriTek was a natural fit for Mike.
“My territory grew—it is significantly bigger than what I was used to— instead of covering counties, I’m covering states,” he says, adding that the emphasis on agronomics and education is also greater than he had experienced in other positions.
“What’s different here is the focus on agronomics. The training is intense and that has helped me to focus on myself, getting myself up to speed and well trained to answer questions and solve problems in the field. That makes me a better resource for my dealers, because I can pass what I learn on to them and, as a team, we can better serve customers.”
Mike loves the change, both in helping him to become a better agronomic resource and effectively becoming a better teacher for those he works with. He shares that while there are a lot of companies that have decent product portfolios, Concept AgriTek’s ability to pair their technology-backed portfolio with the agronomic knowledge of how to get the most out of every drop of product, positions the team to better serve growers.
“What we do here at Concept AgriTek takes the guesswork out of what I do every day. We work with a lot of phenomenal growers that help to validate what is working and our agronomists are always available to talk through any questions I have,” he says. “What really matters to me is that I’m not just selling random products and hoping something has success. I know what I’m recommending and why I’m recommending it. I’ve learned more in a year with Concept AgriTek than my six previous years as a professional agronomist, combined.”
A closeknit sales team is what Mike attributes a lot of his education to, sharing that the team is always talking either via teams or on the phone, sharing results, trial information and asking questions.
“We have the best products, but I think it’s really just the drive of our team. Me and my coworkers are just driving to be the best agronomic experts we can be – we all follow the “you don’t know what you don’t know” mentality, and we’re just always sharing and gaining more knowledge,” he says. “The atmosphere at Concept AgriTek is an intense desire to be the best at what we’re doing.”
