In life there are winners and losers. It’s about those who take home the championship prize and the money that matters. There are no celebration parades for a losing team.

Just as in sports, the produce business has winning companies and those that fall flat and are defeated. In this rugged produce arena, it’s a different ball game played on a very challenging field these days. There are companies that make money and others that lose money. Companies that play the game using new methods, strategies and especially technology will be the strongest competitors in the marketplace. Tapping into those sources will make them winners.

Then there are companies that are using the same old operating methods from the past and continue to get beat by their competition. They are stuck in the road with out-of-date ideas.

Here are 10 ways to lose in the produce business today:

• Don’t change — just keep doing things the same way.
• Keep emphasizing price — forget about quality.
• Copy your competition — never be creative.
• Concentrate only on the internal parts of your company — overlook customers.
• Don’t be flexible — be hard-nosed, stand your ground.
• Don’t control expenses — spend, spend and spend, money is no object.
• Keep chopping labor — cut workers, save $100 in expenses to lose $1,000 in sales.
• Resist technology — use the same paper and pencil methods.
• Rely on your name — bypass marketing strategies and product promotions.
• Be all things to everybody — always say yes.

Losing is never fun. So, why do companies lose so much?

Does this sound familiar in a weekly sales meeting? The company president complains, “Why are the sales down from last year and the gross profit in the tank? We’ll just have to cut back more on expenses. No new display fixtures, cancel the computer orders, cut all store supplies and reduce labor scheduling.”

The company president has spoken, but what do you think will actually happen to the store conditions and customer satisfaction?

A produce manager arrived at work and was quite disturbed saying, “I was off yesterday, and the department is a total mess. Most of the product is still in the cooler and wasn’t stocked on the displays. We lost a ton of sales just because of slashed worker hours.”

Do you think maybe it could be because there is one employee trying to handle the work of three? The department may have saved $500 in labor but lost $10,000 in produce sales. Make any sense?

Those are only two scenes we’ve experienced many times. I for one witnessed the cut-and-chop management demands of operating. Once the cutting began, sales and profits worsened. Many of you know that directive too well. It’s a plan waiting to fail.

Well, it just doesn’t work that way anymore. Those old humdrum approaches are considered incomplete and unproductive now. Besides, they eat up too much valuable time for the customer. You can’t play by old rules anymore. Companies that prefer to carry on with the same operating routine will simply wind up on the losing end.

Want your company to be a winner? Sure, you do. Here are 10 easy ways to win in the produce business today:

• Support the workforce — people are your most important product. Use them.
• Communicate with customers — listen to what they want not what you want.
• Fill the displays — stock, stock and keep stocking.
• Offer only the best quality produce — sell up, not down.
• Merchandise aggressively — display and sell massive amounts of produce.
• Be consistent — stick with a first-class standard.
• Price for value — don’t sell cheap inferior product, sell premium labels.
• Be a creative innovator — new and different always gets attention.
• Teach and train employees — knowledge is powerful.
• Get out in the trenches — go to the stores, see reality, motivate the workers.

It’s easy to recognize a winning team. They seem to overcome impediments and roadblocks with their superlative attitude. When you have employees on your company roster who are concerned about winning, it can become a very powerful competing team. Great winning attitudes will come out on top all of the time.

Keep your company ahead of the curve. The produce business is not as simple as it used to be. Customers have redefined themselves today. They want solutions on how to win the game too. Your ability to communicate with them will decide if your company product sells or not. Most importantly, whether it generates enough profit to be a winner for future growth.

Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775-843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].