{"id":13420,"date":"2021-07-27T08:55:28","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T12:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/you-gotta-have-hart\/"},"modified":"2021-07-27T08:55:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T12:55:28","slug":"you-gotta-have-hart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquatrolscompany.com\/en-ca\/you-gotta-have-hart\/","title":{"rendered":"You Gotta Have Hart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Pat Jones | A half-century-old relationship between Aquatrols and the famed Chas. C. Hart Seed Company only gets better.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bill Hart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s rare to find a company that\u2019s served the green industry\nas long as Aquatrols has been in business, but the history of the Chas. C. Hart\nSeed Company competes with a history stretching all the way back to 1892.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe ship garden seed all over the U.S.,\u201d says Bill Hart,\nwho\u2019s led the company founded by his great-great-grandfather for the past four\nyears. \u201cThe Connecticut River valley was a great place to grow garden seed and\nwe could ship it out using the river.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unbelievably, the early business model was selling seed on\nconsignment. \u201cWe\u2019d ship it out to retailers and at the end of the season they\u2019d\npay us for what they sold and send the rest back,\u201d Hart says. The model, which\ncaused cash flow problems, drove them to look at other markets to\ncounterbalance the seed business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They turned to turfgrass in the 1940s and found growth as grass seed demand was spurred by soldiers building homes with the GI Bill. At the same time, golf courses started springing up in the emerging suburbs and the pro-market grew. Along the way they diversified and added early turf seed and management products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we may have been one of Aquatrols earliest\ndistributors,\u201d says Bill Hart. The relationship between the two companies began\nin at least 1973. \u201cA lot of people probably thought it was snake oil back then but\nwe knew it worked and we stuck with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Hart\u2019s Turf Pro group supports superintendents and\nother professional turf managers mainly in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode\nIsland with four dedicated reps. The modern Hart\u2019s business is roughly split\nbetween garden seed and branded professional turf products. Bill Hart sums it\nup: \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a weird mix but it works out well since the two markets\nbalance each other out. It\u2019s pretty rare that both gardening and turf are down\nat the same time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Hart\u2019s compete in today\u2019s gigantic market? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe personality of our company is a big differentiator. We\nsometimes get told we ought to sell ourselves harder but we find that we work\nbest with superintendents who value proven products and practices. We also find\na lot of our ideal clients are kind of like us\u2026people who keep their heads down\nand get the job done every day without tooting their horns or doing crazy stuff.\nThey\u2019re doing their own thing and so are we.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re a small fish in a big pond but all we sell are branded\nproducts that do what they say they do. It has to be a good product that provides\nyou that value for the dollar to make it worth your time, effort and ambition.\nThat\u2019s why Aquatrols is still such a good fit for us.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What stands out about working with Aquatrols for a half\ncentury? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything needs to be proven to us and Aquatrols is so\nhuge on research. I\u2019m so excited about their new Aura Farm research facility which\nwill allow them to do more trials on their own. Just having that support to\nprove independently how great these products are is so important to us. You can\nslide it into your spray program and you know it\u2019s going to work and you\u2019re not\ngoing to have issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We like to have stuff proven to us. Anytime our supply\npartners can provide us with that it gives you the confidence when you go\nrecommend something in the field that the manufacturer has their back as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has sticking with branded products been hard in an era of\ncopy-cats? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou run into \u2018just-like\u2019 products that might be okay in an\neasy growing year but the hard years when it\u2019s super-hot and dry you start to\nsee the difference. Those times are what sets a good manufacturer apart from\nthe ones who aren\u2019t as committed. We try to sell on the positives and not bad\nmouth others. It is sometimes tough to hold your tongue all the time but that\u2019s\nwhat we try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think about the relationship, some of it is\nproducts but a lot is the people. Tell us about that. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTom Valentine is fantastic and very responsive. Robin Hayes\n(Hart\u2019s rep in Massachusetts) talks to him almost daily. She\u2019s our top dog for\nthe turf business and she\u2019s like our customers\u2026she does amazing work but she\ntries to stay under the radar. Robin is also a good example of our personnel philosophy:\nhire people a lot smarter than you and give them tools, let them do their work,\nand stay the heck out the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice do you have for younger folks considering a\nsales career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe toughest thing for individuals we\u2019ve brought in from\nthe golf business is that they miss being out on the grass. They don\u2019t feel\ncomfortable driving around in a truck all day. It\u2019s not for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing they need to know is your buddies aren\u2019t\njust going to buy from you because you\u2019re buddies with them. They already have\nthree buddies ahead of you. They\u2019re going to make you jump through the hoops\njust like any other new salesperson. You have to grind it out and prove\nyourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejection is a tough thing. You\u2019re going to have to visit\nthem 5 or 6 or 10 times and get rejected before they throw you a bone. Next\nthing you know they start to order bigger stuff, but the rejection is tough.\nYou can\u2019t give up. You have to be persistent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Aquatrols tools been most successful for you in your\nregion the past few years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZipline has absolutely been a great product for us. Customers\naren\u2019t chasing hot spots on fairways as much because of it and it\u2019s great on\ngreens. It keeps them firm without wilting. We\u2019re also seeing more people using\nit on approaches to keep them firmer. All their hackers love it because it\nincreases ball roll and they can scoot up on the green more often. Customers also\nsay their color pops too with Zipline because the AquaVita component helps to\nrelease available nitrogen within the soil.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Revolution still an important tool in the area?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still seeing really strong Revolution sales. Some of\nour best clients are using it on greens but also tees and fairways. If you\u2019re\nusing Revolution on fairways, you\u2019re obviously committed to the product. They use\nit for a while and eventually it\u2019s kind of a no-brainer to use it tee to green,\nparticularly on problem fairways. The past few years we\u2019ve seen unprecedented\nheat and drought in the Northeast and customers were amazed at how well they\nmade it through the stress of the summertime with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about Aqueduct Flex? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery member of our sales team carries a few bags of\nAqueduct Flex in their truck. As they run into folks with LDS or wilt, they\u2019re\nable to help immediately. It is an excellent solution because supers and crew\nmembers see a problem and they can hit that spot with the Flex and the\nirrigation picks it up later. It\u2019s a great top-of-mind product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts about the \u201cnew\u201d Aquatrols?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t say enough good things about the company and I\ncouldn\u2019t be happier with the relationship or the way things have gone with\ntheir new team. It\u2019s a perfect fit for Hart\u2019s and our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Pat Jones | A half-century-old relationship between Aquatrols and the famed Chas. C. Hart Seed Company only gets better. It\u2019s rare to find a company that\u2019s served the green industry as long as Aquatrols has been in business, but the history of the Chas. C. Hart Seed Company competes with a history stretching all […]<\/p>\n

Read More… from You Gotta Have Hart<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[289],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYou Gotta Have Hart | Aquatrols Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A half-century-old relationship between Aquatrols and the famed Chas. C. 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