In this episode of Selling in the Paddock, Georgia sits down with long-time connection and commercial lead of Bayer Vegetables ANZ, Darren Wood. With roots in accounting and a deep career spanning from nursery sheds to the boardroom, Darren shares how his passion for agriculture, sharp financial acumen, and decades of real-world experience have shaped how he leads high-performing sales teams today.

Darren and Georgia explore:

• Darren’s unique journey from childhood on a carrot farm to leading one of the biggest vegetable seed teams in the country

• What sales reps can learn from a CFO’s mindset

• The dangers of obsolete seed and why forecasting is part art, part science

• How data, gut feel, and relationships work together in sales decision-making

• Why top reps earn the sale (and what NOT to do in the nursery)

• How to protect margin without defaulting to discounts

• What true customer value looks like (and why delivery in full, on time trumps price)

• Why strong culture beats short-term targets

• 3 key questions every seed business should ask before launching a new variety

Plus: an exciting sneak peek into what’s coming down the pipeline at Bayer, from purple stem baby broccoli to disease-resistant tomatoes and machine-harvestable broccoli.

If you’re in seed sales, leading a rural team, or want a fresh perspective on the commercial side of agriculture, this episode is packed with grounded wisdom, practical advice, and future-focused thinking.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Bayer Vegetables ANZ: Home | Bayer Australia/New Zealand

• Hort Connections Brisbane: Meet Darren and Georgia there

Follow & Share:Liked the episode? Don’t forget to follow Selling in the Paddock and share it with your ag sales mates.

This episode is raw, real, and straight from my kitchen table – bacon, eggs, and a side of humble pie.

Today, I'm sharing a sales muck-up that happened mid-psych appointment (yes, really) and what it reminded me about owning mistakes, handling pressure, and staying human in sales.

We often talk about wins – but we rarely talk about the messy moments, the emotional moments, and the “oh no, did that just happen?” ones. This is one of those.

🎯 You’ll hear:

• What happened when a seed order went wrong

• Why I set boundaries and still felt guilty

• How I turned a grower’s frustration into a respectful convo

• Why apologising properly matters more than you think

• The mental health practices I lean on as a business owner, coach, and mum

If you’ve ever had a moment where work and life collide… this one’s for you.

💬 Let’s make sales more human.
I help sales reps and teams in Ag own their voice, sell with confidence, and bounce back from the inevitable mistakes.
Want to chat about coaching for you or your team?

👉 Follow the podcast and book a discovery call here:

Book a 📞https://calendly.com/georgiacoach/30min

Follow the 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5WRDOTCEE6tR1Ml5lUi65Q?si=02c677a87fd34959
📩 Or send me a DM on LinkedIn – I’d love to connect.

This week on Selling in the Paddock, I sit down with the sharp, grounded, and all-round legend Rodney Dunn, now part of the team at Tenstar Simulation, where he’s helping shape the future of operator training across Ag, Construction, and Transport.

From a young bloke in a Blackwoods warehouse to 17+ years selling everything from ag machinery to education solutions, Rodney shares:

• 🚜 How he built a career in sales from scratch (and what actually matters on the ground)

• 👩‍🌾 Why ag is ripe for more women in boots – and how simulation training can be a game changer for confidence

• 🤝 The real difference between reps who win repeat business and those who don’t

• 📉 A lost sale that still irks him – and what you can learn from it

• 🎯 The hardest sales lesson he had to learn the long way: confidence is king

• 🧠 How memory (even if you have to “manufacture” it) can elevate your sales game

Whether you’re new to ag sales or 20 years deep, this one is full of practical wisdom, a few war stories, and some gold about where the industry is headed – especially when it comes to skills training, labour shortages, and the evolving customer.

💡 “Sales makes the first deal. Service wins the next.” – Rodney Dunn