BUSINESS

All photos provided by Joe Churchill

The relationship between sports field managers and their vendors and suppliers is essential to creating safe , high-quality playing surfaces . SportsField Management magazine recently spoke with Joe Churchill , fields & grounds specialist at Reinders , Inc ., a full-line equipment and turf products distributor , about the essential components of a successful vendor / customer relationship .

SportsField Management ( SFM ): I know every relationship is different , but what is most typical of the relationship between sports field managers and their vendors or suppliers ? Joe Churchill : You could get a half dozen different answers depending on who you ask . But the relationship between the sports field manager and a vendor goes beyond the relationship between the two of us , because we are not operating in a vacuum . I ’ m not naïve to think that my very best customers aren ’ t purchasing from some of my competitors . Part of what makes this work is that I appreciate and respect my competition , and I consider most to be friends of mine . We don ’ t share everything , but we are all in this together . The healthiest , most productive relationship is just building that level of trust . It doesn ’ t have to be a friendship ; it can just be understanding where each of us comes from and that we respect the needs and wishes of the other .

Transactional-type selling — I call it door-to-door peddling — is still out there , and always will be . I don ’ t believe in that , but I respect any relationship between the vendor and the sports field manager that works for them . But to me that rings a little hollow . I need to get to know my customer . I have to understand their pain points and what is important to them . But there are times when it ’ s just , “ Here ’ s what I ’ m looking for . What is your price , and when can you ship ?” To me , there ’ s not much fun in that . Knowing I had a good conversation with the customer , I helped them and got to know them better — there ’ s a lot to be said for building trust and the relationship instead of just checking the box and going on to the next customer .

26 SportsField Management | January 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com