Meet the Sencrop Team: Nicolas
Regional Sales manager, Central and Western France
A fast-growing team with high stakes, the Sencrop sales team is here to spread the word about precision-ag and the power of weather for all farmers. To learn more about this key lever in the company, read on!
Nicolas speaks with conviction: “My mission is to get people talking about Sencrop as much as possible in the countryside.” According to Nico (as the team knows him), the role of a regional sales manager is to ensure that everybody associates Sencrop with ag-weather and precision farming. “But the ultimate goal is to sell.”
Weaving partnerships with groups of farmers, farming unions or organizations, launching sales operations, communicating, hosting events within the region or running booths at trade shows — no two days of Nicolas’ week look alike. As the regional sales manager for Central and Western France, Nico has a lot of ground to cover and a lot of farmers to reach — his region boasts over 80,000 farms according to the chambre d’agriculture, a key agricultural organization in France.
A day in the field
The foundation for successful regional sales is built on two key points: a distinct presence at trade shows and any events within the region, and building strong professional relationships. Maintaining a professional network of farmers comes easy to Nico in his home area of Eure-et-Loire. He feels perfectly comfortable attending events and talking to farmers.
“It’s like a ball of wool that just unravels in different directions, bringing new contacts. Sure, maybe you won’t sell a station to everyone, but you never know what one person might lead you to later on down the road.”
In short, simply showing up for the farmers always leads to new contacts, and new contacts represent opportunities for brand development, commercial or otherwise.
Regional business development & team work
A self-starter, Nico brought a lot of fresh ideas to the table when he started with Sencrop in 2017. He organized regional inter-country meetings which brought agtech start-ups together in front of audiences of 50 to 100 farmers. The experience, shared with the team, was successful and encouraged other regional sales managers to follow suit. From there, Nico’s events expanded into weather conferences with big name partners like the French bank Credit Agricole and market specialist Agritel to expose weather-related risk to farmers all while presenting solutions to offset that risk.
Beyond generating leads, Nico’s creativity and initiative garnered visibility for Sencrop: newspaper and magazine articles, leads generated and sales on-site at every event, a reputation as an expert providing useful insights for farmers, and all in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.
Working on the road
Although he spends a lot of time going from one place to another, Nicolas is free to organize his time and his work place as he sees fit, so long as the work gets done! He has a little office in an agtech incubator about an hour from his house, and he spends roughly 50% of his time on the road, depending on the season. He may be out of the main office, but his work is important to the team. He works very closely with the indoor sales team based in Lille, other regional sales managers, and Sencrop co-founder Martin Ducroquet. The key to their success is trust.
“Concerning my day-to-day, I’m completely independent. I make sure the work gets done, that I do the right things for the company, and that our objectives are met. They trust me.”
Nico M. in a nutshell
- 24 years old
- From Prétouville, a small town near Chartres in the middle of France
- Joined Sencrop in 2017 as the 9th team member
- Based in the field, working from home, at his small office on the road, or wherever he might be.
Nico’s background
Education:
Graduated from ESA in Angers, France with a degree in agriculture
Previous job:
He was well on his way to a career in banking when Sencrop recruited him. He was finishing up his final work experience and his undergraduate thesis when Martin called and brought him on board.
Skills:
Nico has in-depth knowledge of the agricultural world and farmer’s needs, strong people skills, and he’s an excellent public speaker, to name just a few!
Connection to agriculture:
Nico grew up surrounded by farming. His dad farms cereals and oilseeds, and his brother works in the farming industry as well. They may take over the family farm together one day.
Check out Nico’s dad in this episode of our web series (in French)!
The best thing about working with farmers:
The diversity! Farmers have so many skills. Farmers make our food — that’s the foundation of life!
“People forget that food is essential to our health and well-being. I want to uphold the value of this vocation.”
What do you love about Sencrop:
The overall project is truly interesting. It moves fast and the team is growing like crazy. The strategy is clearly defined and communicated to everyone. There is a lot of information that is shared. There’s a great vibe between teammates and everybody gets along.
Favorite Sencrop app feature:
The radar and the seven-day forecast. Nico uses these features to stay on top of the weather, but never during a typical week — usually when he’s on vacation! :)
And outside of work?
Music, motorcycles, and hunting!
Nico plays the French horn. He played in different bands before joining the workforce. Now it’s a bit trickier to find the time.
As far as hunting goes, he’s in to small game animals: pheasants, hares, rabbits, and pigeons.
Fun fact:
At Nico’s very first company summit in Lille back when the team was still quite small, four guys including Nico went out clubbing together. Nico crashed at co-founder Mike’s house (as many colleagues have done!) and woke up to Mike saying, “Come on, it’s time to go to work!”
Favorite break-time activity:
It’s not every day that Nicolas sees his teammates in Lille, so when he’s here he really likes to take advantage of that by spending time together, talking and hanging out.
