Salesmanship? As an agriculturist, selling may not be on your list of favorites. Yet reality is that we all have to sell in today's competitive business... whether it's an idea, your products, or a service. Before you frown on having to sell, erase the picture of a "high pressure used car salesman." Rather, consider how you can build a relationship and connect the other person's hot buttons.For example, let's take a look at how selling is a part of speaking out for agriculture. After all, why should those outside the industry care about the agrifood business? The country isn't facing starvation and until BSE hit, food safety wasn't a huge concern to many consumers. The fact of the matter is that people won't care about agriculture until we give them a reason to; in other words "sell" the industry to them. I'm not talking about "selling out" what's important to us, but relating on their terms.
"Communicating strictly facts to consumers when trying to explain technology is a recipe to fail" according to an Iowa State University sociological study conducted about animal agriculture in 2002. All of us in agriculture know how critical the trust factor is within our business; we like to buy from people we know and respect. It's no different when trying to connect our cause with people who are generations removed from the farm. The same study mentioned above found "The person who says food is safe is at least as important as the facts being communicated. Consumers rank farmers as the most credible on animal care issues."
Perhaps you're not on a farm or ranch, so you don't feel like you should have to "sell" agriculture. As food moves from the farm gate to the consumer plate, each business along the way needs to shoulder the responsibility of educating the end user. After all, where would you be if there was neither a consumer purchasing that food product or a farmer working with animals?
Help put a face on the business by actively "selling" agriculture to the people who are buying our products. Here's a seven-step sales process you can use to build their trust and understanding of our industry.
- Build rapport: Spend some time getting to know the target audience.
- Establish interest: Use the majority of your time with the target audience listening and give enough info to grab their attention.
- Identify needs: Look for hot buttons you can push!
- Offer Solutions: Connect agriculture to those hot buttons - relate from their perspective, not yours. Try offering a solution.
- Motivate into action: Give them a reason to react quickly to what you're proposing.
- Overcome objections: Remember, 'no' won't hurt you. It simply means you have to ask some more questions to identify what needs they still have.
- Gain a commitment: Don't forget to close the deal by confirming what you've agreed on and any action points.
This sales process can really help you develop relationships and, in turn, credibility for the meat business. Successful business today has to include some element of selling, whether we like it or not. Rather than looking upon selling as high pressure, consider it as the art of persuasion.
You might even be able to protect your place in agriculture in the future by successfully "selling." After all, Forbes just reported Vegetarian food sales doubled since 1998 in the U.S., hitting $1.6 billion in 2003. The market is forecast to grow another 61% by 2008. If that fact concerns you, now is the time to begin selling!
Michele Payn-Knoper founded Cause Matters to help give a voice to the people who feed the world. E-mail newsletter@mpk.info to receive her monthly "MPK Connections" e-newsletter for tools on speaking out for agriculture, selling solutions, and grassroots marketing. See www.mpk.info or call 765.427.4426 for more information.
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