I have had a lot of experience selling lots of stuff. Livestock, equipment, etc. Face2Face, online, social media, phone sales, cash sales, check, finance, PO, whatever, I’ve done it. As an ag teacher, I am constantly selling the “why you need to do this” to our future leaders. Not much money in it, but it is very satisfactory to the soul to see a kid learn to speak, weld, learn where their food comes from, find success, etc.
Tonight, I sold some stuff. A local dude had hit me up a couple of weeks ago. “Hey, if you know where a 5 or 6′ brush beater is, that is cheap, let me know.” My reply, “Heck, I’ve got one.”
What was the next question? Come on. Come on. Yep, you are right. “How much you want for it?”
Well, I know and like the guy. And he has and will continue to do solid favors for me, especially at the school. So, I priced it at $400. He called tonight and came to look. This brush beater has one issue–the driveline has a hitch in it. He had a trailer with him, I don’t have to worry about the money, I don’t have to fix the problem–$300. He then hit me up about a 3 pt box blade. Excellent shape. Don’t use it, don’t need it anymore. It is too small for my tractors. It will fit his. I priced it. Did I mention that he had a trailer? We loaded both items.
No hassle. No commission. No problems. No time wasted. Move the product.
Any of you that have ever spoken to me about my time running a John Deere dealership has probably heard me tell stories about selling lawn mowers. I hate selling those bastards. No money on ’em and people wasted my time with them. If somebody came to talk to me about a $300,000 tractor, they were serious and the deal wouldn’t take long. A lawn mower, well hell, they might just be bored on a Saturday morning and testing the waters for when they buy a new lawn mower 2 effing years from now. They could eat up 2 hours of a Saturday morning, asking questions that they could look up online and then hit you up for a free hat, even though they didn’t buy a fricking lawn mower.
I hate lawn mowers. Which explains why the Dragon Lady has a bad ass 4WD, diesel, power steering tractor mower with a 5′ deck. Not bragging, just keeping the help happy.
Selling livestock is very similar to selling tractors. However, it would be nice if there was a time limit according to their price range.
If you have a $10,000 goat and a customer that is interested, they will know in the first couple of minutes if they are interested or not. The $ is arbitrary. Any wether or doe customer from $2,500 and up will know in the first few minutes if there is a goat to meet their desires.
Give these customers all the time that they want. Because, if you do it right, you can discuss the goats (good and bad), other goat business and general life and possibly learn something. If they buy, great. But sometimes, it is still worthwhile even if they don’t buy. Things go well and they come back the next year.
Now a $300 lawn mower buyer…..there needs to be a time limit. Let’s be real. 4 legs, healthy, better than a sale barn goat–no need to study long. Here are the good parts and here is why this is not a high$ goat. Take it or leave it. And if you want to waste time, head down the road to the next sale where they floor them higher than that and you will spend more on gas and time involved. It is not uncommon for me to sell a $500 value goat for $300 in order to move the process along. If I don’t have to clip or photo, I get in a mind to move product.
However, if that $300 buyer is looking at a volume load–now you better pay attention. Not eating anymore feed, clearing pen space, mental health–does the buyer have a trailer there and available to load out? A seller better pay attention and take care of business. Because a volume buyer like that can be more valuable than one high $ goat.
This post may sound like I don’t want to deal with cheaper goats. Not true! I just don’t want to spend all day looking at cheaper goats. It either fits your deal or it doesn’t. Keep it brief. And, as an ag teacher, I buy more cheaper goats than most. I don’t waste much time. It either has a chance or it doesn’t. Get the deal done or walk away.
Have I mentioned that I hate lawn mowers? I still hate female goats as well. Have a good one.
