by
Molly Clubb
| Feb 02, 2011
Preparation & Promotion
It’s been tradition in the Industry to consign an animal and hope the sale catalog and any possible additional measures overwritten by the sale hosts suffice in bringing top dollar for your consignment. However, with the mix of today’s economy and the many forms of affordable marketing available to breeders, it seems up to you to shift gears and take your profits to the next level.
1ST GEAR: PREPARATION & PROMOTION
Once you have gotten the gears turning by consigning one of your top animal(s) to a sale and completed all of the necessary paperwork, photo submission, etc., you’re ready to start some promotions of your own. Here are some easy and affordable options to promote your consignment and increase your overall selling price:
Check publication deadlines and rates and consider placing an eye-catching ad to increase interest in your consignment. Most publications also offer an online version that will link your ad to your Web site – or even, directly to your consignment. Don’t be afraid to ask for ideas on ways to make your ad stand out or for how to get the most bang for your buck for consignment advertising! The sale catalog itself is usually a great place to advertise. Many times this ad provides an excellent ROI for it's lower cost when compared to magazine advertising.
Prepare a one-page flyer on each consignment that you can mail to interested parties, have available at the sale or take to events scheduled prior to the sale to promote your consignment. This can be as simple as updating your consignment through your Hired Hand website and printing our one page flyers.
Consider developing a postcard about your consignment and mailing it to previous buyers or request a copy of the mailing list that the sale catalogs were also sent to.
Update your Web site, ensuring there is a link on your homepage for each consignment. If you have a Hired Hand website be sure to draw peoples attention to the progeny, measurement and award tabs if those are additional selling points to your animal. You can create a separate pagefor each consignment also showing off who they are bred to, famous offspring they've produced, etc. All of this helps people get excited about possibly purchasing the animal. Be sure that you've also updated your SEO fields to attract more attention when people are searching for the sale or consignments.
Consider launching a Social Media Marketing (SMM) campaign by posting the consignment on your Facebook and/or Twitter pages, taking out Facebook ads to get new followers, etc. SMM can be a very powerful tool when used correctly.
*See previous blog entries on tips for SMM
Send an e-blast to your database of addresses about the sale and your consignments. Be sure to include information on the sale date and time, your lot numbers, photos of your consignments, a link to your Web site and a way that people can contact you. Don’t forget to respond to any inquiries about your consignment within 48 hours of the original e-mail. E-blasts are a great way to update people about any consignment information that was not available at the time the catalog went to print such as pregnancy or calving information.
*If you're looking for a great, FREE email program for professional looking e-blasts Hired Hand recommends MailChimp. See our previous blog entry on this service. You can also send e-blasts to large lists through Hired Hand (inquire about pricing), the TLMA and the TLBAA for a fee.
If you do not currently have a sale pen display, banner or other attention-grabbing materials consider visiting with me or a qualified designer about these materials. Remember to allow a few weeks for design and printing.
One of the most popular products I work with breeders on prior to and during sale season are customizable sale pen displays. As pictured, these displays feature the branding of each ranch or breeding program as well as various sizes of plexi-glass holders. This allows the breeders to change the photos, registration papers, flyers, etc., in the display for each sale or animal. Many of the displays also have a place for brochures or business cards so that passers-by can obtain their contact information. These displays are a very affordable and long-lasting option for sale and event marketing. Also pictured are examples of banners, flyers and magnetic vehicle graphics, all great for promoting your program and consignments at sales.
Check with sale hosts or the organization associated with the sale to see if they are offering booths or sponsorships that will allow for additional exposure for both your breeding program and your consignment.
NEXT WEEK:
2nd Gear: Event Promotion
Shifting it into second gear for the event itself is important to ensure that all of your preparation was well worth it. In order to get the most out of your time at the sale and ensure the best price on your consignment, here are some easy marketing steps that you can take...
Portions of this blog were taken from an article by Molly that appeared in the March Edition of the 2009 Texas Longhorn Journal.