by
Molly Clubb
| Feb 09, 2011
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:
If your budget allowed for you to run an ad, send a postcard or produce a flyer on your consignment, make sure that it is visible near your animal. This will help to reinforce the top-of-mind awareness about your consignment.
Make sure your animal is well fed, has a clean stall, and if you have a display make sure your display and your animal are both secure and can be seen easily.
Don’t be afraid to have a photo of yourself or your ranch manager on your pen so new breeders know who to look for if they have questions about your animal. You should also try to stay near your stall as much as possible during high traffic times. This will allow you to network and answer questions about your consignment and your breeding program.
Don’t be afraid to add something to your consignment. For example, I’ve been at sales where breeders have decided to add various perks such as straws of semen so a heifer could be AI’d to a well known bull; gas cards so that the animal could be hauled at a lesser cost to the buyer, etc. Just make sure you’re publicizing your addition prior to the sale, and the announcer and auctioneer both know of your plans so they can help secure top dollar for your consignment.
Once the sale has begun, who is bidding on your animal can contact them if you have other similar cattle in your herd for sale. You can also visit with them about why they stopped bidding. Was it a budget issue or did they feel that your animal was lacking something? Sometimes this is the best feedback for ensuring your program is at the level you wish to maintain.
NEXT WEEK:
3rd Gear, Follow Up
Once the sale is over, you should still be working to keep gears turning about your consignment and breeding program. If you are able to invest some of your profit into advertising after the sale, you should find that you continue to see a greater ROI on future quality consignments over time and that your breeding program will continue to reap the benefits...
Portions of this blog were taken from an article by Molly that appeared in the March Edition of the 2009 Texas Longhorn Journal. Photo courtesty Juanita Rogers/Texas Longhorn Journal.