CountrySmart CountrySmart
Presented by Chantelle Mader National Award Winning Business Advisor And Profit Strategist
BU S I N E S S N E W S Volume 2 Issue 5
Creating Financial And Lifestyle Freedom For Country Business Owners
Confuse Them and You Lose Them
In This Issue Confuse Them and You Lose Them - How what your English teacher taught you is
*Groan * You know a big dumb advertising agency has got it wrong when they use the word flock in a television commercial or ad.
costing you money. (Page 1) What Price For A Silver
Seriously? When was the last time you heard a farmer talk about a flock of sheep? Like….NEVER!! All real life farmers refer to a MOB of sheep.
Bullet? - Are you paying the high price of a quick fix? (Page 2)
No, it’s not correct English!
I Survived 15 Years Married To A Farmer - A little of my
So here’s the question… Do you want to be right, or rich?
story and a hint of what’s to come!
Your English teacher isn’t your target market, farmers are, so you need to use the language of your market place. So, use mob, not flock and ute, not utility vehicle or Americanism of truck… Your copy should be written so that even a 12 year old can read it, simply for clarity of message…. Not because farmers can’t read to a high level but because simple language is an easy read. Don’t get caught in the trap of using mobile phone shortened phrases, like LOL. (My mum thought that meant “Lots Of Love” until I explained it meant “Laughing Out Loud”. I just thought
(Page 3) “My Suppliers Paid For My Birthday Party” - Are you she was happy all the time when she sent me a text!) Never use industry jargon. I mean, who knows what RLEM’s are? Oh! You don’t know? That would be Red Legged Earth Mite. Spell it out for them. No one will ever ask you to explain yourself again. Too damned embarrassing for most people to admit that they don’t understand. They just switch off and go on to the next thing. Taking their money with them.
missing out on advertising rebates from your suppliers? (Page 4)
Pass It On Our Business Grows By Referral. If you like the content of our newsletter, please pass it onto other friends in business you know
Country Smart Business Solutions | Newsletter
What Price For A Silver Bullet? As a marketing consultant I’m told I must get my clients a quick win. Once I have proved to them I can put money in their bank, I can then focus on the stuff that takes longer to implement but gets better results in the longer term. Often one of the first things I do is wrangle their database into one CRM program and then send their clients an amazing offer. Boom! Money in the bank. (And my client goes from nervous nelly, problem client, to worshiping me like a god and finally doing what I damn well told them to do in the first instance!) The thing is… doing this has a down side. It burns their database. This is because if you have a bunch of contacts on a database, that haven’t been contacted for a while, and then suddenly you send out an email offer… They will assume that every email you are going to send them from now on is going to be an offer to buy something… and fear of being bombarded with email offers they will choose to opt out of getting any further emails from you. Never the less… enough buy, in a short time frame, to get a bankable return. You could say that desperate times call for desperate measures. The cost will be high in the people you lose off your database. Now contrast this with a softer… better way of doing it…. You wrangle your contacts into a CRM program and the first email you send out isn’t an offer to buy something… but a free gift, a thank you for being our loyal customer… maybe it’s a simple free soil testing kit, or tow ball, or gate kit…
Now suddenly the clients on your database aren’t worried that they haven’t heard from you in ages. Now they can’t wait for your next email to show up! They may even share the free gift, via social media, and forward the email so their other farming friends to claim one too. Now your database is growing like magic by referral! Then your next email shows up with a video tip to help them grow their farming business…. (Wow, this guy actually gives a damn!) The next email is an invite to a closed door FREE VIP event to show off a new farming tool and a chance to socialise. (I’m all for a free feed and fun!) Finally, the fourth email is an offer to buy something… and they fall over themselves to get it! This strategy will see you keep the vast majority of people on your database for you to market to, for life or until they die or they tell you to bugger off.
But the name off the game is to build such a strong relationship and give such valuable information, knowledge and appreciation that they never want to lose contact with you. It is the fear of disconnect, the fear that they may miss out on something, is what keeps your fence strong and stops your herd of farmers from straying to your competition. Most business owners have become too afraid of “hassling” their farming clients. Understand, it’s not seen as hassling, or annoying, when you give valuable information, gifts that help them and shift from trying to sell something to them to being an educator. The sale will come, almost by default, when you have their best interests at heart. So, stop looking for a silver bullet, I don’t sell them. I don’t do 90 day business turn arounds, too damn stressful, and I don’t take on desperados as clients… But if you like the sound of long term, sustainable success then maybe I am your girl.
Country Smart Business Solutions | Newsletter
I Survived 15 Years Married To A Farmer. Well who would have thought I would survive 15 years married? Yep. As I write this myself, and my husband, Garry (pictured), celebrate 15 years of marriage. For most of that time we have been on the family farm, a 3 ½ thousand acre broad acre, mixed farming operation. 4000 sheep, wheat, barley, oats, canola, lupins, hay and sandalwood… At one stage we even had a 100 sow piggery. For the area we would be considered a smaller farm but we were very well run and had no debt. And managed to support two families. But after Garry’s 20 years on the farm it was time to reap some of the rewards which meant winding the business up. The maths simply told us that this was the best financial option and unable to get the family support services we needed to grow my business… we had to leave the farm behind.
The books finally closed in June this year and our last piece of machinery sold, the header. The farm is now leased out to a lovely farming family and we continue to manage our sandalwood. Yes, it has been sad in one respect but a new chapter has started for us… one that sees us still very much tied to agriculture in what we are both now doing. And many business owners have since celebrated that I’m gutsy enough to follow my dream in helping them to success… because that is where my passion lies. I could have just stayed nice and comfortable on the family farm… tending to my two boys, now 7 and 11 years old, and helping out on the farm, being involved in the community. But that would have meant wasting years of hard earned education and know one else was sticking their hand up to help the business owners who’s
lively hoods ride on the back of farmers. Many know farming but few know business like I do and it was time some of that cutting edge business education made it to the bush… Soon you will hear word of my newest venture… Country Smart Business School Of The Air, as I call on my considerable network of business experts across Australia to be my content partners and my team gets hard to work on “Farmerizing” and “Countryfying” their tools and techniques. I can’t wait for what exciting things will happen as Garry continue to reinvent our lives together!
Uncover The Hidden Profits In Your Business For FREE FREE 1 Hour Hidden Profits Consult (Valued at $297) To Claim Visit: www.HiddenProfitsConsult.com.au National Award Winning Business Advisor and Profit Strategist Creating Financial and Lifestyle Freedom For Country Business Owners. “Most business owners are leaving money on the table they never knew they had. I just point out where it’s been hiding. Sometimes it just takes a fresh set of eyes and a different way of look at the challenges you face to get the breakthrough you are looking for.” – Chantelle Mader
Country Smart Business Solutions | Newsletter
“My Suppliers Paid For My Birthday Party” Co-operative advertising is the
your area, or if your offer just happens
untapped gold mine of advertising
to be timely as they are rolling out a
funds for any business that has
seasonal promotion.
suppliers. Yet this money mostly goes unclaimed, simply because “if you don’t ask, you don’t get!”
Some will have a 50% rule. They will go halves with you in the cost of the advertisement. If they can’t, or won’t,
Many years ago I did a co-operative
give you the funds then offer to take
advertising campaign for a business
product to the value, if it suits you to do
owner that sold small machinery to
so as you will still have to feature their
Shameless plug.) will be putting it all
farmers to fund their 25th birthday
product in your marketing and wear the
together. They will be comforted in the
celebrations.
cost.
knowledge that their brand was in good
We got thousands of advertising
Simply ringing them and asking them
dollars, and free product, to make
can work, but you will get a far better
After the party is over you will need to
his business birthday happen, simply
result if you go to the effort of putting
invoice each of your suppliers for the
because we asked his suppliers nicely.
together a written proposal as this
option that they chose and also send
prevents any confusion about who
tear sheets and other proof that their
agreed to pay for what and it is clearly
ads ran. Don’t forget to say a big thank
laid out what they are getting for their
you for their support and include lots of
To do this successfully you need to be aware of a few rules of the game. Firstly, never ask for any more than 2-3% of what you spend with a supplier. If they
money.
have a co-operative advertising budget
Your proposal should include all the
available, it will generally be based on a
media they will get and a couple of
percentage of what you buy from them.
package options for them to choose
Sometimes they will give you more if
from.
hands.
happy snaps from the big day. It’s important that you make them feel they got great value from the co-operative marketing venture with you… who knows, they may even do
…And don’t for get to point out that
it all over again for your birthday next
and if they are looking to grow sales in
a professional marketer (Me. * grin *
year.
Specialist
Ma
lling To Farm Se
ers
rketing An d
you have a good relationship with them
Phone:
1300 667 153
Fax:
1300 667 154
Email:
Info@CountrySmartBusiness.com.au
Address: PO Box 4001, BUNBURY EAST WA 6230
© Copyright Country Smart Business Solutions. No portion of this newsletter may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. This newsletter is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering any legal or professional advice of any kind. The publisher disclaims any personal liability for the information, advice, recommendations and/or strategies presented within. It is up to the reader to comply with any local, state or federal laws.