Introduction to Marketing v1

Marketing Stud Cattle

MarketingSeveral years ago the former marketing manager of the American Angus Association, Mr. Keith Evanspublished a book on marketing Angus stud cattle. The principles are basically the same for all breedsand are just applicable in Australia as they are in the USA. He very kindly allowed us to reprint someof the chapters of his book. We trust you will pick up a few ideas to help you with your marketing.(NB - this was written pre-internet so there is no mention of promotion & marketing through the internet.)Neil DonaldsonChief Executive OfficerMarketing PrinciplesMarketing – it is as essential to every business as product development, or in your case a successful breedingprogramme. Yet it is given short shrift by far too many registered beef cattle producers in Australia andaround the world.We will start with the basic principles, which are essential to the success of every business. These principlesapply equally to an international company like Coca Cola or Sony, or to a small cattle breeder with ten bullsto sell each year., The cattle breeder with a marketing budget $2,000 should use the same basic principlesto attract customers as does the largest international corporation with an advertising budget of hundreds ofmillions of dollars.These principles are:1. Positioning – As a marketer you can’t be all things to all people. It is essential to develop a position in the market that allows you to fill a specific niche. This requires knowing who your potential customers are, or should be, where they live and work and what kind of cattle they need and buy. Positioning allows you to produce what your customers want and need, and to market specifically to those in your predetermined audience.2. Understanding When Buying Decisions are Made – Business buying decisions are made months, sometimes years in advance of an actual purchase. The advertising you do today, this month or this year will likely not sell many bulls tomorrow, next month, or maybe not even next year. Business-to-business advertising is a long-term investment. Its effectiveness builds with repetition in concert with other sound marketing efforts.3. Top-of-Mind Awareness – This must be the goal of every successful marketing programme. Top-of-Mind Awareness means that when a potential customer thinks of registered seed stock, they think of you first and favourably. The advertiser who achieves top-of-mind awareness with an individual gets first chance at the person’s business.4. Programming – To market effectively requires that you develop a programme and stick with it year after year. You don’t breed cows once, you breed them every year according to a well determined plan. Just because your breeding programme was successful last year doesn’t mean that you can rest on your laurels this year, it is on-going, never ending as long as you are in the registered cattle business. Advertising and marketing are no different, they must be part of a well defined programme. Marketing Manual 2016

PositioningThe owner of one of the most successful restaurants in Houston, Texas often tells how he was going nowherea few years ago trying to run a restaurant that sold everything. A business consultant he contacted for helpasked him to describe his business and its objectives in 10 words or less. He couldn’t do it. “You are notfocused enough to run a successful business”, the expert explained.Ed Hendee decided that day to reposition his business. Instead of trying to attract everyone who washungry, he decided to operate the best steak house in his city. He signed up with the Certified Angus BeefProgramme and built his future on high quality beef and customer service. His business, over the nextfew years, succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. What Ed Hendee’s advisor referred to as being focused,advertising people call “Positioning”.Cattle breeders too need to position their business. Start by putting it on paper. Write a positioning statementthat in 10 words or so describes the kind of customer you intend to serve and the kind of cattle you willproduce – e.g. “To breed performance tested bulls for commercial cattle producers”. Then, develop a sloganthat sums up that position – “Performance Angus Bulls for a Tough Commercial Environment”, or whateveryou want to stick in the mind of potential customers.One successful advertising agency executive taught his employees that if a business stands for everything, itstands for nothing. Positioning, he said, is sacrifice – deciding what is important and what can be left behind.Once you’ve developed a market position you can aim your advertising and promotional effort directly atyour target audience. You’ll have less waste and higher efficiency. What’s more, since you know more aboutyour customers and what they want and need, you can be a more effective breeder.The knowledge allows you to focus your breeding programme and fill the needs of potential customers. Asa sidelight to positioning, an advertiser must also define a specific market area. That can be a 50 or 150 kmradius from your place, an entire state or province, or even an entire country.The size of the area will depend upon how many cattle you have to sell, and the number of potential customersavailable to you. Regardless, you must define a market area before you advertise otherwise you won’t knowwhere to concentrate your efforts. Marketing Manual 2016

Buying DecisionsHow many people, do you suppose, need a bull the day they read or hear your advertisement? Not many.Buying decisions, for business related items, like herd bulls, trucks, farm equipment and the like, are seldomimpulse purchases. Unlike retail purchases, these decisions are arrived at months or even years ahead of thepurchase. Advertisers who don’t understand this can make costly advertising mistakes.Bull customers start planning purchases when the first calves are born, or at weaning. Think of your ownsituation. Many of you also start planing your breeding program for the following year almost from the timeyour cows are bred. The chance of an advertiser changing your mind at the last minute is remote.Still, many livestock advertisers believe their advertising should work like retail advertising. If they run an adtoday, they expect results tomorrow. But grocery and department stores stock thousands of items that arepurchased regularly. When retail stores advertise specials in the daily newspaper their main goal is to getcustomers into the store with the hope they will buy additional goods, or at least find that the store is a goodplace to shop regularly.All you have to sell is cattle, and only a relative few at that. You can’t offer bulls at below cost to createtraffic through your place. Your advertising needs to build awareness of your business by making favourable,lasting impressions on potential customers. But even the most memorable advertising impressions fade withtime. That’s why repetition (ad frequency) is so important. Before the potential customer forgets, anotherimpression is needed to re-enforce and build upon the last one.The buying cycle for business to business products is different than the retail buying cycle. From the firstimpression to the actual purchaser of a bull, the cycle is measured in months or years, not days or weeks.Advertisers must take this into account. Marketing Manual 2016

AwarenessLet’s assume your teenage daughter has an important social function next week for which she needs a newoutfit and tomorrow is the day she has set aside to buy those clothes.What will she do first thing in the morning? Grab the newspaper or flip on the television to look for clothingstore ads? Not likely. She will jump into the car and drive directly to the Unique Boutique or some similarplace that she is convinced will have the fashions she wants.Tomorrow morning there is little if anything another clothing store can do to attract your daughter’s businesswhen, credit card in hand, she is ready to shop. This first opportunity to get a customer’s business usuallygoes to the merchant who has established Top-Of-Mind Awareness in individual buyers. Top-Of-MindAwareness should be the goal of your marketing programme.Consider the products you buy, large or small, and you will discover that most of your purchases are theresult of Top-Of-Mind Awareness. Suppose you are repairing the barn and the handle breaks on your onlyhammer, what do you do? Rush into the house to look at hardware store ads? No, you will get into yourvehicle and drive directly to a store and buy a hammer.That’s Top-Of-Mind Awareness. Where you go to buy has been determined long before the need to buyoccurs. From farm equipment to restaurants, you have a favourite dealer or establishment. These are theplaces you think of first and favourably when you need their products or services.The more people you achieve Top-Of-Mind Awareness with, the more people who will give you first chance attheir business. Within your defined market area you want to be recognised as “The Bull Source”. Wheneversomeone thinks of buying a bull you want them to think of you first and favourably.When the urge to buy bulls strikes a cattle producer in your trade territory they won’t reach for a magazineto find the names of nearby breeders. Their minds will already be made up. Will they call you, or yourcompetitor? At that point it’s out of your control. That’s why understanding the buying cycle and the conceptof Top-Of-Mind Awareness is essential to your success. Marketing Manual 2016

Market AreaKnowing the size of your market area and the number of potential customers it includes is essential toplanning a marketing programme. The marketing budget and programme you should use depend uponwhether you will market cattle worldwide, nationwide, statewide or only within a 100km radius of yourfarm or property.Start the process by digging out your sales records for the last three to five years. Get a map and place adot near the location of every buyer of every animal sold. If you are like most producers you will find ashotgun-type dot pattern. Over the years I have done this for individual sales, and state consignment sales.Almost always, the heaviest concentrations of dots will be clustered around the breeder’s location. The dotpattern thins as the distance from the bulls-eye increase.Thin or blank spots in the pattern almost always show up. These identify areas with no potential buyers,areas of heavy competition or areas that are not being adequately reached with advertising and promotion– or some combination of the three. In more populated areas of the country the bulk of a breeder’s buyerswill probably be within a 100 km radius of home. In areas where the carrying capacity of the land is low thecluster of buyers will often be within a 125 to 200 km radius. Even sellers who attract buyers nationwidefind that the majority of their buyers live relatively close to them.Before you decide that the heavy concentration of dots on the map will be your defined market area, dosome more research. First checkout the number of commercial cattle in this area. Then figure four or fivebulls to breed each 100 cows. This will give you an estimate of the number of bulls in service within yourarea. Assume a 25 percent annual bull turnover (or whatever is appropriate to your area of the country) toget the number of new bulls needed in the area each year.Also take into account the competition you face. There are sure to be other breeders and consignmentsales that you must compete with. To get a complete picture mark these competitors on your map, andlist roughly how many bulls they sell. You can’t calculate exactly how all these factors affect your business.But with this information in front of it will be easier to define your primary market area and design yourmarketing plan.Regardless of how large or how small a market area you map out, your advertising and marketing goalis specific: establish awareness, hopefully top-of-mind awareness, of you and your business with a highpercentage of the potential customers in that area. You want every producer within that area to knowabout your business and to at least consider you and your cattle when it’s time to buy bulls.At this point the answer to the often asked question, “Where should I advertise?” becomes more obvious.You should use media that will most efficiently reach all the potential customers within your defined marketarea. If the area is small, weekly or small daily newspapers may be effective. There may be a well-readlocal farm or livestock newspaper that reaches a high percentage of your intended audience. In some areasradio stations might cover the area well. On the other hand direct mail of some kind could be both efficientand effective. Once you’ve checked the circulation and rates of all the media options, and the othermethods of reaching and influencing buyers, you will likely use a balanced combination. Marketing Manual 2016

Market AreaAs the market area enlarges so does the media options. Breeders who want to attract volume bull buyersfrom a distance, or who target other registered producers can often make good use of national beef cattlemagazines. Breed Society publications, or regional breed publications. In some instances various types ofnational publications would be efficient. None of these would be efficient for a 75km radius market area.Many breeders, once they are satisfied that their defined market area is well covered, will reach out withadvertising and promotion beyond the fringe of their sales map. This introduces them to new prospects,and can eventually broaden their sales base. But never do this by taking money from the budget thatproperly covers the designated market area.Every successful business has a good handle on its competition, its customers and potential customers.Defining your market area and understanding the potential customers within it, can save you money, giveyour marketing programme direction and clout, and improve your business. Marketing Manual 2016

Customer FileIndispensable for your marketing tool kit is a customer file. It can be very detailed, or it can be as simpleas maintaining a list of every person whom has bought cattle from you. I recommend as much detail aspossible. The best customer files include the following: ♦ Name, address and telephone number of the person or firm. ♦ Whether customers are members of the breed society. If so use their official membership name as well as individual’s name. ♦ First names of spouse and children, even their birth dates if you are willing send birthday greetings to them. ♦ Name and complete information of the herd manager, if it is different to the owner. ♦ All purchases made from you, along with the date, name of animal and amount paid per head. ♦ Breeding of the bulls purchased to help commercial producers avoid inbreeding. ♦ Directions to the farm or property to help you make deliveries and herd visits. ♦ Detailed information on potential customers and the type of cattle they raise. These can be people you know personally or names gleaned from sales reports.The uses of this kind of file are many. Certainly it is essential for any kind of direct mail program. It makesan instant invitation list to encourage people to visit your farm when you are the host of a field day or whenyou have some other event, like a tour, stopping at your place. You are ready for visitors, so you might aswell invite customers as well.The file tells you when it is time for customers to purchase bulls, and what they are willing to pay, or atleast what they have paid in the past. I have known people who keep each customer on a file card, but thecomputer is the obvious place to store this kind of information. If you do, make sure you print out a listregularly. A computer crash could destroy the permanent file. Most businesses consider their customerrecords to be the most valuable asset they have. They keep updated copies in a safe place.ESTABLISHING A MARKETING BUDGETWithout a marketing budget you are a bit like a man digging a ditch without any notion of how deep it shouldbe. He is never sure when he should stop digging down and start moving toward the goal.Without a marketing budget you may find yourself out of money before you reach your sales goal. There isno firm rule for setting a marketing budget. But here are three ways for you to consider: ♦ Do what others are doing. If it works for them, it may work for you. ♦ Allocate a percentage of your gross sales of registered cattle. ♦ Decide what you need to do and allocate that amount for your budget.More than likely you will use some combination of these three. The important thing is to establish a budgetand invest it wisely. Marketing Manual 2016

Print AdvertisingAlthough it isn’t always apparent to the untrained eye, the best print advertisements are usually made upof five basic components. When properly combined these five components should accomplish five basictasks. Understanding the five components or building blocks of a print advertisement, and the five tasksthat an ad should accomplish will help you create better advertising and evaluate the advertising otherscreate for you.The five basic building blocks of an advertisement are:  Dominant, Attention-Getting Illustration  Headline That Includes A Benefit  Persuasive Body Copy  Consistent Signature (Logo)  Overall Distinctive AppearanceEach ad should accomplish the following five basic tasks:  Grab Reader’s Attention  Arouse Reader’s Interest  Create Desire  Build Conviction  Make Reader Want to ActThe illustration is the most important element in most ads, certainly in most cattle ads. The ad illustrationshould usually show the product, demonstrate how it is used or illustrate the results a buyer will receivefrom purchasing the product. But before it does anything, the ad illustration must grab reader’s attentionand compel them to stop and to learn more, if only to satisfy their curiosity. When it comes to stoppingpeople, we’re talking a matter of seconds, maybe two or less, for readers to decide whether to stop andlearn more, or turn the page. That’s a powerful order for a photograph.Your herd bull may be so unique, and so overpowering compared to his competition that a standard, sideview, posed photo will do the trick. But for most that won’t work. It’s true that a potential customer willwant to see a picture of your bull before he invests in the bulls semen or progeny. However, a smaller,secondary photo might accomplish that task while the attention grabbing work is done with a moreimaginative picture.The headline, like the illustration, should draw attention to what you are selling and create interest. It shouldexpand on the illustration’s promise by telling what the picture is about.Moreover, it should state the most important benefit a customer will receive, ~ more pounds, more dollars,more peace of mind, whatever. A slogan or a trite expression won’t get the job done. Some advertisingexperts work “for days to write the perfect headline. Never short-change the headlines in your ads.”Compelling, persuasive body copy is essential if the illustration and headline do their job. Once your ad hasthe reader’s attention - it’s the job of well-written copy to create desire on the part of the reader to ownthe product or at least learn more about it. This is where you give the sales pitch explaining the featuresand benefits of the cattle you have for sale.Good copy also creates conviction by backing claims with proof. State the facts, spell out your guaranteeand make people want to do business with you. Good copy tells the sales story in a nutshell in a logicalorder. Marketing Manual 2016

Print AdvertisingEach sentence should make the reader want to read the next sentence. In closing, the copy should ask thereader to take some action – telephone for more information, ask for a sale catalogue, stop by for an openhouse next week, come to the sale etc. Too many advertisers assume that the reader will automatically actin a certain way, but that’s seldom the case. Tell them how to do it and make it easy.Part of this final job is handled by the ads signature. Effective ad signatures feature the business logo andinclude the name of the contact person or persons the telephone number, fax number, email and web siteaddress, mailing address, and directions to the farm or property. The herd logo must be attractive ariddistinctive and identify your business at a glance. A professional should design it, and you should use it inevery ad and every promotional piece you produce.These four elements, illustration headline, body copy and signature should be combined in such a way asto create an overall distinctive appearance for the advertisement. You can identify top advertisers simplyby the distinctive appearance of their ads, even before you recognise the illustration, read the headlineor identify the logo. Distinctive appearance in an ad is usually produced by someone who knows how to“combine proportion, colour, type faces and other graphic elements to produce a pleasing, eye-catchingdesign.” Once you have achieved the desired “look” then use it time after time to build recognition for yourbusiness.Study advertising like you study genetics and cattle breeding. Insist that each ad you run contains the fivebasic building blocks and accomplishes the five basic tasks. You’ll be more confident about approving andpaying for advertising and your advertising will return you more money.NB - Internet advertising follows similar principles as Print advertising although there are far more “bells& whistles” which can be added e.g. rotating or intermittent logos, videos etc.The use of social media for advertising is whole new exciting opportunity with new concepts beingdeveloped every week. Marketing Manual 2016

Marketing PlanDEVELOPING YOUR MARKETING PLAN(Examples included to assist you)Step 1. Write your Positioning Statement (10 words or less) We breed balanced performance recorded bulls for commercial breeders supplying the B3 market.Step 2. Write your Slogan “Droughtmaster that feedlots prefer”.Step 3. Describe why customers should purchase from you rather than from your competitors (ie. what isyour “competitive advantage”) ? Well described bulls from a herd with a commercial emphasis. We test our steers in this market and know what it takes to keep females productive and produce steers that grow, marble and are demanded.Step 4. Describe your target customersCurrent (existing) customers: 80% are located with in 200km, 20% in Qld. Most demand performance records. Most are straight breeders using Droughtmaster to breed feeder steers and weaners. Some (20%) buy heifer bulls and some are grass fed heavy yearling steer breeders.Potential (new) Customers: Commercial breeders using other breed bulls wanting to increase feedlot acceptance. Breeders wanting reduced calving problems.Step 5. Define the geographical area of your target market Northern tablelands of NSW and southern Qld. Within 200km of Glen Innes.Step 6. Define your sales goals (short, medium, long term) Short Term – Sell the 18 bulls remaining of this year’s draft Medium Term - Sell 45 bulls next year Long Term – Sell 100 bulls by the year 2010Step 7. List the advertising/promotion options available to you Print media : Local Press, The Queensland Country Life, Droughtmaster Digest Direct mail of newsletter/bull sale information Participation in feeder steer grow-outs and marketing groups Phone call to customers, potential customers Field days Radio advertising Marketing Manual 2016

Marketing PlanStep 8. Determine your annual advertising/promotional budgetSpend up to 7.5% of seedstock gross on advertising promotion. ($7500) Direct mail to past buyers and contacts list twice / year – 2 x 250 people x 45cents = $225 postage, plus $500 production costs. A weekly advert in the local weekly magazine @ $20/week x 52 weeks = $1040 A full page advert in the Droughtmaster Digest @ $750 2 adverts in The Queensland Country Life newspaper @ $335 each = $670 Phone calls 200 @ $3 ea = $600, plus time 100 hours @ $20/hr = $2,000 One annual field day on property – 50 people @ $5 = $250, plus speaker costs $400, plus casual labour $200, plus time 3 days @ $200/day = $600 20 x 30-second radio advertisements to promote field day @ $500 Total - $7,735Step 9. Outline your proposed advertising/promotional schedule Weekly advertisements in the magazine to create top of mind awareness Adverts in the Queensland Country Life and Droughtmaster Digest Field Day in June Direct mail April and June Phone calls to this years buyers Dec-Jan, May Phone calls to potential buyers and others June-JulyStep 10. Define how and when you will evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing plan Discussions with buyers, where did they hear about my cattle? Sale results and advertising budget Revise costs of alternatives next year Marketing Manual 2016

Checklist1. Evaluate your customers. Decide what kind of customers you can serve best. Talk to your customers about what they want of you.2. Evaluate your herd. What are its strengths and weaknesses? Do your cattle fit your customers needs? If not do you need to change your cattle or your customers?3. Write a positioning statement.4. Map out you primary market area.5. Write a slogan that sums up that position.6. Draw up a sales map of the last three years.7. Find out the following information:  How many commercial cows in your district/region?  When do they calve and join?  How many bulls are sold per year?  Who is your competition? Your breed, other breeds you can target.8. Determine when you will sell your cattle and how (auction, private treaty, etc.).9. Establish a budget for your calendar or fiscal year.10. Evaluate all the media available to you to reach potential customers, and the cost of each. Don’t overlook media like direct mail, telephone calls, herd visits, sponsoring tours or field days.11. Make a schedule. Write down where you will advertise and when, and the publishing or broadcast deadlines. Schedule all other events, including sales calls, consignment deadlines etc.12. Follow the schedule.13. Evaluate the program at the end of the year, make changes and improvements and incorporate them in your marketing plan for the coming year.Some questions to ask of your marketing plan…… Why do your current customers buy your product? Why don’t your potential customers buy your product? Do you need to change your product or your marketing (or both) to gain more customers? What sets your product apart from that of your competitors? i.e. How will you differentiate your product? Why should customers choose your product when other competitors in the industry have more-or-less similar offerings? i.e. What is your “competitive advantage”? How do you intend to communicate your “competitive advantage” to your customers? What can you do to add customer value to your product? How do you plan to obtain feedback from your customers on their level of satisfaction with your product? How do you plan to monitor changes in the needs of your customers? Should you focus on a particular customer group & serve them better than anyone else? How do you intend to stay ahead of your competition? Marketing Manual 2016

SeedstockBy Bob Dent and Peter Parnell, Angus Society of AustraliaThe key role of a modern seedstock producer is to multiply “superior” genetic material (not just anygenetic material) which meets the demands of the commercial beef industry.In recent years there has been an increased focus in the beef industry on end-product quality andconsistency. Seedstock producers have the challenge to provide genetic material that results in improvedend-product performance whilst still maintaining high levels of on-farm productivity (via structuralsoundness, fertility, maternal performance, calving east etc.) This can only be achieved by the carefulimplementation of balanced multi-train breeding programmes. To fulfil their role successfully, seedstockproducers must maintain a good understanding the needs of the commercial sector such that they canrapidly respond to changes in the nature of the genetic material required by their customers.While supplying genetics to the commercial beef industry is seen by many seedstock producers as their keyrole, others are simply involved as a social activity, hobby or as a continued family tradition. Even underthese circumstances seedstock production can be a relevant and profitable enterprise.The diagram shown opposite illustrates Balanced Breeding to Target Customer Requirementswhere seedstock producers fit in thestructure of the beef industry. Ideally,  Customer Feedbackseedstock producers should have clearmarket-focused breeding objectives and Beef Consumersbe rewarded in accordance with the extravalue provided to their customers further Market FocussedProcessors along the supply chain. Unfortunately Breeding Objectivesmarket signals are often distorted in the Value Based Marketingcompetitive open market and prices paid Quality Assurancefor individual animals can sometimes bear Finishers / Backgrounderslittle relationship to their true genetic merit.Through the provision of better product Commercial cow-calf description (eg EBVs) and involvement in producersindustry alliance programmes seedstockproducers can improve their changes of Geneticachieving fair financial reward for providing Materialsuperior genetic material. In return, Seedstock producersproducers in the commercial sector expecta high degree of quality assurance andintegrity from their seedstock providers. Marketing Manual 2016

SeedstockBy Bob Dent and Peter Parnell, Angus Society of AustraliaBecome a ‘Full Service Genetic Provider”.Through the use of modern artificial breeding technologies all seedstock breeders potentially have accessto the same global genetic pool. In addition, all breeders can potentially access the same advancedtools for genetic evaluation and for describing their product (eg GROUP BREEDPLAN). Under thesecircumstances it is a major challenge for any individual seedstock producer to obtain a competitive edge.One way of achieving a competitive edge is to provide superior overall service to your customers thanthat provided by your competitors. A Full Service Genetic Provider is “…a seedstock producer who fullyunderstands their customers requirements and supplies the appropriate genetic material to match theserequirements” (Professor Ronnie Green. Colorado State University).Understand your Customers’ PerceptionsHow well you know your customers and their requirements will ultimately determine how successful youare as a seedstock provider. Consequently, it is important to acquaint yourself with your customers so thatyou can offer them more value and serve them more profitably than anyone else. It is also important tobecome acquainted with non-customers who buy seedstock from your competitors. Ask them pointedquestions to determine how they make their purchase decisions. When you understand how they maketheir choices you have a better shot at getting their business in the future.Remember the marketer’s motto: customer perceptions are the market reality. In other words, customerswill base their purchase decisions on what they perceive to be true, not necessarily on what you know tobe the facts. Ideally, these perceptions will lead to a decision making process which results in the purchaseof your seedstock rather than that of your competitors.Many variables influence your customers as they evaluate their choices - not only their perception ofthe quality of your seedstock, but also how they view you as an individual and a breeder. Their decisionwhether to purchase from you rather than from a competitor will be influenced by your reputation in theindustry and the effectiveness of your advertising and promotion programme.Unfortunately, many seedstock producers are viewed by the commercial sector as being irrelevant,dishonest, unaware of commercial pressures and lacking in after sales service. For example, someseedstock producers are simply seen as hobby farmers with little real impact in the commercial industry.Others are perceived to be only interested in today’s sale, offering little follow up service or real interest inhow their bulls perform - at lease, until they are chasing someone to buy next year’s bulls. The perceptionthat many seedstock breeders run over-fat cattle that are rarely subjected to commercial pressures is areal problem. Many commercial breeders want to buy bulls from seedstock providers who run their cattleunder commercial conditions, who don’t pull calves, and who cull cows if they do not go in calf, no matterhow much they are worth.Fortunately, there are also large numbers of seedstock breeders, who are well respected by theircommercial clients. They are seed as knowing how the commercial industry works and are breeding highquality seedstock under commercial conditions. Marketing Manual 2016

SeedstockBy Bob Dent and Peter Parnell, Angus Society of AustraliaYour Responsibilities as a Seedstock Producer.In summary, the responsibilities of seedstock breeders include the following:a. Honesty and integrity. A reputation for honesty and high integrity is the most important attribute for a long-term involvement in the seedstock industry. It is important to record information accurately. Don’t guess or make false claims about the performance of your animals.b. After-sales service. If you want to stay in business, look after your customers. Follow up on the performance of your cattle and monitor the degree of satisfaction of your customers. Provide a fair guarantee of the fertility and soundness of your product. Decide how you are going to handle bull breakdowns - if you are in business long enough, you will get some. Complete the paperwork to transfer the animal with your Breed Society to it’s new owner.c. Provide accurate product description. This includes both pedigree and performance information (eg. EBVs) Take the time to understand how BREEDPLAN works and be prepared to explain to your customers how to interpret EBVs, accuracies etc.d. Quality Assurance. Use an outside person to assist with animal assessment. Cull animals with unacceptable structure or fertility. Don’t try to pass them on to someone else. If they are not good enough for you to use, they should not be presented to your clients.Essentially, as a seedstock producer you are providing your customers with a “promise” regarding thequality of your product. Unless your customers are satisfied that this “promise” is kept (i.e. via subsequentprogeny performance) you are not likely to obtain their repeat business. In addition, your customers willexpect that your “promise” will include a guarantee of the soundness and fertility of your seedstock. Marketing Manual 2016

Successful Selling “Customers don’t care how much you know…… until they know how much you care!”Rule 1 Build rapport, greet the customer and offer service.Rule 2 Put the Customer first……always!Rule 3 Put your self-interest on hold and build trust.Rule 4 Ask questions, listen carefully and don’t interrupt.Rule 5 Service is the greatest sales tool. Don’t say no until you have thought it through.Rule 6 Help the customer achieve their goals through your service.Rule 7 Treat everyone like a customer, young, old, big, small.Rule 8 Create a positive environment for your customer and watch your body language.Rule 9 Show the product to its best advantage and do a demonstration.Rule 10 Get the customer involved.Rule 11 Let the customer have an out if you feel a need or uncertainty.Rule 12 Treat objections as inquiries.Rule 13 Treat men and women equally but not the same.Rule 14 Do unto others as you would have others do unto you and be wrong 75% of the time. Everyone is different.Rule 15 Remember AIDCA (the skeleton of the sale)…….. Attention - get the prospect’s favourable attention. Interest - talk in their terms not yours. Desire - use emotion, wants are greater than need. Conviction - help them weigh value vs price. Action - ask for the business every time.Rule 16 Always leave the door open if you can’t close it.Rule 17 Define your USP (unique selling point).Rule 18 Thank the customer for their business.Rule 19 Follow-up and ask for feedback and referrals.Rule 20 Everything you do is selling…go for it. Marketing Manual 2016

WorksheetStep 1. Write your Positioning Statement (10 words or less)Step 2. Write your SloganStep 3. Describe why customers should purchase from you rather than from your competitors (ie. What isyou “competitive advantage”?)Step 4. Describe you target customersCurrent (existing) CustomerPotential (new) Customers: Marketing Manual 2016

WorksheetStep 5. Define the geographical area of your target marketStep 6. Define your sales goals (short, medium, long term)Step 7. List the advertising/promotion options available to youStep 8. Determine your annual advertising/promotional budgetStep 9. Outline your proposed advertising/promotional scheduleStep 10. Define how and when you will evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing plan “There is no finish line” Nike, Inc Marketing Manual 2016