Horse Owner: “Have you found any
prospects to buy my horse?”
Professional Horseman: “I called everyone
on my prospect list and in my network over a month
ago and told them about your horse for sale. I have
had no call backs.”
Horse Show Organizer: “We didn’t see
anyone from your barn at our horse show over the
weekend. We were counting on entries from your
place for a successful show like we talked about
earlier.”
Professional Horseman: “I don’t know
why, I
told everyone to look at the show flyer when I
posted it on the bulletin board over a month ago.”
Horse Owner: “I didn’t come to your clinic
last week because I didn’t know how I would
benefit. Kathy told me all about what she learned
and I now really feel left out.”
Professional Horseman: “That is the third
time we’ve done that clinic; we thought everybody
knew what would be covered; sorry.”
Selling in the horse business, just like all other
business, is more than an announcement; it’s a
process.
Unlike selling a hot dog at an opening game of the
baseball season, selling in the equine world requires a
planned effort to create attention,
interest,
desire and action on the part of the buyer.
Buyers of horses, tack, lessons, training and boarding
services are distracted with choices. And when too
many choices and a lack of information and
confidence gang up on the buyer, he always makes
the safe choice. The safe choice is always to do
nothing.
As an example, assume you have a horse for sale and
have advertised in print, and told people around the
barn. You may assume that you’ve told the world
you have a horse for sale and that alone will bring
about the sale.
This is a fine method for selling about ten percent of
all horses. The problem is that 90 percent of the
time it’s not enough. Not even close to being enough.
You will want to expand your thinking to include
these tools:
- A 3 minute video
- A printed for sale flyer with a color photo(s) of
the horse
- An electronic version of the flyer than can be e-
mailed
- A list of show results
- A testimonial of the horse's qualities and
potentials by a rider or owner
- A pedigree and history of where the horse has
been
- And more
Actions that can be taken with these tools:
- Snail mail and e-mail flyers to all potential buyers
and agents in your network.
- Have videos prepared and ready to send
immediately.
- Personally call professional horsemen in your
network to follow up on the flyer information and
explain your commission plan.
- Ask for names of others who may be interested in
similar horses.
- Follow up immediately on all expressed interests
without pre-judging buyer.
- Call everyone again after four weeks to remind
them about the horse and availability.
No, telling isn’t selling. Telling is just the start to a
process of closing a sale. Make the effort of learning
and using good salesmanship to close more sales and
get more referrals.
