Why All the Sales Lists in the World Aren’t Enough to Sell
Photo by Angela at Farmers of the Future
Each day there are more and more places for alpaca breeders to list their sales animals. Alpaca Nation and Alpaca Street come to mind immediately. There are new, up and coming alpaca sites as well. Alpaca Market and Alpaca Classified (both Yahoo groups) are good place to post animals and other things for sale. Many AOBA regional affiliate sites also have Sales Lists on their web sites.
Occasionally a Buyer picks out an alpaca over the internet and buys him or her. But this is rare. How often does this happen to you? In this economy?
People may shop around on the internet, and we do need to have our animals on some sales lists. Don’t get me wrong. But what sells people is the relationship they will have with you. This is actually good news. Why? Because sales lists are targeted to a mass audience. The costs can add up. The scope too broad and too impersonal.
What really matters is the relationship – and it doesn’t cost you a dime. You can develop relationships with a few people and sell alpacas to them. Unless you are a large farm (and most alpaca breeders do not have large farms), you will probably not need to sell that many alpacas each year. You don’t need a mass audience. Only a few people who are a good fit for you and your farm.
Focusing on grass roots marketing and word of mouth will be more effective than a simple sales list. Having an Open House, passing out your business cards, and following up with your qualified leads can all lead to sales.
Many times I have heard from customers, “You are the only one who called me back.” Be the one who calls back your farm visitors, the people who sign your guest book. Get to know your prospects. They will need to know and trust you to hand over the kind of money alpacas command.
Sales Lists are necessary, but not sufficient. Pick up the phone and call a prospective alpaca breeder today. Build the relationship and the sales will follow.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:36 am
I totally agree! Getting to know your customers and having them trust you is the best way to sell anything, but especially alpacas, where an ongoing relationship with the people you purchased from is desirable. We haven’t purchased our alpacas yet but we are visiting alpaca breeders near where we want to live and hope to be able to learn from them as we go.
I think it’s good to get on lists just to get your name out there so if someone in your area is wanting to buy, they will know where to go, but other than that, buying books off the internet is one thing, but not alpacas.
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