To Boost Prices, Sell Yourself!

To Boost Prices Sell Yourself! COMPUTERS Set a profitable price find customers who will pay it and then build a relationship with them advises Charlotte Smith market guru for thousands of small farmers Smith got into business when she started Champoeg Creamery with 3 cows selling raw milk Knowing what to charge and doing so made it possible for Smith to expand to 75 acres and achieve yearly sales of 40 hogs 30 beef cattle and 1 000 chickens plus turkeys at Thanksgiving   “Farmers would come to me and asked why they were selling at half the price I did and I had a waiting list I realized no one with a farming background was teaching farmers how to sell direct to consumers ” Smith spent 2014 putting together 3 Cow Marketing an online marketing program that she updates yearly She also goes to conferences to speak and puts on workshops In 2017 she published a book “Farm Marketing from the Heart ” A key component of the course and her work includes social media and how to use it to sell products She also uses it to stay in touch with her students sending emails posting to Facebook and to Instagram “The signature course is 5 weeks where we meet in a private Facebook group with training on video ” says Smith It doesn’t end there Smith’s Facebook page is filled with exchanges between her and students as well the other 4 700 group members She also offers 4 introductory courses at no cost with sign up on the website They are full of valuable information on true costs profitable pricing and promotion Profitable pricing is key It’s why she charges her customers $30 per gallon for her raw milk “My price is based on costs a fair wage and taxes ” says Smith “I’ve been in business for 10 years while others who don’t charge close to what I do close their doors in a year Our customers can find milk for half what we charge but they come back because mine is cleaner and tastes better and I’m still in business ” Smith knows the personal cost of not making it farming While in high school she watched her family farm go bankrupt Years later she brought that experience to her own farming operation building a business based on customer relationships “What I teach is that there is no competition when you market based on relationships ” says Smith Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Charlotte Smith Champoeg Creamery 7798 Champoeg Rd NE St Paul Ore 97137 ph 503 860-6286; www champoegcreamery com; www 3cowmarketing com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.