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Off The Wall Marketing Of Nursery Stock
By William J. Hirst
Off The Wall Marketing Of Nursery Stock
By William J. Hirst
Being different is the best way to market our nursery stock. We like to use our dormant stock in our adds to attract customers.This is our story.I once put an add in the paper that said, "If it free its for me". I had to stop the add because I collected so much stuff. Adds do work. The problem with this add was it was not specific enough to target what I was looking for. Over time and years I then started to swap and barter the free stuff that I got for things I really wanted. I had hundreds of broken lawn mowers and hundreds of gallons of old unwanted paint. I had enough paint to dip a house if needed. Disposal now became an issue. Thus I came up with the idea of trading and barter.
Now I did not invent this wheel but I had enough of them that it appeared I might have. So barter has become a means of swapping and exchanging my surpluses for other peoples surpluses. Since I am in the nursery business I also have plants that are surplus. I may plant 1000 trees expecting to need 1000 and find that I have 500 more than what I need. So offering these trees on the web for Barter has an effective means to move dormant inventory. Besides this is a great way to meet new customers. When they have surpluses and I can move their dormant stock, we both win.
Here is a sample add that I run on my web site seedlingsrus.com :
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Trades Wanted
We are always looking to trade nursery stock and seedlings for your surplus. Email us with your surplus materials. We may be able to make trades.
Construction materials and equipment
Plumbing supplies
Hunting and fishing gear and items
Hand tools
Farm implements
Farm supplies
Fencing materials
Palletizied stone
Household items
Livestock
Sometimes people take me up on my offers to trade trees and shrubs for their products. One such person is Ralph. Ralph has a farm in Ohio and raises a variety of farm animals and draft horses. He asked if I would be interested in trading trees and plants for his pigs, a Boarder Collie puppy, or his sheep. Not baaaad I thought. Never really trusting myself with sheep, I opted for the puppy and some piglets. Here is what Ralph said after our trade.....
Bill and Marjorie,
Thank you for a great time, the landscape stuff, some great conversation and for having faith in 2 people that you've never met.Your boys are real gentlemen and good guys to be around. You must be proud. Your operation is top shelf. Thank you for taking me up on my proposal and our barter deal, you were more than fair.We wish you continued success in all your endeavors.. you are honest gutsy people... I like that! Thank you for letting us get to know you. Stay in touch.Thanks again for everything,Ralph & Connie
**********************************************************************
As you can see I identify what I want to trade for and ask for items that fit into our operations. I like to include a testimonial as it gives a link that can be verified as to the realness of my trading. I also have a newsletter that I post to my email letter so each month I can tell people what I just traded for. Here is part of my most recent email newsletter:
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During this month of January we are offering a 10% discount on our gift cards and coupons.
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Cobra GPSM3080 Plug-Go GPS Navigation System. - $915.70
Features Automatic route navigation 2 million Points-of-Interest Automatic re-routing iA.S.A.P. Gyroscope keeps you on the map in tunnels and underpasses where satellite signals are lost North American street-level detail map of the 48 contiguous United States, Hawaii and major metropolitan areas of Canada 5.2-in, high-resolution color display Automatic brightness control Instant transfer of addresses Odometer, trip timers, speedometer, and more Trip Planner allows you to pre-program up to 10 destinations in each plan Trail Mode SmartPower allows you to go off-roading and mark your favorite waypoints for future return Compass.
We help make your gift bigger. Don't forget that we will also trade for your surplus inventory,building materials, sports equipment, plumbing and ag equipment. We need all kinds of materials on our farms and ranches. You can't insult me with your offers, so go ahead...call us.....This is how we just got our dog Sweep...a Boarder Collie.....2 pigs....boxes of old tools......a John Deer riding tractor......a bunch of used but in new condition windows and doors....a couple of buckets of nuts, bolts, and nails (some bent but that's ok) and a even a hind quarter of a fresh road kill deer!!
********************************************************************
This awakens people to the fact that I mean it, I want to trade.....You can see more of my ideas at my web page HTTP://www.seedlingsrus.com
Now I did not invent this wheel but I had enough of them that it appeared I might have. So barter has become a means of swapping and exchanging my surpluses for other peoples surpluses. Since I am in the nursery business I also have plants that are surplus. I may plant 1000 trees expecting to need 1000 and find that I have 500 more than what I need. So offering these trees on the web for Barter has an effective means to move dormant inventory. Besides this is a great way to meet new customers. When they have surpluses and I can move their dormant stock, we both win.
Here is a sample add that I run on my web site seedlingsrus.com :
**********************************************************************
Trades Wanted
We are always looking to trade nursery stock and seedlings for your surplus. Email us with your surplus materials. We may be able to make trades.
Construction materials and equipment
Plumbing supplies
Hunting and fishing gear and items
Hand tools
Farm implements
Farm supplies
Fencing materials
Palletizied stone
Household items
Livestock
Sometimes people take me up on my offers to trade trees and shrubs for their products. One such person is Ralph. Ralph has a farm in Ohio and raises a variety of farm animals and draft horses. He asked if I would be interested in trading trees and plants for his pigs, a Boarder Collie puppy, or his sheep. Not baaaad I thought. Never really trusting myself with sheep, I opted for the puppy and some piglets. Here is what Ralph said after our trade.....
Bill and Marjorie,
Thank you for a great time, the landscape stuff, some great conversation and for having faith in 2 people that you've never met.Your boys are real gentlemen and good guys to be around. You must be proud. Your operation is top shelf. Thank you for taking me up on my proposal and our barter deal, you were more than fair.We wish you continued success in all your endeavors.. you are honest gutsy people... I like that! Thank you for letting us get to know you. Stay in touch.Thanks again for everything,Ralph & Connie
**********************************************************************
As you can see I identify what I want to trade for and ask for items that fit into our operations. I like to include a testimonial as it gives a link that can be verified as to the realness of my trading. I also have a newsletter that I post to my email letter so each month I can tell people what I just traded for. Here is part of my most recent email newsletter:
*********************************************************************
During this month of January we are offering a 10% discount on our gift cards and coupons. We help make your gift bigger. Don't forget that we will also trade for your surplus inventory,building materials, sports equipment, plumbing and ag equipment. We need all kinds of materials on our farms and ranches. You can't insult me with your offers, so go ahead...call us.....This is how we just got our dog Sweep...a Boarder Collie.....2 pigs....boxes of old tools......a John Deer riding tractor......a bunch of used but in new condition windows and doors....a couple of buckets of nuts, bolts, and nails (some bent but that's ok) and a even a hind quarter of a fresh road kill deer!!
********************************************************************
This awakens people to the fact that I mean it, I want to trade.....You can see more of my ideas at my web page HTTP://www.seedlingsrus.com
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