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MARKETING MINIATURE CATTLE
A SHORT COURSE
BY PROFESSOR RICHARD GRADWOHL

I taught marketing, advertising and salesmanship for over 27 years. During this period I wrote lots of articles and developed quite a few new theories. It was always fascinating to bounce some of these new ideas and concepts off my students. We would get into great discussions. It was delightful to find out how smart they really were when given the chance to think on their own. You'd be surprised to learn how many times they were right and I was not. It was humbling but somehow I survived. A lot of these past students have gone into careers in the fields of marketing, advertising and sales. I see some of them from time to time and it's enjoyable to listen to them telling me how they have applied the knowledge they acquired in my class

I have always been bored by articles and books that described markets for products. It seemed like a no brainer. The essence of any marketing or selling effort is to discover the reasons why a person might buy your particular product. If you can figure this out you can find the markets and stimulate buying decisions. The truth of the matter is "nothing happens until something is sold". You might want to reread the sentence and lit it sink in "nothing happens until something is sold". How then do you sell miniature cattle? Or put another way why do people buy miniature cattle? Let's list some of the potential reasons. I will call these reasons "miniature cattle product features."

More Docile Unique Investment Opportunity Status Symbol People will Ask Questions Attention Getter Ownership Prestige Fun Ego Massage

A Pet Because They Are Small Easier To Handle Less Manure Tender Meat Mini Milker Easier On The Pasture And Fences Lawn Mower One Steer Fits In The Freezer Great for Kids

We could add more reasons to this list but for now please observe that this "miniature cattle features list" does not contain the item "because they are cattle". People don't buy products they buy into what a product does for them or will do for them. No two buyers are the same so how do you discover why a particular person might want to buy your particular product. You ask questions and listen!!! Asking questions leads you to the buying triggers you need to find to facilitate a sale. The simple question "why are you interested in miniature cattle" will give you the guidance you need to direct the conversation. All products have product features but not all features are of interest to all buyers. You need to discuss with a particular buyer the miniature cattle product features that are of his/her interest, other wise you're just wasting yours and their time. You might as well talk about the time of day or the weather. A lot of sales have been lost talking about the weather.

There are five buying decisions that all persons must make before the decision to buy a product can take place. They are need decision, product decision, source decision, price decision, and time decision. It's interesting to note that these are listed in the order of importance with the need decision at the top. Product features stimulate our emotions which in turn cause us to make our five buying decisions. Most of our buying decisions are surrounded by several emotions, because we anticipate experiencing a higher lever of satisfaction or gratification than alternative choices we might make. For instance, do I want a miniature cattle or an Alpace or Llama? If miniature cattle have features that are more appealing in terms of anticipated levels of satisfaction then this can result in the decision to buy miniature cattle. If, however product features are not desirable enough we will pass. What you are really looking for are those potential buyers that have those needs that your product features are designed to fill. Your goal is to match the two and you can achieve this goat a lot faster by asking questions, and listening. Listening is a key element here. If you talk too much you can talk yourself right out of a sale. You might ask yourself, "Why did I buy miniature cattle?"

A need is simply a prolonged want. Product features create wants based on such things a convenience, price, utility and superior satisfaction. Selling miniature cattle is really no different than selling any other product or service. It's a matter of knowing your product features (product knowledge) and showing a potential customer that your product will be more satisfying than other choices. You must remember that you are the source of the product. Unless you have complete command of your product features and, of what your customer wants are, that source decision can go against you. Have you ever had the experience of talking to a salesperson that knows little about the product you were trying to buy. Disappointing wasn't it. When it happens to me I walk away.

Happy Question Asking!! Next Article "Finding Customers(Prospecting)".