SAMPLES TO POTENTIAL BUYERS HINTS AND TIPS

SAMPLESTOPOTENTIALBUYERS

HINTSANDTIPS

BUYFRESHBUYLOCALSOUTHERNWISCONSIN

APROJECTOFREAPFOODGROUP

BFBL@REAPFOODGROUP.ORG

Droppingoffsampleswithapotentialbuyeristhekeypartofgettinginthedoortomanyrestaurants.Thiswillgrabtheirattentionandinduecourseshowsoffthevalueofyourproduct.Althoughitcanbeexpensivetothefarmer,hereareafewwaystomaximizeyoursuccesswitheachdrop.

• Beforedroppingoffsamples,reviewthemenuoftherestaurant.Determinewhatproductsofyourswillbestfitwiththerestaurantspreparationcapabilitiesandneeds.Then,sellyourproduct.Makeapointtoexplainwhyyourproductisbetterordifferentthantheirnon‐localcounterpart.

• Supplytherestaurantwithyourextras.Ifyoucan’tsellthematmarketorincludetheminyourweek’sCSA,offerthemtochefs.

• Includeenoughinformationwithyoursamplessothebuyerknowsthenextsteptotakeforpurchasing.Thisincludes:pricesheets,contactinformation,besttimetocallandadeliveryschedule.(Note:recipesarealsohelpfulifyourproductisunusual).

• Keeptrackofyoursamples!Youmayidentifytrendsorusethemfortaxpurposes.Droppingoffaninvoicewith“complimentary”writtenatthebottommaybeaneasywaytoaccomplishthis.

Sealingthedealwitharestaurantorchefisoftenthehardeststep.Chefsandrestaurantmanagersarebombardeddailywithsales‐peoplecallingabouteverythingfrombankingtolinens.Withoutateamofsalesrepresentatives,smallbusinessowners(andfarmers)struggletogettheirproductsold.Hereareafewhintsandtipstosolvingthisreoccurringproblem.

• Establisha“follow‐up”immediatelyafterorduringyourinitialmeetingwithacheforrestaurantmanager.Thiscanbedonethroughe‐mail,phoneorin‐person.Reminder:itmaytaketimeuntilthechefactuallygetsaroundtopreparingorsamplingyourproduct.

• Notsurewhattosaywhenyoucall?Mostbuyerswillsincerelyappreciateyourto‐the‐pointapproachandrespondtruthfully.Ifyouaskthemdirectly,“ShouldIassumeyouarenotinterestedinpurchasingmyproduct,”willhelpyouandthepotentialbuyerbothsavetime.Gaugeyourbuyers!

• Beconsiderateandpatient!