Marketing Aquaculture Products — 1

questions, statements, and body language also
present subtle clues that can invaluably guide
you in your dealings with this client. Remember,
you are not selling a product, but a solution
to your client’s problem.
Follow up the meeting by comprehensively
writing your note set. Th en prepare a simple
and professional memo that can be sent after
your meeting. Your goals here are to: 1)
Hi-light the major points of your proposal
covered during your presentation. 2) Avoid any
misconstrued implications (pricing, quantity,
regularity of delivery). 3) Put an off er on paper
and in the hands of your client who can share
the document with other decision makers. 4)
Generate an order.
People prefer to buy from people they like, and
fi nd reasons not to buy from those who make
them uncomfortable. Personalize the relationship
if possible. Learn about the buyer’s family
(this should be in your note set). If it is a small
customer, treat them like a large one; great
businesses see every customer as an important
customer. Respecting their business generates
respect for yours. Stay positive, even in bad
economic times. Your enthusiasm, if genuine,
will translate into goodwill and into orders.
Your enthusiasm for your area of business,
delivering quality product and your buyer’s
situation in the value-supply-chain will be communicated
to your buyer or customer through
your attention to their needs and delivery of the
highest-quality product. Th is goes a long way
toward making you a valued supplier.
Besides sales calls, it also is important to
network to grow your business. Some people
are put off by the idea of networking, because
they think it means insincerely running about
tooting your own horn. Th is is far from what
good networking implies. Networking means
going to events where you can interact with
other entrepreneurs and business professionals.
It can be within the world of aquaculture, the
local business community, or perhaps a state or
regional business-development event.
24 — Marketing Aquaculture Products
As a good networker, you should be sincere,
supportive and a good listener, ask questions
and don’t be put off by frank responses. Most
of the people you meet will be interested in
helping you to succeed. Th is is more than just
meeting people. Before you attend the event,
plan to meet people and talk with people about
specifi c areas on which you need to obtain contacts
or specifi c information. Th ink about your
business’s image and have adequate business
cards and handouts to give to good contacts.
You may want to consider which business organizations
could benefi t from knowing about
you and your operation. Some authorities say
that you should always attend the networking
events where your best potential contacts or
customers may go to network and include those
meetings in a formal plan. Th is plan is a list
of meetings, the intended type of contacts you
would like to make and a consideration of your
potential involvement with the organization
(and time commitment) as a volunteer or offi
cer. Of course, consider sponsoring the event
and providing product for the luncheon. You
may even want to host one of the meetings at
your facility or include a tour as a fi eld-trip for
larger event. In either case, have product literature
on hand, product available for sampling,
direct purchase, and for orders. For example,
in our area where there is a regional community
college with an internationally renowned
chefs program. An invaluable networking
opportunity would be to talk with the head of
the program, and become affi liated with them,
either through supporting their program with
some product, or presenting about aquaculture