Team Alpha 375

AgriCULTURE
by: Todd Gash

When most people picture a farmer, a few classic images come to mind: A tractor, pitchfork, overalls, or perhaps a John Deere hat with a smudge of grease on the brim. When I picture a farmer, however, I think of $500 Hart Schaffner Marx suits.

I grew up in a small farming community in rural Kentucky where my family owned a clothing store for over fifty years. These were the days before Wal-Mart had permeated every nook and cranny of the American landscape and teenagers actually wore pants with belt loops…and used them. Every day after school I would work in my parents clothing store. We were not a specialty store like you find in most shopping centers today; we were a necessity store. If you needed socks, we had them. New school clothes? We were the place to shop. If you needed a pair of blue jeans, work boots, or a dress shirt, you came to our store. Even when it came time to rent those tuxes for prom (think baby blue…remember we are talking the '80s here) we had them! We also sold Hart Schaffner Marx five hundred dollar suits. WHAT?? Five-hundred-dollar suits to a bunch of dirt-under-their-fingernails farmers? Yep.

In my town, like many small towns across America, suits were worn on two occasions -- to church and funerals. That meant that one well-made suit could last longer than most of their pickup trucks. And for some it meant they would probably be buried in them. The people in our community appreciated value and were willing to spend money on something if it was necessary and would last. When one of our customers decided it was time for a suit, I would show the selection of dark blue, gray, or black suits and would then lay out a selection of ties on the table for them to choose from. I would then sell them dress socks, shoes, and the occasional set of cuff links and a pocket square. Since most of our customers knew our store and our family, they knew that we were selling them what was needed. I was good at matching ties to suits and they began to trust my judgment. We made a lot of money selling expensive suits to farmers and others in the community. (The real challenge was getting them to not wear their work boots with the suit.)

So, how can you sell a $500.00 suit to a farmer?

1. BECOME A RESOURCE FOR YOUR CUSTOMER. We understood the needs of our community. There was no reason to shop anywhere else. When you are intimately connected to your customer base, you can anticipate needs and establish trust.

2. CREATE A BUYING ATMOSPHERE, NOT A SELLING ONE. On any particular day, you would find a handful of men and women standing around our store talking, sharing news or gossip, and drinking coffee. Not once did anyone ask them if they were going to buy. We knew that they were going to buy…when they were ready.

3. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE YOUR CUSTOMERS. Never prejudge the buying motives of your customers. Prove value and customers will buy.

It just goes to show you that it does not matter who your customer base is, as long as you are giving them what they want. Build those relationships, be trustworthy, and add value -- and they will become a loyal consumer. So what are you doing for your customers?