According to the latest news letter from Equestrian Professionals in an article, "Selling Horses in a Changed Market," Elisabeth McMillan has several tips for horse owners that need or want to sell a horse.
Tips for selling your horse
Many horse professionals are successfully using social media to educate, inspire and bring new customers into their barns.
"With the lingering effects of the recession and ongoing global financial crisis, we often get asked how horse professionals are fairing. A common question is: Are horse sales picking up?
The short answer is, it depends on who you talk to. The longer and more interesting answer is, horse sales are picking up for the professionals who have successfully adapted to the current economic climate.
Which brings us to a more complex question. What are they doing that's working? The answer: A lot of different things! However, there are some common threads.
1. They identify "holes" in the market and figure out how to fill them.
By addressing the marketplace from the customer's point of view, horse professionals who are selling horses despite the economy focus their energy on producing horses, events or services that fill existing needs. Many business owners (both mainstream and in the equestrian community) think about what they have to offer (whether it be horses, their skill set or their facility) first, then try to find or develop a market to purchase it. This approach, while common, generally proves to be much more expensive and far less effective.
2. They cast a wider net.
Those who are succeeding are realistic about the marketplace. Sales are slower in this economy. In order to compensate for slow turnover, more leads must be developed so that lead-to-sale conversion rates stay constant. This means that marketing typically must be extended to a larger demographic. Sometimes this extension must occur both in the geographic area and economic profile. It can also include reaching across riding disciplines and breeds. For example: Teaching a "dressage horse" to jump so that it is saleable in more markets i.e. hunter/jumper and eventing. Or, making a reining or cutting horse that is great in the arena, trail safe for an amateur rider who wants to do a variety of activities.
3. They are not afraid to initiate change.
Clearly, there are more horses than customers. So how do we change that? This is perhaps the most exciting thing we've witnessed. Our surveys have shown that many horse professionals are successfully using social media to educate, inspire and bring new customers into their barns. Then, there are those who are taking things a step further. They are creating the very events and programs they and their fellow horse business owners need to bring in more customers."
Members and Future Members of Equestrian Professionals
One of the most important benefits of being a member of EP is that we understand how different the horse business is from mainstream businesses. Our members gain access to a proven system and collection of tools and resources specifically for professional equestrians that help you to unify your equestrian career and business goals so that you are able to build both a successful career and a profitable business.