If there was any legacy that my grandfather left me beside the land he farmed, it was the drive to accomodate the tastes of the customer. My grandfather was a quiet man and not one who you would think of when it came to salesmanship. But grandpop was very studious in the ways of finding a product or products that would sell and then giving it maximum treatment when it came time to sell it.
In the 1940s there was a boom in the fresh egg and chicken business. All over New Jersey farmers were putting up chicken houses and selling fresh eggs by the millions. South Jersey was by far the biggest advocate of this market; Vineland was so famous its high school was nicknamed the Poultry Clan for many years.
My grandfather was right there when it was all happening. There is one vignette that I like to point out with pride that summed up Grandpop's understanding of salesmanship. First, he built the cinder block chicken coops by himself. Then he ran the operation literally by himself with help from Grandmom who collected the eggs and helped sort and grade them. Then he delivered them himself in his Chevy panel truck.
By 1950, Grandpop had made a good enough dollar to tear down the old farmhouse and build a new one, tear down an old wooden barn and build a new concrete block garage and buy a new car. By the way, he borrowed money from the local bank and paid it back within a year and a half to do it!
Anyway, some of the other family members saw Grandpop's success in the chicken business and decided that they would grab a golden goose for themselves. However, they didn't achieve the same success in the business as Grandpop and it was because of one reason - Grandpop worked hard from sun up to sun down on his operation that started with taking care of the chickens themselves to taking care of his customers. Its those small intangibles and details that make all of the difference.
When Dad and I started the tailgate market business of Spinella Farm, I had all of this in the back of my mind. Not only had I seen it but one summer it was just Grandpop and I on the tomato route to South Philadelphia and he showed me a lot of the ropes. Things like making sure that you bring the tomatoes not only to the doorstep but into the house or basement if need be. Say hello, good morning or have a nice day. Present a basket full of tomatoes that looked good and full in a clean wooden basket. And, what I think is most important, is always treat the customer as if he or she is always right. Grandpop also dressed appropriately in a khaki shirt and matching khaki pants with clean shoes.
Tailgate markets are a wonderful throw back to a time when people shopped almost every day for their food to not only get it fresh but also because they took (and had) the time to make a good meal for every dinner or supper.
In my opinion, when a shopper is at your booth, you want them to feel as if what you have to offer is the best thing they've ever had. While presentation of the vegetables is important, how they taste is even more important. Knowing your product and selling the virtues of that product to a customer who has never tried it and is "on the fence" as far as a decision on whether to buy or not sometimes means I discount or give them the product to show them that I feel my product is superior to any other in the market or at the super market. I'm betting that they will like it so much that they will be back for more and willing to pay a good price. This has happened more than once so I must be on to something.
I would have to say that the wild card for us in the tailgate markets are not the vegetables or the way the stand looks. It is the way we treat people. This came to me early on. It was the first year at the Burlington County farmers market that I noticed that people are more receptive if you get out front and welcome them to your stand. If you see them again, you cultivate a personal relationship and talk to them about whatever is associated with that relationship - family, sports or hobbies. This part of the salesmanship is what has made the difference for us at both our Moorestown and Margate markets. I love it when other vendors sit or stand behind their tables and wait for the customer to engage them rather than vice-versa. That means I have a better shot at selling stuff.
I still use something else that Grandpop taught me. If someone else can make or grow it better than you, then go ahead and sell their product to supplement yours. This philosophy has saved us time and money and made us money at our tailgate markets. In our neck of the woods, we still have a lot of active farms. All of them are on the large commercial scale. This means that they are growing vegetables that are widely used such as corn, peppers and tomatoes. Knowing this means two things - why should I grow it on a smaller scale with less manpower and it allows me to find a niche that I can handle and that people can't get anywhere else. Hence we buy those popular vegetables and grow ones that the big farmers are not growing.
That's how we got into the heirloom fruit and vegetable business. Tomorrow I'll talk about how finding our niche is so important for our little farm.
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