RECAP: Illinois Specialty Crop Conference

We love attending conferences where we can greet existing customers and meet new customers! Two team members --- Madison and Tyler --- attended the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference. If you were there I hope you met them but if you could not attend, here is a recap (including notes from Madison and Tyler!):

The conference was held in Springfield, Illinois, a city studded with colonial style architecture and precious brick houses. The capitol building was stunning, and visible from anywhere in the city. Team members said everyone was exceedingly friendly!

The conference itself covered a wide range of information for the specialty crop grower! Breakout sessions were highly specialized, with a few broader topics revolving around building a brand and incorporating efficiency into their work habits. 

Besides plentiful conversations with Farmers at the Barn2Door booth, we encourage Barn2Door team members to attend the sessions, as there is so much to learn and appreciate about sustainable practices and Farmers. Here are a few of the take-aways:

Session: Your Brand: It’s More than Just a Logo

Speaker: Kelly Gagnon

Takeaways:

• Your brand isn’t just about your product but about you, your Farm and what sets you apart.

• Your brand should be a beautiful visual experience and customers need to ‘feel’ connected to you. Must be professional, helps you retain customers.

• Your brand should include: consistency, tagline, mission, tone, only 3 colors and no more than 3 fonts, beautiful photos.

• It takes 10 touches or pieces of information before new customers decide to buy.

Session: Adventures in Delegating

Speaker: Hugh McPherson

Takeaways:

• There is a right way and a wrong way to delegate. Delegating is the act of empowering another to do a job 

• Approach not as a Job but as your Business. Need to delegate to save time and be efficient. Expect work upfront to setup processes, automation and solutions that will ultimately save you time

• Automate as much as you can with machines, computers, software (including taxes, social posting, payroll, schedules)

• Delegate Repetitive Tasks: cleaning, pruning, irrigation moves, tax forms, delivery reminders, invoice reminders

• Delegate Goal-Oriented Tasks with repeatable actions: social media posting, newsletter templates, events, promotions

• Delegation Musts: train someone, give clear instructions, expected outcome, deadline; answer questions with questions and praise completion!

What Madi & Tyler had to say:

“It was great to meet the many different farmers that attended! [We learned about]  what they grow, and how passionate they are about reaching their customers!”

“ It wasn’t all business talk --- we got to hear about their family, their travels, all kinds of different stories! We love building relationships that go above and beyond ‘business’.”