When it comes to kids, parents are usually not afraid to spend a little extra money to invest in their activities. Parents will spend money on sports camps, dance clinics, traveling ball leagues and personal trainers and coaches. And that is just the beginning. There are still participation fees, uniforms, equipment, lodging, travel and meals.<\/p>\n
Showing livestock is no different \u2013 you have the initial investment of the animals, nutrition and health protocols to follow, bedding, equipment and fitting supplies not to mention entry fees and lodging, travel and meals.<\/p>\n
But once you\u2019ve made that initial investment in your livestock project, don\u2019t you want to make sure it stays healthy while eating and gaining weight? That is why it is super important to focus on our younger customers \u2013 those who participate in youth livestock projects and their parents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have yet to meet a parent who doesn\u2019t want to see their kids succeed,\u201d said Britney Creamer, ASM in Western Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. \u201cShowing livestock is a \u2018sport\u2019 where not everyone gets a participation ribbon and parents generally go above and beyond to see their kids be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI recommend Sure Champ\u00ae<\/sup> to anyone who comes in to buy show calf feed,\u201d said Burton Nusz, store manager at West Slope Ag in Olathe, Colo. \u201cThe animals stay healthy and will stay on feed. Once the customer has tried it, the products sell themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Creamer said most conversations will start with the younger exhibitors who have seen a product promoted on social media or are aware of a promotion or giveaway. The kids will recognize the brand name, but perhaps not fully understand its function or use. That is when it is time to strike up a conversation with the parents, and the easiest way to do that is to jog their memory of that one time when\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI always ask if they ever had an animal that went off feed or water when they got it to a show. It doesn\u2019t matter if they showed at a county fair or all over the country, almost everyone recalls that memory, it strikes up a conversation, and then I tell them I have an insurance policy for them with added benefits,\u201d Creamer said.<\/p>\n In addition to helping \u201cinsure\u201d the show animals won\u2019t go off feed again, Sure Champ products have many benefits including a healthy skin and hair coat and keeping animals gaining in an efficient manner. There are also complementary products in the Vita Charge\u00ae<\/sup> line that offer the convenience of different forms of delivery, including Vita Charge Stress Tubs that don\u2019t have to be hand mixed with each feeding.<\/p>\n Creamer offers other suggestions for helping promote the Sure Champ line to customers and their kids for their summer show projects.\u00a0 <\/span>Creamer said the 10-pound bag of Spark is a good size to have at the counter. When a customer buys any show feed, it is great to start up a conversation about Spark and how to use it in conjunction with the show feed that is being purchased.<\/p>\n Another creative promotion Creamer has encouraged her dealers to try is setting a jar of red hots on the counter and having customers guess the correct number in the jar; the closest guess wins a shirt or a tube of Vita Charge Climate Control Gel.<\/p>\n Creamer also encourages her dealers to engage on some type of social media since the young exhibitors are so in-tune and already having conversations in that space.<\/p>\n