Step by Step Guide to Selling Bulk Beef
Why Your Farm Should Sell Bulk Beef
Bulk beef sales allow your Farm to move whole cows through your store, supply your Buyers with more food and sell your niche cuts and products. It is crucial to plan ahead to ensure you do not get stuck with cow products in your freezer, and instead secure commitments to orders of your animals well in advance of harvest dates.
You can capture deposits to lock-in orders prior to processing your animals to better plan your packaging and fulfillments. This will help cover processing fees and enable your Farm to align harvest, processing and fulfillment schedules to streamline your operations and labor costs. This will encourage a loyal relationship with Buyers that are making a bigger commitment to your Farm by communicating the values of your Farm business and commitment to sustainable practices.
1. Before You List Your Bulk Beef
If you use a generic eCommerce solution that is built for consumer packaged goods (e.g. watches and swim trunks), you will be missing crucial tools and features that are designed specifically for Farm products. Find a platform that makes it easy to manage your operation, sell your inventory and fulfill orders based on the requirements of different products (e.g. bulk beef v. produce) and different buyers (e.g. retail v. wholesale). Keep an organized schedule and align your harvest, processing and fulfillment dates to ensure you are not sitting on a freezer full of beef. Consider your pricing (hanging weight v. final weight) when listing your bulk beef, and explain to customers their price breakdown for clarity to avoid unnecessary questions. Keep it simple.
2. Marketing Your Bulk Beef Products
Market limited access to your beef well ahead of harvest dates to build up the Fear-of-Missing-Out (FOMO). Encourage Buyers to sign-up for your email list to access first-to-know information about upcoming beef sales, so they don’t miss out on limited availability. On social media, share photos of your products, life on the Farm and events (Farmers Markets, community events, Farm stand, fulfillment day). Share important Farm details to your social stories and highlights, and incentivize customers to share their products and recipes (and tag you!) by offering a discount on their next order.
Routinely update your customers with email newsletters that are sent on a consistent basis (weekly or bi-weekly). Include links to top-selling products, subscriptions, upcoming Farmers Markets, pick-up locations and any Farm stories from the past week. This will foster a deeper relationship with your Buyers, who are eager to support a local Farmer. During all in-person interactions at markets, pick-ups and events, collect emails and educate customers about your Farm, products, family and practices. Being face-to-face with potential Buyers can help encourage an initial purchase, and you can better answer questions and explain the unique value of your products.
Be transparent with Buyers about the wide variety of cuts they will receive when purchasing bulk beef. Share recipes, links to YouTube videos or offer instructions to help make Buyers more comfortable with less familiar cuts, so they do not feel stuck. Educate Buyers on how much freezer space they will need to accommodate bulk beef orders for a quarter, half or whole cow. Eliminate any guesswork to make it easy to purchase bulk beef from your Farm. Add a “What to Know When you Purchase Bulk Beef” page on your website or in your welcome email, and spell out the details in the product descriptions of your store.
3. From Farm to Freezer: Selling Your Bulk Beef
Most Farmers and Ranchers will begin pre-selling their bulk beef 3-6 months prior to harvest dates, depending on their existing demand. This will ensure you secure Buyer commitment for each animal, get paid an initial deposit in advance, and align your fulfillment schedules with your harvest dates. Market your pre-sales across all online (website, email, newsletter and social media) and in-person (markets, on-farm, flyers) avenues to raise awareness with Buyers and keep them informed of limited inventory availability (in real-time). This will help build FOMO to help spur demand and fuel upfront deposits on your bulk beef.
With Barn2Door’s patented Sell by Weight capabilities, when Buyers place a pre-order, you get cash-in-hand and secure a payment token for final payment after you know the final cost post-processing. Taking a deposit allows buyers to secure their order, help offset your processing costs and simply pay the remainder once their order is ready.
Read: How to Sell Meat Online
Barn2Door’s Combined Inventory feature allows you to track the total number of animals available in one listing; as Buyers select Quarter, Half or Whole, each order will draw from the same inventory (automatically calculating available product proportionately). This way, you can save time and do not have to worry about overselling. (Note, Combined Inventory can be used for all your fungible agriculture products that are sold in different unit sizes, across consumer and wholesale price lists.)
In the absence of eCommerce built for Farm products, your business must track and reconcile deposits, orders, payments, and available inventory manually. . With Barn2Door, everything is handled and tracked automatically, making the process easy for Buyers to purchase and simple for Farmers to manage. No more chasing down Buyers to collect a final payment - you can close out final payments automatically (deducting initial deposits) and charge the card on file or send an electronic invoice (for cash / check payment). An automated email receipt or invoice will be sent once their order is ready and you complete the final charge.
4. Beyond Your Beef Sales
With your order transaction history, you can create a list of all past bulk beef purchasers, and offer them a promo code (% or $ off) ahead of the next product listing. This will encourage repeat purchases and build loyal Buyers. Check in with some Buyers after their purchase to better understand what they enjoyed about your products, and gather any feedback about how to improve their experience next time.
Encourage Buyers to share their products on social media and tag you, to spread the word about your bulk beef sales and other items you offer in your store. Leading up to opening pre-orders for bulk beef, share testimonials from past Buyers to entice new customers to try it. You can also increase feedback by offering a discount for people who submit a quote or video for you to share on social media. Share reviews and posts of Buyers using your products to give your Farm a more human appeal, rather than just a business. This will build trust in potential Buyers who are considering making a purchase from your Farm.
Conclusion
If you are planning to sell bulk beef, it is crucial to plan ahead to secure pre-orders and jump-start your sales. Many Buyers are unaccustomed to bulk beef, so it is important to answer all of their questions, simplify the process from harvest to fulfillment, and give them an easy, intuitive shopping experience. When selling quarter, half and whole cows, use an eCommerce platform built with features to support your Farm products, market to your community and share customer reviews to attract new Buyers.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.