Relationship Farming –- Dealing with “Weeds, Weather, and Wascally Wabbits”

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Relationship Farming –- Dealing with “Weeds, Weather, and Wascally Wabbits”

By Terry Brock for DSound, Steemit and my wonderful friends there!

Over the years, I've had the privilege of speaking about marketing and technology to many farming organizations around the country. I am continually amazed at their knowledge of and desire to embrace practical technology. Farmers can teach us a lot about how to live life and do business because effective selling through relationship marketing is very much like farming. I’ve also been impressed with farming as a beautiful metaphor for business.

In farming, you need to study the soil. In business, you need to study the market. What are customers looking for?

Farmers need to till the soil. Business owners need to get to know people and let them get to know you.

As a farmer, you need to plant seeds. As a business owner, you make connections and tell people about your products and services through advertising, marketing, social media, and other promotions.

Another area where we can borrow analogies from farming in business is what I'll call "Weeds, Weather, and 'Wascally Wabbits.'”

Let me explain.

In farming, weeds naturally grow up around the crops. If allowed to grow inhibited, they can drain the nutrients and life from the plants and ultimately ruin your crop. In business there are many bad practices that companies or individuals will practice which can inhibit their selling. Examples of weeds in business would be the wrong employees in an organization. They can contaminate an entire company.

Weeds usually grow slowly over time and gradually kill the crops. In business, bad practices are the same. To get rid of weeds, those bad practices in business, we need to be ever vigilant to find them, be vigilant to prevent their growth, and actively eradicate them should they be discovered. They can easily and quickly sneak into our way of living.

Crops are subject to the weather. You need the right amount of sunshine and moisture for crops to grow. Too much or too little sunshine or moisture and the crops suffer. In business there are a lot of external factors affecting you. They include externalities like political events, the economy, natural disasters, and many other factors over which you have no control.

The key to success in business, when you're faced with external challenges, is to deal with what you can and not worry about those things you cannot control. I don't recommend sticking your head in the sand. I do recommend taking aggressive control over your preparations.

Finally our third term is one that makes me smile when I think of its origin. You might be familiar with the Looney Tunes character, Elmer Fudd, who would refer to Bugs Bunny as "That Wascally Wabbit.” In farming, those Wascally Wabbits come in the form of predators trying to devour our crops, like wolves, raccoons or, yes, rabbits. In business, competitors will try to steal your customers. Alternative products will tempt customers to switch from your product to something similar. In an age of fast-changing technology, there's always the threat of your product or service becoming obsolete.

As a relationship farmer, you are always going to be faced with challenges from weeds, weather, and “Wascally Wabbits.” Make plans to deal with them knowing that they will come.

It was President Theodore Roosevelt who said "Do what you can, with what you've got, right where you are.” That's good advice for us today. Don't worry about the things you can't control like weather, politics, and such. Instead, use technology to overcome barriers. As farmers might use a sheltered greenhouse from time to time, think of ways you can use technology to prevent recurring challenges.

Cheers to you farmers who feed us and teach us a lot – about life and business!

Have fun with your own Relationship Farming. Be prepared for the weeds, weather, and wascally wabbits that you encounter!

And in a smiling reference to a fun Looney Tunes saying, "Be deep, be deep, be deep – that's all folks!

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