How to Sell Your Horse


2630 Words Exactly
Non-Fiction
Copyright 1992 truth-or-consequences
Published in The Western Horse

When it's time to sell a horse it helps to remember that buyers are lazy.

The psychology of the buyer makes him think that as long as he has the money he should be catered to like a Royal Prince. This is often why in all types of businesses, some business owners are successful and some are not. Too many businessmen don't understand this concept and they run customers off in droves, never understanding how or why. The businessman who bends over backwards to accommodate a paying customer usually makes the sale, while the clerk who expects the customer to do all the work soon finds himself out of business. When you go to sell a horse that's what you become: A Businessman. If you make it easy for the customer to do business with you, you'll usually make the sale.

The first way to make it easy for the customer is to make sure he knows exactly what you're selling. I can pick up any paper in the country, turn to the "equines for sale" section and read ad after boring ad after plain and uninspiring ad.

Here's one that says:
Five year old Thoroughbred gelding, good horse, willing, $2000.

Here's another that reads:
Morgan filly, two years, $1800.

And still another goes like this:
Thoroughbred mare, started, pretty head, $800.

But the world is full of Thoroughbred mares with "pretty heads" who've been started. There's an abundance of two year old Morgan fillies for $1800. And we're almost obscenely overstocked with equines who are, according to their owners, "good horses".

How do we know which one to even call about?

I wasn't out to buy any particular breed, but what I was really looking for when I picked up this paper was something unusual, something that reached right out and grabbed me; something that, once I'd read the ad, I had to go and see. Like this one:

Four year old AQHA gelding, 15.2 hands, 1150 pounds, bay. This horse is dog gentle and suitable for kids. He needs work but if you're looking for a stout, good looking, reliable horse that can carry you to the high country or beyond, then please give me a call. This is one of the most level headed horses I've ever known. Will guarantee the vet check. Price is $2500, but might negotiate for the right home. Located in Brentwood area near 3rd and Oak. Best call after six p.m. 555-2361.

This is a horse I would think seriously about going to look at. If the owner actually answered his phone after six p.m. and if he could tell me exactly and simply how to get to his house I'd probably go ahead and make the trip. And once I was there I might be inclined to make allowances for small defects in the horse simply because I was already there and didn't want to go through the trouble and stress of going to look at another horse when this one was so close to what I wanted.

Rule #l in writing your ad: Make sure you tell the customer exactly what it is you are selling. Be as specific and as accurate as possible. This helps weed out the looky lou's and helps put you in contact with only those folks who are looking for exactly what you are selling. Sure a longer ad costs more. But if you have to re-run an ineffective ad for several weeks or months, that will cost you more as well. And during all that time your horse continues to eat. Best to bite the bullet and place a result-getting ad in the first place. And by being specific, you save yourself a lot of time and aggravation on the phone.

The person who advertised the Thoroughbred mare, for instance, probably had to answer a lot of calls from folks who were looking for a bay Thoroughbred only to discover that this seller's horse was a sorrel. And I'll bet the seller was asked twenty five times if the horse was gentle enough for kids. Was it? We don't know because the ad doesn't tell us.

Rule #2 of writing your ad is: Make your ad sound different from all the rest. Every buyer wants something unique. They want to think that their horse is better in some way than any other horse anywhere and they want to think they got a good deal on it. A border around the ad sometimes helps attract attention and can be included for a few dollars extra, but it's a matter of wording too. Make folks think that this is a special horse, one they had better take a look at right away if they don't want to miss out on the deal. Don't misrepresent the horse in any way and don't succumb to superficial hype, but like people, all horses are incomparable in some way.

What is it about your horse that makes him stand out in a crowd? Why would someone want to buy your horse as opposed to the one next door or to the dozens or hundreds of others listed in the same paper? Does your horse have an unusually striking conformation? No? Then is he extraordinarily gentle and suitable for kids? If he's not a kid's horse, would he appeal to a highly experienced rider who wants lots of spirit? Yes? Then say he's got more spunk than most horses and will really get out and go, with the right rider. That will tell the folks looking for a plug not to bother but the buyers who have been looking for something a little racy will call you up and will be already interested in what you have.

Rule #3: Pricing: Never omit the price of the horse and never over-price the horse. When you omit the price of the horse in your ad it turns many people off. First of all, they sense that you're trying to get whatever you can get, even if it's not fair. Second, most folks shop by price-- they want to buy the most horse they can get for what they have to spend. If they have $3000 to spend they'll usually skip ads for horses priced at $800. If they only have $800 to spend they'll skip horses priced at $3000. But if there's no price listed at all, the reader draws a blank and will be more inclined to call the number that's right under yours, which did include a price. At least when a price is listed, folks know where they stand. It's humiliating to call on a horse you thought you might like and which you think you could probably afford, only to find that he's five times more than you can afford. Folks don't want to be humiliated and I don't blame them, and they tend to avoid situations where it might happen. Used car salesman are famous for omitting the prices of their clunkers, reasoning that if you knew the price, they wouldn't get the opportunity to hit you with their knock-em-dead, sure-fire sales pitch. They figure that once they hit you with that pitch the price won't matter to you anymore because they will have confused and bedazzled you with a lot of meaningless chatter and you'll agree to almost any price just to get them to shut up. Unfortunately, the ploy sometimes works. But unless you are a very slick and skilled, fast-talking salesperson and already have the prospective buyer standing out in your paddock with one hand on Old Bleu's bony rump and an open checkbook in the other, the best advice is to tell them the price up front. It saves everyone a lot of trouble.

Be sure the price you're asking for your horse is representative of what other similar horses are actually selling for. The buyer who's done his research and who knows a little about horses will know right off if yours is over-priced. If it is, he'll simply and quietly pass it by and you'll never know why you didn't make the sale. The folks who don't know horses might end up buying your over-priced horse but sooner or later, maybe months or years down the road, they'll figure out that they were taken and your reputation, and hopefully your conscience, will suffer for it.

Rule #4: When you place an ad and ask folks to give you a call, be home to answer the phone! There's nothing more frustrating than the seller who places an ad and then promptly goes on vacation or who goes away even just for the weekend (or even out to dinner the first evening). Of course people have to work and often cannot be available to talk to interested buyers during certain times of the day. If possible, mention in the ad when the best times are to contact you. And then be there to take those calls! Don't go out to dinner. Don't spend the evening at a friend's house reasoning that one night won't hurt and no one will call anyway. Every call is important. Don't waste a single one. Remember that it will be only one particular call that sells your horse. You probably missed it when you ran down to the store for ice cream just a few minutes ago. If possible, let an answering machine take the calls when you're not there. True, many folks don't like to leave messages on those machines. But at least your outgoing greeting can give callers an idea of when to call back.

It's also helpful to put your address in the paper. That way people can get an idea of how far they'll have to travel to come and see your skinny old bronc and they can do some thinking about whether or not they want to go that far, and when they might want to make such a trip. It also gives them an opportunity to subconsciously figure out how they're going to get there and once they have a route in mind, the odds of them actually showing up skyrocket. If you're worried about John Q. Public having your address and also knowing that you aren't home between certain hours, or if you just plain don't want folks showing up unannounced, then try to at least include in the ad an indication of what area you're in. That will accomplish almost as much.Folks don't like unknowns. Dispel as many unknowns as possible for your lookers, and they'll be more inclined to become buyers.

Rule #5: Make it easy for folks to come and look at your horse. If you've taken some time and have thought out and written your ad well, the prospective buyer should know almost everything he needs to know about the horse before he ever calls you up. The last thing you want to hear when the buyer calls is, "What can you tell me about the horse?" This means that the buyer doesn't already know if he's interested in the horse, he's just playing the odds, and more than likely wasting your time. If he asks that, you haven't done your job---You haven't told him about the horse in your ad. The only thing you want the buyer to ask you on the phone is, "How do I get to your house and what time can I come?" Once again you must be prepared to be available when you place the ad.

Most people shop and buy on impulse to some degree. If you have a buyer already on the phone, interested enough to want to know how to get to your house, don't blow this hot lead by putting him off for two days or until the weekend. It could be that the buyer can't come until then anyway-- but if he wants to come right now, help him all you can. Tell him you would be happy to show him the horse right now, or in an hour, or first thing in the morning even if it's highly inconvenient for you, and then make it excruciatingly easy for him to find your house. There are lots of good horses for sale out there but few buyers with cash actually in their pockets-- don't give some other seller a chance to make your sale. Before placing the ad you should have done some thinking about how to give directions to your place. Take a drive and look at the street signs that mark the roads you've driven all these years. Remember exactly which roads and streets to tell the person to turn on and make sure you know exactly how far things are from one another. There's nothing worse than scribbling down some hastily and poorly given directions and then to try to follow them, only to discover that the turn-off was not four miles from the red barn on the left, it was a mile and a half, and the barn was actually brown and that the street sign had been knocked down years ago. Figure out the very simplest way to get to your house from several directions and figure out the very simplest way to relate that to the person on the phone. Keep the number of turns to a bare minimum even if it means having the buyer go out of his way. Keep the directions simple, direct and accurate. People will only come to look at your horse if it's easy. If it ceases to be easy then it quickly becomes easy-er for them to go look at another horse.

Rule #6: Be friendly! Even if it kills you! You'll answer a lot of seemingly silly questions over the phone and in person. You'll deal with many people who misrepresent their intentions, their ability to buy, their ability to ride-- But you must remember that hidden in amongst all those unpleasant encounters there is a buyer. If you're friendly, that buyer will make himself known to you. If you're cranky and mean, that buyer will pass you up and buy the neighbor's horse even though he may have secretly wanted yours. No one wants to deal with someone who isn't friendly. Try to get on the same wavelength with the prospective buyer. That will help you like them, and it's hard not to like someone who liked you first. If you're "friends" with the prospective buyer, it makes a sale all that much more likely. Remember too, that there's no such thing as a stupid question-- only stupid answers.

Try to always keep in mind the buyer's point of view. What was it about the horse that made YOU buy it in the first place? What things about the horse have your friends complimented you for? And why did you decide not to buy the others you looked at before you bought this one?

The effectiveness of a classified ad can be increased a hundred fold if the seller will take some time and put a little soul into his efforts, and then be there to follow through. These techniques have helped me sell hundreds of horses quickly and painlessly. And often I can make a good deal on the purchase of a horse by simply scanning for badly written and boring ads. I can buy the horse cheap because I know that no one else will have looked at it. I can take the horse home, discover its strong points, re-write the ad and resell the same horse a week later at a tidy profit. Many folks across the country are doing just that, with cars, homes, horses and airplanes.

It's all a matter of making it easy for the buyer to buy.

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