Hey everyone, I’m a maple syrup and honey vendor at multiple farmers markets and one of my younger employees was caught reading at one of my booths. Like another vendor took a photo of her reading and I was livid. I just talked with her about how she needs to stop this and that she’s making me look bad. She said that reading on the job us apart of her “sales strategy,” and that if she focuses too much on “hustling and pushing” products on every customer that passes by that will scare them and demotivate her. She also says that she only reads during the slow times of the market and that reading helps her take a “mental break” when she feels discouraged by customers rejecting her sales pitches. I’m not there with her so I can’t know for sure if she’s telling the truth and I guess it’s bad if other vendors are taking pictures of her. The market is not for everyone but her numbers are okay and rarely better than mine. What do you guys think should I call her back and let her read and trust that her strategy is a valid one?
You’re selling honey at a farmer’s market, this isn’t a Mercedes dealership. All your clerk (she’s not a saleperson) needs to do is know enough about the product to answer customers’ questions and handle the transactions.
Your job as the business owner is to be directing people who want to buy from you to the stall via your marketing. If you’re only doing marketing at the market, you have a huge marketing problem and this employee is not at fault for that.
Do you have social media presence? Do you advertise online or anywhere else? How do you engage with your customers and get them thinking about the product before they even get to the market?
If she’s reading during quiet periods and doing her job when people want to buy your wares, then she’s doing fine. She’s on minimum wage, its not her job to define and execute a sales and marketing strategy that will funnel customers to your store front. That’s your job.