Selling cattle online is not a new concept. Online marketing of cattle began over two decades ago in Australia with the launch of CALM – Computer Aided Livestock Marketing. CALM was the forerunner to the most recognised and popular system of selling in Australia – AuctionsPlus.
Online listing allows buyers to bid on stock from any device
To my mind the keystone to the trust and success of AuctionsPlus is the independent and objective description that is supplied on all animals listed for sale. If you have never looked at an AuctionsPlus listing, you will see that every lot is described for basic traits such as sex, age, weight, breed, temperament and pregnancy status. But there are also plenty of other details such as breeding details, pasture and feed types and even notes on the background of the cattle or sheep.
Listings also have photographs and videos so you can see the cattle as well as read the details and notes.
AuctionsPlus is a platform where livestock will be auctioned in an open system and bids can be taken from anywhere in the country.
As a producer seeking to earn the highest return the opportunity to advertise and expose cattle to a national audience has great appeal. The more people who see your cattle, the greater the opportunity to have competitive bidding and potentially a better return.
Elite Livestock Auctions in action at the 2020 Texas Angus Bull sale
The opportunity to list and expose cattle to a wider audience has not been lost on other providers of online sales. There are now other platforms such as Elite Livestock Auctions, which allows producers the opportunity to participate in and bid on auctions that are held in another location. As 2020 highlighted, the restrictions on travel meant many people couldn’t physically attend bull sales or seedstock auctions. This platform gave many people the same capacity to participate.
It also became obvious to many that attending sales online, either to buy sires or to sell or buy commercial cattle, resulted in huge savings of time and money. For some people, the time saved in travel opened up greater efficiencies within their own program to do other things before and after a sale.
Other platforms such as Herd Online allow cattle to be listed for sale and are available for potential purchase for a two week period. Again, the descriptions and images provided are integral to informing producers about the animals and what traits and characteristics are displayed.
Online listings can save clients time and money to find cattle...
“While there are many advantages, online selling doesn’t mean you or your agent can relax too much! ”
The additional benefits of online selling, beyond the broader exposure include a reduction in cost of vendors as well as purchasers. Purchasers can save time by looking online before travelling. Vendors don’t have to muster and truck cattle to saleyards. This can create savings in time, reduction in livestock stress during the ale process as well as eliminating additional costs such as yard and transport fees.
While there are many advantages, online selling doesn’t mean you or your agent can relax too much!
Over time I have heard many people complain their online sales results weren’t what they expected. It’s common to hear, that “the price was too low”, “no one bid” “it’s not worth the hassle – I can sell them through the yards for the same money” etc... Some of these are possibly fair points. However, I don’t think that this is the fault of the process. Rather I think it underlines the difference between selling and marketing.
In my mind selling is a transaction where someone will buy cattle (often as economically as possible) for their budget. Most people look for bargains and will try and get them. And most people are a bit lazy and won’t look too hard! If they see something that sort of fits, they often buy it so they can get onto their next task!
Using an online platform to sell cattle does expose cattle to these people. But you have to remember that your cattle are now competing in a national marketplace. The audience may be bigger, but if they are just looking to buy, they may not look at everything on offer. And potentially your cattle may miss out.
That’s the risk of just selling.
Marketing, on the other hand is, in my mind at least, the process of creating awareness and demand for your cattle. This in turn creates interest and should encourage people to purchase as an informed choice, not just as a lazy “it’ll do” choice but as a purchase of the right option.
Online platforms are perfect to support marketing. These platforms give you the chance to tell potential buyers more about your cattle than just breed, age sex and weight. You can use these as starting points to describe the markets they suit or the roles in a herd they could fill as breeders or trade cattle.
Online listings open up opportunities for purchasers in any location
While some people are happy just to rest on the AuctionsPlus descriptions for example, the smart producers (and agents) make sure they promote and create awareness of cattle that are due to be marketed. The capacity to link and share images and websites means there is no excuse not to promote your cattle more – to market them – in order to make the most of both the platform and the article you have prepared.
This year as I build the stock and station agency side of RaynerAg, you can bet I will be marketing my client’s cattle. I don’t want them just to be sold! I want the cattle that we have worked to breed and prepare to go to producers, finishers or processors because those buyers knew about them and wanted them!! That’s my job! To create the awareness and demand that underpins the sale result.
I’ll definitely use online platforms this year. Afterall I have clients across the country looking to buy and sell stock. But every time I list cattle, I’ll make sure the value of online listing is capitalised on through good promotion and marketing methods.
So, this year when you do plan on your sale methods, ask yourself or your agent if those methods are just selling or are, they marketing? If you want to talk marketing options, I’m happy to help as well. Either way, use the tools such as online to their best capacity. Don’t relax and think online listing is the end of the process. Instead, it’s the start of connecting with clients who may really want your cattle. But they won’t buy them if they don’t know about them!