4: I Asked 15 Farmers Market Vendors Their #1 Tip... Here's What They Said

At the local farmers market I asked 15 different vendors one simple question: What's your #1 tip for selling at farmers markets? 

Their answers were honest and practical. This is real advice from real vendors on what actually works at farmers markets. 

If you're thinking about starting at farmers markets or you're already selling and want to do better, this video is packed with real advice from people actually doing it. 

I'm currently building a tallow business from our small family farm, and this is part of documenting that journey ... learning what works, what doesn't, and how to grow something real. 

In this podcast episode you'll hear:

1. What actually helps vendors make sales
2. Common mistakes to avoid
3. Real world tips from unexpected sellers
4. What successful booths do differently

If you've ever thought about selling at a farmers market, start here. 

About us: 

Dirt & Drive is all about turning a small homestead into a real business. We're building a small farm-based business centered around traditional, simple skincare like a grass-fed tallow soaps. 

http://dragoncreek.org

Thank you to the vendors who work so hard and shared their knowledge with us: 

1. My husband - thank you sweetheart!
2. Nests & Knots
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587086810134
3. Cartecay Candle Co.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071346567246
4. Sugar Pike Soap Co.
https://www.facebook.com/susan.shepard.350455
5. Story Rocks
6. John Jennings
7. Fat Bastard Coffee
https://www.fatbastardcoffee.shop/
8. Hey Hunni LLC
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090441513379
9. Mother's Hearth Bakery
https://app.simply-bread.co/mothershearthbakery/
10. Chris's Camo Rub
11. New Hope Black Walnut Farm

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089601051253
12. Arlowe's Bakehouse
https://www.facebook.com/arlowesbakehouse/
13. Paw Pals Accessories
14. StephScott Crochet
15. Ellijay Farmers Market
https://www.facebook.com/ellijayfarmers/

Transcript

0:00

Most people, they don't get to have that interaction with human beings a lot. And I think that to know that somebody's just a real person making real things and they love what they do, they're gonna buy your product because of that reason, whether they even wanted something in the first place or not. This is Dirt and Drive, the podcast all about turning a small homestead into a real business. Hey, I'm here with my husband. We're out at the farmer's market, and I want to ask, sweetheart, what's your number one tip for people at farmers markets? Number one tip for somebody showing up at a farmer's market to sell something, you mean? Yeah. Don't sit behind your booth the whole time. Actually engage with potential customers. That's a great tip. Thank you. Yay. Hi, tell me the name of your business and what you do at the farmers market. Uh, we're nests and knots, and uh, we're selling custom homemade uh bird houses. So, what is your number one tip that you've learned for people wanting to sell at a farmers market? Um, not to stress, just have fun with it and uh conversate with the locals and uh and the tourists and like I said, have fun. I'm Molly Donay and I have Cardiquay Candle Company. Probably my number one tip would be to have a positive attitude and to just develop those relationships. And I feel like you'll be successful. Uh my name is Susan Shepherd. This is David Shepherd. The name of our business is Sugar Pike Soap Company. What is your number one tip for selling at farmers markets? I would say be prepared for anything with the weather. If it's going, if you think it's gonna be cold, bring a jacket. If you think it's gonna be hot, bring a jacket. If you think it's gonna rain, definitely bring rain gear and always have water because you're gonna be out in the heat. The customers are great, customer service is very important, but you gotta be prepared for the weather. Especially with soap. Especially with soap. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Good luck today. My name is George Whitaker. The business is transforming from Arizona rocks to story rocks because they're I'm realizing that my rocks tell a story. What is your number one tip for people who want to sell at a farmer's market or something that you've learned while you're out here? You have to gear your sales or your product to your market. And a lot of people don't realize that. The stuff that I do here, Mama Bear, Bigfoot, goes in this area. If I tried to do a show in Roswell, it wouldn't go. So you just, you know, you try to work your merchandise to your market. Absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much. Thank you. John Jennings, and we sell uh farm products. We have uh chicken eggs, duck eggs, and uh fresh grown vegetables. What is your number one tip for people wanting to sell at a farmer's market? Uh just come out and have a variety of products and uh be friendly with everybody. Husband and wife business here. Well, my name's Ricky, and this is Jennifer. And we are Fat Bastard Coffee, and we're right here in LJ at the LJ Farmers Market, and we come out here every Saturday to sell iced coffee, hot coffee, and coffee by the bag, and then we sell our own merch as well. That's wonderful. Can you tell me what is your number one tip for people wanting to sell at a farmer's market? Well, you got to be outgoing and you got to greet every customer, whether or not if they're gonna buy or not, you just treat them with respect, greet them with a smile, and just give them the most outstanding customer service. I agree. Make sure you can educate your customers and what your product is and what it means to you that helps them understand where you're coming from and why you do what you do. Right. And why would they give you the money for that product versus going to a store? So tell us why would somebody want to buy your coffee over someone else? Because it's just good coffee. And there you have it, folks. Hi, I'm Jen Carroll. I'm with Hey Honey LLC. Number one tip is transparent pricing. Customers don't want to have to ask, sometimes they don't want to talk to me. And so having very transparent and clear pricing helps get the sale. Oh, that 100% agree with that. Even when I've had a yard sale, I sell way more when I priced stuff. Yeah, sometimes they just want to look and they don't want to be bothered. I greet them when they come in, but yeah, the pricing is all very clear. My name is Sarah Cosabil, and our business is Mother's Hearth Bakery. We're out of LJ local, and we're just up Roy Road. So if you want to come get some bake goods, that's where you can come find us. Number one tip there's a lot of tips that I could give, but the best one would probably be is just genuinely engage with people like they're your friend. Don't be a stranger, say hi. And then also allowing people within that to just have some space to really observe and see what you have and just be there and and say, hey, you know, let me know if you have any questions. It's so good to see you. And then if they're sitting around long enough, then maybe engage more of a conversation with them. Hey, where are you from? What are you local? Kind of a thing. And it goes a long way because most people they don't get to have that interaction with human beings a lot. And I think that to know that somebody's just a real person making real things and they love what they do, they're gonna buy your product because of that reason, whether they even wanted something in the first place or not, you know? Because they just have that memory and that experience to go with oh, I got these muffins from this really nice gal, you know. By the way, this is my wife's business, so I'm just the face, apparently. Make friends everywhere you go. Make friends, exactly. Strangers are only friends you just haven't met yet. Hey, that's good. That was good. Thank you. You're welcome. Hey, he's got one more tip for us. You know, when I grew up, we never read the instructions when we build something, but when you go to a market, you gotta read the instructions because if you miss anything, it's gonna totally throw you off. And the people who put these on, they know exactly what you need, when you need it, how you need it, and if you read the instructions, you're gonna have a good time. What's some examples of ex instructions that they give that you need to make sure the most important instruction is making sure you have the proper weight for your legs, especially out here with the winds, you are gonna just be a sad, sad little camper. Well, and you don't want to set yourself up for liability if you know your tent blows away and damages things. Exactly. Yeah, that's a great tip. Thank you. You're very welcome. It's Chris's camera rub. I'm Chris Harrels. I created the rub, and the reason I created the rub was so that you can use for meat groups. I worked on it and developed it over 10 years. It was made, uh actually started back in 2013. Selling at a farmer's market. One is to develop a name that people can identify with. So my target market on selling rub is with drillers that like hunt and fish and like to wear camo. So I created Chris's camo because people that walk by, I don't get a chance sometimes to talk to them and build value in my product. They have to just recognize it quickly. So when they see camo, a lot of them will be brought into that, and then I can talk to them about how it will benefit them when they're dealing with smoking. Sounds like you did a little bit of research ahead of time before you started your brand on like what your target on. Absolutely, I did. I've had smokers since 2008, and so I've got many smokers at the house, and um, I enjoy actually doing it myself. It's a passion I have. I'm retired now, and so I'm up here just having fun and enjoying the farmer scene. Reggie Rodriguez, and we are a uh hobby farm, a black walnut hobby farm. What is your number one tip for people who want to sell at farmers market? Try to find something that's unique and something that's local. I think that people go to farmers markets because they want to find something that they can't find at big box stores. So if you can find something local and something that's handmade, I think that's the best strategy. My name is Pratt. I'm the owner of Arlo's Bakehouse. Uh we are located on uh Maddox Drive in LJ. The number one tip uh for the selling in farmers market is be confident, make sure you know your product, and always greet the customers. And you always sell out every weekend. What's your what's your tip for selling out every weekend? Oh, selling out, I think make products that are good sellers and tell the customers everything about your product and um the benefits. Beverly, lawson, pow pales, accessories for dogs and cats. How long have you been at this farmer's market? We have been here probably about five years. You're so you're one of the OGs? I'm one of the OGs. Nice. So, what is your number one tip for somebody wanting to sell at a farmer's market who might be new? Well, first off, you got to go and put in the application. And then after the application, you set up your tent and your products. And my number one tip from an OO vendor long years ago was when you price your product, don't change it. Because when you go from one prior fair to the next and your prices change, then the person from the first one might go to the second one, and then you'll see the price change. So carry your price as long as you can. Thank you so much. Okay, thank you. And you have a blessed day. You too. Thank you. Bye-bye. I'm Stephanie with Steph Scott Crochet, and we've been doing the farmer's market. Um, we did it kind of sporadically last year, but this is our first year full time. So I'm very excited about it. Number one tip for selling at a farmer's market to be friendly. We live in a small community and everybody loves being here because of that. We say hey to everyone that walks by our booth and it draws them in, and our product kind of is beautiful and soft. So they love that. And I mean, I just be friendly. I love the dragons, by the way. Thank you. This one took about 40 hours, so he he was a big boy, but I have smaller ones that are 15, and we just have fun selling to all different kinds of people that come and visit. Well, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. You were perfect, you were brilliant. My name's Alejandro. I'm here with Crystal. Super excited to be here. I run the LSH Farmers Market here in town. We have a little bit, what, 60, 65, sometimes 70 vendors. So we're pretty full. I think it's the biggest it's probably ever been. And it's just me and the vendors. I run the whole show. So and you do a fabulous job, by the way. Thank you. I appreciate that. So tell us what is your number one tip for a vendor wanting to sell at any kind of outdoor event. Yeah, I believe I really like advertising, signage. My main thing is though, always reprepared. I like to tell all the vendors make sure you have weights. Weights is my number one thing. I mean, I put it in capital letters. I know you've seen it in the email. Tents fly. Yeah, with the slightest amount of air, they will fly. You cannot trust the tent. They might be heavy to carry in and out, but you can't trust the tent. So weights and not just a little puck weight. Needs to be sandbags at least, minimum. You see a lot of vendors come through here. I do. I do. Who does the best and what makes them stand out? Yeah. So when you're outgoing, I know that can be hard because you wouldn't believe like there are a lot of vendors that just aren't outgoing. And they do it because they love to do, you know, the trade that they're doing or the craft or their baking, and that that's what they love to do. But they just don't, not that they don't have the personality for it, but they just they're like, oh hey, you know, and I'm just like, yeah, like just walk out there, grab them, come show them what you made. Like, you work so hard on the things you're coming to bring. So I think that's the biggest thing is people with personalities for sure. Yeah, that's great advice. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Come out and see the LAJ Farmers Market every year. Saturday, every Saturday till the end of September this year. And then you guys do holiday markets too. We do. We do a fall market in October and a Christmas market in November, and then we have Christmas in July in July. And we will be here. All right, y'all. Before you head back out to Pasture, remember this is just people sharing opinions, not medical, legal, or business advice. The opinions expressed here don't necessarily reflect my opinions or the opinions of Dragon Creek Ranch or the Dirt and Drive podcast. Remember to always do your own research. It's okay to get your hands a little dirty, but keep your wrapsheet clean. Thanks for listening. And if you enjoyed the podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review. It'll help us reach more folks.