More Work, Better Work, Consistent Work.

If your phone only rings when the weather finally breaks and everyone is in a flap, you are answering a knee jerk
reaction, not necessarily getting a call from a dedicated client. Everyone knows farmers who will ring round until
someone says ‘yep, we can get there this afternoon’.

If you are living off panic work, it is not a great place to be. You end up doing two things you swore you wouldn’t do:
saying yes to rubbish jobs, and discounting decent ones because you’ve got nothing else lined up. Let alone
struggling to find work over the winter months!

Truth is, getting more ag work isn’t complicated. It’s just not always comfortable.

Be Different.

Many outfits lose work because they sound like every other contractor in the district: “We can do it, we’ve got ‘x’ machine, we’ll pencil it in and be there uhh…sometime.” That’s not a value proposition, that is a commodity and commodities get hammered on price.

Permission to make some helpful suggestions here…below are five habit changes that could transform things for you.

First, make it clear what you do better than the next bloke in plain English. Not marketing fluff. Stuff farmers actually care about: you turn up when you say you will, you finish what you start, you communicate, you don’t leave surprises, and your invoicing isn’t fast and clear. Farmers want to buy reduced risk. If you want to stop competing on price, you need to be able to show what you do that others don’t. Or even letting them know, “We run AM/PM crews and we will confirm ETA before we leave the previous job” already makes you sound like a tidy outfit.

Second, give a bit before you ask for anything. A quick text before the rush: “Heads up, things are getting tight this week — if you want your spraying/drilling/baling done, get those paddocks ready and let me your preferred window.” Or “Here’s what we’re seeing in ground conditions this week and how it’ll affect timing”. Stop being ‘a contractor’ and
become ‘their contractor.’ You’d be amazed what “useful” does for loyalty.

Third, you’ve got to qualify work properly. This is where many bleed time and margin. You take every call, you chase every maybe, you drive across the district for a “quick look,” and half the time the job wasn’t ready, the decision maker wasn’t involved, or you failed to find out that that new potential client has a reputation of always paying late! Qualifying
isn’t rude. A simple script saves you: “Before I lock you in, what’s your ideal window?

Who’s making the call? Is access sorted? What’s the plan if the weather shifts?” If they can’t answer basic readiness questions, it’s likely just a yarn at this stage. Good outfits don’t rely on conversations.

Fourth, follow up. Most people follow up once, get “we’ll think about it,” and disappear. A calm follow-up is just: “Still want a slot, or has that window moved?” Most farmers will appreciate your attention to detail and feel like you understand them.

Last one, spend a bit of time learning how people decide. Not all farmers aren’t “difficult”, they’re cautious. Money, time, changing habit… it all feels risky. Your job is to make it feel safe: clear info, clear process, maybe a small trial area for them, if it’s potentially new work.

That’s it. No fancy sales stuff. Just being the contractor who’s organised, clear, and hard to ignore.

If you want a simple challenge for this week: pick ten good farms you’d like more of. Message them something useful.
Ring five. Ask what would make you their first call next season. Then actually follow up and lock a next step.

The people who do that quietly win a lot of work. The rest stay in the “I’m busy, but I hope it comes in” lane.