Power Up Your Farm with
Powerful Communication
Presented by:
Margaret Viebrock
viebrock@wsu.edu
www.womeninag.wsu.edu
Whether we are on Facebook or Face-to
Face … it matters how we communicate!
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Build business relationships
Build personal relationships
Influence people
Sell a product
Motivate employees
Convince a landlord,
banker or lender
Get along with family
2016 Women in Agriculture Conference
- Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, Montana -
Power Up Your Communication
► Innovative way to manage risk
► Learn to “pull out” the personality
traits as the situation changes
► Case studies
► Connect marketing to what
motivates prospects & customers
Power Up Your Farm
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Understand yourself first
► Learn styles of the people you
work with to better understand
their priorities
► Value life experiences, education
and maturity
► Reinforce what works to build
better teams and improve
decision making
Determining Your Style
 True Colors
 Myers-Briggs
 Animal Personality Test
 Fantasy or Game
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Characters
 DiSC
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What is Your Communication Style?
 Dominance
 Decision maker, stays on task, takes on the tough issues
 May appear insensitive, impatient, unapproachable
 Influencer
 Motivating, entertaining, articulate, persuading
 Disorganized, superficial, lacks some follow through
 Steadiness
 Good team player & listener, easy to get along with, methodical
 Indecisive, indirect, doesn’t like change
 Conscientiousness
 Detail person, analytical, accurate, diplomatic
 Concerned with perfection, hampers creativity
What Will be My Approach?
Situation: Selling to a Restaurant
Very busy chef, 20 minutes to talk
What style should I use; what is my sales pitch? Why?
Situation: Approaching a Landlord for a New Lease
Your neighbor is retiring, he likes to visit, he likes people
How much time should I plan; how do I let him know I’m
the best option; what style do I use; what do I say? Why?
Situation: Selling at the Farmer’s Market
Every customers seems like a different conversation
How do I adapt my style for in this environment? Why?
Facts About Women Farmers
 Of the 3.3 million farm
operators, women farmers
are 1,000,000 strong! When
all women involved in
farming are added up –
primary and secondary
operators – they total 31%
of U.S. farmers.
 Younger women are
entering farming faster than
older women are leaving.
USDA Economic Research Service 2013
 Women farm slightly more
than 301 million acres.
 Women have a higher land
ownership rate than males,
with 85% of women owning
all of the land they farm,
compared to 66% of male
counterparts.
 No other male dominated
industry is experiencing
such a rapid turnover, as
women rise to leadership
roles.
Communication is the POWER that makes
the farm work!
Everyone Communicates!
We All Communicate Differently
Learn to Customize Our Communication
Don’t Let the Bumps Become the Breakdowns!