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Employee Spotlight: Abby, Account Executive
139 Plays4 years ago
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, we're excited to host Abby. One of Barn2Door's very own Sales Account Executives. Listen as she shares how she came to join the team and and how she was able to grow with Barn2Door.
Show Notes:
https://www.barn2door.com/careers
https://www.barn2door.com/resources
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Transcript
Introduction to the Direct Farm Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the weekly listen for farm selling direct. We'll talk about the four levers for farm success, which are quality, brand, price, and convenience. We'll hear from outside industry experts and producers like you to delight your customers, save time, and to increase your direct farm sales and business. We're glad you're here.
Meet Abby: Sales Executive at Barnadore
00:00:26
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome to the Direct Farm podcast. My name is Sebastian. And today we have an employee spotlight featuring one of Barnadore's very own sales executives, Abby. Hi Abby. Hey, how's it going? Doing well. Could you give us a little intro about what, who you are and what you do here at Barnadore? Yes. My name is Abby. I am a sales account executive. Like you said, I've been working for Barnadore for two years now. And I have the pleasure of working with Alabama farmers, Georgia farmers and farms now in Washington.
00:00:55
Speaker
Well, I know we're probably gonna break some hearts, but if you had to choose a favorite state, would you say you have one? I don't know. They're all so
Abby's First Farm Client: A Success Story
00:01:04
Speaker
different. I feel like I actually I got a story for you. It's really really sweet. So like fresh January 2020 Abby like just gets like hired on to barn to door. The first farm that I actually ever spoke with
00:01:17
Speaker
Roy, he was like a strawberry farmer with produce, but he specializes in his strawberries. And I called him and I booked a demo with him and we gave him the information and signed him up. That was the first farm I ever signed up. And fast forward two years, right? I'm at the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association conference in mobile Alabama. And I get to meet this farmer that I signed up, like my first ever farm, which was absolutely incredible. So Roy from Jones Farms. Yeah, it was awesome. So I think I'm kind of partial to
00:01:46
Speaker
Alabama right now, just because it's again, yeah, fresh on the mind. Yeah. Dang. Well, do you know how Roy's doing now? Did he, did you guys get to talk at all about how his farm's doing? Yeah, we did. Yeah. He's, and he's doing really well. His wife joined our like session that we had down in Alabama. And after we presented on it, she stood up like, I don't know.
00:02:07
Speaker
kind of gave her own testimonial about how well it's worked for them and how they've been able to take pre-orders and just how it's changed their game, especially during COVID, right? Cause he signed on right before COVID hit and she was just so grateful to say like, Hey, it was awesome that we had this online platform where people could actually get our produce. So yeah, it was really cool. That's crazy. Yeah, man. Thank God. I know. I know. Yeah. Yeah. That was really cool.
00:02:32
Speaker
I want to take it back a little bit and ask you around that same timeframe, January, 2020, do you remember what it was like back then?
Passion for Food and Sales: Abby's Journey
00:02:40
Speaker
And when you applied or I guess the question is, why did you apply at Barnador?
00:02:44
Speaker
So I always knew that I kind of wanted to get into the food industry in some way or another. I grew up eating really, really good food. Like me and my siblings are completely spoiled. And as we grew up, you know, my family put a really big emphasis on food, where your food comes from, gathering the special times that come from food. So as a recent graduate, looking at tech and looking at food, Barnadore just seemed like the natural next step.
00:03:10
Speaker
I have learned so much since my two year stint, not only about the food industry and where our food is coming from, but honestly, just like sales in general. Can you kind of describe a little bit more about what your day to day responsibilities kind of look like?
00:03:25
Speaker
What's really cool about the barn-to-door sales executive position is that you are involved in the entire sales process, which doesn't necessarily happen at other companies. You could be an SDR and you're just cold calling, or you're an AE and you're actually making the closes. It's all about being curious and learning more about that farm and understanding
00:03:48
Speaker
Okay. What is working really well for them now and how can I help them achieve more growth or help them save time or help them maybe build up their customer base? We've got to bring our farmers all the way through. Yeah, all the way through the process. Yeah. And by the time it's done, they'll definitely know you for sure. Exactly. Yeah. They know your name. They know your story. Yeah.
Barnadore's Impact on Small Farms
00:04:09
Speaker
Awesome. You've kind of touched on this earlier, Abby, but I guess what would you say is different working at Barnador versus like any other company?
00:04:16
Speaker
I mean, like changing the food system a little bit, right? You know, at the end of the day, like you do have these big corporations that are taking out small family farms and it's neat that we're giving them the tools to actually like efficiently run their business and thrive. So yeah, I mean, we're changing the food system. That's pretty damn cool. I guess with our color values, what would you say is the one that you align with the most?
00:04:40
Speaker
Today, I feel like it changes. Honestly, you know, I'd say today is heart. I mean, having a heart for the farmers. Honestly, I've had the pleasure of signing up some really good farms this past month. And one of them that's just made it really easy to have heart for farmers is Mom's MicroGarden. They're based in Washington. They deliver microgreens. It's absolutely wonderful. But I actually met Patrick over the summer at the farmer's market. So I started buying from Patrick and then I saw that he had an online store and I wasn't working in Washington at that point.
00:05:09
Speaker
He asked me, you know, what do you do for a living? And I was like, I work for Barned Adore. And he was like, oh, I know Grace because Grace was working in Washington before, right? So I was like, oh, I'm sure you do. And he goes, oh, yeah, she's reached out to me. But I've had this relationship with Patrick. So he's dropped off microgreens, you know, at my house. I've said hello. We've chatted and everything. And then I moved over to Washington and started working with Washington farmers.
00:05:33
Speaker
And he calls me up on my 206 number and he goes, all right, let's chat. So he sat down and honestly, he's just a with it guy. He has so much passion for what he does. He's so business forward. He wants to grow and he wants to provide for his family, right? Like at the end of the day, he really, really wants to give like just his family and his community like a good life and like really, really great microgreens. So got him signed up and it's just, it's really, really easy to have heart for farmers when you work with people like Patrick.
00:06:01
Speaker
Awesome.
Encouragement and Resources for Food Enthusiasts
00:06:02
Speaker
So just to wrap up, if someone is looking to apply at Barnadore, is there anything you want to say to them? Yeah, I'd say go for it. I mean, if you are passionate about food, if you're passionate about changing the way that food is presented in our community right now, go for it. You're going to be joining a really dedicated hardworking team that is diving into this industry as well. Awesome. And how about for our farmers?
00:06:27
Speaker
And for our farmers, oh, you guys rock. A message for our farmers is just thank you. Just thank you so much for feeding us.
00:06:36
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, Abby, for coming onto the podcast and sharing your experience working at Barn2Door. If you're interested in joining the team, we would highly encourage you to apply. Head on over to Barn2Door.com slash careers. If you are a farmer and would like some free resources that will help you grow your farm business, please visit Barn2Door.com slash resources, where you can find everything from videos, podcasts, eBooks, and more. Thank you again for tuning in and we'll see you next week.