Sometimes they
don’t have anybody
who’s patting them
on the back … I
send them out the
door and thank
them for what they
do. —Damian Mason
developing his business and his
presentations. After nearly 17 years
in business, he continues to invest in
marketing, advertising and building a
client database.
“I work hard at the program,” he
says. “I still watch tape of myself and
make sure the presentation is crisp.”
He tries to make people feel good
about what they do.
For agricultural bankers, for example,
Mason’s message is this: “Don’t get
caught up in assets, liabilities, balance
sheets and income statements. Your role
in agriculture is much bigger than that.
Your role is financing people’s dreams in
rural America.”
In a group of producers, Mason
extends a thank-you.
“Sometimes they don’t have anybody
who’s patting them on the back … I
send them out the door and thank them
for what they do,” he says.
The key to success in any niche,
Mason reinforces, is authenticity.
“[My presentation] is not contrived.
It’s not inventing a character. It’s real. It’s
appropriate, it’s in their language, and
it’s funny,” he says. “My role is to make
’em laugh and make ’em feel good.”
A Real-Life
Farmer Brown
For Jolene Brown, CSP, agriculture
is much more than “weeds, seeds,
breeds and feeds.” It’s about people.
Her presentations and family
business consulting revolve around
the human side of agriculture. Her
work is in demand because she
brings laughter, celebration, insight
and valuable take-home tools. She
speaks the language of agriculture,
and often sits at kitchen tables of
those in family business.
“The people in our industry know
the technical skills,” says Brown, who
grew up on a farm. “But it’s a lot easier
to deal with cows than people.”
Brown, whose business is 90 percent
agriculture-focused, works around
the world with farmers, ranchers and
agricultural corporations, associations
and cooperatives.
She’s also “a real-life Farmer Brown,”
she says.
“I don’t take presentations during
harvest season, or else I wouldn’t be
married,” says Brown, who owns and
operates a grain farm in Iowa.
Having credibility is critical in a
niche market, she says.
“Credibility builds trust. Trust
builds loyalty, and loyalty builds an
in-demand calendar,” she says, adding
that in 25 years as a professional
