Have you ever noticed those racks at the checkout line of your local grocery store? You know the ones stacked full of candy, gum, and chocolate that your kids can’t seem to keep their hands off. Those small items that don’t cost that much enticing you to just buy them.
There is a reason why those little goodies are located at the checkout line. It’s because they work. See Grocery stores are one of the best volume sales entities. These little goodies are low priced which typically lowers the resistance you have towards them. People think, its not that much so why not if it makes my kids stop screaming. If we are honest the kid in our head also thinks we deserve some as well. These are great add on sales that give you extra margins.
I remember when I had just made a large sale when I was in Florida and thinking that I was the best salesman in the world… spoiler alert…I was wrong! I was at the International Mall in Tampa Florida. I walked into the Clarks store to buy a brown pair of dress shoes that I had been looking at for a while. They were my prize for being the best salesman ever…
I picked out the ones that I wanted and headed to the register with my prize. That is when I got schooled in the art of upselling! This nice old lady behind the counter that was ringing up my purchase said, “You know these are a big investment, have you ever thought of getting one of these shoe sponges to clean and condition the leather?” I asked, “Do I need one?” she nodded so I added it on for the small price compared to the shoes of a few dollars. Then she said “you know your wallet is looking a little worn…” I then a wallet. Then she told me about their amazing socks and their lifetime warranty. Before I knew it, this nice old lady was piling up the point of purchase sales like crazy! When she asked to see my belt, I yelled, “STOP! I’m done, I can’t take any more of this beating.
I walked out of that store like a dog with my tail between my legs. This nice old lady took me to the cleaners and upsold all of the point of purchase products. These extra point of purchase items didn’t cost as much as the main purchase, but their margin is more than the original purchase. She was like a special-ops of sales people. She did it so nicely that I didn’t even see it coming!
That life lesson has stuck with me ever since.
I have even coached many sales professionals about upselling the point of purchase products after the main sale. I have even helped hair stylists upsell their point of purchase products. Those special hair products that are not easily found at regular grocery stores. These products that they put in the customer’s hair during their hair styling sessions. It’s an add on sale that the hairstylists were missing out on. Extra profit that is an easy sell. Just like the pack of gum at the grocery line. They are there for a reason!
Point of purchase sales are a way to help the customer and keep them buying more and more from you as long as it is something that will benefit them. They will grow more trust for you if you are helping them solve problems and allowing them to buy more from you instead of having to search all over town for the same product. It’s right there!
Next time you have a customer in front of you and you are selling them an expensive product think of the other items that may benefit them. Why send the customer elsewhere for products that you can help them with?
Happy selling everyone!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom