Think About Tomatoes If You Want to Increase Your Sales!
In sales, a lot of people will tell you, you are not selling the steak - you are selling the sizzle.
Meaning, it is not the steak that will get you the sale but the sizzle of the steak.
This is known as the Selling Experience and can be best described by my experience working for my grandfather.
My grandfather had a small hardware store and I worked for him after school, on weekends, and during the summer.
In the summertime he would have a garden and sell that produce at the counter in the hardware store.
As the cashier, one of my jobs was to get the customer to buy some of the produce.
One day when I was working the register, we happened to have a big box of tomatoes on the counter.
As each customer checked out I would ask them if they wanted any tomatoes.
Hours passed and no one bought any tomatoes.
Seeing this, my grandfather came over and asked me what the problem was.
I told him that nobody wanted any of the tomatoes today.
My grandfather frowned and told me that everyone wanted tomatoes.
We just had to remind them that they wanted tomatoes and the tomatoes they wanted were ours.
He told me to watch and he would handle the next customer.
As the customer came to the counter to checkout, my grandfather asked them how they were doing.
"Fine, fine," replied the customer.
"I'm in a hurry to get home.
" To which my grandfather replied, "Why such a hurry?" "Dinner's almost ready," replied the customer.
"What's for dinner?" asked my grandfather.
"Chicken noodle soup," replied the customer.
I watched as my grandfather got a huge grin on his face and said, "You know, the last time I had chicken noodle soup I tried something different.
" Grabbing a tomato from the box and holding it in the palm of his hand he continued: "I took a big juicy tomato and sliced it up in some nice big slices.
" As he said this he demonstrated the cutting motion of the tomatoes.
"I then placed the tomatoes on a plate and sprinkled a little bit of sugar over the top of the tomatoes.
I ate the tomatoes with the soup and it was wonderful.
" The customer, looking at the nice big juicy tomato, listening to my grandfather, and feeling his emotion, was almost drooling over the produce.
"Those sure are some fine looking tomatoes," replied the customer.
"I will take 3 pounds.
" I watched my grandfather as he sold tomatoes to customer after customer using the same strategy of relating the tomatoes to something the customer knew.
When he was finished he explained what he was doing.
He began by telling me that people don't like to be sold anything.
They want to buy something.
As a merchant you have to make the customer believe they want what you are selling.
This is accomplished by creating a total sales experience.
When I asked the customer if they wanted to buy a tomato, their immediate answer was "No," except for the very few people who were in a hardware store looking for tomatoes! What I needed to do was create this experience for them and remind them how the tomatoes could be used.
I like using the tomato example because it gives you a concrete example of how to create the sales experience.
In watching my grandfather I discovered 3 things are needed to create an effective sales experience: Description - you need to choose words that will resonate with the customer and convey the experience they want to have.
Notice how my grandfather talked about the big juicy tomatoes and what he liked to do with them while eating the same thing the customer was having for dinner.
Interact - don't just talk but use the product or a prop to effectively describe how the product could be used.
My grandfather had the tomato in the palm of his hand and demonstrated how he cut the tomato.
The customer could not take his eyes off of the product.
Emotion - don't just say the words.
You need to believe in the product or service you are selling.
My grandfather knew his tomatoes were delicious and he knew people would love them.
This came through in the emotion he used to describe the product.
If you can incorporate Description - Interaction -and Emotion into a sales presentation, you will be effectively creating a dynamic sales experience for the customer and your sales will skyrocket.
To tomatoes and your increasing sales!
Meaning, it is not the steak that will get you the sale but the sizzle of the steak.
This is known as the Selling Experience and can be best described by my experience working for my grandfather.
My grandfather had a small hardware store and I worked for him after school, on weekends, and during the summer.
In the summertime he would have a garden and sell that produce at the counter in the hardware store.
As the cashier, one of my jobs was to get the customer to buy some of the produce.
One day when I was working the register, we happened to have a big box of tomatoes on the counter.
As each customer checked out I would ask them if they wanted any tomatoes.
Hours passed and no one bought any tomatoes.
Seeing this, my grandfather came over and asked me what the problem was.
I told him that nobody wanted any of the tomatoes today.
My grandfather frowned and told me that everyone wanted tomatoes.
We just had to remind them that they wanted tomatoes and the tomatoes they wanted were ours.
He told me to watch and he would handle the next customer.
As the customer came to the counter to checkout, my grandfather asked them how they were doing.
"Fine, fine," replied the customer.
"I'm in a hurry to get home.
" To which my grandfather replied, "Why such a hurry?" "Dinner's almost ready," replied the customer.
"What's for dinner?" asked my grandfather.
"Chicken noodle soup," replied the customer.
I watched as my grandfather got a huge grin on his face and said, "You know, the last time I had chicken noodle soup I tried something different.
" Grabbing a tomato from the box and holding it in the palm of his hand he continued: "I took a big juicy tomato and sliced it up in some nice big slices.
" As he said this he demonstrated the cutting motion of the tomatoes.
"I then placed the tomatoes on a plate and sprinkled a little bit of sugar over the top of the tomatoes.
I ate the tomatoes with the soup and it was wonderful.
" The customer, looking at the nice big juicy tomato, listening to my grandfather, and feeling his emotion, was almost drooling over the produce.
"Those sure are some fine looking tomatoes," replied the customer.
"I will take 3 pounds.
" I watched my grandfather as he sold tomatoes to customer after customer using the same strategy of relating the tomatoes to something the customer knew.
When he was finished he explained what he was doing.
He began by telling me that people don't like to be sold anything.
They want to buy something.
As a merchant you have to make the customer believe they want what you are selling.
This is accomplished by creating a total sales experience.
When I asked the customer if they wanted to buy a tomato, their immediate answer was "No," except for the very few people who were in a hardware store looking for tomatoes! What I needed to do was create this experience for them and remind them how the tomatoes could be used.
I like using the tomato example because it gives you a concrete example of how to create the sales experience.
In watching my grandfather I discovered 3 things are needed to create an effective sales experience: Description - you need to choose words that will resonate with the customer and convey the experience they want to have.
Notice how my grandfather talked about the big juicy tomatoes and what he liked to do with them while eating the same thing the customer was having for dinner.
Interact - don't just talk but use the product or a prop to effectively describe how the product could be used.
My grandfather had the tomato in the palm of his hand and demonstrated how he cut the tomato.
The customer could not take his eyes off of the product.
Emotion - don't just say the words.
You need to believe in the product or service you are selling.
My grandfather knew his tomatoes were delicious and he knew people would love them.
This came through in the emotion he used to describe the product.
If you can incorporate Description - Interaction -and Emotion into a sales presentation, you will be effectively creating a dynamic sales experience for the customer and your sales will skyrocket.
To tomatoes and your increasing sales!
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