What to Do When You Don’t Have a Plan

 The most common question I’ve received recently about picking a mall kiosk product is…

‘What do you think about ……………?’

The blank (……) refers to whatever product the person is asking about… ‘Hot Sauce’, ‘Candles’, ‘Key Chains’, ‘Irons’ and so on.

***
‘What do you think about ……………?’… is a hard question to answer because there are no details to evaluate. 

There are lots of ways to sell any given product.  Some might work.  Some might not.  Without the details, it’s a lot harder to say.

A better question might be…

‘What do you think about my PLAN to sell …………?’

Of course if you don’t have a plan to sell whatever it is, you can’t ask that question.

***
If you don’t have a plan for selling a product, one suggestion is to find a proven concept, one with a proven plan in place for selling the product. 

A concept like this is often referred to as a ‘Turn-Key’ concept.  A Turn-Key concept is a one where a product supplier has a proven plan for selling their product already in place.

It’s a lot like a franchise… without the franchise fee. Instead of you coming up with a plan from scratch, you follow one that’s already in place and proven to work.

It’s a one of the best ways to get started in the cart or kiosk business.

***
Where do you find ‘Turn-Key’ concepts?

One of the best sources for finding cart and kiosk products is the Specialty Retail Report magazine.  This is the only magazine that targets solely the cart and kiosk industry. 

It’s where ‘Turn-Key’ concept suppliers advertise. It’s where you find them.

The latest copy is hot off the presses. To subscribe, click here:

http://www.kioskexpert.com/srr.htm

Be Active, Not Aggressive

In Seth Godin’s new book, “Small is the New Big” he tells the story of the Fuller Brush salesman of old…

***
“The Fuller Brush Man knew what he was doing. In the old days, Fuller’s door-to-door salesman learned a basic rule:

After you ring the bell, take a step or two backward. That way, the woman of the house won’t feel intimidated opening the door for a stranger.

It wasn’t just a tactic, though, it was a strategy… one designed to help the company grow by treating people with respect, in contrast to rival salesmen who were taught to jam a foot in the door.”

You’ll note that when the Fuller Brush sales force wanted to differentiate themselves from more aggressive salesmen, they didn’t stop talking to customers all-together. 

And they didn’t stick a truck or a wagon in the middle of the street and simply hope that the housewives of the day came out to meet them. Neither approach would have been very successful.

***
But that is exactly what many cart operators do that sell demonstration products.

 In an effort to avoid ‘hawking’ customers, they go too far… and stop the process of initiating discussion with customers altogether.  They pull back into the middle of the ’street’… or in our case, the middle of the aisle… and simply hope that customers stop by.

This approach tends not to work… as these operators simply find it difficult to make enough customer contacts to justify staying in business.

http://www.kioskexpert.com/sales-equation-120806.htm

***
A better approach is to mimic the Fuller Brush salesman of old.

Remain active, but not aggressive. Initiate discussion with prospective customers in a way that respects them, rather than attacks them.