Here are three reasons why opening a mall cart or kiosk business can be such an attractive venture:

1) Customers Ready to Buy

First, with a mall cart or kiosk business, you get to tap into the shopping mall existing mall traffic. These shoppers come to the mall prepared to buy, often with their credit cards in one hand and shopping lists in the other.

With a mall cart or kiosk, you get to be out in the middle of the mall and get ‘first crack’ at all these ‘hungry’ customers! 

By targetting buyers that are ‘prepped’ and ready to buy, you can make a large amount of sales – and profit – in relatively short period of time!

***
2) Low Start-Up Costs

The upfront costs are associated with starting a mall cart or kiosk business are extremely low.

With a mall cart or kiosk, you can often be up and running for a fraction of what it would cost to start a more traditional business. There are no high-priced franchise fees. No long-term leases. No exorbitant advertising costs.

The low start-up costs involved with opening a mall cart or kiosk business allow just about anyone to open and run their own profitable business.

***
3) Quick Return of Profits

One of the best aspects of running a mall cart or kiosk is that you get a relative quick return on your up-front ‘investment’.

Have you ever heard the maxim that you should expect to wait two years or more for a new business to show a profit?

It doesn’t usually take that long mall cart or kiosk! With a mall cart or kiosk business, it is not unusual for you to get your start-up funds back – and put a large profit in your pockets – within the first couple of months.

To get more details on starting your own profitable mall cart or kiosk, register for my f-r-e-e 7-day, mini ecourse:

How to Start Your Own Mall Cart or Kiosk Business

Brady Flower

Although it may be very obvious to you how someone might use your products, it’s not always as obvious to prospective customers.

***
One way to share the potential uses or your product is to simply list them off.

It does this….
It does that…
And so on…

It’s certainly one approach.

However, this approach can come off sounding extremely ‘salesy’.

Remember the old slicer/dicers sold on TV?

‘It slices, it dices, it makes MOUNDS of julienne fries….’

Very ‘salesy.’

People have a tendency to resist any obvious efforts to sell to them.

One of the most effective ways to sell is to tell STORIES about how people use your product. When you tell a story, your customer identifies with the characters in the story and forgets about the buying decision.

And the stories will suggest uses for your products that customers wouldn’t think of by themselves.

***
For example…one holiday season, I sold an add-on item on my heat pack cart called Earz. These Earz kept your ears warm. They were like ear muffs without the straps.

Because they were an add-on item, we didn’t show them to everyone. But here in frigid Minnesota it was good add-on item.

This particular week, one of my college student salespeople started selling these Earz like gangbusters. He was selling as many as the rest of my staff combined.

***
Finally I asked him what he was doing.

He told me he was used the same 30-second quick script everyone else was using. But before asking the customer to buy, he added a quick story. After the mini-script, he would continue on…

‘For example, I just pop these on my ears in the morning on my way to class so that I can keep my ears warm… without messing up my hair.’

‘That way when I get to class, my hair’s in place, and I still look pretty for the girls!’

And then gave a sly smile….

I burst out laughing.

And so did most of his customers.

Instead of feeling the pressure as to whether to buy, they were disarmed by his charming story. The story painted a picture of how he used the product. And made it easier for customers to substitute their own use, in place of Brian’s.

***
The potential for using stories in your sales presentation is unlimited.

However, you don’t need to tell a ton of stories. Just one or two to get people to loosen up, and think about how they can use the product.

***
Simple suggestion, rather than simply listing the potential uses of your product, tell stories that illustrates the potential uses. These stories will help customers relax, and help them more easily picture themselves using your product.

And they’ll be more likely to buy. Which is the real benefit for you.

***
George Miller was an honest, hard-working individual who knew the oil business. 

His salary was commensurate with the responsibilities he was given. And Miller seemed satisfied with both his job and the pay he received.

However, whenever Getty visited the properties and inspected his drilling sites and producing rigs, he invariably noted things he felt were being done in wrong or inefficient ways.

There were too many people on payroll. Not adequate controls over costs. Certain types of work were being done too slowly; others were performed too rapidly and without proper care. Some equipment items were being overstocked while there were shortages on others.

As for George Miller himself, J. Paul Getty felt he was spending too much time doing administrative work in the LA office, and not enough time out in the field. 

Thus, he wasn’t able to exercise the necessary degree of direct supervision over the operations that were under his responsibility. All these things served to keep costs high, to slow down production, and hold down profits.

But J. Paul Getty liked George Miller and felt certain he possessed all the qualifications of a top-notched superintendent.  After some weeks, Getty had a man-to-man talk with him.

He informed George bluntly that he thought there was considerable room for improvement in the manner in which he was handling the job.

‘It’s funny, but I need only to spend an hour on one of the sites and I spot several other things we could do better or cheaper, and increase production and profits,’ J. Paul Getty told him. ‘ Frankly I can’t understand why you don’t see them too.’

‘But you OWN the properties,’ the superintendent declared. ‘You have a direct personal interest in everything that happens on or to them. That’s enough to sharpen anyone’s eyes to the ways of saving – thereby making – more money.’

J. Paul Getty never thought about it in quite that way before.

He mulled over what George said for a several days, and decided to try an experiment. He had another talk with George.

‘Look, George.  Suppose I farm the properties out to you.’ he suggested. ‘Instead of the paying you a salary, I’ll give you a percent of the profits.  The more efficient our operations, the bigger those profits will be — and the more money you’ll make.’

***
Miller gave the proposition some thought and then accepted the offer enthusiastically. The change was immediate – and according to J. Paul Getty – a little short of miraculous.

No longer merely a salaried employee, the superintendent became keenly concerned with cutting costs, boosting production and increasing the profits in which he was now to share.

Miller looked at the operations in a completely different light – instantly recognizing – and correcting – faults which he had before missed.

Where before he’d spent two and sometimes three days each week in the Los Angeles office, now he made only brief shows there once or twice a month. He chafed impatiently until he could return to the drilling sites.

***
J. Paul Getty checked out the properties again 60 days after George took over under the new deal. He could find nothing wrong. He noted little if anything he could have done better himself. 

In a very short time BOTH Miller and J. Paul Getty were making far more money than they had before they starting working on a profit-sharing basis.

***
The lesson that J. Paul Getty learned is valuable for any cart and kiosk owner. Pay your managers based upon their performance and the performance of the business.
 
It sharpens their eyes to the ways of saving and making money. They work harder. They perform better. Often both you AND they make more money.

***
Best,

Brady Flower

P.S. For more tips on how to run a successful mall cart or kiosk, subscribe to the Specialty Retail Report:

http://www.kioskexpert.com/srr.htm 

That’s about 2.5 million calls across the industry.

That’s a lot of people calling to inquire about a cart or kioskbusiness. And certainly enough people to fill any mall in the country.

***
Now… many of the people calling don’t have a clue how much they can actually make with a little cart or kiosk. I had no idea at first.

The prospect of paying $10K for two months in the middle of the mall seemed ludicrous. And outrageous. But a supplier showed me how I could sell $100K worth of heat packs in only two months during the holidays. And generate a profit of over $30K.

From a little cart space in the mall.

All of a sudden, $10K for rent didn’t sound quite so bad for access to that opportunity…

Because a lot of the people that call don’t know how much they can make from a cart… when they hear how much it costs to rent space, they politely hang up, never to be heard from again. 

Now keep in mind, they’re looking for a way to make money. They want their own business.  Many just don’t know quite how to do it.

As marketer Jay Abraham puts it, most people are ‘… silently begging to be led.’

***
Now, if the malls ever really caught on to this… they’d take EACH of their 500 or 1000 or 5000 prospects by the hand. And they’d walk each and every prospect through step-by-step how to make money from a cart or kiosk.

You know what would happen?

Demand for cart spaces would skyrocket. Cart spaces would be full. And rents will go up. Sooner or later the mall developers will figure this out. But until they do, here’s my suggestion:

Strike while the iron is hot.  Hoist your sale while the wind is fair. Make hay while the sun shines! Take advantage of opportunity now, while it presents itself!

There are LOTS of opportunities to make money from a cart or kiosk in the mall.

***
Are you making hay while the sun shines? If not, register for my product profile email sublist:

http://www.kioskexpert.com/cmd.asp?ad=282570

Each week or so I profile suppliers like that one that helped me get started in business several years ago. These suppliers that offer concepts that are making people money. Right now.

Like this week. I am profiling a company whose 30 company-owned locations generated between $30K and $42K in sales… per cart…  last month…  in January.

Now that’s making hay while the sun shines!

And they have 90+ distributors are doing same or similar numbers each and every month. The good news for you and I is that there are still 900 locations available for someone who’s looking. 

They’re ready, willing and able to help you get started.

***
Find out more about this opportunity and others like it by registering for my product profile list. Register for f-r-e-e at:

http://www.kioskexpert.com/cmd.asp?ad=282570

***
Don’t wait. Strike now… while the iron’s hot.  While the wind is fair. And while the sun shines!

Brady Flower

P.S. You can also find profitable mall cart and kiosk opportunities in the Specialty Retail Report magazine. It’s where the suppliers advertise.  And it’s where you can find them. Click here to subscribe:

http://www.kioskexpert.com/srr.htm
 

‘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

***
“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.

This is a quick suggestion regarding holiday photos you might find useful in your business.

***
My first season open in the mall, my ‘cart mentor’ called me the last week before Christmas.

He suggested that if I hadn’t done so already, I should take some photos of my CART.

He said I would find them useful, and it would be worth the few moments required to take them. Frankly, I was too busy to ask many questions. I just told him it made sense and I’d do it.

***
This was in the days before digital cameras. I did however have one of those clunky old Polaroid cameras.

So I bought a box of film at the photo store in the mall, and the next morning took a bunch of Polaroid photos of my cart.

As it turned out, having those photos turned out to be helpful in a number of areas. Here are just a few:

***
1) When setting up in subsequent seasons, it was helpful to have the photos as a reminder to myself and my staff of how to set the cart up.

It made it easier to get through those late night set-up sessions with the photos to guide us.

***
2) When meeting with new leasing reps or applying at a new mall, it was helpful to have the photos of our past setups in the malls.

Having photos and other tangible proof of our past efforts allowed us to come off as more professional and credible right from the outset.

It certainly made it easier to get the spots we wanted.  Many malls nowadays ask for photos with their applications. 

***
3) Photos were also useful when we booking seasonal show and fair events.  These events often ask for photos of a sample display when submitting an application.

The visual merchandising requirements at the mall are usually much higher than those of a show or a fair.

So our cart photos were usually sufficient to demonstrate we would set up our display in a professional manner.

***
There can be other reasons why having photos of your cart or kiosk might be useful. Hopeful you get the idea.

If you have a digital camera, bring it along to the mall. Many of the newer camera phones will do.

Snap photos of your cart from several angles after you set up, and before the mall gets busy. Then just remember to download them to your computer.

***
If you don’t have a digital camera, stop at the mall photo store first thing in the morning.

Pick up one of the $10 disposable cameras. Then snap photos of your cart from many different angles. Snap the whole role and take it right back to the photo store before you set the camera aside and forget about it.

For about $10, most photo stores will put the pictures on a CD disc leaving you with a permanent photo record of your cart.

***
(If you won’t be at a particular mall, perhaps because you have multiple carts… call whoever is leading your cart at that mall, and ask them to snap the photos for you.

If needed, have THEM pick up a disposable camera at the photo store, snap the photos, and have them put on a cd for you.)

***
For the investment of just a few minutes, and less than $20, you can have a permanent photo record of your cart or kiosk business that you are free to use as needed.

It’s just a little thing. But if you do set aside a few moments to take these photos, you’ll likely be glad that you did.

Brady Flower
The Kiosk Expert

P.S. For ideas on visual merchandising your cart, subscribe to the Specialty Retail Report magazine:

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

***
Here are excerpts from that short voice mail:

‘I look at the nail cart doing the hawking, they just do so well.’‘I feel like I can’t hawk.’‘Once they [customers] come and look, I do talk to people’

***
In our subsequent conversation, it was clear that he felt he had only two options to approach customers. His first option was to use the relatively PASSIVE sales approach he’d used up until now.

He’d waited for customers to stop FIRST, and only then talked with them. At some level he KNEW he was missing out on sales by using this method.

The other option as he saw it, was to adopt the hyper-aggressive, hawking approach of the cart down the hallway… knowing it might increase his sales… but knowing also that it might turn off customers, and put him at risk of getting booted from the mall.

(Hawking is not allowed in most malls.)

***
As we were talking, I was reminded of a simple equation that I heard at a session on demonstration-selling this spring:

Outflow = Inflow

OUTFLOW represents communication you direct outward.  INFLOW represents what you get back.

***
When we use a passive approach, we offer very LITTLE outflow.

The lack of outflow can LIMIT the desired inflow of potential sales.

Limited Outflow = Limited Inflow

***
The other approach, hawking, offers a lot more outflow and can result in a greater inflow of sales… but also can result in unwanted and unneeded inflow, such as unhappy mall patrons and a ticked-off mall management.

Inappropriate Outflow = Unwanted Inflow

(Again… hawking is not allowed in most malls.)

***
In our subsequent conversation, the operator and I talked about another approach.. 

An approach that might be considered ‘middle ground’.

An approach that is ‘active’, but not ‘aggressive.’

***
One of the simplest forms of ‘outflow’ is to simply greet people passing by…

‘Hello’.

Now, I don’t mean the just kind of ‘Hello’you use after someone walks up to your cart of their own accord. But repeatedly, and repetitively greeting people that pass by, ‘Hello’.

***
When we greet a person hello…. ‘something’ happens. That ‘something’ is usually one of two things:

Either the person continues walking on down the hallway… in which case we let them go.

Or, they acknowledge us… by looking at us or our cart.

That’s ‘inflow’.

***
More outflow = More inflow

***
When a prospective customer acknowledges us by looking at us or our cart… we can proceed forward another step… with more outflow…

‘Have you seen this yet?’

(Or whatever phrase is most appropriate for our product.)

Again… ‘something’ happens.

***
That ‘something’ might be that the person continues to walk on down the hall… in which case again, we let them go.

Or that person might stop, and look at our product… or they might look at us inquisitively… or they might ask ‘What?’…

That’s more inflow.

***
More outflow = More inflow

***
If people stop, or look, or ask, we proceed to the next step in our presentation.

Outflow. 

If we have a good product and a solid presentation… …. a certain percentage of the people we talk to… will BUY from us.

Inflow.Desired inflow.***
Want to boost your sales? 

Increase appropriate outflow.

It’s can be as simple as greeting people, ‘Hello’.

Best,

Brady Flower
The Kiosk Expert

… but for Uncle Ray’s ‘Ooey Gooey, Rich and Chewy’ chocolate chip cookies.

***
‘Uncle Ray’ makes the cookies in his home kitchen each week, and sells them at the market in $2 bags (or three bags for $5).They ARE ‘ooey gooey, rich and chewy’ just as advertised. And delicious.

I look forward to ‘cheating’ my normal healthy diet each week at Uncle Ray’s booth.

***
A little over a week ago, I got an email from ‘Uncle Ray’ reminding me that the upcoming Saturday was the last of the season…

‘Would you be interested in a 1 lb tin of cookies for $10.00?’

‘Let me know and I will have it ready for you Saturday.’

Would I?  You bet I would! 

And I emailed him back right quick and asked him to count me in!

***
When I got to the market on Saturday, I headed over to his booth… saw the 1 lb. tin sitting on the booth table… and found myself immediately disappointed.

***
Sitting on the table was one of those Christmas cookie size tins… about three inches tall.

Which is EXACTLY what ‘Uncle Ray’ offered to me in his email.

But what I had pictured in my MIND was much different.

What I had pictured was one of those HUGE popcorn size tins… twelve inches tall… full of cookies!

That’s what I wanted!

***
Now… my disappointment wasn’t with the AMOUNT for the money.

I just wanted MORE. And would have been happy to PAY for more!

As a customer, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.

I was happy to take the biggest option offered… until I saw it, and realized I really
wanted a BIGGER option.

Now… my disappointment was only momentary. I happily took my tin, finished shopping, and headed home.

***
When I got home, and was unloading my produce… I took off my ‘customer hat’ for a moment, put on my ‘marketing hat’. And pondered this situation a little more.

***
It occurred to me that if Uncle Ray had offered his $10 tin all summer, I probably would have bought it EVERY week.

(After all, the three $2 bags rarely lasted me into the afternoon!)

I’m sure there would have been OTHER customers that… after finding the $2 bag
so delicious… would have decided to go ahead and take home a $10 tin.

(And perhaps even a bigger tin.)

***
Here’s the lesson… many cart and kiosk find themselves in the SAME situation as ‘Uncle Ray.’

The actually LIMIT the size of the sales they make… by not offering enough ‘DELUXE’ options. 

You can’t count on your CUSTOMERS to know what they need or want.

They’re simply not thinking that far ahead.

Most often they make decisions based upon what we OFFER.

Offer small… customers buy small. 

Offer big… customers buy big.

***
As a customer, I never really thought about what size would have been ideal for me. Three bags for $5. ‘I’ll take that’.

When a bigger size was offered, I bought THAT… and probably would have bought more!

***
* Do you offer ‘deluxe’ options now? .

* Can you offer ‘bigger’?

***
That’s it for today!

(Now… if only that tin were bigger…)

Brady Flower
The Kiosk Expert

It’s also the night before the official start to the holiday season for carts and kiosks in the malls.

Tonight, long after the kiddies have collected their candy and have gotten cozy in their beds… many of us will be hard at work, setting up our carts and kiosks for ‘opening day’ tomorrow.

It can be an exciting time, especially if you are getting ready to open your business for the first time. And at times seem a little overwhelming.

I recall one night shortly before I opening my first cart… coming home after a long day putting up help-wanted flyers and all of a sudden feeling very overwhelmed. 

All of a sudden it felt like there was too MUCH to do, and not nearly enough time to do it in.

All of a sudden it felt like there was no way I would be able to get everything done in time.

***
Rather than wallow in that feeling, I picked up the phone and called my little brother. As I started to explain what was going on, he interrupted me and would have none of it…

‘Do other people succeed with these things?’ he asked me.

‘Yes’, I answered.

‘Is there anything THEY can do, that YOU can’t?’

‘No’, I answered again.

‘Well then get over yourself, get out your list, and get going on what’s next.Put your focus on what you can do NOW.’***
It was just the slap on the fact that I needed.

After our call, I got out my to do list, focused on what was next, and just started knocking things off. I got my cart open on time, and went on to have great results.

***
Former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill once said,

‘It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.’

***
What’s the next link in YOUR chain of destiny to be handled?

***
If at some point this holiday season you find yourself feeling overwhelmed… take a step back, and simply focus on what you can do next!

Brady Flower
The Kiosk Expert