Yesterday I started to share with you what I believe to be the TOP 3 WAYS TO SELL MORE WITHOUT SPENDING A DIME ON MARKETING.
As I said, giving you all 3 at once would take up too much space (and too much of your time), so I have started a 3-day series, of which today is Day 2. If you missed the first one, you can read it here: http://www.poolgeniusnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/top-3-ways-to-sell-more
Onto today's tip:
#2: Red Car Syndrome
:: Coming to a Store Near You ::
I watched an infomercial, or advertisement, or a study, or something like that a few years ago and it really made an impact on me. It was essentially a study on perception.
A whole bunch of people were shown 2 videos - one of a red car going around a track, and one of a blue car going around a track. They were then asked which one they thought went around the track faster. The answer was overwhelming in favor of the red car.
In fact, both cars were carefully going the exact same speed.
People are, for some reason, pre-programed to think that Red Cars are faster. Ever heard of "Sports Car Red"?
Apparently there are a whole bunch of people who remove the mufflers from their vehicles because...loud cars are perceived to go faster too.
So, my #2 tip is about creating a "Red Car" impression in your retail store in order to increase your sales. Perception is everything. If you can give the impression that your products are must-have products, people will feel like they must-have them!
If you can give the impression that your store is THE coolest place to be, THE best pool supply store in town, THE only reasonable choice for pool owners, it will become THE place to be.
So...how do you do that? Well, you need to pay attention to the aspects of your store or business that make impressions on people.
There used to be a department store in my town that I HATED going to. It had the best prices, and a huge variety of stuff that I wanted, but I HATED going there. Why? Because it was dark, and it didn't look pretty, and it just made me think of old people. I didn't like it.
Then there was a new Walmart built...which was actually more expensive, believe it or not, but it was bright and open and I felt like it was sunny inside. Even though I have no reason to believe one was cleaner than the other, I certainly FELT like the Walmart was cleaner.
So, I will argue that lighting is a big factor in making a good first impression. You are a family store, right? Make it colorful and bright and summery!
There are other things that contribute to first impressions as well:
- employees - what are they wearing? do they look happy? do they look helpful? do they look hungover?
- product displays: they don't have to be fancy, but they should be fun, and attracting and colorful and IN YOUR FACE! Get your family to help create them...you are a family store, so BE a family store!
- set up - is everything crammed and stuffed full, or easily accessible? It is always great to make sure you have product on your shelves, but when you have too much of any one thing, not only do you start creating clutter, but you also give the impression that, for whatever reason, that product isn't selling.
- smell - smell is a very important part of an impression. You are a pool store, it is OK to smell a bit like chlorine. It reminds people of swimming, and gets them excited to jump in a pool! Too much is not good, but a waft of light-chlorine perfume will put your customers in the right mind-set. Your sense of smell is one of the quickest memory triggers, after all.
- warmth - your store should be welcoming in all ways...including in temperature. If it is smoking hot outside, make people feel like they just jumped into a nice cool pool when they walk through your doors. If it is a grey day, warm up the store and set up a few water stations where they can run their fingers through the water, enjoying the sensation of warm air, cool water
Tomorrow, I will share with you my #1 tip for selling more: :: The title is SECRET, because it is SO good, you're just going to have to wait to read it::
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