Buy something from a kid!

I encourage you to make the difference in the life of a young person this week. I was at the grocery store yesterday, and a young man was offering food tasting in the organic fruit section. I rounded a corner, and there he was with a table full of oranges.

He had three different kinds of citrus. He made eye contact with me and said, “Would you like to try my oranges today?” How could I say no? He told me about the fruit. (Did you know there’s something called a blood orange? It’s red, by the way!) Then he said, “Of the three, which one would you like to try?” That was clever. From a sales point of view, it was an amazing move. It required commitment on my part and exclusivity!

I picked one, and I liked it. It was yummy as a matter of fact. I asked him which oranges he liked the most. With enthusiasm, he shared that he ate halo oranges every day. I also got some background on why they are called halos. Interestingly enough, his choice was not the choice I had made. Nonetheless, I trusted him. He wasn’t just telling me what he thought I needed to hear.

And then he did the best thing a good sales guy can do. He asked, “Would you like to buy some of my oranges today”? I loved how personal he made it and, of course, you know my answer. Without hesitation, I said, “I sure would!”

I picked the oranges I tasted. He reached out and began to pick up as many oranges as he could hold. He didn’t say, “How many do you want?” He assumed I wanted several. I didn’t argue. He grabbed a bag to put them in and then he said, “Would you like more?” I loved the upsell! I let him know I was pleased with the current amount and thanked him.

Sales at a High Level

Although this young man looked a little awkward alone at the end of the fruit aisle, he understood his job that day. He did several “sales” things at a high level, and I feel certain he’s not aware of the “sales process.”

1. He absolutely connected with me by not passing up the opportunity that arose because we made eye contact.
2. He qualified me by finding out if I had any interest in trying his oranges.
3. He presented beautifully…I didn’t even realize there were so many types of oranges. I love to learn new things.
4. He closed the sale by asking me to buy the oranges.

I have no idea if this young man will grow into a superstar salesman. What I do know is that I want to encourage others. His behavior was spot on! He was doing his job at a high level that day. I know that I’m not his boss but I am the buyer…… oh wait….the buyer is the boss!

Anyway, my point is that when we have the opportunity to encourage others, we should take it. You can always find time to encourage your team, your kids, or your friends. Pay attention to when they are getting it right and encourage them to keep doing that!

Orange you glad you took the time read the article this week! I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email: beth@trainertainment.net

This time of year I can’t even tell what holiday I’m supposed to be decorating for! The moment you walk into a store nowadays you are confused about what holiday is approaching. Fall items are next to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations. I gotta tell ya; I’m at a loss on what I’m supposed to be buying.

While I can’t decide what holiday to decorate for yet, I know one thing for sure; everyone should have their marketing calendar ready for the rest of the year and have promotions to help drive business. We shouldn’t just create marketing promotions and events because it’s the holidays; we should be doing them to help drive our business.

We know everyone doesn’t have crazy big budgets for marketing and we want to give you some ideas that will help you win in the 4^th quarter and drive business not just during the holidays, but for next year.

Create a special holiday video

Show the fun and personal side of the business. We are always looking for ways to connect with our community and this is a great way for people to see how fun and wonderful your center and team are. Who doesn’t want to host a holiday party, birthday party, or fun family night in a great facility with a great team? Share it on all your social media channels to show off your business and make a connection.

Offer free holiday cards

Kids have parties for every holiday. Imagine one kiddo taking a card with a free coupon from your center to every person in their class. How many people do you think you could reach for free? Yeah, that could be a lot of kids! It’s very inexpensive to get cards printed and could result in a big return. We use www.spinnprint.com where, for just $140, you can get 1,000 full-color postcards printed and that could result in thousands of dollars in revenue.

Sell gift cards

Gift cards are a guaranteed way to drive people back into your center. They are great to give as gifts, stocking stuffers, or donations to local organizations. The holidays are a good time to run a promotion for buying a gift card and getting a certificate for an item (with a redeem date of  January – February when your center may have a slow day). Be sure your sales department is offering bulk gift cards to schools, churches, and other companies that can be purchased as holiday gifts.

Show love to your fans

Social media has made it easy for us to show love and appreciation to our community. The holidays are a great time to have a contest on Facebook. Winners can get great prizes and be sure to give a bounce-back coupon for every person who participates. Not only will they be thrilled to have the chance to win free items, it will also help boost engagement on your social channels. When you show love to your fans, they will be more likely to come back and visit your fan pages and more likely to plan a visit to your center.

Launch an email campaign

If you haven’t started your email marketing list, now is the perfect time to collect emails as people come in your center. If you have been diligent all year collecting emails and haven’t sent any out, now is the time. From now till the end of the year, share your holiday calendar, information on holiday parties, special offers you are running in your center, your center’s holiday video, even a special letter from the president or general manager. Emails help you stay top of mind as people decide where to take their kiddos during all the school holidays.

These are just a few things you can do to help drive sales in your center. Last year we shared a long list of holiday marketing tips of various events you could host in your center during the holidays. There is still time to plan and execute events, so don’t be discouraged if you haven’t started already.

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me anytime at rosie@trainertainment.net.