Monday, October 5th, 2009...2:06 pm
How To Sell More At Your Retail Store
This past weekend I stopped in at the Bronck House in Coxsackie, NY, it is the original home of the family that the Bronx, NY are named after. It is the oldest surviving dwelling in Upstate New York and was hosting a craft fair. That’s where I met Ralph Hill making Bee skeps. I didn’t even know what they were but I had to know more.
Ralph Hull's Bee Skep
He told a group of us crowded around that bee skeps are made of coiled rye straw and used to transfer a swarm of bees to a new colony. They had been used since before the Bronck house and were constructed to hold up to 65 pounds of honey. As he talked about how he made them from natural rushes and rye from around his home in Oak Hill, NY, I saw the three elements of great retail at work and one of the most common to be avoided:
1. Obey the law of scarcity. Ralph only displayed one at a time. This made me interrupt at one point and ask if I could buy one. If you have a bricks and mortar store, don’t fill up all the shelves with product, it makes them look like no one wants them. As I walked away, I thought someone would have to wait for him to build another; I looked back later and he had several hidden out of casual eyesight.
2. Stories sell. Ralph was animated talking about the history of the bee skep, how they were made, how they functioned in colonial times who were looking for a way to maintain their supply of honey and the care he took with them. Every item you carry should have a story, something besides the features. The “why,” that product exists because someone was looking for a better way.
3. Show don’t tell. While Ralph presented me with a three-page single-spaced handout about the Bee Skep after I purchased it, he knew the visual of watching an 89-year old man hand make a basket with a Diet Coke bottle would draw a crowd. From that experience of watching, he then just answered questions. When I was selling western wear I used to have an employee steaming hats at the front of the store to create interest. What can you show to create interest in your store?
4. Don’t know their own worth. As fascinating as this all was, Ralph said it took him 8 hours to make one. I overhead another woman say they were expensive online, over $200. The trouble with so many retailers is they don’t price according to what the market will bear but what they fear they can’t go over. They don’t figure in their time or talent. I figured the bee skep would be about $50. I was shocked when I found they were $25.
Lessons for retail are all around in everyday common activities. What are some you’ve had presented to you that made you change the way you do business?
More tips for building your business can be found here.
6 Comments
October 5th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
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October 5th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I like this post. In my own blogs – which offer tips for craft artists can find easy tips to run their businesses better – your statements truly validate what I have been saying for awhile. Without a good story, there is no real reason for someone to want to buy what you are selling. I see people at shows (often neighbors) who are very passive when it comes to selling – “I make this” and that is it. Whoo hoo – so you make it, so do others that I have visited – what makes your special?! After all many people may find something that catches their eye and be on the fence – maybe it is the price that they aren’t sure about (a perfect lead to show how ones work is valuable) or where they might put the purchase in their home (a hint to talk about some testimonials others have about the item). The way I see it – whether it is a customer at a craft show or in a retail shop, if you see you have someone “hooked” that is the time to step in and give reasons why people should BUY it. That’s just my two cents
Like the blog!! – Michelle (owner of By the Bay Botanicals – http://www.bythebaybotanicals.com and blogger of http://www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com )
October 5th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Great point Michelle – whoo hoo – couldn’t have said it better myself! Passively hoping is very different from passionately selling!
October 8th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I stopped here to see if you said anything I didn’t already know. I’m a smug Main St merchant who survived the 70’s, the [gulp]80’s, and now THIS! We are niche retailers – forced by market trends to sell what people need, but cannot find in department stores. I”m so protective of my niche, I don’t even tell what it is.
We prosper because we carry no debt, own our inventory, and deal in products that change little with the seasons.
Your point about pricing “what the market will bear” has been our greatest challenge. I keep telling my daughter to raise the price on certain items and lower them on others [without regard to cost].
She resists because she doesn’t monitor our margin which hovers at about 63%.
If an item moves consistently, the price goes up. If an item is necessary to our mix of hard to find merchandise, but is beyond the comfort zone of our customers – we lower the price to sometimes only a 56% margin. People love that we carry that product… and at such a good price.
We have a new store which is foundering because of location…. but we are increasing our market share from competitors failing…. so I am tentatively hopeful.
We are also negotiating a rent reduction, because the center keeps losing tenants. Always the predator…. I pay the leasing company in bits and late – to emphasize our predicament. So far.. so good.
It’s a jungle out there.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:31 am
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October 18th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Some things I learned over the years from craft fairs & such venues…
1. Be willing to negoatiate price a little bit. People like to think they are “getting a deal” and not over a barrel when they buy.
2. Engage the costomer, ask them about the area, and such. Ask them about their lives, people LOVE to feel interesting, and it puts them at ease if a vendor is frendly and personable to them.
3. Never assume the guy dressed like a bum is poor. Its the average folks who buy the most overall.
4. All people want to buy, they need a good reason to buy from you… Give them a good one. Value, quality, and a fair price & good service are GOLDEN.
5. Have a business card of flyer there to give as well. That way when the show is over, and the sale goes home, if someone visiting sees your product and “wants one as well’ there is a way to “contact you”. I always put a small sticker on the product with contact info on it as well. It has increased my after the show sales…
6. Have a good mixture of items in the high dollar, mid & low range as well. When you sell to only one range of costomer, you cut yourself out of 2/3 of the other people there. I would rather sell something to EVERYONE than have to depend on ONE type of buyer to come to my booth.
7. Dont just “sell the product” have a “story to go with it”. People like to know the when, what, how, where, & why of a product or craft.
8. A live demo of what you make will generate interest, people like to see it done and everyone likes a show…
9. People like having “one of a kind” items, it feeds the “it’s special and I own it” part of their ego. The more exclusive, one of it’s kind. or rare, it seems the more “worth” attributed to it.
10. Always have a give away piece for the day, with little entry tickets, and a pen to fill em out. People like to “take a chance & win something” Just a name & phone number is all you need. But you can get an address or email too for your mailing list as well if you wish. Have a draw time, and call that person to come claim their prize. Be sure to post their name and a pic of them with the prize as well. I always do at least one early on the first day. Local people like to see their neighbors or folks they know in a communtiy “win” and the plus to this is the person who wins, will dang sure let everyone they know… KNOW WHERE THEY WON IT TOO! It will increase your “foot traffic” and help BOOST YOUR SALES!
11. Remember the 25/100 rule. a costomer who buys from you and is happy will tell a minimum of 25 people they KNOW about it. BUT if there expierence is BAD, then they will tell at least a 100 people THEY SEE at random at the show about it!
12. Have good product, stand behind it, satisfy your costomer as best you can and be fair & honest. You will always do well at a show. People remember a square deal, and will come back or tell others about you.
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