How to push your sales through the roof

Some years ago I walked into Cadenza Guitars in Takapuna to enquire about the range of guitars and the approximate price.  The owner of the shop told me that I could spend $2,500 plus, or as little as $132.   He then unpacked one of the cheaper guitars, played a few chords and I was so wowed by the quality of the sound that I agreed to make a purchase.  But that wasn’t the end of it.  The manager then asked me if I needed any music and a carrying case and made further sales of those items.

This story doesn’t end there, because a week later I went back to enquire about tuners for the guitar.  I was shown an electronic tuner priced at $39.95 but I was more interested in a blow pipe tuner. “Yes” he said “We do have those but nobody really uses them now.  They are $8.95.”  Now here I had a dilemma because the electronic tuner, which was obviously more accurate was a much bulkier item than the blowpipe version, and I really wanted something more compact.  Almost as if he had a sixth sense, Ed suggested that I should look at another tuner which was almost the same size as the blowpipe.  He then demonstrated it and as a result sold it to me for $59.95.  The point here is that Ed could have made the assumption, as many retailers do, that I was buying on price, and would probably settle for the $8.95 mode.  But he really got to the nitty gritty of what I really wanted and as a result the dollar value of his sale increased 670%.

This is retail selling at its best.  Within two weeks from a simple enquiry with no intention of buying, Ed had sold me $260 of goods and cemented a relationship with me for many years – and I am still talking about it, which must be good for business.  In fact I did some research on Cadenza Guitars as this article went to press, and found a review on Yelp.com in much the same vein.  The shop is apparently now in Karangahape Road, Auckland. 

Add on selling and even up selling is so easy yet there are so many retailers who don’t spot the opportunity for increased revenue and take advantage of it.  And it doesn’t have to be done in a threatening way – if you master the technique of helping your customer to make the right decision it puts more money into your bank and creates ongoing customer relationships.