Idea # 1 - People listen when you're
giving something away
Don Spring - Cavalcade Color Lab
foto source - Huntsville, Ontario,
Canada -
cavalcade.fotosource.com/
I Didn't Know You Did That . .
.
How many times have you heard
that in your store? Frustrating? You
bet. Don Spring of Cavalcade Color
Lab in Huntsville, Ontario invested
time and money to hear it frequently
last week. He invited the local
Chamber of Commerce to have a mixer
at his store. He had approximately
100 people attend, many who hadn't
been in the store, "since I brought
you my last roll of film." Don got
them to quietly listen to 30 minutes
worth of "sales pitches" despite the
food and beverages flowing.
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Don knew most were coming not to
see Cavalcade's new offerings but to
get free food/drink and to schmooze
with their fellow Chamber members.
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Don also knew that if he gave a
speech the audience would be polite
about 3 minutes and it would be over
. . . So Don kept them captivated
for 30 minutes . . . by giving
things away . . . and explaining
what he was giving away.
One of the things he gave away
was the ProMaster Emergency
Flashlight. Everyone knows what a
flashlight does . . . but before Don
gave it away he was able to tell the
assembled crowd how this flashlight
was also a power storage unit that
would allow the customer to charge
their cell phone, earpiece, GPS or
whatever USB compatible unit needed
power. Virtually everyone in the
audience hoped they would win this
$25 item . . . but if they didn't
win it they all knew why they would
want one and where they could buy
it!
What about winning the ProMaster
Soft Clean Cloth that also is the
color of the gray card? That's a
unique product that Don was able to
talk about because he was giving it
away. Everyone now knows why they
want to carry a grey card and what
easier way than as a cleaning cloth.
Inkjet banners are perfect
products for fellow business people.
Don gave away a free one with a
ProMaster banner stand . . .
immediate sales were the result.
These business operators didn't know
where to buy banners locally. By
giving away products or services the
crowd was happy to listen to Don's
sales pitches and the crowd kept
murmuring "I didn't know they did
that".
Look at the pictures and you'll
see the store was well signed with
lots of imaging services on display.
Don also gave away various
personalized photo services, but
again drawing the lucky winner only
after explaining to the crowd what
the service was they were giving
away . . . Again the common refrain,
"I didn't know they did that.
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Don wasn't shy and his team
joined in to make it a memorable
event. Don gave away a ProMaster
Photographer's Vest . . . and
announced that the winner would have
a custom "tailored" fit by the
salesperson who would let them try
on the small, medium, large and
extra-large . . . So the salesman
exaggerated the process of trying on
the vest just to add fun and panache
to the evening.
If you're tired of potential
customers not knowing what you do,
invite them in and create an
environment that they'll listen to
your explanations of what you do.
Don estimates his net cost for
the various ProMaster products and
services he gave away was "a couple
hundred dollars" - or around $2 per
attendee . . . and these were all
qualified business people who have
above average income and propensity
to invest in imaging products and
services. The sales to new customers
the next day virtually covered the
cost of the giveaways products.
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image,
click here
If you're thinking of doing
something like this, also check out
how Dan's Camera City did a Chamber
of Commerce Mixer
MMIE Issue 245
