John:

That's a brilliant idea! And I bet you also move (sell) the items faster too, don't you?

With the smaller items that are still a little too large to throw in the back of a sedan, do you offer free delivery or charge for delivery?

I've found, by asking people how they will move the item they are buying, after they have bought it (knowing before hand they only have a sedan), and then offering to deliver it for a fee, I can get extra money from the transaction.

Maybe I could "make the sale" easier/faster by hinting at delivery before they have decided to buy. But I couldn't be bothered with "selling." I have a "there it is, take it or leave it" approach.

I have begun to test the idea of adding "can deliver" in my fliers for larger, heavier items like washing machines, lounge sets, sofas, etc. Maybe it will get more calls, faster. We'll see.

On another note... In the last issue of The Great Ideas Letter - http://www.sowpub.com/greatideas/ -we showed a guy who increased his business 500% (sold five times as much as he used to) by renting his product to his potential customers, with the option to buy. He let them rent-try-buy.

It seems to me, you could also do that as well as offer terms.

Of course, if you're selling the items fast enough anyway, then you might not need to offer a rent-try-buy thing.

On the other hand, if you allow only a small portion of the rental to go toward the purchase price, you get more money out of the transaction.

Sure it means a little more paperwork. But it could be worth it. Depending on the item you are selling. I know it works for the product the guy in The Great Ideas Letter sells.

Michael Ross


Click here for Great business ideas