Marketing Lessions from a Mall Kiosk Vendor

I love to go to the local Mall and browse the wares of the kiosk vendors. On busy Saturdays there is almost a carnival atmosphere.

Last Saturday one particular vendor caught my attention. He was a young man about college age. Now, if you notice most kiosk venders just sit back and wait for customers to come and start looking at their products. Not this guy. His was out there talking to people as they walked by and roping them in.

He was selling a glass cleaning and polishing product. What he would do is look for people wearing glasses and right before they got to his kiosk he would step up to them and say, "Excuse me Sir. (or Ms.) your glasses look scratched. If you will allow me to polish them I think I can remove the scratches." Most people hand him their glasses and he sprays a few drops from a spray bottle and then quickly polishes the glasses with a cloth, hands them back to the owner and says, "There you go. Good as new. Check for yourself." Of course everyone put's their glasses back on and are amazed to find that the scratches are gone. The first thing they say is "what is that stuff?" And you know what? At that point he's got them. He doesn't even have to ask for the sale. They have sold themselves. It now just becomes a matter of whether they will buy the small bottle or the large bottle. Of course if they buy the large bottle (at $29.99!!!) they get this bonus and that bonus and oh, I'll throw in a small bottle as well. This young guy was marketing master.

I watched him for about 15 minutes and then got to talking to him. He said he used to work for a distributer and sold the stuff door to door. He eventually wised up and contacted the manufacturer himself. The manufacturer gave him the idea to put up a kiosk in a high traffic mall.

Incidently, I was curious what kind of rent he paid and he told me it was $2000.00 a month. I commented that he must have to sell a lot of bottles to cover that expense and he grined and said he makes that much on one Saturday.




Unique and Easy Money Making Ideas

...of when I opened my first business office YARS ago;

The 2nd day in biz in pops a 19yr old kid selling Fuller Brush products.

This kid was amazing. He was a MASTER at grabbing your attention...getting you interested in the BENEFITS of his products and then he would CLOSE you on buying the Giant-Economy size, which also included a smaller version as a bonus plus a few other "bonuses".

For the next year I kept trying to hire this kid to sell my burglar and fire alarms but...his goal was to have his own cleaning products company. Which he did a year later and went on to become very successful.

And...the kid that replaced him was almost as good.

Fuller Brush had a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL way of finding and training those young kids. They had a "formula for success"....like the kid selling eyeglass cleaner...they were able to GRAB your attention and get you INTERESTED...fast.

And...they KNEW how to "read body language" that would tell them what to say and do next. PLUS, they were GREAT CLOSERS. They KNEW how to get the orders.

Thanks for mentioning this.

Don Alm

> I love to go to the local Mall and browse
> the wares of the kiosk vendors. On busy
> Saturdays there is almost a carnival
> atmosphere.

> Last Saturday one particular vendor caught
> my attention. He was a young man about
> college age. Now, if you notice most kiosk
> venders just sit back and wait for customers
> to come and start looking at their products.
> Not this guy. His was out there talking to
> people as they walked by and roping them in.

> He was selling a glass cleaning and
> polishing product. What he would do is look
> for people wearing glasses and right before
> they got to his kiosk he would step up to
> them and say, "Excuse me Sir. (or Ms.)
> your glasses look scratched. If you will
> allow me to polish them I think I can remove
> the scratches." Most people hand him
> their glasses and he sprays a few drops from
> a spray bottle and then quickly polishes the
> glasses with a cloth, hands them back to the
> owner and says, "There you go. Good as
> new. Check for yourself." Of course
> everyone put's their glasses back on and are
> amazed to find that the scratches are gone.
> The first thing they say is "what is
> that stuff?" And you know what? At that
> point he's got them. He doesn't even have to
> ask for the sale. They have sold themselves.
> It now just becomes a matter of whether they
> will buy the small bottle or the large
> bottle. Of course if they buy the large
> bottle (at $29.99!!!) they get this bonus
> and that bonus and oh, I'll throw in a small
> bottle as well. This young guy was marketing
> master.

> I watched him for about 15 minutes and then
> got to talking to him. He said he used to
> work for a distributer and sold the stuff
> door to door. He eventually wised up and
> contacted the manufacturer himself. The
> manufacturer gave him the idea to put up a
> kiosk in a high traffic mall.

> Incidently, I was curious what kind of rent
> he paid and he told me it was $2000.00 a
> month. I commented that he must have to sell
> a lot of bottles to cover that expense and
> he grined and said he makes that much on one
> Saturday.




Some of my Unique, money-making programs.

He was selling a glass cleaning and polishing product.

What he would do is look for people wearing glasses and right before they got to his kiosk he would step up to them and say, "Excuse me Sir. (or Ms.) your glasses look scratched. If you will allow me to polish them I think I can remove the scratches."

He approached people who were most likely to buy his product - people with glasses. But more so... he drew their attention to their "problem."

I've mentioned this before... in one of my businesses I cold-call business owners who I have discovered have a problem. Nearly 100% of the business I approach become clients. And all I do is draw their attention to their problem and let them know I can fix it. Sometimes, I draw their attention to the problem and then flash my business card - which tells them I solve the problem (they more fully believe it because they read it themselves, and we all know what's written is true, right?) and credentialises me at the same time (a fly-by-nighter would not have a business card).

Markus Allen told an interesting story... he was contacted by someone who said something like, "I have spotted two spelling typos and a dead link on your site. For $5 sent through PayPal I will tell you what the typos are and how to fix the dead link."

A simple Three Step procedure:
[*]Find a prospect with a problem. (Look for people wearing glasses.)
[*]Let the prospect know about (draw their attention to) the problem. (Your glasses look scratched.)
[*]Offer to fix the problem. (I can remove the scratches.)

You can offer your "solution" en masse and hope some of the people in the potential market will identify themselves and buy your solution.

Or

You can pro-actively contact those in your target market (the ones you have identified with the problem), draw their attention to the problem, and offer your solution.

I have had great success with the second method - and it's real low low stress "selling" too. It's almost like letting someone know their tyre is flat, or something is hanging out of their car, or they dropped something... (I notice you've got this problem. Oh yeah. I can fix it, if you like. Would you, that'd be great.)

Michael Ross


Want Multiple Streams of Income? If so, you should be reading The Great Ideas Letter. Click here.

Michael -

Your Three-Step Sales Formula is simple, concise, clear, and true.

Robert M. Campbell

Michael,

What is this problem solving business that you are in?

An example of what you do would be great for illustration.

Thanks

> He was selling a glass cleaning and
> polishing product.

> What he would do is look for people wearing
> glasses and right before they got to his
> kiosk he would step up to them and say,
> "Excuse me Sir. (or Ms.) your glasses
> look scratched . If you will allow me to
> polish them I think I can remove the
> scratches ." He approached people who
> were most likely to buy his product - people
> with glasses. But more so... he drew their
> attention to their "problem."

> I've mentioned this before... in one of my
> businesses I cold-call business owners who I
> have discovered have a problem. Nearly 100%
> of the business I approach become clients.
> And all I do is draw their attention to
> their problem and let them know I can fix
> it. Sometimes, I draw their attention to the
> problem and then flash my business card -
> which tells them I solve the problem (they
> more fully believe it because they read it
> themselves, and we all know what's written
> is true, right?) and credentialises me at
> the same time (a fly-by-nighter would not
> have a business card).

> Markus Allen told an interesting story... he
> was contacted by someone who said something
> like, "I have spotted two spelling
> typos and a dead link on your site. For $5
> sent through PayPal I will tell you what the
> typos are and how to fix the dead
> link."

> A simple Three Step procedure:

> Find a prospect with a problem. (Look for
> people wearing glasses.)

> Let the prospect know about (draw their
> attention to) the problem. (Your glasses
> look scratched.)

> Offer to fix the problem. (I can remove the
> scratches.) You can offer your
> "solution" en masse and hope some
> of the people in the potential market will
> identify themselves and buy your solution.

> Or

> You can pro-actively contact those in your
> target market (the ones you have identified
> with the problem), draw their attention to
> the problem, and offer your solution.

> I have had great success with the second
> method - and it's real low low stress
> "selling" too. It's almost like
> letting someone know their tyre is flat, or
> something is hanging out of their car, or
> they dropped something... (I notice you've
> got this problem. Oh yeah. I can fix it, if
> you like. Would you, that'd be great.)

> Michael Ross

Hey James,

I enjoyed your post. But you left out what this guy's magical product is and who the manufacturer is. In sunny S. Fla there's a gazillion seniors with glasses. You've twicked my interest.

Mitch

> I love to go to the local Mall and browse
> the wares of the kiosk vendors. On busy
> Saturdays there is almost a carnival
> atmosphere.

> Last Saturday one particular vendor caught
> my attention. He was a young man about
> college age. Now, if you notice most kiosk
> venders just sit back and wait for customers
> to come and start looking at their products.
> Not this guy. His was out there talking to
> people as they walked by and roping them in.

> He was selling a glass cleaning and
> polishing product. What he would do is look
> for people wearing glasses and right before
> they got to his kiosk he would step up to
> them and say, "Excuse me Sir. (or Ms.)
> your glasses look scratched. If you will
> allow me to polish them I think I can remove
> the scratches." Most people hand him
> their glasses and he sprays a few drops from
> a spray bottle and then quickly polishes the
> glasses with a cloth, hands them back to the
> owner and says, "There you go. Good as
> new. Check for yourself." Of course
> everyone put's their glasses back on and are
> amazed to find that the scratches are gone.
> The first thing they say is "what is
> that stuff?" And you know what? At that
> point he's got them. He doesn't even have to
> ask for the sale. They have sold themselves.
> It now just becomes a matter of whether they
> will buy the small bottle or the large
> bottle. Of course if they buy the large
> bottle (at $29.99!!!) they get this bonus
> and that bonus and oh, I'll throw in a small
> bottle as well. This young guy was marketing
> master.

> I watched him for about 15 minutes and then
> got to talking to him. He said he used to
> work for a distributer and sold the stuff
> door to door. He eventually wised up and
> contacted the manufacturer himself. The
> manufacturer gave him the idea to put up a
> kiosk in a high traffic mall.

> Incidently, I was curious what kind of rent
> he paid and he told me it was $2000.00 a
> month. I commented that he must have to sell
> a lot of bottles to cover that expense and
> he grined and said he makes that much on one
> Saturday.

a Window Cleaning business.

I've started three Window Cleaning businesses from scratch in three different cities (sold two of them).

The ONLY businesses approached are those who have dirty windows. And who are at ground level (gave up the high stuff when I sold my other businesses).

My business card's headline is "We Clean Windows" - reverse type.

And I have existing Window Cleaners do the work (Leverage) because hiring someone from scratch and training them has shown not to work.

All clients (whether they are serviced daily, weekly, two weekly or monthly) are billed monthly at the end of the month - after the servicing. All clients pay. Many pay Cash.

Once you get a client, they stay with you.

Combined with the repeatability, it's an easy-to-build business because each customer you get you keep getting money from over and over again. You do not have to keep getting new customers just to stay in business. Each new customer grows your business.

Any other questions, please ask.

Michael Ross


Learn more about using Leverage. Click here.

The name of the product is Razzle Dazzle. Not sure who the manufacturer is but you can probbaly find with a web search.

James

> Hey James,

> I enjoyed your post. But you left out what
> this guy's magical product is and who the
> manufacturer is. In sunny S. Fla there's a
> gazillion seniors with glasses. You've
> twicked my interest.

> Mitch

James -

I went to the Razzle Dazzle web site to check it out.

Because I have some scratches on my bathroom mirror, I emailed the company to ask if Razzle Dazzle would remove them.

They quickly emailed me back saying "Razzle Dazzle can polish mirrors and glass brilliantly, but not remove scratches."

I then emailed them back and asking them to comment on the story you told about the college kid using Razzle Dazzle to remove scratches from eye glasses.

Six hours later, still no response from the company.

Silence may be golden, but, in this case, it may tell another story as well.

Anyway, I guess I'll have to live with a scratched mirror a bit longer.

Best regards, James.

Robert M. Campbell

I don't wear glasses myself but my mother does and she was with me. He cleaned her glasses with the stuff and I ask her afterward and she said, "yep, the scratches are gone." I don't know if they were permanently gone or if it just hides them but that is the way he promoted it. Maybe the polish makes the scratches less noticeable.

Anyway, that's a first: a salesman exaggerating. Go figure. :o