Coffee, candy and a monkey’s fist
At the beginning of the 20th century, coffee vendors used to go door-to-door
selling their product.
At first, they faced rejection, as most cold-callers do, but after some
experimentation, the coffee marketers hit on an incredibly easy and effective
sales system.
Rather than launching into a sales pitch on the first encounter with the woman
of the house, a salesman would, instead, offer a half-pound of his finest
coffee as a special gift.
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Who could say no?
On his follow-up visit, instead of asking for an order, he would surprise her
with another gift, which could be hers free if she placed her first order.
Selling becomes a much simpler process if you can make it easy for the prospect
to take the first step. And the easier the first step is to make, the simpler
the process becomes.
Stan Golomb used to tell the story of a candy man he met some 60 years ago while
working in his dad
’s cleaning plant in New Rochelle, NY. He was at the spotting board one day when
an impeccably dressed man walked up to him, quietly reached a pair of plastic
tongs into a chipboard box and, without saying a word, offered Stan a piece of
candy. Naturally, Stan took the candy, unwrapped it and popped it into his
mouth. The man quietly walked through the plant
… offering candy to everyone.
He returned a few minutes later and asked if Stan would like to buy a box of
authentic Atlantic City Taffy. Stan bought one box for 79 cents, which at that
time was rather expensive for a box of candy.
About six months later, the man stopped in again and used the same routine. This
time Stan bought two boxes. During the next few years this same strange
encounter took place every six months or so and each time the candy man sold
larger and larger orders of candy.
In part, the success of the candy man as well as the coffee vendor was the
result of a multi-step sales process. They didn
’t approach their prospects and try to make sales immediately. Instead, they
offered small samples
— something free. They allowed their prospects to try their products first
knowing that if they enjoyed them they would be more willing to listen and more
likely to respond to an offer.
Effective selling, whether it be in person or through an advertising medium,
involves at least two sales, not just one. The main sale, of course, is the
service you offer. But before you can sell your service, you must first sell
your prospect on giving you a chance to sell. Again, it
’s a multi-step process.
The best illustration I know of the multi-step selling concept is one given by
Frank Bettger, a legend in the field of life insurance sales.
While standing on the deck of a ship about to dock, Bettger noticed that the
ropes needed to moor a great ship are tremendous. They are very long and as
thick as a man's thigh. He wondered how any seaman, no matter how strong, could
ever lift such a thick rope, let alone hurl it so that it would reach the pier.
As he watched, he discovered that instead of trying to throw the heavy mooring
rope, one of the crew hurled a little iron ball, called a "monkey's fist,"
which was attached to a thin rope about the size of a clothesline.
A longshoreman standing on the pier caught the little iron ball and began
hauling in the thin rope attached to it. This thin rope, in turn, was attached
to a heavy mooring rope, which was then hauled in and tied to the pier.
Throwing the huge mooring rope was too big a first step for any sailor, just as
it
’s too big a first step for any one in sales to approach ice-cold prospects and
instantly persuade them to buy.
When trying to get someone to use your service for the first time, make it as
simple as possible.
This means that whether you're selling across the counter, door to door or
through the mail or on the Net, break the process up into small steps and make
the very first step irresistibly easy for your prospect to say
“yes.”
There are countless ways to practice multi-step marketing in your cleaning
business. One of the most common ways is by direct mail postcard with the free
offer of service, no strings attached. In this case, the most effective offers
seem to be unconditional. For example,
“Here’s $10 FREE — to spend as you wish” is an offer which is difficult for a viable prospect with real cleaning needs
to refuse.
In much the same way, a drycleaner friend of mine writes personal letters to
select prospects offering to professionally spot, clean and press any six items
from their wardrobes at no charge, just to show the level of quality and
service he and his staff can give. Of course the prospect must come to the
store in order to benefit from the whole experience.
Lately, I have been doing a variety of unconditional offers on behalf of
drycleaners who want to build their pick-up and delivery businesses. A
face-to-face encounter in someone
’s doorway generally works best, however, the offer can be made through the mail
or as a drop-off as well. Basically, you hand the homeowner a bag to fill up
with clothing for free cleaning
… the coffee vendor approach.
Of course, it’s possible to practice multi-step marketing without giving away your service.
Offering valuable, free information that targets your prime prospects is the
most versatile, economical and usually most effective execution of this
strategy. It works well because it not only makes it much easier to open the
sale with your best prospects, but also sets you up perfectly to close it, as
well.
Finally, if you don’t believe in giving away service or making strong offers of any kind, just
remember this. One-step selling is very difficult because any apparent effort
to sell creates a corresponding resistance. Therefore, try not to approach your
prospects, either in person or in print, with an obvious effort to sell.
Instead, try multi-stepping. It’s better because it lowers the barrier to initial response way down and allows
you to capture the greatest number of leads possible
… and leads have value. In addition, a multi-step approach also allows the
prospect to feel like he is choosing you instead of being pursued or sold by
you.
