They are every where. You see them in every city and every neighborhood. Garage sales are popular. It is estimated that over 60-million people go to a garage sale every year. That’s a lot of people searching for diamonds in the rough.
I like to go to garage sales. I don’t buy much. I find that about 80 percent of the items are best described as junk. Twenty percent seem to have some value. This helps confirm the Pareto 80/20 principle that business is so fond of reciting. For example, for most businesses 80 percent of the customers provide 20 percent of the company’s sales and profits and 20 percent of the customers are responsible for 80 percent of the sales and profits. You may not be a garage sales shopper but, if you are a professional sales person you can use the 80/20 principle to identify and focus on the 20 percent of your customers that give you 80 percent of your sales. More focused relationship building with these vital few who provide you with your success will pay off handsomely.
I believe that garage sales can teach a lot about business and sales. For example, pricing for a garage sale is easy. The price of an item is what someone is willing to pay. The item may be priced at $2.00 but an offered price of $1.00 often seals the deal. Pubilius Syrus, a first century B.C. Roman philosopher remarked that “A thing is worth whatever the buyer will pay for it.” Two thousand years later, that principle remains true but with an additional qualifier. A thing is worth whatever the buyer will pay for it and the competition will allow.
Preparation is also an essential ingredient for a successful garage sale. You will need a lot of one and five dollar bills and a minimum of $10 in coins. You also need bags and boxes to bag and box the items. You may have advertised that your sale hours are from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. But, be prepared for early arrivals. You often find people parked in front of your house at 6:00 am or earlier. Some people just can’t tell time or follow directions. The same is true for sales presentations. There are prospects that tend to misunderstand a sales reps presentation. You need to adhere to what the military calls the KISS principle (Keep it simple stupid.)
Several good garage sale signs strategically placed and directing prospects to the correct address does wonders for improving traffic flow. The same is true of a well-constructed sales presentation. A solid presentation will have strategically placed benefits to direct the prospect toward the close and action steps. The maxim for presentation is to, tell them what you are going to tell them then, tell them what you want to tell them and finally review and sum up by telling them what you have just told them.
I’ve noticed that the more successful garage sales operators display some of their more interesting items at the end of their driveway to act as a magnet to lure people in. Some people will just drive by slowly and take a quick look to determine if it looks worthwhile to stop. Professional sales presenters begin their presentation with a question or two that helps to determine the prospects need. These focused questions can serve as a magnet to pull the prospect in.
I have observed a universal law regarding garage sales. From the buyer’s perspective, the best product selection is available early in the morning coupled with the highest prices of the day. The lowest prices come with reduced selection late in the day. From the seller’s perspective, their best profit opportunity is early before the “treasures” are gone and the day becomes long and tiresome. An astute sales person can learn from this “early/high”, “late/low” phenomenon.
Remember, 20 percent of your customers give you 80 percent of your business. Call on these first and early while saving your later more unproductive time (be it daily, weekly or monthly) for 80 percent of the customers who give you 20 percent of your business. As I stated earlier, garage sales prove the point that, “One man’s treasure is another man’s trash.” So, get the “treasure” before going after the “trash.”
HOG THOUGHT.
Hogs know that the simplest way to solve a problem is to borrow an existing idea. So, if you are having a sales problem borrow an idea or two from the next garage sale you attend. If you don’t normally stop at garage sales, get outside your box and attend a couple this weekend. You may just find more that a treasure.
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