Show the Best First
Several months ago, I noticed that a friend’s mid-Atlantic dive store had started selling the same top-of-the-line spit fin as I’d had considerable luck selling last year in the Midwest. I asked how well they were doing with it.
“Not well,” my friend replied. “Of course, that’s mostly our fault. We don’t know much about this fin.”
I suggested that the store owner and his staff get in the pool and try the fin, then went through the key features and benefits I stressed when selling the same model. Apparently I made a big issue of the fact Rodale’s Scuba Diving rated this particular fin as being the best in the world.
A few months later, I was in the pool with the store owner and several of his instructors and students. I noticed that the majority of students were now wearing the same split fin we’d discussed earlier. “What happened?” I asked.
The store manager spoke up and said, “I changed my whole approach to selling fins. Now, before I show any others, I put this fin in customers’ hands and say, This is the world’s top -rated fin and here’s why… That’s all many people need to hear.”
It’s a basic tenet of sales that it’s always easier to sell down than up. That’s why you always present your best product first. If customers buy what you first recommend, then you can’t possibly do any better. On the other hand, if you present a medium-priced product first, they may make the decision to buy without even realizing there are better choices.
Fins are no different from any other product in this respect.
Keith Chesnut writes:
“Starting with the most expensive is essential. Why would anyone want to spend more if you’ve just shown them the cheapest in the store that will do the job today?”
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