Making Sales Work
The average dive store owner possesses nowhere near the knowledge, experience or data needed to succeed at holding sales the way large retailers do. Does this mean you should never hold sales?
There are a number of dive retailers who succeed without regular sales. Part of their success is promoting the fact their everyday prices are already as competitive as possible. This way, customers don’t have to wait for sales to get the best possible prices — or worry that someone else will get a better price than they will.
Still, if you are convinced that sales are essential to your success, consider the following:
- Avoid putting “everything in the store” on sale, as this tells customers that your everyday prices are less than a good value.
- Limit sale items to specific merchandise, such as used rental equipment, overstock and discontinued items — things you really need to dispose of, regardless of price.
- Look for opportunities to bring in merchandise specifically for the sale. Your sales reps may have merchandise they can bring in for the sale on a consignment basis. These may be items which you can sell at reduced prices and still make money.
One store we know of was able to purchase a large quantity of dive knives at a special price — so special a price that, even at half normal retail, they are still making more than their normal markup. These knives are a featured item at sales and, when not on sale, are used to increase the perceived value of equipment packages.
Part of the strategy the chain stores follow is to use sales as a means of generating traffic from customers they don’t normally see. Dive stores can do the same by renting subscriber lists from major dive magazines. Doing so can help them reach divers outside their normal customer base and, if these divers end up buying, they will expand the store’s customer base and mailing list.
In retailing, there are no absolutes. You can’t say that stores should or should not hold sales. Every store is different.
If you do choose to hold sales, however, remember the adage that it’s not what you make, it’s what you keep. Sales can generate a lot of gross revenue. That’s not necessarily the same as gross profit. Plan your sales carefully. Avoid the temptation to simply put everything in the store on sale. Make sure that what you put on sale ultimately adds to your bottom line, rather than takes away from it.
And, above all, remember that having a sale does not equate to salesmanship. If your everyday approach to selling stresses quality and value, you won’t need “sales” to succeed.
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