Do you have an effective tote and promote campaign?
I have heard from dealers: "I tried to take product into the shop and nobody even looks at it so I stopped doing it.”Or, “I do not have time to tote and promote."
While both of these points are good excuses, they are just that “excuses."
Every good salesman has to promote the products he/she sells, so why not promote them while you are already in the shop. Technicians look to you as the authority, that is why you are called the “tool man."
Starting and maintaining an effective tote and promote campaign is very easy, as long as you are toting the right product and promoting the benefit of that product as a solution for a problem that may or may not exist in the near future.
For example, the 303-1112 is an IPR socket that had a retail value of over $225, if you toted that socket into a shop it is highly doubtful you would have sold it, unless the tech you showed it to was working on a Ford injector regulator at that very moment. Now that Lisle has introduced the 68210 at a fraction of the retail price, this might be a good socket to show your heavy duty shops.
As a wholesale distributor, we see hundreds of brand new tools come to market every quarter. These new tools may not always include the latest technology, but specialty tools can still help your tech be more efficient.
Also, remember to put a cap on the price of the items you bring into the shop. Customers better see an instant benefit to the product if the retail is over a couple hundred dollars.
All in all, you know your customers. If they do not respond to a well prepared tote and promote campaign, then by all means do not shove it down their throat.
As a tool junkie, I never turn down the opportunity to see something new in our market.
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