I know what you’re thinking.
Does this blog have any July 3rd sales content?
Well, today is your lucky day.
It’s also short and easy to implement. You can start today.
In 1997 I was working at one of those TNT fireworks stands doing some seasonal work. It was a little scary to be dealing with the public like that, but it was fun, and people were fired up to get their annual explosives. It felt good to be doing the world’s worst public service, hooking them up with things that go boom.
They all tried to make deals with me. Something about working at a roadside stand makes people think prices are negotiable.
“If we get the TNT Power Storm, a Red Rush, and some Earth Tremors, will you toss in some Ground Bloom Flowers or a Friendship Pagoda for the kids?”
Discounts and deals were not my department, so I’d pass it off to my boss, a family friend, who ran a handful of these stands in the area.
We’d sweat our asses off all day. Even in the Northwest, those uninsulated plywood boxes got so hot it was a miracle the fireworks didn’t detonate.
And at night, once the sun went down and the air cooled off, we’d sit around and play cards and drink a few beers.
The stand was outside Roxbury Lanes in West Seattle, so there was plenty of activity as people came and went to bowl a few frames and have some beers of their own.
We were having a good season. The goal was to sell out as early as we could on the 4th of July and head off to party with our friends, blowing most of the cash we just made. Anything left over and we’d need to stand guard until TNT came to pick up the extra product. That neighborhood would burn the stand to the ground if we left fireworks in it unattended. So, we had some pressure and an incentive to work hard and sell everything.
The old standbys were selling, Big Bangs were sold out, Dead of Night had just a few remaining, same with the King Kong.
Some of the newer products were getting a lot of interest too. People would ask, “What does the TNT Sack Pack include?” or “How high do these mortars go?” and I had established this little habit of saying “just” before my answer.
“The mortars? Oh, they “just” go up 50 feet or so.”
“The TNT Sack Pack “just” has an assortment of stuff the kids like.”
Just.
The stand finally calmed down for a minute and my boss strolled over to my end and said, “Don’t just the product, just the price.”
“What?”
He repeated, “Don’t just the product, just the price. The customers keep asking you about the products and you keep downplaying them, saying they are “just” this or “just” that. That’s wrong. They are not “just” anything, they are fireworks, they are awesome, they are fun, they are going to make their 4th of July BBQ that much better than the neighbors.”
I was a little confused, but it was sinking in. He was right. I’d been downplaying the product.
He continued, “If you want to use that word, use it when they ask, ‘how much.’” He gestured toward the price tag, with a smile and his corniest salesman voice and said, “As in, all that boom for ‘just’ $89.99.”
“Just” is a word we should be careful with. It’s a minimizing word. It makes things smaller, and it sneaks into our communication.
Because it lessens things, makes things softer, your kids like it. They’ll ask for “just” 10 more minutes of television. Or “just” a little more ice cream.
Business, sales, marketing.
Parenting, coaching, teaching.
Make sure not to soften when you need strength, make sure not to minimize when you want to maximize.
Make sure you don’t “just” the product, “just” the price.
*****
For a different kind of Independence Day lesson, you can take a look at last year’s post: Independence
