Techniques for achieving the add on sale

The repair that came into your shop may have actually been for a chain that continually jumps off the bar. If your mechanics, sales people and service ticket writers are trained accordingly, you will be able to generate an add on sale; just by paying close attention to the unit and providing that extended service which can distinguish you from your competition. As with most businesses, the add on sale can make the difference between profitable and unprofitable months. The power equipment business is one of those very unique businesses where you can have an add on sale with every person that comes into your store.

Let's look at the example of the chain saw. After having performed that extended service, take a look at the case that the customer uses to carry his saw. What do you see, other than the dirt and grease that always collect in the bottom of the case? Is there a lube gun with a spare tube of grease? How about some goggles that aren't scratched? An extra chain? A pair of gloves? A screwdriver and wrench to adjust the bar and chain? Extra quarts of mix oil and bar oil? Spare spark plug or air filter? The list of potentially necessary accessories could continue, and most definitely it will not all fit into the case. But most all dealers have experienced individuals that have driven to your store and made one small purchase so that they could complete a job. If this is a commercial customer, then he is losing money by being in your shop and not on the job site.

What if you were to take an extra large zip lock bag and package the necessary items, so that you would have the suggested add on sale ready to go for the customer? Place a printed description of all of the contents in the bag and you have just created your version of a "keep 'em working" add on sale. And, don't forget to include a baseball cap that has the name of your business and address on it. Of course, you would have to exchange the plug, filter, and chain if you choose not to make kits for every type of chain saw, but the idea of creating the package and having it displayed for customers to see is most important.

While we are working with this add on sale, why not step out to carry some of the items that you might not traditionally find in a power equipment shop; rakes, shovels, and other related garden tools? The most frequent answers given by dealers is that they can't buy these items for the prices that the discount chain store is selling them for. The easiest solution is to simply buy a couple of each of these at the chain store and then charge a dollar or two higher than what you paid for it. The important issue here is that we don't want the customer to go into the chain store that sells all of these goods, and then he finds a deal on a new chain saw. Granted, the majority of brands of saws that you stock may not be available in the chain stores, but then again, you may lose a customer.

And if the experiment succeeds and you find yourself making repeat visits to the chain store to restock your rakes and hand pruners, you will surely want to locate vendors to supply you with these items on a regular basis. Now you will have the opportunity to not only sell the inexpensive rakes that are found in the chain stores, but you can now stock a rake that is of the quality that a commercial customer, or a quality conscious customer would want to own.

And to think, this whole sale started with one problem on a chain saw. Take this idea, and your profits, to the bank.