Educated Consumers Buy More
As discussed in this issue’s “Management” column, masks, snorkels and fins are among the most important sales you make. (Often this may be the only purchase you can count on students making from you.)
It’s frustrating, then, when new customers seem determined to buy the cheapest personal equipment possible. It’s not just that this kind of purchase diminishes the possibility you’ll make back the loss you incur teaching students to dive. Cheap masks, snorkels and fins increase the likelihood students will have difficulty learning and will not enjoy diving as much once certified.
When students spend less than they should on personal dive equipment, it may be for one of two reasons:
- They may, in fact, have limited funds to spend.
- They may not fully understand the importance and value of getting the right equipment the first time.
You can’t do much about the first problem. You can, however, do a lot to solve the second one. In a recent issue of DiveRetailing.com, we discussed Eleven Ways to Increase Your First and Most Important Equipment Sale. Read this article if you’ve not already done so (or read it again if you can’t recall all eleven points from memory). In this issue, we’ll add a twelfth way to increase mask/snorkel/fin Don’t just sell students their personal equipment. Educate them on how to be smart consumers.
In the August-September story, we related how some stores hold a special orientation session for students, prior to the formal start of class, which covers what equipment items students will need and how to make the best possible buying decisions. These can be effective because:
- They are conducted by an instructor (greater trust and credibility).
- They provide sufficient time to cover the importance and value of getting the right equipment in greater detail.
- Students are not being pressured to make a buying decision on the spot. They have time to reflect on what you say and, in many instances, will budget a greater dollar amount for personal equipment sales than they might have had they not had this information available.
Unfortunately, while such orientation sessions are desirable, they are not always practical. (Example: Students signing up for a class at the last minute.) When this happens, it’s important that your sales presentation come across less like a sales pitch and more like a formal classroom session. In fact, if possible, you may want to take customers into the classroom for part of the presentation, just to underscore the fact they are being educated, not merely sold.
As discussed in the August-September issue, if the store is unusually busy, or customers have limited time, you may want to ask whether they can come back later, when it is possible to devote the time needed to learn about masks, snorkels and fins, and make the best possible buying decision. (Be sure to get a firm commitment, however, or you may never see the customers again.)
The bottom line is, the more time you can spend explaining the importance and value of getting the right personal equipment to start with, the more you will sell — and the happier your customers will be in the long run.
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