A Sales Lesson Taught by an Ice Cold Coke
As a young boy my mom would occasionally pick me up after school and take me back to her work until she was done for the day.
I looked forward to those days because once we got to her work I got to walk across the street to what was then a Ben Franklin store and pick out a new Hot Wheels car for $1.24 of my hard earned allowance and head back to moms office to burn some toy rubber.
When it came time to get something to drink, though, I had a lot of choices. I could get a can out of the Coke machine in the office, I could walk back across the street to Ben Franklin or I could walk to a nearby gas station.
Even though the same brand of soft drink was much closer and priced about the same, one being only a few steps away, almost without fail I chose the gas station as the place to make my drink purchase.
Why? Because the old man that owned that gas station found a way to add value to a commodity product like a soft drink that made his place of business my first choice.
The Coke was canned so he could not tinker with the formula, the quantity was the same, 12 ounces, and he did not treat me any better or worse than any other adult.
So what did he do different?
One thing. He kept his refrigerators set just right to keep the Coke as cold as possible, forming little ice crystals inside the can. A Coke from his refrigerator was worth the walk.
Are you selling a product that is fast becoming a commodity like a can of Coke? Are you selling your product like the commodity it is, or have you figured out a way to add your own spin?
If I could buy your product from three locations within walking distance, what are you doing different to make me choose you?
Think about it.
What I do not know is how I figured out the refrigerators were so cold at the old mans gas station to begin with. If you have found a way to add value to a commodity product, how are you informing customers about the difference?
Have you found a way to add value to a commodity that is giving you an advantage in the market? Tell me about it.
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