Entrepreneurship Tip: Sanitary napkins and lawnmowers

Entrepreneurship Tip: Sanitary napkins and lawnmowers

Over a hundred years back, in a small town in America, sixty-year-old John owned a retail store that stocked and sold anything and everything to local residents. After decades of serving the town, John was looking forward to retired life. Every day he would badger his 23-year-old son, appropriately named Johnson, to take over the store but Johnson refused.

One day, Mrs. John urged her son to go to the store and try managing it. Maybe he would love it – was her logic. Not wanting to displease his mother, Johnson agreed and the next day both father and son opened the store in the morning. John explained retailing to his son with a simple advice –Whenever a customer buys something, think of what else he or she may need and try to sell an additional item.

Then the first customer of the day, the priest form the local church walked in.

John welcomed him in his booming voice, ‘Good morning father. What can I help you with this morning?’

The priest answered, ‘Morning John. I need a box of nails to hang some pictures on the church walls.’

‘Sure, here we go.’ John packed the box of nails and added casually, ‘I just got fresh stocks of hammers that are lighter and shock-resistant. You should try it. Your old hammer must be hurting you.’

The priest thought for a while and said, ‘Come to think of it, you are right. I will take one of those new hammers.’

After the priest left, John grinned and said, ‘Did you see that son? The father came to buy a box of nails but I also sold him a hammer. It is called up-selling.’

Johnson ignored his father as he was busy reading some books. The next customer was the local school teacher. She wanted a long size stationery notebook and ended up buying a new pen which had bigger ink tanks. Johnson was still busy reading.

Next came the town painter. He came to buy pesticides for his lawn but John sold him a brand new lawnmower as well which he actually did not need since the one he had worked perfectly well.

John then announced to his son that he would have to deal with the next customer, who turned out to be a middle-aged-lawyer recently married for the third time to an attractive young blonde.

As soon as the lawyer walked in, Johnson reluctantly walked up and asked him what he wanted.

The lawyer looked at the young boy and hesitantly asked for a box of branded sanitary napkins for his wife. Johnson packed the sanitary napkin and started to the bill when he noticed his dad behind the pillar, frantically urging him to upsell.

Johnson turned to the lawyer, thought for a long moment, and politely asked, ‘Sir, would you like to buy a lawnmower?’

John was flabbergasted at his son’s stupidity.

Moments later he became speechless when the lawyer, after thinking for a while actually bought a lawnmower along with the sanitary napkins and left.

After several minutes of silence, the perplexed dad walked up to his son, who had resumed his reading, and said ‘Listen, I will never again pester you to come to the store in future. Just tell me why you felt the lawyer would buy a lawnmower with sanitary napkins.’

Johnson looked up from his book, smiled at his dad, and explained, ‘Simple. When I realized his weekend was anyway spoilt, I thought he might as well mow his lawn!’

As John stared at his son, Johnson continued, ‘Upselling is old stuff Dad. You should start thinking about relevance and context.’