| Friend,
On The 2nd Day Of Christmas At The Dojo...
...we set up our Christmas sale display. Now, if you haven't done this already, or if you haven't even planned a Christmas/holiday sale yet, it's not too late to make a few extra bucks by having a Christmas sale.
The only thing is, you need to take into account that shipping is a mess this time of year, and if you don't get items shipped in time for Christmas, you're going to have a lot of hacked off customers.
So, here's my advice: - Check with your supplier and see what their deadline is for shipping orders in time for Christmas. If you think you still have time, you can offer 10% off everything in their Christmas catalog, with an order deadline of "X" date.
- Make sure you have order forms and catalogs on hand, and that you have someone to take orders during class time, preferably away from the training floor so parents can order without their kids getting wise.
- Whatever you do, make sure you get that order in by the deadline. And, be sure to double-check you order. Otherwise, you might have to spring for overnight shipping. Even if it's just for one or two items that you forgot, it's going to cut into your profits.
If you don't have time to order items for your clients before Christmas, the next best thing is to sell popular items that you can order in bulk, or to sell something that you don't have to have shipped.
A few ideas: - sparring gear sets (you can often get these at just a fraction of retail, sell them at a discount as a package, and still make a nice profit),
- gift cards or gift certificates for your pro shop (and if you offer 10% off gift certificates for a limited time, you'll probably sell more),
- private lesson packages,
- boxing glove and hand wrap gift packs,
- fitness kickboxing packs (sometimes you can find these packaged as a set, with gloves, wraps, a jump rope, and a bag - or you can just create your own gift set)
I'm sure you can think of other ideas. Obviously, with the gift certificates and private lesson packages you can create the gift card or certificate yourself, so they won't require shipping. If you're behind the eight ball time-wise, it might be best to stick to selling those and forego selling physical items.
Later in this series we're going to talk about what to do after Christmas to boost your equipment sales and also make a little extra cash after the holidays.
But for today, spend 30 minutes or so figuring out what the best items will be to offer in your "last-minute" Christmas sale, and create a prominent display featuring those items.
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
P.S. - One last hint... if you have time, create a flier/poster and get copies made at the local print shop to hand out to your students, and also get it blown up to poster size so you can hang it where everyone will see it when they walk in your dojo.
|
