What’s Your Lollipop?

One of my first entrepreneurial ventures was running an ice cream truck after I graduated college. I was looking for a professional job, but was having significant challenges and needed a way to pay the rent in the house I shared with five friends. I leased the ice cream truck, hit the streets two days a week, and hired a driver the other days so I could spend time looking for a permanent career path.

I had no idea what I was in for.

During the first week we inadvertently drove through another driver’s territory without realizing it. We were literally chased down by the rival driver- bells and music of both trucks blaring through the residential neighborhood leaving children disappointed and parents baffled as we sped by. We were reprimanded by the owner of the leasing company in a Soprano-esque style meeting where we were not-so-politely told the rules of the ice cream trade.

The war behind us, we needed to find a way to increase our revenue. I made a simple decision that has had far-reaching implications in my business career. “Would you like a lollipop for later?” became the simple phrase that helped us increase our revenue by 15 percent. I did not realize it at the time, but I had just learned how to increase revenue by selling my current clients (the ice cream buying children in the neighborhood) more products. I learned how to “sell the one you’re with,” yes, like the Crosby, Stills and Nash song.

Business owners, small and large alike, need to spend more time listening to their clients and find opportunities to sell a diverse but relevant set of products to the clients they already have. The key is to use your position as a trusted advisor to your clients; if they are purchasing a product from you, they are placing their trust in you. It’s the job of the business owner to capitalize on that trust by expanding your ancillary products and services offerings. 

We realized that selling an additional ice cream cone to a kid wouldn’t benefit either party; it would most certainly melt in the 90-degree heat before they ever got it home. However, a lollipop would not melt and it was just a little more money; in fact it cost just about the change they had left after they purchased their ice cream. The key is to find products that make sense. 

To help promote the sale of the lollipops we posted a sign on the truck that read “Would you like a lollipop for later?” But with more sophisticated businesses, there are better ways like to sell your additional products and services through e-newsletters, quarterly mailings to your client base, telemarketing calls from your sales staff, postcard campaigns, postings on your social media sites, and much more.

As the owner of a large privately-owned payroll company, I knew there were areas where I could offer my clients additional services that I just hadn’t thought of. After several comprehensive surveys of my client base and their needs, I coupled payroll services with an expansive list of complimentary ancillary products such as human resource products, time, and attendance products and software, background screenings, credit card processing services, and more. By offering these products/services to my clients, I’m able to help them save money in innovative ways and even cut their payroll costs, and more importantly, reinforce my role as trusted advisor and the vendor they turn to when they need other services.   

Surprise! Revenue has increased.

This concept works in any business. You simply need to put time, energy and effort into finding out, “What’s MY lollipop?”