Last week I had lunch with Carel Bekker of ClickHost and another gentleman at Seasons 52 here in Atlanta. The food was excellent, but what amazed me was the way they handled dessert. Rather than asking if anyone had room or perhaps bringing us a menu, they brought this to our table and sat it down.
“Which one would you like?”, she asked. These weren’t fake samples — they were ready to eat. Our companion said “no”, but Carel and I were still listening so she quickly described all three. 20 seconds later, all three of us were all reaching for the one we wanted!
I thought it was a brilliant way to present dessert, and it got me thinking about ways to use that form of selling in other areas of business.
Don’t ask
You don’t always need to ask for interest first. If you have something that may be compelling, show it off and see what the potential buyer thinks of it. Giving a tangible product instead of a faint request can make a huge difference — that’s why Apple stores are all about trying to get you to touch the product. If you touch it, you’ll be much more inclined to buy it.
Don’t push
At the same time, don’t push. If all three of us had declined dessert, I would hope that our waitress would have retreated without pushing any harder.
Be awesome
In the example above, a big reason this worked is because the desserts were beautifully presented and looked delicious! If they hadn’t taken the time to do it right, this style of selling wouldn’t have been nearly as effective.
In the end, it comes down providing amazing products and services. No matter how you present it, if your offerings aren’t of high quality (or else incredibly low-priced), you’re gonna have a bad time.
Lastly, yes, the dessert was great — if you ever go to Seasons 52 for a meal, don’t skip it!
