Selling Solutions- Spring Cleaning & Organization
It happens every year: spring finally arrives. No matter what part of the country you live in, or what part of the world for that matter, at some point our planet’s rotation around the sun brings us to the spring solstice and things start blooming. It’s a time of new beginnings, rebirth and regrowth and a huge number of people are inspired during this time frame to refresh their homes. Whether they live in an apartment, a townhouse, a single family home or a mansion, thorough cleaning, throwing out the old, bringing in the new, redecorating and upgrading organization is on a lot of schedules. If you’re not leveraging this time of year to sell solutions in your store, you need to rethink your strategy and get on board! Here are a few ways how you can approach it.
Sell the strategy: When you think about the linear process of spring cleaning and everything that can potentially follow, it nearly all begins with throwing out or getting rid of what’s no longer wanted. It’s either trash or surplus and you can guide your customers into starting the process by bundling or putting sale prices on simple items like construction grade trash bags, new outdoor trash cans, gloves and more. Along with these items, you can ALSO hand out a strategy plan with a suggested timeline for the spring cleaning / updating / redecorating / reorganizing process. If your customers “buy into it,” then you have initiated a steady stream of sales all oriented around the spring cleaning season.
Cleaning and Decluttering is next: After the relatively simple process of throwing out the garbage, a deep clean is usually next on the list. Do you sell a spring cleaning bundle? Your customers may (or will) need everything from rubber gloves to brooms to mops, dusters, sponges, cleaning chemicals and more. Protective apparel items like dust masks or face shields can also be bundled and sold because a great many folks, immediately after thorough cleaning begin the redecorating process that can include painting or staining. Part of the cleaning process is decluttering. Your customers may have just thrown out everything they thought was trash, but as they go through rooms cleaning and having to move items, they often find themselves realizing they have Knick knacks and other decorative items that are simply in the way or cluttering up a space. As they clean, they can also declutter and they will be aware of that especially if they’ve picked up your stores plan. (From Sell the Strategy above).
Redecorating: After everything is clean and decluttered is the time to sand, patch, stain, paint, etc. Whether this is an indoor project to redo just one wall in a room or an outdoor project to refinish a deck, the base project tools and supplies can be bundled, sold at a minor discount (5-10%) and included with the project materials (paint, stain, sandpaper, etc). This is the perfect time to suggest “early Father’s Day” or “upcoming birthday” gifts for the Harry Homeowner in your customer’s life.
Reorganizing: Many a closet, basement, garage and shed get reorganized after the trash has been removed. In the case of garages and sheds, some of the trash can include old gardening seeds, feeds and chemicals, as well as chemical items from other disciplines: mechanical maintenance stuffs like oil, brake fluid, etc. as well as old paint, thinner, cleaners, solvents, etc. It’s good to know what the dates are for your areas hazardous waste disposal as set by the local waste management system or businesses. For the purpose of organizing, your customers may need storage containers, cabinets, shelving or a combination of all three. Having a solution for design is very helpful and can help you build these holistic storage area solutions. In selling ONE solution you might sell three sets of shelves, two cabinets and ten containers. And the best part is that since you’ve provided such great service in helping them design a solution, they’re actually thanking you for selling them products as well. You’re in business to generate sales and profits and here your customers are thanking you for taking their money!
Save this article or bookmark it to come back to for reference. Spring cleaning is a great time to generate added sales through guidance, bundling and discounts.
