The theme for this week’s High Octane Minute podcasts is selling accessories. Tagging onto that, this post is a deep look at one accessory. I have chosen the small cargo nets for pickup trucks; they hold smaller cargo against the front of the truck bed. My hope is that those selling pickup trucks will benefit directly, and others will learn how to take a deeper look at any accessory they sell.
Cargo nets are great for holding things in one place. Think of all the things you would not want in the cab of your truck or the seating area of your SUV, yet you don’t want bouncing around loose either. Here are a few for the pickup truck:
1. Balls – these little devils were made to roll and bounce around. You don’t need that going on in the cab while you drive, and you sure don’t want to risk making a no-look pass to another vehicle by leaving it loose in the truck bed. Slam dunk it into the cargo net and you score a safe trip home.
2. Sweaty clothes – Exercise is a wonderful thing for the body and the mind. But after a long game, hike, bike ride, etc. that exercise residue may not be welcome in the cab of your new truck. The car behind you probably doesn’t appreciate your Under Armour on her windshield either. Just stick it in the net for a safe and smell-free ride home.
3. Muddy shoes or cleats – Motorcycle and hunting boots are likely to stay where you put them in the truck bed, but children’s shoes can get just as dirty and bounce around the back of your truck.
4. Just about any light thing made of metal – I wish I had a dollar for every seat punctured by a loose screwdriver. If it is made of metal, chances are it can cause damage to your interior. Bed liners help protect the appearance of the bed from scratches, but that doesn’t stop things from bouncing around. The last thing anyone needs is loose metal gaining velocity in back of their truck.
5. An empty crock pot coming back from a potluck. Might as well put the serving spoon in there too.
6. Plastic beach toys – light enough to fly out of the truck bed, sandy enough to make you want to jump out of the cab when junior starts banging them around.
7. Picture frames – the corners are perfect for scratching up the interior, but they ride flat up against the front of the bed when held in the net.
8. Trash from a picnic or family outing. You did the right thing by bringing the trash bag and carrying out what you brought in, but it’s too light to just stick in the bed and you sure don’t want it in the cab.
9. The bonus - Anything you want to keep away from the kids while you are driving. You can honestly tell them it is in a safe place.
From this list we can put together a list of trigger words that would indicate a need for the accessory is likely. When we hear these triggers we think of the accessory.
1. Kids – dirty shoes and toys
2. Soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball, or football
3. Hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities
4. Picnics
5. Potlucks
6. Tailgate parties
7. Beach activities
8. In a hurry (toss things in the net)
We can start to formulate some softly probing questions that might release trigger words.
1. What are some of your favorite outdoor activities?
2. Are any of your kids involved with sports?
3. Do you ever have a need to transport food for things like picnics, potlucks, or tailgate parties?
4. Do you like the beach?
You can work on your own methods of setting up the opportunity to ask softly probing questions. A common method is to point to how you or someone else uses the product and then ease into the shopper’s situation. Another method is to ask them what they have planned for the weekend, or if they have a big trip coming up. This can help ease them into telling you about their lifestyle. From there you can better match the shopper’s needs to the accessory.
How active the shopper is today is not important. You are selling them a vehicle that will help make their life better and make them more confident. Give them all the accessories they need to live the life they want, which is not necessarily the life they have. Explain benefits in terms of what they will be able to do. Don’t limit the discussion to what they do now. No one needs a cargo net to watch Wheel of Fortune. But you are greatly enhancing their life if you sell them a product and a vision of themselves that provides greater happiness than a night in front of the TV.
Be ready to overcome objections. “I’ll just buy it later” can be answered with a negative eliminator, “I’d hate to have your new-truck experience shattered by something getting scratched inside or bouncing out of the bed and causing an accident. Let’s get you what you need to get going with your active lifestyle.” Remind them of the negative they face without the cargo net and show them how having the net eliminates that negative.
Another method of overcoming objections is with positive providers. Remind them of the positive improvement they want and that is only comes from adding the accessory. “A truck brings freedom to enjoy an active, healthy outdoor lifestyle. It frees up your body to go where you want to and bring all your cherished toys and gear with you. Having a proper and safe place to put everything brings peace of mind and let’s your emotional side worry less while your body takes it on a vacation.”
Selling accessories can be fun, easy, and rewarding. A simple cargo net can add to both the utility of the vehicle and the vision the shopper has for themselves. They may see themselves as more responsible, and more organized. They will definitely enjoy their outings more and have fewer problems wondering where to put things. These benefits don’t just happen because someone makes a product like the cargo net. They happen because sales professionals enhance their customers’ quality of life.
