A few weeks ago, I stopped into a new local Wawa gas station to gas up my truck.
Wawa is a chain of convenience stores and gas stations that’s headquartered out of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
Over the last few years, they’ve been opening them up down here in Florida – and I must say, they are gorgeous stores.
Everyone of them I’ve been in is spit-shine clean and you can practically eat off the floors. Which says a lot for a convenience store gas station with tons of foot traffic.
And the layout is thoroughly organized. Food and snacks are lined up on the shelves with military precision.
On this particular day, while I was waiting for my truck to fill up, I ran inside to use the restroom.
On the way out, this is what I saw on the front of the ice cooler:
Let me explain why this simple sign is so effective.
You see, the best time to sell someone “something else” is when they’ve already decided to make their first purchase from you.
And asking “Is one bag enough?” – as opposed to telling someone “Why not buy a second bag?” does this brilliantly.
Why?
The answer is simple.
For starters, down here in Florida, most people are always running out of ice. And it’s a huge pain in the ass to always have to be running around to get more of it.
Especially since, the moment you realize you need more, is typically when you want to have a nice cold drink.
And who wants to stop what they’re doing, and delay that nice cold drink… just because you’ve ran out of ice?
Not many people, I assure you.
In fact, the only thing I’d change here is maybe add in the word “really.” As in “Is one bag really enough?”
Because now you’re adding in a layer of potential doubt for people to consider.
“Is one bag enough?” allows the customer to answer “No,” too easily.
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Adding in that word “really,” gives them reason to pause and think for just a split second. And to potentially experience a slight sense of regret if they don’t buy.
And this “regret” is what typically makes your sale. Or in this case, it makes your upsell to a second bag.
I can’t begin to imagine how many more bags of ice they sell because of this little question they put above the ICE sign. They have over 600 stores, so I’m sure it’s in the millions over a year. Florida stores typically sell over 200 bags a day, alone.
This is why post-sale upsell pages are so effective online, by the way.
You’re asking people to do something they’ve already committed to doing, at the same time they’ve committed to doing it.
It’s like your kids asking you for an extra $10 dollars to eat, after you’ve already given them $25 bucks to spend at the mall.
Easy come, easy go, right?
Now go sell something, Craig Garber
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listening to:
Mountain – Theme For An Imaginary Western (1970)