QG Software Blog

On his blog (OnStartups.com) Dharmesh Shah came up with five sales tip inspired by… Turkish Rug Dealers.

I happened to travel to Istanbul last year and even purchased a small rug there. So I couldn’t resist coming up with three more sales tips to add to that list:

6. Offer different price tiers: Turkish rugs aren’t by far the cheapest. The diversity of parameters like material, size, density of knots (it just sounds like I know what I’m talking about) gives the possibility to the dealers to come up with a combination of price ranges for any choice you consider. If you feel like your choice is too pricey, the higher price tier in the same category will make it suddenly more attractive. Now you instantly feel cautious and smart, instead of going for the highest prices or being a cheapskate. Offer your customers different tiers to make them more comfortable with their choices.

7. User partnership. I live under the suspicion that the Turkish Rug Dealers are a part of an underground network. And this network stays in close collaboration with The Turkish Ceramic Dealers and Turkish Evil Eyes Amulet Dealers networks. If you can’t find anything that catches your attention in one shop, every dealer will gladly recommend you another place where you can find it. Sometimes they will even walk you there, if it’s in the same market strip. Just to make sure you don’t escape by any side route. A tourist in a shopping mood is too valuable to let him get away. Build a partnership network with companies working in complementary businesses. Together you can build a much more sophisticated trap for the unsuspecting prospect.

8. Create a sense of urgency. The rug you like is always the last one in this particular hue. And, as a matter of fact, the secrets of that specific dye was lost forever and the demand for this rug is so high that it will be sold before you manage to pull your wallet out. You will have to twist the dealer’s hand and force him to sell it to you ASAP. Give your clients a limited offer, like an expiration date, instead of a generic timeless/countless one. “Only 234 items left in stock – act now!” and all that HSN-overused pitch. But seriously, it’s proven, and it works.

Now, you knew all that already, but didn’t it make it much more intriguing to use the Turkish Rug Dealers?! All the credits go to Dharmesh, though. Read the rest (well, actually the first) of his tips here.