The power of a free gift to attract new clients

Years ago, during a visit to New Mexico, a friend and I decided to take a day trip to an old mission church north of Taos. After touring the sacred site, my friend and I proceeded to walk past a dusty outdoor stand where a local man was selling dried chili peppers.

“Come over here.” said the man, motioning to us with his arms.

My friend, a light-hearted adventurer, never turned down an invitation. He immediately veered over to the left and headed toward the man.

I, on the other hand, knew the guy was going to try and sell us something and I wasn’t in the mood for a sales pitch. I followed my friend anyway and reluctantly approached the stand.

“Hi!” he said. “You have to try my chili peppers. Here. It’s better to eat it with pistachios ’cause it helps you get the full flavor of the spice.”

The guy handed us a few pistachios and then proceeded to use the pistachio shell to scoop up a tiny amount of red pepper flakes. He put the crushed pepper in his hand and demonstrated how to eat it by popping a few pistachios into his mouth along with the tiny red flakes.

My friend and I followed suit and sure enough, the chilies had a lovely flavor.

“Ok,” said the local man. “Now, that’s number one. Remember what number one tastes like. Now, you have to try number two.” He dipped a pistachio shell into bowl number two and repeated the tasting.

“Good, isn’t it.” It was a statement not a question. “It’s a bit spicier than number 1. OK. Do you remember number 1 and number 2?.”

“Yes,” we said.

“Now try 3.”

Again, the pistachio shell dipped into the flakes and extracted a tiny amount of red chili pepper. The three of us tried number 3 and agreed it was very good.

“Now what do you think? Which one do you like best?” The local asked.

All three of them tasted the same to me. My friend said he liked two best, but I suspected they all tasted the same to him too.

I liked this chili pepper man. His enthusiasm was catching. His friendliness was warm. And even though I knew he was giving us a sales pitch, I couldn’t help but want to buy his chili peppers.

But my friend beat me to it. “I’ll take a bag of number two,” he said.

The guy wrapped up a bag of number two and said, “Well, you’ll need some pistachios to go with it. They’re only $5 a bag.”

Of course we bought a bag of pistachios, too.

That chili pepper guy was a genius salesman.

Why? For many reasons, of which I’ll share three.

Invite People to Join You

We walked by the local man’s stand and saw his bright red chilies, but we wouldn’t have stopped if the guy hadn’t invited us.

Of course, the guy saw tourists all day so if we had said “no thanks” he would have simply approached the next couple who crossed his path.

But we didn’t say no. Instead, we walked to the stand and listed to the entire schpeel because it was engaging and entertaining.

Have Strangers Over for Dinner (aka give a free sample)

OK, it wasn’t really dinner, but we did eat. We shared a small meal with this man. He gave us something that proved the value of his product.

People are more likely to engage in your services if you give them something of value before they sign up. If they can experience you, your service or product firsthand, and they like what they receive, they will trust the value of your service or product. When this happens they’re more likely to buy from you. People buy from people they like.

A freebie can be an ezine that offers valuable advice or an ebook download with useful information. It can be a free 30-minute session or a free class at your local library.

Regardless, when you can offer a free sample people are more likely to immediately recognize whether or not they like you and your service. If they find value in what you do they will buy or return later for more information.

Have Three Options

Three is the magic number. Goldilocks had three options: too small, too big and just right.

The local chili pepper man had three options for the same reason.

Why?

If you have 3 options for people, like 3 levels of service packages, you give your prospective clients a choice that helps them find that “just right” fit.

Summary

The chili pepper man was a great sales man for many reasons. I could go on and on about what he did right.

But if you keep in mind the three points in this essay you connect more easily with prospective clients:

1. Invite people to join you (let them know about what you’re doing)

2. Give them something of value (freebies)

3. Have three options

What can you do to add or enhance these three steps in your work?