Selling Air – How Sweet It Is!

Monday morning was definitely not sweet, but Candy Cunningham didn't realize it when she came into her store, The Candy Connection. Caroline was about to pour out the first delicious batch of fudge for the day. Cecilia had just unpacked a box of mints. Candy could smell them as she passed by on her way to the office. Everything was bright, shiny, sweet, and fragrant in Candy's pink and white confection of a candy store.

And then Candy sat down at her desk to open the mail. It wasn't fun. Candy had been sent four credit cards and had activated them all. She hadn't thought much about it. The balance on each one didn't seem frightening. There was always another card in the mail.

Today, however, the mail brought nothing but bad news. Candy had reached the limit on three of her credit cards. When she added up the balance due on her bills and credit cards, she realized that she was in deep trouble. She still had some credit left on one card, but not much.

For the first time she tried to picture actually paying all of her debt. She couldn't imagine it. Business was good, but not that good. Monday was a dreadful day. When Candy went through the store to go out to lunch, it seemed as though all that had been pink and white in the morning had turned to faded mauve. She practically cried.

Help, however, was at hand. On her way to get a sandwich, Candy passed the office of her friend, Fiona Fenwick, a financial advisor. Candy went into the office and made an appointment with Fiona.

Fiona Fenwick is just the sort of financial advisor we all want. She listened to Candy's tale of woe and smiled reassuringly. She said, "Well, I can see why you are concerned, but the good part is that you're going to do something about it. We can fix your problem. If you will listen to me and do everything I say, your problems will be over. It won't be easy, but we can fix your business so that you never have to worry again."

Fiona and Candy met on the following Thursday to go over all of Candy's invoices and her checkbook.

There was some good news. Candy's checkbook was balanced. Until the day she thought of as "Miserable Monday," she had managed to pay her bills and keep up the payments on her credit cards. None of her creditors thought of her as a "bad pay." Candy had blown the whistle on herself before anyone else had blown it for her.

Fiona made a list and tacked it on the wall across from Candy's desk. The headline on the list was, "HOW TO STOP THE PAIN."

On the (slight) chance that some of you have felt Candy's pain, we include Fiona's list:

• STOP USING all credit cards until the balances are paid.
• STOP BUYING until you create a budget to keep your spending under control.
• RUN A SALE to bring in some quick cash. Be hard on yourself, make the sale deep and profitable. Completely clean out overstocked merchandise. Make the sale so tempting that customers will come to it. Remember — you need the money and you need it now. You're selling for less than you'd like, but the point is to generate dollars.
• RENEGOTIATE the interest rates on each credit card. Call each customer service department, tell them the lowest interest rates you can find, and get them to match those rates.
• CONSOLIDATE your debt by paying off the card with the lowest balance while making payments on the other cards.
• PAY OFF one card at a time until you're done.
• CANCEL each card as soon as it's paid off.
• NEVER BE LATE with a payment. Late fees and penalties add up. Many credit card companies raise interest rates on late payers. And late payments damage your credit rating.
• MAKE A CHART of your monthly cash flow so you can begin to understand when you'll have money, and how much.
• INSTALL AN OPEN-TO-BUY system made by looking at your cash flow chart.
• PURCHASE only when you have enough money in the bank to pay for what you buy.
• CREATE EXCITEMENT in your store by moving things around, designing intriguing signs, and displaying your merchandise in new ways.
• BRAINSTORM with your staff about ways to bring in more business without spending money.
• LEARN TO SELL AIR! You and your staff need to concentrate on the magic of retailing instead of relying on more merchandise to create sales.

Of all the things on Fiona's list, selling air was the hardest thing for Candy to learn. She, like many retailers we know, loved to buy for her store. But buying is just one skill retailers need. You also need to :

• Create an inviting store built on an easily understood concept.
• Run your store efficiently.
• Use good financial systems. (Go to your local Fiona for this.)
• Buy only merchandise that is interesting and well-priced. Notice that this is skill number four!
• Create interesting displays.

Most important of all, you need to be able to "sell air." Candy and her staff had to learn to romance their customers with imagination so that they could sell items the store could afford to buy. Fancy stock is not what makes good retailing. Good merchandising is what makes good retailing.

Candy Cunningham paid attention to Fiona's list. She paid her bills and she learned to "sell air." The results were sweeter to Candy than all the candy in her store!