Rusty Roar on Empire Avenue

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Cars Passing By The Lemonade Girl - This is Powerful - Listen Up

Cars Passing By The Lemonade Girl.

First I want to say that this story can be the most
powerful device in turning your mind into an advertising
power system.  The $500-$1500 copy writing courses don't
cover anything this powerful so listen up.

Midnight, Aug 5, 2014.

Today, I was driving around running errands and taking in
the beautiful Portland summer.

Many children setup the classic lemonade stands and I
sometimes stop for a cup to patronize them.  Most of them
use the same white, construction board sign duct taped to
the front of their table reading "Fresh Lemonade 50 Cents"
in black marker.

I passed many of these stands and didn't stop because I had
a Mountain Dew with me.  But when I was coming to a stop
light I saw a young girl, maybe 9 or 10 years of age
standing on the side of the road waving a sign made of pink
construction board with flashing Christmas lights running
around the outer edge of the sign.

As the light turned green, nearly every car, truck, van
that passed slowed down and read the sign reading "Cool
Off With Lemonade Fresh Squeezed Right In Front Of You!"
in red marker and many stopped to get a cup including me.

I was truly amazed at this young girls advertising
wizardry.

I went up to the table to get a cup of lemonade and had to
actually wait in line!  I was really in awe simply watching
this young girl work her magic with the customers, smiling,
saying "Do you like your lemonade sweet or sour?"

As I approached the table she said "Do you like your
lemonade sweet or sour?"  I said, "a cup of sweet
lemonade please", and she went to work by grabbing a ripe
lemon out of her wicker basket, gently laying it on a small
wooden cutting board and quickly slicing it right down the
middle with a steak knife.

Then she palmed one of the halves and pressed it with a
twisting motion into her juicing wedge then three other
halves in the same fashion.  She then carefully scooped 3
spoons of sugar into my cup, gave it a quick stir with the
spoon then dropped in three cubes of ice and said "That
will be $1.00 sir".

As I rustled into my pocket for four quarters I asked her,
"What sparked you into creating such a bright sign and such
and catchy headline?"  She then replied, "I had a white
sign with "Lemonade $1" written on it taped to my table and
no one was stopping so I went home and asked my mom to get
me a pink construction board and I took a strip of Christmas
lights that uses a battery and stapled them around the
edge, then I wrote that I would squeeze it right in front of
you, because that's what I was already doing.  Then I took
out the price because my mom said it was a little high and I
thought if I got the people to stop then they would pay it
if I squeezed their cup right in front of them and then
asked for the dollar and I waved the sign to make sure the
cars saw it",  I said, "that's great, keep up the good
work", and she said, "I will, hope to see you again and
smiled", as I walked back to my BMW.

I sat there thinking about this whole situation for a
minute or two looking over at this line of people waiting
to get, "Lemonade Fresh Squeezed Right In Front Of Them",
and watched even more people pull over to get a cup seeing
this big line and thinking to themselves, "That must be
some good lemonade", as I tasted the handmade beverage,
it was very good, very.

Here's the genius in this young Marketing Mastermind.

First she started a business, selling lemonade..

Noticing that she wasn't selling much she re-organized her
efforts with a new pink construction board surrounded by
Christmas lights drawing people to read her headline that
did nothing but convey something everyone in a car burning
up wanted, to "Cool Off" and adding something that enticed
them even more by adding "Fresh Squeezed Right In Front Of
You"

She states a solution people want to a problem they already
know they have and makes their mouth water with an enticing
benefit.  She also makes the message a personal note by
including "You" in it, making every driver think she is
talking to them them individually.

This story should open your mind to really see the
simplicity of starting a business, testing your sales
message to entice your customers, and then servicing your
customers in a way SO superb that they'll remember you and
come back again.

You can be sure that a lot of the people who bought
lemonade from this young girl will tell their friends and
they'll stop by to get a cup of lemonade as well.

What happens when the line dies down?
She grabs her sign and starts another commotion that
get's even more people to stop, by waving it around.

Do you see all the things here that get people to stop and
how she closes the sale?

1.  The headline - This is actually the first headline even
though it doesn't contain words because it's what GRABS the
peoples attention along with her waving it around.

2.  The second headline/The sales message - This is
actually the sales message that conveys a solution to an
existing problem to everyone in their car, cooling off and
an enticing benefit, "fresh squeezed right in front of
you."

3.  The Close - She caters to your needs by asking "Do you
like your lemonade sweet or sour?" and then squeezes
the lemonade right in front of you and as you watch the
whole procedure your mouth waters conveying the quality of
the product.

4.  The call to action "That will be $1.00 sir". This is a
great call to action. It doesn't leave room for anything
but a payment of one dollar. These people waited in line
creating a burning desire watching other people getting
their fresh squeezed lemonade and they're not going to say
"A Dollar? No way, I'm outta here".

That's the sales process she put together and it's sheer
genius.

Here's a few more of the strategies in her business.

Credibility - She also boosts her credibility by having a
big line in front of her table urging others to stop and
see what the fuss is about.

Viral Marketing - These people will definitely remember
this experience as it's so original and they will refer
their friends by telling them making them want to check it
out when they are around that part of town.

Customer Service - She was very polite with her "Do you
like your lemonade sweet or sour?" and her warm words
as I left making sure I remember her stand.

Value - She made the lemonade right in front of me with her
bare hands with fresh ingredients making me feel like I was
getting a real value and I didn't even know the price yet.

I could pull out 100 other strategies, but you get the
point and you see how you can apply the strategies of
"Cars Passing By The Lemonade Girl."

Take this information to heart as it's the key to business,
focusing every effort you put into you business toward your
customer and satisfying their needs and testing, tweaking
and creating a relationship with your customers.

Your Partner In Success,
Garry Desmarais









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