At this point, hot tub order delays are expected. But you better believe dealers are not letting potential sales walk out the door without a fight. Enter: the cross-sell.
Cross-selling is suggesting other relevant products your customers might enjoy. Let’s say you’re shopping for an iPad online. After you place it in your cart, the online store might suggest a screen protector. That’s cross-selling.
David Townley, owner of Townley Pool & Spa in Little Rock, Arkansas, says anything is fair game when it comes to the extras he offers. Plus, he likes to add a little humor when he can.
His latest successful cross-sell theme comes from his recent promo “Save Now, Smoke Now, Soak Later,” in which anyone buying a hot tub walks away with a free Big Green Egg smoker.
Townley also sell Big Green Egg accessories. “We brought in the Great Scrape BBQ grill scrapper, a universal grill grate cleaner made from solid wood that resembles a wooden paddle,” Townley says. “It’s a cool product with a cool shape. People always pick it up to see what it is; pretty much anyone can use it.”
He also sells Bad Byron’s Butt Rub seasonings. “They also offer Butt Rub peanuts,” he adds. “It’s all great conversation starters for the front counter.”
Eric Cassidy, vice president of Valley Pool & Spa with stores in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, metro, has taken a more classic approach by offering an affordable solution for his customers’ concrete pad concerns: He sells Confer spa pads in-store.
“A lot of our customers are concerned about what it’ll cost to install a concrete pad for their hot tub purchase, or maybe they just have anxiety trying to find the best concrete contractor,” Cassidy explains. “With spa pads, all a customer has to do is grab a shovel and level their area on their own prior to delivery.”
Cassidy’s team displays a grid of six spa pads under one of their hot tubs in the retail store to sell them. Connecting six spa pads equates to a perfect 8-by-8-foot pad, and you can connect more to make a larger area.
“We deliver the spa pads with the hot tub,” he says. “Bam — lay them down on the leveled area, and you have an instant spa pad that looks similar to gray concrete for under $400.”
Josh Arnold, general manager of Southern Pools and Spas in Bristol, Virginia, says his strategy is to keep customers happy with spa maintenance accessories and aromatherapy items.
“We can’t keep our spa vacs in stock, and we use them in our display spas weekly,” Arnold says. “With the spa vac, we will mention how easy they are to use, but they sell very well without much of a sales pitch.”
Another favorite among Arnold’s customers is the Spazazz CBD products. “Our customers love the Calm and Bloom scents the best,” Arnold says. “We show Spazazz to every potential hot tub customer, whether they are buying a spa from us or already have a spa. We will sometimes include a free Spazazz sample package with a new spa delivery.”
Cassidy also recommends the Spazazz line but says to be mindful of your displays during COVID-19.
“In non-COVID times, we have ‘scent bars’ in our stores where we encourage customers to sniff everything, just like you would do in a Yankee Candle store,” Cassidy says. Though the absence of this feature has taken away some of the experience, Cassidy says he still recommends them. “We have even expanded the scents offered to continue to drive sales and interest,” he says.
Once COVID-19 becomes less of a concern, Cassidy plans to resume former Spazazz displays.
“It’s a cool interaction piece that really ups the in-store experience as well as sales of the products,” he says. “Many dealers stock a few scents shoved on a bottom shelf, they get dusty and labels fade, which is a bad experience. Spa aromas can be a big accessory with great numbers when you give them the presentation and location they deserve.”