Yesterday was a dream come true for me.
My Dad, my son Drake and I did a guys only trip to watch the San Francisco Giants game.
As both a father and a son it was a time I had been waiting for a while to enjoy.
It was a beautiful San Francisco afternoon with clear blue skies and mid 70’s weather.
We got to the game a couple hour early to watch the players warm up and of course hit the coke bottle slide at AT&T Park.
Now, with a seven-year-old little boy a lot can still be unpredictable.
Will he be bored…
Or too hot…
Or want to leave…
Or will he be in a pouty mood because he didn’t get something…
But on this day, he was on his absolute best behavior.
He was locked into the game and relentless trying to get a baseball however he could.
Please and thank you were common all afternoon and done all on his own.
So needless to say I was a happy Dad.
It was about the 8th inning in a tied one to one ball game that I realized that my son had not asked me for one thing all day.
Not a souvenir, not candy or food – literally nothing.
I was impressed by this as I know for any kid there is an overload of things to “want.”
Right after I had realized that there was no asking – it finally came.
“Dad, can I have cotton candy?”
At this point it was a slam dunk YES because his behavior was off the charts and of course I wanted this to be a day for him to remember for a lifetime.
Now, I also noticed something that the Giants and every major sports team do that we as business owners can learn from….
They sell their products all game long….
(Beer gets shut down after the 7th but who’s counting?)
If it wasn’t for the Giants approach of having vendors walk up and down the isles for 10 innings, my son probably never would have asked.
For the entire game, every single section had a vendor going up and down it.
Calling out, “Water, get your ice cold water”
“Cotton Candy here”
You get it. You have been to the ball game before or have seen it on tv.
But here is the thing:
The Giants had a few offers for their fans. Not the entire menu but their best offers for their fans.
They know that throughout the game you may have different wants or needs.
Something cold to drink…
Peanuts… (you have to have peanuts at a game.)
Something cold like ice cream
And of course something sugary like cotton candy.
Now, where they win is that they constantly have vendors with different offers going up and down their stairs making sure that they are there when the time arises for the fans.
Literally, every time up and down, they were making sales.
And it wasn’t a few minutes later that another vendor would walk up and down with the same offer as the person before.
So why do teams do this???
Because they know that everyone has different wants and needs at different times.
And like the case for my son they had to market the cotton candy to him for eight innings before he asked.
But they finally got the deal.
Now if they would have sent the cotton candy vendors around once they wouldn’t sell near as much because not everyone is ready for their cotton candy right away.
It was the continuous impressions of multiple products that probably made the organization several million dollars worth of products in yesterday’s game alone.
So what can we learn for our business?
We need to have multiple offers based on where our prospects are at in their current situation.
We need to show up often and have a consistent message.
We need to be everywhere to our market so when the need arises it is easy for them to engage with us.
You have to be relentless and never stop.
Sometimes you don’t make the deal until the 9th inning, but it’s worth it.
If you commit to having offers that are relevant to your market, show up everywhere everyday and never stop until you get the job done…
You will give yourself all the opportunities that you need to create the business you want.
And like my son, you will make your customers day by being there when there want/need arises.
I will remember yesterday forever as it was a magical day for my son, my Dad and I –
…and the Giants won it with a walk off single in the extra innings to cap the day off.
Doesn’t get much better than that.
