One Egg or Two? Selling Multiples

The story of how F.W. Woolworth increased its lunch counter sales may be apocryphal, but its sales principle is tried and true.

In its heyday, Woolworth was a nationwide chain of more than 3000 five-and-dime or variety stores, sort of junior editions of today's Wal-Mart stores. The Woolworth lunch counters, forerunners of today's food courts, served breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

Although Woolworth was never known for salesmanship, a directive to lunch counter managers embodied just that -- good salesmanship.

It required waitresses to ask "Would you like one or two?" whenever a customer ordered an egg.

The power and simplicity of the principle -- selling multiples -- is breathtaking. The customer is already sold on the item and the store and the person selling it. All that's required is to ask "One or two?".

The principle really works. I always devoted my first sales meeting in a new department, store or district to telling the story of One Egg or Two. And it always paid off in a 10-15% increment that stuck long after the larger increase from my pep talk had faded.

Of course, I always got objections. "We're not selling eggs here." "That won't work with washing machines." "Nobody needs two cars." "Our customers can hardly afford one."

But the fact is selling multiples works no matter who's doing it, where, or what's being sold from apples to zoot suits. It works because the product is presold, and because people often buy multiples to have a spare, as a gift, for a second home, to lock in a price, to save a trip to the store, etc.

Egg on you if you don't ask "One or two?"

Illustration created from photos found on Michael Strauch's streetcarmike.com.  Thanks Mike!

The 11th and 12th Commandments

Roger B. MacDonald, GRI, associate broker with Realty Quest Inc. in Nashua, N.H. shares this experience in Realtor Magazine Online for 5/2/2006.

At least 30 years ago — when the world was young, and I was a lot younger than I am now at 84 -- I was showing homes to a young couple who had proven to be very hard to please. Through them, I learned about the 11th Commandment: "Thou shall not impose thy preferences upon a prospect."

I had shown the couple many homes in their price range, but nothing suited them. Finally, in desperation, I decided to show them a home that had been on the market for a very long time. The problem was that someone had painted all of the rooms in various patterns of black and white. There were squares, circles, polka dots, black ceilings, white ceilings, and decorated ceilings -- but everything was black or white. It was hideous.

Before showing them the property, I thought very hard about preparing them for the shock and telling them, "It's only paint. You can save a lot of money by just repainting it the way you like it once you own it." But I finally decided to let the house shock them first before I called attention to the odd decor.

We walked into the living room. The wife looked at the walls and ceiling and said nothing. We walked into the dining room. The wife looked at the walls and ceiling and said nothing. We walked into the kitchen. She looked at walls and ceiling and said, "I can't believe it -- this is me!"

It was a nice sale, and an even better lesson.

I had a similar experience, also about 30 years ago, when I was working at Radio Shack.

In those days, Radio Shack sold only its own Realistic brand products, many of which performed well, but were exceedingly ugly.

A customer asked to see a mid-price AM/FM portable radio. I demonstrated a black (silver was in), boxy (round was hot), too large, over-priced radio covered in simulated leather (metallic look was current) that sounded good, but which was understandably a "hard-sell."

And then I asked "How many would you like?"

The response, "I'll take six," nearly knocked me over.

Like Roger MacDonald, I learned the 11th Commandment -- not to impose my preferences. But I also learned the more important 12th -- to ask for the order, no matter what!