Full attic after corona? This is how you sell everything you want on King’s Day

1. Get a good place

A good place is essential to achieve good sales, says Ruth Kremer, an expert in the field of King’s Day sales and associated with the CatchYouTalent training institute in Alkmaar. A back alley ensures that people can easily pass your stall or rug. “Sit in a clearing.” She mentions the Mill in Alkmaar, adjacent to the park, as an example. “It is on the route, but it is not too busy and people can also sit in the grass in between to relax for a while.”

2. Provide an eye-catching stand

Many people choose to sit on a rug during King’s Day, but it is precisely by going up high that you attract people, says Kremer. “If you choose to sit on a rug, make sure that you hang a large banner behind you or sit near a tree where you hang something. Then you stand out from a distance.”

3. Be critical of your assortment

According to Kremer, people are inclined to sell all the old stuff from the attic. Think of discolored toys, old pans, mobile phones that are no longer used, cassette tapes or cheap tea lights. Don’t do it, warns the expert. “If you only sell good stuff, you get sold out faster. People then take more stuff with them.” New kitchen appliances, branded toys for children, beautiful clothing and Lego are especially popular, according to Kremer.

4. Provide a large audience

After all, we are herd animals: a large audience attracts new people. Therefore, make sure that you lure people to your stall or rug. “For example by like a market trader: ‘Who will untie me?’ shouting through the streets or putting on some nice music.”

5. Present things clearly

It is important to display your belongings in an orderly manner. People often walk in a stream past the stalls and rugs, explains Kremer. Because people are walking both in front of you and behind you, you subconsciously feel a bit rushed. When you go to look somewhere, you eventually cause a traffic jam. “People are therefore inclined to screen first before they decide to look at the stall. If everything is mixed up, screening becomes more difficult and the chance that people walk through is greater.”

6. Price your items

Give your items a price sticker in advance, Kremer advises. It can be a barrier for people to ask about the price of a product. “Provide round prices and categorize. So for example all toys for 50 cents and four items for that much.”

7. Respond to needs

The majority of visitors do not have a plan in advance of exactly what they want to buy. Play on that. “For example, ask the person standing in front of your stall: What catches your eye?” According to Kremer, it can also help to come up with a personal story. She mentions the sale of a painting as an example. “For example, say, ‘This painting belonged to my grandmother.’ You then have to involve the customer in your story by, for example, asking where he or she would hang the painting in the house.” According to Kremer, there will automatically be a need to purchase the product.

8. Give things away for free

We Dutch are of course very sensitive to free. According to Kremer, it can help to respond to this. “By giving a little sometimes, you can sell more.” She gives the tip to hand out free cans of drinks. “People are often thirsty during King’s Day and do not always immediately find a place to buy drinks.”

9. Do Upsell

Additional sales help enormously, Kremer emphasizes. Therefore, make sure that with the product that the customer wants, you sell something else that enriches the product. She mentions the sale of an electrical appliance for children as an example. “Sell batteries, for example, so that the children can use the product immediately.”

10. Ask for the order

Asking the customer in a direct or indirect way to take the product home is perhaps the most important tip, according to the expert. If you don’t do this, people often run away. But how do you do that? “You have to cross a threshold, but ask things like: ‘Shall I put a bag around it?’ or ‘If I pack this for you, you’ll get that with it.'”