What Digital Marketers Can Learn From A Beach Sunglass Peddler
What Digital Marketers Can Learn From A Beach Sunglass Peddler
Over the winter, my wife, 3 kids and I have been traveling around Mexico. Looking for some good R & R, we spent the first half of the trip on the beach in Nuevo Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta.
On our first morning there, I woke up early and headed out to the beach with a good book in hand to grab some beach chairs and a cabana for the day. With the sound of ocean waves crashing, I sat down in my lounge chair and cracked open my book and thought to myself, “ahh…this is exactly what I needed and why I’m here.”
I wasn’t there for more than 5 minutes and a mysterious shadow appeared. A man dressed in white with a straw hat belted out in broken English “hats, beach toys, blankets…very cheap!” After the initial shock wore off, I politely said “No” and he moved on to to the couple to my right, with the exact same pitch. I remember thinking, “Ok, just a small interruption, this man has a right to make a living, back to my book.”
After three more peddlers in the next twenty minutes approached me with jewelry, shirts and skulls with NFL teams on them (who doesn’t need one of those?), I was officially annoyed. The same routine went on, day after day, almost like clockwork.
But over the course of the next week, one peddler stood out to me. His name was Cristobal, and he didn’t sell hats, blankets or skulls. He only sold one item…sunglasses. There were plenty of others peddlers who sold sunglasses on this particular beach and they likely all sold the same brand, but he sold more of them, a lot more. The entrepreneur side of me was intrigued. I began to watch him more closely to discover his special sauce.
As I observed him, I had an ah-ha moment. Cristobal’s strategies looked really familiar. What I discovered was he was using the exact same strategies that I have been teaching my digital marketing consultant clients. While I was teaching it in an online marketing context with websites, videos, social media posts, he was using it on the beach to sell sunglasses, live and in person.
I call this strategy The 5 ONE’s and I’ve found that if you get these 5 things right, it’s the fastest way I know of to get your business to 6-figures, fast, and have the freedom to do more of what you love, like spending more time with your family.
The 5 ONE’s
ONE TARGET MARKET: Unlike the other peddlers, who went to chair-to-chair the entire length of the beach, Cristobal only approached a select few. He only approached adults who didn’t have sunglasses on. This guy was smart. He only spent time with people who were likely to need his solution and could make the on-the-spot decision to buy . He focused on one target market.
ONE PRODUCT: He did not have 5 different products strapped to his back , he only sold only one product, sunglasses.
ONE TRAFFIC SOURCE: He focused on one traffic source, tourists at resorts on Banderas Bay beach during the peak sun times, 10am to 4pm. While other peddlers stayed until dusk, he took his empty sunglass display case home at 4.
ONE CONVERSION FUNNEL: He had one conversion funnel; look for adult without sunglasses and use one simple sales pitch, honed to perfection after using it a hundred times. If a prospect bought from him, he had a brilliant upsell, “Would you like a second pair for ½ price?”
ONE YEAR: I asked Cristobal, how long he had been selling sunglasses on this beach and he said he left his construction job about a year and a half ago. He dedicated himself to mastering this gig for at least one year.
ONE Target Market, ONE Product, ONE Traffic Source, ONE Conversion Funnel, for ONE Year…it’s that simple!
The first step in using the 5 ONE’s is to focus on ONE TARGET MARKET. I realize that picking just one target market can be really difficult and sometimes scary. It often feels like you might be turning away potential business by narrowing your focus.
However, to find your ultra-specific, highly profitable target market, start by applying Cristobal’s logic to your own business. Ask yourself three simple questions:
- Who is currently walking around “without sunglasses”—meaning, who has an immediate, visible need for exactly what I offer?
- Who has the authority and resources to make an on-the-spot buying decision?
- Who do I actually enjoy serving?
Instead of trying to sell everything to everyone, take some time this week to define your one ideal client. Commit to mastering your service for that single audience. Once you do, you’ll be well on your way to building a business that gives you both profit and freedom.
Chris Rudolph is a husband, father of 3, and a Freedom Business Coach for Digital Marketers. He specializes in working with those who are underpaid, hustling around the clock or missing out on valuable family time build their own Freedom Agency. He helps them grow their income, scale with a team and enjoy more time with their family.