Gold Tips Summary

1.  Facebook promotions that can dramatically increase sales and promotion of your store or practice:

It is common that when we take on a new stockist that they will post on their Facebook that they are stocking Archies Thongs. In terms of letting people know you stock Archies, this works ok. However, for such a campaign to be really successful, you really need to have a massive database of followers. What is up to 100 times more effective is a ‘Like, Share and Comment’ competition for a free pair of Archies Thongs.

When this is done, you not only utilise your own followers, but you also tap into your follower friends and friends and friends. The reach can truly be astounding as it seems there are a lot of people who are prepared to do this for a free pair of thongs. This not only is a great promotion of the thongs but it’s also a great promotion for your business, so make sure your page is looking tip-top. We have seen businesses with only 100 or so followers achieve up to 500 likes and shares. Astounding!

How to do it: Use the Archies Image library (Marketing Resources tab) on the retailer website to choose the pictures that will be most suitable to your clientele. Post on your Facebook something along the lines of:

‘We are now stocking the awesome Archies Arch Support Thongs at XXXXXX Clinic / Store. The Physiotherapist designed thongs have the same amount of support that you will find in an off the shelf orthotic, they have a tighter strap which reduces toe clawing and enables a more natural gait cycle, they are super comfy and they are the choice of thong for many of Australia’s elite athletes! We LOVE them at XXXX store clinic!

To go into the running to receive a FREE pair of these awesome Archies Thongs, simply do the following:

1. Simply like this post and our Facebook page.
2. Share this post with one of your friends.
3. Make sure you comment on the post as it helps identify the winner.

The winner will be drawn at the end of the week!

You then simply print of the names of the entrant and at the end of the week, put all the names in a hat and have a lucky draw for the winner.

Please see example below of a real-life campaign that attracted 572 shares and 495 likes:

2.  You should try and use your customers who already clearly love the thongs to sell them for you:

If you already know that a customer thinks that the thongs are comfy and there are other people around in the ‘sales arena’, it is always a great idea to ask them again in front of everyone:

“How do they feel?”

By getting the customer to say that they feel super comfy when you already know the answer is positive, gets customers that are in the area and are just looking to come over and see what all the fuss is about. It works an absolute treat!

3.  You should try and guess the customers correct size, colour, strap type and arch type for an instantly positive reaction:

Every time you see someone approaching the ‘sales arena’ or when talking to a customer, you should try to work out the person’s size, favourite colour, so that when they try the thongs on, the reaction from the customer is instantly positive!

For tips on how to pick someone’s colour, see sales tip number 5.

4.  If the size, colour, strap or arch is not right for someone, then you need to change this quickly!

It’s absolutely critical that the customers first impressions of Archies Thongs are instantly positive. People can be very quick to make up their mind, so you need to pay close attention to your customer’s body language and their verbal responses and adjust accordingly. If the size, strap tightness, then change it for them quickly as we want to avoid our customers getting the wrong impression of the thongs. It’s important to remember that the strap of the thongs is very easily and quickly stretched.

5.  How to save time and impress a customer by picking their favourite colour:

People are often amazed and are super impressed when you can pick their favourite colour! While the customer is often quite baffled as to how you did this, in truth, it is very easy if you are paying attention and are observant.

People will give clues as to what their favourite colour is by what they are wearing and how they look. So look at their clothing, their toe and finger nail polish, their current thong colour and the degree of tanning of the skin etc for simple clues as to what colour thongs to get out for them to try on (see what they feel like!).

Someone wearing a black dress, black nail polish and black thongs is highly likely going want a black thong, so don’t them get out a coral thong! Someone wearing a white dress may likely love it if you pull out a white thong for them and may love how it matches their dress. Someone who has coral colour nail polish may love how a coral thong matches their nail polish and so on.

Other tips on getting the colour right first up…Bright colours such as coral, mint, sky blue and white go well on people with tanned skin and they do not go well on people with light skin. For people with lighter coloured skin, darker colours work better, so try black, navy, brown and so on. Men also almost always want black or navy and rarely ever want white (unless they are a young male, typically from the city!).  While trying to pick the persons colour doesn’t always work, by following these principles you are giving yourself the best possible chance for an instantly positive reaction and if you are busy, this will save you precious sales time!

 6.  Use the terminology, ‘Would you like to see what they feel like?’ rather than ‘Would you like to try them on?’:

When it comes to getting a patient or customer to try the thongs on, we find it is better to use the wording, ‘Would you like to see what they feel like?’ rather than. ‘Would you like to try the thongs on’. Using this wording implies that it is an experience to see what these amazing thongs feel like and results in a very high uptake of your suggestion. We find that the wording of ‘Would you like to try them on?’ to be less successful as it implies there is some pressure or expectation to buy.

7.  How to make a customer an instant convert to Archies Thongs:

If a patient comes in wearing typical flat thongs, one of the best things you can do to instantly ‘convert’ the customer is to get the customer to go for a 5 meter walk in Archies and then immediately do the same walk in their old thongs. Most of the time the difference is astounding and the customer will be an instant ‘convert!’

8.  What to do and say if a customer has a Bunion:

If someone has a bunion, while nothing other than surgery is going to change the deformation that has already developed, if poor biomechanics of the feet is a contributing factor, then having the most appropriate footwear and aiding optimal foot posture will help to slow the progression of the deformity and least provide some benefit over the alternative options of footwear.  

As such, this is a great opportunity to educate the customer as to how having some support in their footwear can provide some benefit. This education also works extremely well if there was someone who was just looking or even a bi-stander who has no real interest in the product, as no one, wants to have an unsightly bunion!   What is a bunion? What is a bunion? A bunion is when the big toe (hallux) / 1^st metatarsal bends inwards (see pic).

There are a number of proposed causes of bunions such as it being hereditary, but poor footwear is definitely a contributing factor in many cases and lack of support in footwear is high on the list.  When there is no support, if the foot rolls in, it squashes the toe over and inwards. When this happens repeatedly over a long-time period, it can result in permanent deformation. Having some support can help to stop the rolling in and help to take some load off the big toe. This is best done by physically demonstrating as you are describing it (If you happen to be wearing thongs, it’s great to demonstrate the toe squashing in motion as the foot rolls in).

9.  Making sure staff and reception staff own a pair and are well trained:

It goes without saying that it is vitally important that the reception staff have an understanding and are able to ‘vouch’ for the product through their own personal experience. Positive and enthusiastic reception staff that absolutely ‘rave’ about the thongs can truly be your best sales assets! If they are well trained, your reception staff will be able to introduce the product to the customer while the patient is in the waiting room, this has the added bonus of killing some time for the patient if you are running behind schedule! The same also goes for your staff. How can you expect your staff to fully endorse and sell any product that they do not use themselves? So make sure that you encourage all of your staff that will be selling the thongs to wear a pair themselves.

10.  Kids – Solve their insecurity by telling them that their favourite sports star wears Archies Thongs:

One of the biggest barriers to people under the age of 18 (and sometimes older) wanting to buy the thongs is whether or not Archies Thongs are perceived cool as they do not want to be seen to buy some dorky brand. Archies Thongs are worn by many of Australia’s elite athletes and some of them are indeed some of Australia’s fussiest of ‘fashionistas’. So, if you have a kid who is hesitant about buying the thongs, if you are able to find out there favourite sporting team and are able to mention that a player from that team wears the thongs, then almost without fail they will end up begging their parents to buy the thongs for them! For updates on some of the sports people that are wearing ‘Archies Thongs’ check out our Facebook and Instagram pages.

11.  When in doubt go the indoor slipper script:

When you’re a bit stuck about what to say about the thongs, the ‘using the thongs as an in and around the house slipper’ works a treat! Customers love this idea! It’s also a particularly good script when someone says that they don’t normally wear thongs. Simply say something along the lines of:

Many of the podiatrist that sell the thongs simply recommend them as an in and around the house slipper. As the thongs have same amount of support as a typical off the shelf orthotic, they will be perfect to wear in and around the house which will still enables you to get some great support but also give your feet some much needed fresh air. The soft foam material is great to help relieve some of the stress on the joints from being on hard tiles and floor boards. The thongs also have a much tighter strap than normal thongs which reduces toe clawing and allows the arch to activate correctly thereby promoting a more natural walking pattern. If you have the time, you should see what they feel like before you leave, once you get used to them you will never want to take them off your feet! Mary at reception will be able to help fit you out if you do decide you want to try them on’.

12.  Never let any customer leave the Archies Sales Arena without trying the thongs on:

This is going to be less practical for Health Practices and may not always be feasible in a retail environment as you have other products to sell. However, when we sell Archies Thongs at Health and Fitness Events, we have a rule that no-one in the Archies Sales arena leaves without trying a pair of the thongs on! This is because almost every time that someone tries on the thongs, they end up buying them. So, if selling Archies Thongs is the goal, getting your customers to try them on is the number one priority. It’s easy to do when you approach this from the mindset that you are just trying to do your customers a favour as you just want them to experience the extreme comfort and the design benefits that Archies Thongs offer over other thongs.

13.  The ‘Quick throwdown’ technique:

The quick ‘throw down’ technique is a sales technique that is more suited for retail environments (less so for Health practices) and can be used when someone is in a hurry or when you can sense that buying thongs is not a priority for them. The other situation where this technique can work incredibly well is when a group of people approaches the sales arena and only one or two in the group are interested in buying the thongs and the others are just standing out the back with their arms crossed.

As mentioned previously, an Archies salesperson it is absolutely critical that no one in the sales arena leaves without trying the thongs on. The quick ‘throw down’ technique involves very quickly assessing the person’s foot size and getting them to very quickly try the thongs on by quickly throwing the thongs down in front of them. You need to add a bit of confidence, enthusiasm and charisma when doing this so that you do not come across as forceful.

I often say, “Here just quickly try them on while you are here, if nothing else to give us a bit of feedback about the product”. I emphasise the words “quickly” and “while you are here”. I find that this works most of the time and only about 1/10 will not actually try them on after you have done this.

While I admit, this is a bit “forward”, however, it often it gets people who had no real interest in buying the thongs to become a happy purchaser and they will often come back and thank you for it. Remember, it’s all about getting people to experience the thongs. Once the customer has tried them and you have provided the appropriate education, it is then up them to make the final decision whether or not to buy, you’re not ‘selling’, forcing or pressuring the person into doing anything.

14.  Be aware of your own body language and read your customers body language:

The research has shown that non-verbal communication is far more accurate and truthful than what people verbally convey. You need to be aware of your own body language and the body language of your patients / customers when interacting with them. When you exhibit closed body language such as crossed arms the research has shown that people will subconsciously interpret you as being negative, they will develop a less favourable impression of you and they will be less open and receptive to what you are saying, you will sell less.  You should always speak with open body language, with your arms apart and your palms facing forward. You should also be particularly aware of your customer’s body language, as if their arms are crossed or reinforced, it indicates that they are feeling nervous, apprehensive and are not open and receptive to what you are saying and doing. In this case, you need to find out what the cause of their apprehension is and solve it for them. Asking further questions and providing reassurance as necessary will often see the person adopt more open body postures as you solve their source of apprehension or objection.

Please click here If you would like to learn more about our body language sales module.

15.  If a customer is displaying closed body language, hand them a thong to hold:

When the person’s body language is closed, the scientific research shows that the mind basically closes as well and they will be less open and responsive to what you are saying. As crazy as it sounds, the simple act of getting them something to hold such as a thong puts them in a more open and receptive position to take on board what you are saying and selling! In this case, simply hand them a thong and say, ‘Here, have a feel how soft they are’.

16.  Make a friend before you make a sale:

Make sure you remember one of the key Archies key sales principles of ‘making a friend before you make a sale’. People DO NOT like to feel like they are being sold to. As such, always be super friendly and show the person you care and you are there to help them, irrespective of whether or not they buy the thongs or not. We are doing this to help the person get an awesome thong, not just to get a sale!

To help make the most favourable impression on the customer, if possible and practical (e.g. you are not crazy busy) always try to get the person’s name at the start of the sales process and use this throughout. People like hearing their own name, they will like you more if you refer to them by name. The goal should always to be to have people to walk away have them tell their friends about how nice the people selling Archies Thongs were!