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Ice to Eskimos

By Tron Jordheim

Youve heard it said about a salesperson:He can sell ice to Eskimos. Usually, we take this to mean the person is sogood at persuasion, so hypnotically dazzling, that he can sell people thingsthey dont need. The quote is usually intended as an insult and compliment atthe same time.

Id like to take a different perspective. If you were trying to build a business that sells a product orservice, wouldnt you want customers who understood the value of what theywere buying? Wouldnt you seek out people who knew the most about your productor service and try to find a way to satisfy their requirements? Wouldnt thosepeople become your biggest usersand fansif you served them well?

One would think Eskimos know a lot about ice. Their languageshave many ways of describing it. Some live in ice houses part of the year, hunton ice during hunting season, kayak around ice flows, and put ice cubes in theirCoca- Cola. If you knew about the different uses they had for ice and what itneeds to serve each application, you could build a very nice business sellingice to Eskimos.

For example, if you could get the right consistency andcoldness of pre-cut blocks, shaped especially for walls, ceilings and tunnels,you could sell igloos. If you knew the kind of ice required to keep animalspreserved after a hunt, you could sell hunter ice. Ice-flow kayak racesthat traditionally feature obstacles would be pretty boring without them; so youcould create a new market for kayak ice, selling large chunks to theraces. And, of course, your company would want to be the exclusive provider ofice in the concession booths at these events. Having the same company thatprovides the best-quality igloo, hunter and kayak ice provide its best drinkingice would allow vendors to charge more per cup and possibly sell more drinks.

What about selling refrigerators to Eskimos? Gary Larson,creator of The Far Side comic strip, once featured a cartoon drawing of asalesman floating away on his boat, waving good-bye to Eskimos standing besidetheir new refrigerators. Is that salesperson a great BS artist? Are the Eskimossuckers? Maybe there is more going on there.

Just because it is cold in the arctic, doesnt mean thetemperature is always ideal for storing food. Have you seen what happens to anice head of lettuce if it is kept too cold? Besides, modern refrigerators havecool amenities like crushed or cubed ice and filtered drinking water. If thecompany that provided the best ice also sold its own brand refrigerator, itcould develop product loyalty that would create years of profitable growth andmany happy customers.

If your business was ice or refrigerators, would the Eskimosdo business with you? Do you know enough about what your customers need and like?When someone who knows a little something about storage looks at your facility,are they satisfied or impressed? Try thinking of yourself as the ice salespersonwho has just been awarded all the lands north of the Artic Circle as his salesterritory. Could you develop a good business? Diversify your product to suitspecific customer needs, and watch your business grow from ice-cube to iceberg proportions.

Tron Jordheim is the director of PhoneSmart, which serves theself-storage industry as an off-site sales force that turns missed calls intorentals. This rollover-call service serves as a backup to store managers. Mr. Jordheim has started several successful businesses fromscratch, and assisted with acquisitions as general manager of the Mid-MissouriCulligan Bottled Water franchise. For more information call 866.639.1715; e-mail[email protected].