
OS1st™ – PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE™
In the second of a series of features from the Company behind OS1st™, ing Source Limited, their Retail Operations Director Darren Alger explains why their products not only help the customer, but also give retailers great opportunities to become Sales Makers and increase profits
Today all businesses need to be Sales Makers not Order Takers and independent retailers now need to show the entrepreneurial spirit that attracted them to this business. The fine art of selling is more important than ever today and both brands and retailers have a part to play in the mix.
We know we have to invest in our sales partners, giving them great products, packaged in an attractive way, at the right price point, with supporting resources to help merchandise and promote them in-store and online. As a new brand offering a small, compact range of products, we believe we are on the right path, but what we are often asked is: “How do I sell the product?”
Our products service a number of customers visiting your shop:
1) The ‘Equipment Buyer’. All customers buying equipment in your store are targets for up-selling or up-serving with our products. Take the customer looking at buying some technical running shoes. At the point of asking to try a shoe on, they have committed to that product on the proviso that ‘it feels right’ when trying it on. At this point the sales crew can introduce our FS6 foot sleeve, or FS6+ Combo foot and calf sleeve. Get the customer to try on the chosen footwear – one foot with our product on and one without – and they will instantly like the feel of the footwear and appreciate the benefits of our product. No additional time spent with the customer, a method of helping sell the chosen footwear, providing customers with an injury-prevention and recovery product and a significant increase in your profitability of that sale. A win for you, a double win for the customer, a win for footwear and a win for OS1st™. The same up-selling techniques would apply for the customer looking to buy a tennis racquet, for example – introduce or ES3 elbow sleeve. You can see the idea.
2) The ‘Niggling Pain’. The customer with an injury or niggling pain who is purposely looking for a solution is the ideal customer. They already have a known need, they have committed to find a solution and need to find one with a proven track record of success. OS1st™ ticks all of these boxes, but what else will the customer want? They will invariably want to either continue with or get back to their chosen sport or activity despite the pain and see a product that will help prevent a recurrence of the problem. Once again, OS1st™ fulfills these needs. All of our products are based on medically proven compression therapy, but are also thin and lightweight, easy to put on and take off, breathable and wick moisture. The COMPRESSION ZONE TECHNOLOGY™ provides truly graduated, variable levels of compression based on the needs of the body, delivering ongoing preventative and recovery therapy. All of these features mean the customer can wear before, during and after their chosen sport/activity and receive relief from their pain.
3) The ‘Browser’. The most challenging prospect, however remember OS1st™ benefits before, during and after sport, providing preventative measures as well as treatment. If you are active, you’re likely to reap the benefits of using one or more of the OS1st™ range. Ask what activity or sport the customer does, how often do they do it and do they experience any pain or discomfort. All good questions to introduce OS1st™.
Good sports retailers are often the shop of choice for prospective customers, but with a slight change in mindset order takers can become sales makers and add significant profit straight to the bottom line.
To obtain a copy of our ‘Up-Sell Profit Calculator’ to demonstrate how OS1st™ can significantly increase your bottom line profit or to find out more about the OS1st™ range of graduated compression sports supports contact us at emea@ingsource.com or call 0800 027 8463.
The OS1st™ range of sports supports comprises 6 different sleeves covering the foot/ankle, calf, patella, knee and elbow. Thin, easy-on, easy-off, moisture wicking, measured, graduated compression zones, award winning supports.
Watch out for OS1st™ in the next issue of Sports Insight.