Selling Apples On A Rainy Day

(Source: Unsplash)

One time, I was volunteering at a running race in Central Park on a cold, rainy January day.

I was assigned to hand out apples to the runners after the finish line. (Technically, they are free apples that each runner can freely take as they please, but for the purpose of this post, I’m calling it ‘selling apples’, because it reflects the sales aspect of the activity.)

This was a half marathon race, so bear in mind, that the runners will have been running for about two hours or more, by the time I, the volunteer, attempt to ‘sell’ them an apple. They are very tired at this point, and most of them would rather go home than entertain some volunteer giving out free apples.

At first, I said something ordinary, such as, “Apples! Apples! Come get your apples!“.

Then, one out of ten people will take one.

After a while, I realized that most runners actually want something warm, like a bagel. But that’s besides the point, I didn’t get to choose what product to sell. I am selling apples today.

I decided to switch things up and try, “Free apples! Tasty, delicious apples!” A clear appeal for their thirst or hunger with the usage of adjectives.

Then, maybe like two out of ten people now take apples.

At this point, other volunteers who were with me, were also trying out different tactics. It started to become a competition: who could give out their apples the quickest?

We started experimenting with varying levels of success.

First, there was just “getting the attention” aspect. You had to at least shout loud enough that people could hear your voice. These lethargic runners were passing by and it wasn’t obvious from a visual aspect (no signs or anything) that we were giving out apples.

We would often shout and wave the apples in the air at the same time to really grab their attention.

Once that was done, we started to experiment with the messaging.

• ”Get your free apple here! You deserve an apple!” (apple as a “prize”, something to be desired, like fragrance?)

• ”(making eye contact with someone) You look like you want an apple! Come get your apple here!” (slight emotional pressure)

• “One of the last few apples left! Come get them now! Quick!” (an artificial scarcity appeal, added urgency)

• “Help me take these apples! Or else I can’t leave!!” (self-deprecating humor, bid for sympathy)

• “The most delicious apples you will ever taste in your life! You won’t regret it!” (absurdist humor, sarcasm)

At the end of this, it felt that humorous language garnered the most reception. But once you used a humorous catchphase, you wouldn’t be able to repeat it again (as jokes aren’t funny the second time you hear them), so it was difficult to sustain that tactic.

Another mentality that was interesting to observe was the ability to entice runners who had already had one.

Since there was no rule that each runner was only limited to 1 apple, we started handing out extra apples to those who asked.

Soon, we realized that if some wanted it so much that they asked, why not just offer it to someone?

The volunteer beside me started employing this tactic with remarkable succcess.

”One more apple? One to have when you get home?”

After all, why bother enticing new “customers”, when some of your original “customers” want more?

Also, this may be obvious to anyone who runs, the positioning of the volunteers is what dictates their success 80% of the time. The first volunteer at the table gets almost 80% of the traffic, followed something like 15% in the next few volunteers. And the last volunteer barely gets any notice, unless there are runners who past by and walk back to get the apples (most likely, after seeing others getting an apple and then starting to wonder where to get it).

At the end of the 4-hour volunteering shift, I was pleased to return home, but also grateful that I had learned a bit about salesmanship that day.