The tale of the commodity Christmas tree.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through Brooklyn people were buying North Carolina Christmas trees from a Canadian named Francois AND ‘not for Manhattan prices.'

This story starts off with François offering options for his price sensitive buyer.  Providing trees with ‘two different personalities – you have the skinny one and the chubby one, but they’re both good dancers.'

At Holden Advisors, we call these options Give-Gets.  By using these, the seller provides the buyer with choices that turn the conversation back to value…. in this case the ‘personalities’ of the two trees.

Beyond the transaction, Francois has developed long and lasting relationships with his Brooklyn neighbors as evidenced by repeat customers who come back to the neighborhood yearly to purchase trees even after moving away, his special promotion with a local hardware store to benefit both businesses, and many examples of free meals, warm coats, and keys to apartments so that Francois can shower during his time away from his Canadian home.

The article closes with a quote from a longtime customer who travels from Manhattan to buy his tree each year,  ‘This has nothing to do with trees anymore.'

So remember, NO offer is a true commodity.  When you are thinking your product is a commodity, just remember this story about the Christmas trees, and think about what services and personal touch you bring to the table with your customers…if a Christmas tree isn’t a commodity not much else can be!