Chapter 3 Section 2: How to make money when you have nothing (2)

So what exactly did they do?From this point of view, all teams are highly creative.One group discovered a common problem in many college towns: On Saturday nights, there are often long lines outside popular restaurants, making it difficult to get a table.They decided to make money on people who didn't want to spend their time waiting in line.So the two of them made reservations at several restaurants separately.When it’s time to eat, sell your reserved seats to people who don’t want to wait in long lines for up to $20 each! When they finished work in the evening, they observed several interesting phenomena.First, they found that female students were more likely to be successful than male students when selling seats, perhaps because customers felt more comfortable when female students came forward.So they adjusted their strategy, with the male students running around, booking dinner seats at different restaurants, while the female students were responsible for selling seats to people in line.They also found that some restaurants will send pagers to people waiting for seats, and when there are vacancies, they will notify customers in the form of vibration paging. As a result, the students' business is doing best in such restaurants.When you hand over the pager that got the reservation first to the customer, the customer will feel that what they paid for is something substantial.They pay you to exchange their own pager for one that is already vibrating to cut down on the wait time.There is an additional advantage in doing this, that is, when the time is later and the reservation time for the newly exchanged pager is approaching, the students can sell it to customers who arrive later and make another profit.

And another group had a simpler approach.They set up a booth in front of the student dormitories, and they test the air pressure of bicycle tires for free, and charge a $1 fee if the tires need to be inflated.At first they felt they were taking advantage of their classmates, who could have gone to a nearby gas station to fill up for free.But after doing a few deals, they found that their customers were actually very grateful to them.Although their service is not difficult, and there are inflatable places nearby, the service they provide is undoubtedly more convenient and valuable.Just halfway through the stipulated time, this group of team members changed their strategy from the original fixed fee to the form of voluntary payment by customers. As a result, their turnover began to increase by leaps and bounds.Apparently, customers are more willing to pay a little more for a potentially free service.

Like the team that sold the seats, this group was successful.The key to their success lies in their ability to constantly improve their plans based on customer feedback during the process of implementing ideas, so that the entire team's strategy can achieve the best results.