Should You Sell 'Back of Room' to Kids?

How do you feel about back of the room sales? I've seen a few performers do it and I've heard that it is a great revenue source, but I just don't feel comfortable "hocking" from the stage when I've been paid to perform. I also worry about having the kids start bugging their parents for a product and having that ruin a perfectly good mood that I had created. What are your thoughts on this?

---------------------------------

A few things real quick about BOR (and I could literally talk about this all day because there are a hundred little nuances).

Appropriateness: The BOR items need to relate to what you are doing. Books are very appropriate after a school or library presentation (and in fact are usually well received at almost any venue because parents like to see their kids read more). Magic sets are an obvious tie in after a fun magic show. A DVD teaching magic would also work well. Show posters, autographed pictures, and t-shirts are common at larger events.

Profitability: You need to be able to AT LEAST double your money on everything you sell or it isn't worth carrying around. This is usually the foundation of retail. In fact, it is such a standard operating pricing method that it is actually called "Keystone" pricing. I wrote about this in an article on pricing that's posted on my web site. But suffice it to say that your prices should be at least twice your costs, with only a few exceptions.

Pricing Points: Lastly, you don't want to charge $2.50 for ANYTHING! If you did, you would also have to bring along a wad of $1 bills and five rolls of quarters so you could make change. Pricing Points are very important in retail and even more important for BOR. People think in terms of $20 bills. Everyone has a $20. When selling big items, make the price breaks at the $20 marks. For smaller venues and smaller items, you want to break at $1, $5, and $10. You do NOT want to be making a bunch of change. Again, you can check out another article I wrote on pricing, also posted at www.JulianSpeaks.com under the link to "Free Stuff".

When I sell my $6 book, I also sell a $4 book to go with it, and I sell a $1 picture, but the picture is free if they buy both books. This makes for a LOT of $10 purchases. It's an easy price point, and the free gift of the picture helps make the decision even easier.

I also like books because they promote reading. I am a big proponent of children reading more so it makes it easy for me to sell those books and not feel the least bit guilty. I know that every kid who buys one of my books is doing his brain good.

Now, about "pitching" from the stage and ruining a good mood you had created.

If you are performing in a school, day care, or other venue where children don't have parents on site, there is no reason to even mention the product. If you didn't arrange for them to buy the product beforehand, then they won't be able to get it. Kids usually don't carry around that level of disposable income.

If there ARE parents present, then your decision to sell from the stage is a personal matter. When I speak to adults I always offer a product at the back of the room. If people enjoy your show they want a souvenir. This goes for children as well as adults. I don't think you have to worry about ruining a good mood by offering souvenirs. Anytime parents take their kids grocery shopping, to the movies, a ball game, carnival, or almost any other venue outside the home, there are offerings that children beg their parents for.

Parents have come to expect their kids to beg and in fact, some parents use the intensity of the begging as a "barometer" of how much the child actually wants the item. I would imagine that it would be a strange and irregular occurrence to have someone upset that you offered a product to purchase.