A lot of us have stock items, which we purchased with the best intentions of selling, but for various unfortunate reasons the sale didn’t materialise as expected.
This stock, then sits in a storeroom, often forgotten about.
What we business owners / CFO’s often overlook, is that this old stock, is essentially hidden cash.
This old stock is taking up space, which means it costs us rent. It also requires insurance against loss, so we're paying extra insurance premiums.
By holding this stock and not having the cash in the bank, it means we lose out on interest earned. So there are quantifiable hidden costs, to carrying old stock.
The good news is, there are ways to get rid of your old stock and turn it into cash.
Here are some helpful options for you to consider:
Option 1: Boost Revenue with Amazon's Marketing Trick
Use it to boost your Revenue by creating a bundle of items and by taking advantage of Amazon’s great marketing trick: “Customers who bought product, also bought this”. By bundling old stock, together with another product that people like and by using one of Amazon’s expert sales techniques, this provides the social proof and reassurance needed to make your customers feel safer choosing the bundle.(Please note: use this trick ethically or it can
backfire on you and your business.)
Pro Tip:
Not many of us are fans of discounts, so I would suggest you only bundle and offer your old stock at a discount, if a customer buys one of your high profit products as well.
In this way your slow moving stock becomes a sales tool, to help you sell your higher profit products.
Option 2: Win-Win Deals With Bartering
Engage in bartering by negotiating bartering deals with other businesses to trade your older stock for something of value, such as goods or services you need or want.
Option 3: Boosting Sales and Brand Awareness
Hold a competition with your old stock as a prize.This can be a wonderful sales tool to grow your brand awareness and should lead to more sales.
Option 4: Repackage for Desirability
Where applicable, consider re-packaging your old stock to make it more desirable and easier to sell.
Option 5: Sell on Online Marketplaces
Try using an online marketplace or auction house to sell your old stock, such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay or other online classified portals.
Option 6: Temporary Retail, Permanent Profits
If you have a significant amount of slow-moving stock, consider the option of a Pop-Up Shop.
Setting up a pop-up shop or a temporary retail location, can help you to sell off your older stock at a higher price.
Option 7: Build Goodwill with Industry Connections
Building goodwill with people in your industry can be helpful down the road and often leads to future business referrals.
Think about how you can use your old stock to achieve this.
Option 8: Use Old Stock for Positive Public Relations
Use your old stock for enhancing positive public relations and transform it into goodwill towards you and your business.
Some suggestions are: sponsoring a sports club or donating it to a school, church, charity or other community centred organisation.
This saves you advertising costs and adds trust and credibility to your business, in both the short and the long term.
Hope you found these tips helpful? If you did, please help others, by sharing.
Would you like to learn even more strategies to Find Cash, Hidden In Your Business? Click here to learn more: https://www.findhiddencash.co.za/
