Take this scenario: A customer slowly looked around the produce department with a puzzled expression. Then she asked the produce clerk, “Where are the strawberries and avocados that are advertised?” The worker lazily pointed to the areas instead of properly helping the customer with cordial service. The clerk basically pushed the customer away from an opportunity to grasp additional sales by using a more desirable selling approach.

Another customer wanted to know if Swiss chard was available. A third customer asked if the lettuce is organic. A fourth asked if there were any artichokes. Many clerks either didn’t have the answers or were just plain lethargic. This often occurs because of the endless worker turnover, especially with part-time employees. 

These customers were not just pushing their shopping cart, but also looking for answers. They wanted to buy some produce but were carelessly pushed away from sales without getting that special customer service.

So many sales are lost, but there are individuals who pull sales inward with their skillful encouragement.

Another scenario: While customers are calmly shopping, the doors of the produce backroom open and an enthusiastic produce clerk wheels out a cart filled with flats of strawberries to a front entrance display. Suddenly, he shouts, “Here they are. We have fresh strawberries right from the field on sale this week. Take advantage of the savings as well as our other great advertised specials!”

That produce clerk draws an excited crowd of customers around the display, and because of that motivation those customers made many other additional produce purchases throughout the department.

These are two examples of selling — the push and pull approach.

In the first scenario the produce clerk pushed customers to the displays without giving them personal service to increase incremental sales. The second had the produce clerk using the pull method to sell his produce. He pulled customers over to the displays and motivated them into purchasing items.

• Push Method — Used by produce managers and employees that push customers into helping themselves rather than offering personal service to them. This often pushes soft sales rather than gaining additional customer purchases.
• Pull Method — Used by employees who never need coaxing into getting the sales in the till. They pull sales by motivating customers with their personal service. Produce employees who use the pull method usually encourage shoppers to buy more items by providing some assistance to them.

The push and pull approaches occur in other areas of the produce industry as well and in various ways.

Produce growers, shippers, buyers, trade associations, sales representatives, wholesalers, distributors, marketing managers, vice presidents, produce directors, store managers, produce managers and clerks are active in the push and pull approach. They either incite sales into happening or allow it to be business as usual.

Salespeople representing growers and shippers traditionally use the pull method of marketing their product. They travel thousands of miles to call on produce decision makers and make pitches for the business. They offer incentive programs to pull in the  sales. Like the produce clerk in scenario two, marketing reps make sales happen using the pull system.

The best produce approach is to buy the product, then build the displays. In other words, don’t wait around for anyone else to generate your sales. Pull in those sales by making something happen.

No sales rep, grower, shipper, broker or wholesaler will hand you a golden bushel of sales. You have to make it happen yourself. The only road to success is to get the momentum rolling on sales by hitting the trenches. Talk to your customers, mingle in with the employees, help build a display, get your hands smudged. Plan sales challenges together, draw display layouts and make dollar projections on product amounts you want to sell.

There is a competitive street fight out in the produce trenches these days. Every supermarket chain is punching, kicking, clawing and biting for sales. You better get out there and pull in your share of those produce sales for your company. If you don’t, sales will push toward your competition. 

Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775-843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].