I'm staying at a rather nice hotel while at a trade show in Dallas - and am having to deal with clothing that had close to 24 hours in my luggage before I was able to hang it up. This morning, I began the bane of my traveling existence - trying to iron out the wrinkles and extra creases so that I look presentable when speaking, visiting with retailers, etc.

The hotel had, placed by the iron, a 2 oz container of liquid "Ironing Starch" - what a great thing! My clothes not only ironed out smoothly, they looked - if I dare say this - "crisp"! (Look out world, here I come!) However - if I wanted to use, and keep, this starch, I had to agree to a $2.00 charge to my room.

Hotels are notorious these days for nickeling and diming guests for extras - and some times it's more than nickels and dimes - $4.50 for a bottle of water!

This situation struck me as different. First of all, I am sure that the hotel makes money on this. I bet that they don't pay 50 cents for each little spray bottle. However, the pricing is reasonable and the need to use this is very real for many of their guests.

This provided them with a revenue and profit stream while providing me with real value - a win-win situation.

Taking this thought process to the retail world....what can your staff offer to your shoppers in the form of add-on purchases that provide them with real value - and that provide you with some incremental sales at the same time? Too many times retailer clerks come across as using the "would you like fries with that" sales technique of a fast food establishment. If we offer real value, we are enhancing our customers' shopping experiences, enforcing our image in the marketplace as a quallity place to shop, and providing some extra sales for ourselves.