Hi Steve,
I was wondering, how do you price an event like an auto dealership promotion where the dealership gives away free hot dogs to attract customers?
I have a friend who is a car dealer and was talking to him about the business and he is interested in doing a promo with hot dogs, but I have no idea how to price the event.
Thanks Steve,
Dave Herring
***********************
Hi Dave,
One of the best pricing strategies for a promo like this is the “ticket” method. Go to Walmart and buy a roll of movie tickets in the office supplies section.
Sell the dealership sales manager 100 tickets in advance at your per-meal price. Each ticket is good for one meal. A meal could be just a hot dog or it could be one dog, a bag of chips, and a drink – whatever you decide on.
The sales manager then gives each sales person a bunch a tickets. The sales person then hands them out to the customers. The manager loves this because if a person wants a hot dog they have to talk to a sales person first.
This method is actually the most fair for both parties because the dealership can decide on the fly how many hot dogs they want to give away and you have a guaranteed minimum which is always nice.
Sell ’em all!
-Steve
So glad you did a blog on this. Just yesterday I was looking to see if you had, and found no information about it anywhere. What a coincidence! Thanks!
Good timing!
Great info I was wondering the same about an event or two that has been offered to me. Roll of tickets is prefect way to manage total sales…. Thanks for the info…..
My pleasure BDH!
Seems pretty obvious the larger the dealer and the better QUALITY of the promotion, the greater chance of a good day for the dog slinger. Not all slingers live in big towns though, in which case I would lean to a daily rate or an hourly rate from the car dealer. You could still do the ticket thing for book keeping purposes but the key is you don’t get burned on a poor turnout if the small car dealer is inexperienced in promotion which will be crucial to your success. My 2 coppers 🙂
Agreed. Hence the initial minimum.
Not to many car dealerships on the river !!! But I’ll keep it in mind matey.
Arrrrggggg !!
1St Mate Jim.
Boat dealers? Marinas? Used pirate ship lots?
Aaaargh!
I’ve done the same used car dealer in my town twice, pop around 35000 I charged rental of the cart, and a day rate depending a how many hours you contract for. the first time we gave away 450 dogs, and 550 the second time. the tickets did not work very well at first so we stopped that, most people don’t want to have to go and find someone to get a ticket I also had other people that owned a business that wanted to do the same thing ( hot dogs, water ,soda, chips that was it ) charge a lot ,and you need two people It’s a long hard day, first time I did it I gave away 150 dogs in less then 45 minutes…………Good luck
Of course the customer would rather just walk up and get a free hot dog but that’s not the point.
The ticket method is the “hook” that will get you the car dealership gig in the first place. The sales managers LOVE it because it accomplished exactly what they are having a promo for in the first place.
They are not doing it to give away hot dogs. They are doing it to get customers and salespeople together.
What about price, how do you price the meal what if they want you to use cheaper dogs, this was asked in are fb group, do you offer a cheaper dog risking your name or not. myself I would because the fact I feel it is the difference in making money and not.
now how do you let the people know this is not the dog you sell on the street.
myself I tell them stop by the cart and try are reg menu items sometime, and offer ether a doller off card with my full info, or a loyalty card , what is your input on this steve
DAWG N IT best meat on the street.
I would tell them that we are using “freebie” hot dogs for this promo and like you said, tell them to come by the cart to try the gourmet dogs that we usually serve.
Great point Pete!
forgot, the dealer paid for all supplies used
I would tell them that they are risking both our reputations by using a cheap dog. The difference can’t be more than $.50 each, but the image is not what either of them want. (Let’s see, and cars are selling for how much?)
This is still about the best ROI of any kind of advertising they can do.
Right on Dorothy.
Great article about promotions. I think the best thing to remember is your business is being promoted at the same time. Cross marketing is a great opportunity. I can even see this being a business builder for future endeavors. Way to call it Steve
Andrew from Supa Hotdogs
I just invoice what the eat. I use my normal pricing, plus setup fee and state tax. I tell the dealer that it breaks out to about $6.00 per meal. I also ask if they have a limit they want to stay under. Most say $500.00. Good!! Good!!
That works.
Hi Steve,
What would a fair per meal price be and still make a profit? Say , a dog & drink for $2.50- $3.00?
Thanks, B. Hendrix
That’s on the low side. Don’t be afraid to charge for a great product. Competing on price alone is a miserable way to run a business.
Hi again Steve,
Didn’t see Duggs comment before I spoke! Full price seems a bit steep to ask when just starting up. People around here are more frugal. I’m not sure I could get that much. ( I will be getting my package from you in 3 weeks, with grand opening in spring.) I was going to price my regular dog at $3.00, Chicago or Chili $3.50. I’m in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Is this about average?
Appreciate any fed-back,
Brian Hendrix
Sounds about right. Let me know what else I can do for you.
Steve,
You did an article on this not long ago. This method can work for private parties as well; birthdays, weddings, company picnics, etc. Guaranteed minimum! Our shop used it for all parties, even if it was at a nice restaurant and just for drinks.
You continue to open my eyes as to the possibilities for profit in the hot dog sales biz Steve. Tying dogs to bigger fish sounds like a win-win deal. Just don’t trust those car dealer guys (unless you can toss them further than a dead cat).
Pete
LOL!
Steve,
I used the print your own business cards to custom print “good for one hot dog” tickets with my logo & info on them instead of movie tickets. I like tickets because about 7 to 10% never make it to the cart.
I like it Tom. Thanks!
This type of promotion also works great with Apartment Communities, as well as New Home Sales offices. We have even done some promos at larger discount furniture stores that run a lot of TV and Radio ads touting super low… low prices.
Great info Vern!
I love this thread! Gotta admit though that i’m a little confused on what you said was a good price for a dog. It seems as though you said 2.50 is a bit low but my neighbor in the UP (i’m in Detroit) is selling up at 3.00. What do you suggest is a good price that doesn’t leave the slinger chasing for more profit with other products to supplement?
Shoot for a 70 percent profit margin on total food sales. More if you can get it (hint: you can get it by differentiating yourself from your competitors. Don’t sell a hot dog. Sell an experience.)
I did a car show at a car dealer at one time. At the end of the show and things were wrapping up and the sales people came up to me and asked since I was closing down if there were any FREE dogs. I asked since they were closing down if there were any FREE cars. Needless to say they still bought a dog.
Sell em’ all
Awesome! Ha!
GREAT COMEBACK!!!!!!!!! LOL
GREAT LOVE IT!
I am in a small town 11,500 pop. I get people all the time asking for free hot dogs. I ask them what you gonna give me for free? Then do you ask McDonalds for a free food? They usually get rude at that point…. One guy told me you cannot chase off customers like that. I said they are not customers; Customer’s Spend Money!
I never give money to pan handlers. It can get spent unwisely. However, I do give a free hot dog and soda to folks who obviously need a meal and can’t pay for it.
After shutting down for the day any left over dogs and buns I will run by the homeless shelter and give them away. It’s charitable and if the media gets wind of it (by accident) it will boost your image. It feels good is the best excuse, and it touches another person letting them know they are not ignored and forgotten because they are less fortunate. If you track sold and discarded hotdogs, would the giveaways be a write off?
That a very nice thing to do Duane. You would have to ask your accountant about the tax status of giving away hot dogs to charitable organizations.
Pete, I never use any other Hot Dog than the ones I use on a daily basis. No matter what you tell folks at the Promotion, the Freebies that you are giving away will brand you. They will always remember you and your cart for the sub-standard (food) experience. When booking a gig, I let folks know up front that I will only use my Hot Dog, it’s part of my Business Brand. If not, I won’t accept the gig. Hope my opinion helps.
Agreed.
This is so true.. I had an experience recently with this and it might have ended a friendship. I do not sell $0.10 Dogs on my cart…. You can argue all you want that they are good but I do not serve them on my cart! Mt cart serves $3.00 hot dogs and maybe $2.50 but never $1.50 dogs those are for the people that cannot afford Aldi’s Dogs!
Absolutely GREAT input above! I have done the N.H. Lottery Commision up North in Laconia last year and I made GREAT MONEY! I was told to bring 100 dogs, w chips, no drinks, and setup between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to do an event they were Promoting outside of a Convenience, Gas Station Store on the side of a two lane road. They of course had a promotional tent themselves to promote a new ticket that came out. Long story short we were paid 700 dollars and brought an addiotional 50 dogs as a curtousy and were sold out by one o’clock, therefore able to break everything down and leave before said time. ( Was a good thing we brought the additional 50 dogs, because it not only made me look good being a great business person, but prolonged our stay there somewhat and was a surefire way of getting called back this year to re-do this event!) Not only did I ENJOY myself doing barely nothing but dogs, but was able to profit over 500 dollars for barely doing anything but having fun and meeting great people! But I never heard of the ticket idea and am now thinking of ways to make even more of a profit! Love your site Steve, and whether or not you remember you HELPED ME when I was confused, broke, and just starting out with your advice! And I will always forever THANK YOU! Your the best, God Bless you and your Beautiful family and for ALWAYS HELPING OTHERS with your time and great advice! 🙂 K
Your success is all the thanks I need. I’m so happy for you Karen!!!
Hi Steve! I forgot the nachos $2 Thanks.
such a great thread!! thanks, steve, and everyone who contributed. “Don’t come home till you sell ’em all!” (-quote around my house;)
Steve you need to quote this on your site for all those that say their spouses do not approve! This person has their family’s support as I do!
Bernie
snappershotdogs.com
Several good points were made. If you sell a certain number of tickets and get the money up front, you covered your expenses. If all the tickets don’t come back to you, you can sell the uncooked dogs and other items at your next gig. I agree with sticking with your brand. As Tim said, they will only remember you for the food you serve. You are building your brand every time you pull out of the barn. And last but not least, don’t be afraid to charge full price. You are providing an experience and competing on price alone is a miserable way of doing business.
“Competing on price alone is a miserable way of doing business.”
Indeed.
Wow!!!! Thanks you guys for the information. Im in Atlanta Ga. and there are ton of dealerships here. Theweather will breaking soon and i plan to hit as many up as possible. I also agree with Tim. You should stick with your brand, as i only use Nathan’s all beef
Go for it!
Steve, outside of hotdogs I’m weary about selling sausages also, and I’m heading towards polish kielbasa dogs at $4.00 a dog. Which do you think will have a long lasting taste while its in the pan waiting to be sold
The best thing to do is perform an experiment by tasting them yourself every 15 minutes. You will quickly be able to tell how long is too long.
Tickets break down the experience!
Go look for somebody that is trying to bogart the tickets.
When I come out its party time!
I get the frot and the back of the house to compete in an unofficial eating contest.
I bring with me non cola sodas for ethnic salesman, ( Grape etc)
My mission is to sereve as may quality dogs and beverages as I can In as any hours as I can stay, most of the time I am at venues longer than prescribed,
Oh by the way I do set up signs on sidewalks nearby letting people jknow where to find the dogs….bring poeple from other dealerships over, I feed them….they sell um!
Thanks for the incredibly useful info. This is going straight to my mental note bank for future reference
No problem Steve.
What do you think about vegan dogs I have a niece who wants veggie dogs she works as a dry wall construction worker ?
It’s OK to stock a half dozen or so but most folks won’t want them. Try it and see how they sell. That’s the only way to know for sure.
Steve,
Great comments, as Alwayz!!! The Slingerz, on this BLOG…ROXX!!! 🙂
Also, keep in mind…that, Private Events, such as, we are discussing, allows a Slinger, to have, other items, as an availability!! 😉
Increase, Product(s) availability and watch your $$$$$….GROW!! 😉
Best,
Rexx Hunter – (Surf Dawgz Catering)
Indeed!
Great idea! I love it
Steve
I have to say I learn something new from you everyday. This blog was incredibly helpful. I am in the process of building my cart with your plans. I finished the trailer and start work on the box this week. Thanks so much for all the info.
My pleasure!
Yes, very good info! i was wondering as well.Thanks
Glad you found it helpful David!
I can’t find many vendor reviews of Roaming hunger I saw one review that a home owner said thay paid roaming hunger and the vendor never got paid do any vendor’s have first hand experience with this company