AWhatup NEB Nation! Just recently, the gang over at XS Energy did a write up on New England Blast and we thought we’d share it with ya’ll. The article has been pasted below so give it a read to take a behind the scenes at NEB. Much love to all the guys over at XS Energy for featuring NEB, and a sincere thank you to all our supporters and everyone who is encouraging our success! Have A Blast!
XS Success Story: New England Blast!
Employing a can-do spirit—and understanding the role that Blast Mixers can play in sampling XS Energy Drinks—has helped catapult business for a group of Independent Business Owners in New Hampshire.
With Jeff Paquin leading the way, he and two IBOs in his organization have sold about 100 cases of Blast Mixer this year. They recently began working under the team name of New England Blast.
Whether it’s selling Blast Mixers to individuals, a large water park or restaurant-bars, they have been turning consistent profit by getting the word out from their base in and around Manchester, N.H.
The most powerful tool aiding the process is the B2B Sales Case.
“The sales case is the most critical piece we have used over the past few months—we were just winging it before, using satchels and cramping up our hands as we walked into bars,” Jeff chuckles. “It’s been really great to have team members developing the brand.”
In addition to generating retail profit, the Mixer has proven to be an effective “lead-in product” with individual customers who then branch out and purchase other brands. By demonstrating the ability to create a free shipping order, via the purchase of a few additional items, they have been growing their base of “Ditto” clients.
“When I got my business started, I was stepping into a strong XS market. I was immediately excited about the cans and what they are able to do to grow business,” says Jeff. “But we didn’t really know what we were doing at first, giving out free cans and spending money that we didn’t have to.”
“Then when the Mixers came out, we totally revamped what we did,” he adds. “It really changed our approach with events. The coolest thing about the Mixers is we figured out that the more you can expose the brand, the better off you’ll be. And the Mixers enable you to generate excellent exposure on a smaller budget.”
An upcoming event, a chili festival, is projected to attract 25,000 people and is among the venues where Jeff and his team, including Doran Dal Pra, Nate Goulet and Jeff’s younger brother, Nick Paquin, will set up an XS booth.
With one bottle, you can sample drinks for upwards of 300 people—“that brought our sampling costs way down and our contacting way up,” Jeff reports.
Employing a classic New England mannerism, Doran says that one key is “keeping it wicked simple.” Simply adding water to Blast Mixer can create a great taste, he says, in addition to using carbonated water or even other creative companions like yogurt and iced tea.
Doran is the team member who has been focusing on marketing to locales like bars and restaurants. He attributes much of his progress to Vishaal Pandya’s training on using the B2B Sales Case.
“For anybody, whether they have sales experience or not, it is such an excellent tool,” says Doran. “You could literally read that stuff verbatim if you wanted to. Of course, it’s even better when you craft your own approach, so that when you talk, it really sounds like you.”
One of Doran’s tips is to have all the employees in a restaurant try the XS. For the decision-maker, oftentimes the owner, “it’s harder to say `no’ when everyone there says they love it,” he explains.
“You can approach an establishment initially with this kind of introduction: `I’m not here to sell you anything until you actually drink some samples and tell me that you like it,’” Doran says. “My goal is for the person to sell it on himself.”
He also encourages IBOs to keep an eye on the calendar and consider its impact on traffic flow at various spots. Health clubs, particularly in colder-weather areas, tend to be slower in the summer, when people can engage in outdoor activity. They pick up the pace in the winter, especially after January 1 with the latest round of New Year’s health-related resolutions.
Jeff encourages IBOs everywhere to put into action the building blocks laid out in the B2B Sales Case: “When XS and the Blast brands grow in one area,” he concludes, “IBOs everywhere win.”
