How to sell sand in the desert and ice to Eskimos

Oh I have heard the saying many times; this guy could sell sand in the desert. From a young age salesmanship has been a respected skill in my family. I am however a very practical guy and have always been curious as to how one might actually sell sand in the desert. So for my own amusement I had to think this a little further.

Benefits of selling sand in the desert

It is clear that this endeavor is not one many would take; competition therefore would be low. Supply is relatively unlimited and that appeals to me. There aren’t many clients roaming most deserts but there is a high probability that the ones there are a captive audience. Focus should not really be a problem either, you know besides sandstorms and extreme weather I doubt I would get much internet out there which would allow me very much to focus on my task. I am sure there are many other benefits to selling sand in the desert but I dare not continue on this path.

Bulk sales of sand in the desert

There are a few ways one could approach selling sand in the desert but the highest volume one that comes to mind is bulk sales. Sand is used in high volumes in many ways; I would need to do some research to have an extensive list. If we simply focused on selling to places that want sandy beaches but have no sand I think we could come up with a few clients.

Of course we would need our clients to come inspect the product and what better place to do so than at our handy dandy location in the middle of the desert? This of course is one sure path to selling sand in the desert and then delivering the purchased sand to them in their desired location.

You might think that this approach is a bit of a cop out so I am going to attempt some retail instead.

Retail sales of sand in the desert

This type of sale plagued me until I realized that some people visit deserts as part of a holiday adventure. Timing is crucial and you want to get them on the way back out of the desert. I am not necessarily saying you should be on the edge of the desert on the way out but as they say: Location, location, location! Packaging plays an important role; of course by now you have guessed we are going to focus on little souvenirs for them to remember their trip by.

I would definitely aim to have little bottles with different colored sand and print them over with the name of the desert. I might even endeavor to get some skilled craftsmen to make sand sculptures. I don’t know if you have ever seen the little zen stone gardens. I think these would be an awesome gift for the desert visitors to take back home.

I am sure you can think of many other ways to sell sand in the desert but these are the two routes I might have taken if tasked with such a job. How would you do it?

Selling Ice to Eskimos – How to

Don’t worry I have not forgotten about selling ice to Eskimos, I think you can think of a few ways yourself but lets give it a crack shall we.

Ice Sculptures

Like most people I’m sure Eskimos can appreciate a nice ice sculpture especially for an event. One thing to consider that unlike selling an ice sculpture in a warmer climate such as Florida; the Eskimo will get to enjoy the sculpture for a long time, especially if it is well cared for. Ok, you might argue this is more of a service but the product is strictly made of ice and all it would take is convincing one Eskimo that it would make his front lawn look awesome. Do they even have lawns? I don’t know. 🙂

Once an Eskimo always an Eskimo

Take an Eskimo down to Las Vegas and you might quickly find that their need for ice increases drastically. With that your ability to sell them the ice. Cheeky yes, but how hard is it to convince an Eskimo to visit Las Vegas for a nice getaway from the cold only for them to quickly realize they miss the cool weather up north?

OK back to where the Eskimo’s are

What’s in the ice? The right incentive can ensure you sell some ice to an Eskimo. 🙂 To keep things interesting let us assume that they might be open to a gamble. I would go ahead and create 50 boxes of ice. Inside each cube there would be either a diamond or a glass replica of a diamond. There would be one lucky winner and only once all the ice cubes were paid for would they be able to take them home to melt them on their stove. This is another way one could sell ice to Eskimos

You could probably sell almost anything to anyone

Better still your clients could be happy and repeat clients. I hope this article gives you some food for thought and some ideas on thinking outside the box.

How would you sell sand in the desert and ice to Eskimos?

Credit: Photo by Sharad Bhat