No Batteries Required

By Tom Wanek, Wizard Partner  

 

Bright eyes point upward.  Feet scurry down the aisles.  Adults travel back to their childhood.

 

Geppetto’s Workshop (Sorrento, Australia) is a toy store unlike any I’ve ever seen.

Marionettes and puppets dangle from every square inch of the ceiling.  Shelves are stocked full of hand-crafted kaleidoscopes, spinning tops and puzzles.  Fun embraces you in every corner.

This charming little shop thrives under the enormous weight of giants like Toys “R” Us and Toyworld.

How does Geppetto’s fight the big boys and win?

By choosing who to lose.

Geppetto’s doesn’t stock toys made from plastic or needing batteries.  And you probably won’t find any of their toys scribbled down on your child’s Christmas list.  But hey, if all you want to do is distract little Johnny with addictive lights and sounds then Geppetto’s prefers you buy your toys someplace else.

Sound bold, gutsy or harsh?

Yes, choosing who to lose takes courage.  It’s a decision that comes with a degree of risk.  Often costing you opportunity; one of the six costs of signaling.

Geppetto’s sacrifices opportunities in sales, cash flow, inventory turn and profit.  A price they willfully pay to stand out from the crowd.  Geppetto’s understands selling the commercialized “popular” toys would only make their store ordinary.

Unfortunately most folks won’t shop at Geppetto’s because they don’t stock these toys.  Yet the very thing driving people from Geppetto’s is the same thing attracting people to them.  

“Your business’ ability to attract customers cannot exceed its potential to repel. - The Law of Polarity”  - Roy H. Williams  

For fun, here’s an ad I wrote for Geppetto’s Workshop: *

Plastic and batteries stifle a child’s creativity.

Toys with addictive lights and sounds manufacture an imaginary world for your child.   Motors and electronics are a creative crutch.  

Karaoke machines with flashing laser lights.
24-bit video games displaying movie-like graphics.
Intergalactic robots transforming into tiny little Toyota Corollas.

Want your child playing with these toys?

Hit your local big box toy store.

Every year over-commercialized toys leap off the shelves onto the top sellers list.  Toys created with imagination, yet absent in developing one.

Geppetto’s Workshop doesn’t sell these toys.  They believe a toy should do more than entertain a child.  A toy should spark the creativity within a child.

With this goal in mind, Geppetto’s stands by one uncompromising rule:  No plastic.  No batteries.

Geppetto’s only sells handcrafted toys made with old-world charm:

Marionettes and hand puppets.
Spinning tops and kaleidoscopes.
Wooden puzzles and games.

A healthy imagination is all that’s needed to get these toys to do anything a child can dream of.  No plastic needed.  No batteries required. 

Geppetto’s Workshop.  Unlock your child’s creativity.  

Are you beginning to understand that by sacrificing opportunities, Geppetto’s takes their business to a place their competitors simply would not go?

Just as energy is lost when you attempt to appeal to every customer.  Energy is gained with laser-like focus and commitment. Face it. 

You can’t appeal to everyone, no matter how hard you may try. 

Do you have the courage to let go?

*Note from Editor: This ad was written as an example and is meant for demonstration purposes only.  Tom Wanek is not employed or in any way affiliated with Geppetto’s Workshop.