For Subscribers

Would You Try This Man's Wacky Sales Pitches? (You Should -- They Worked!) Doug Baldasare would try just about anything to close a sale. Here's how he got customers' attention.

By Joe Robinson

This story appears in the February 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Shutterstock

Doug Baldasare faced the dilemma of every new entrepreneur: How do you get in front of buyers when you don't have sales to show? His company, Philadelphia-based ChargeItSpot, makes a phone-charging station for retailers, so customers can fuel up while shopping (and therefore stick around longer). Baldasare asked a professor from his days at Wharton for an introduction to a manager the guy knew at a local Whole Foods. Then Baldasare showed up with an action plan: After his presentation, he said, "Why don't we just leave it here and try it out?" He rolled his charging unit into the café area, left it and drove away before the staff had second thoughts. Six hours later, 50 people had charged their phones. An order followed.

From there, Baldasare got bolder. For the CEO of one client, he used a 3D printer to create a one-tenth scale desktop version of the charger and left it on his desk. "The most important people in the company are going to see it," he says, "and see it as a CEO-supported product." He also gave the company its own charging unit, so employees would get to know it; the company was persuaded to increase their order. For another large client, Baldasare invested $35,465 in the company's stock and sent a copy of the stock certificate to the CEO, with a note saying, "I know we will drive financial values and your shares will go up. This represents the total amount of dollars if your company went for our plan." It worked -- but if it hadn't, Baldasare could have sold the stock back the following week.

Baldasare thought of each new client as a challenge: What personalized, attention-grabbing stunt would win their business? Within a year, 11 retailers were featuring his chargers. Within three years, ChargeItSpot was in major retailers from Rite Aid to Nordstrom in 17 states, and the company has raised $6 million in further investment -- all because Baldasare embraced the joy of the sale.

Joe Robinson is a productivity and work-life trainer at worktolive.info and author of Work to Live and the Email Overload Survival Kit.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Science & Technology

7 AI Tools to Build a Profitable One-Person Business That Runs While You Sleep

Smart systems to help solo founders scale fast.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Starting a Business

I Had 'Too Much Experience' to Find a Job. So I Used Facebook to Start a Small Business That's Making About $500,000 a Year.

After Amber Starling moved to Manhattan, Kansas, a frustrating job search led to a life-changing business opportunity.

Business News

Most Major Retailers Are Open on Memorial Day, Except One. Here's What's Open and Closed This Monday.

From grocery stores to warehouse retailers, here's what to know about Memorial Day closures.

Business News

'I Run My House Like a Military Operation': Skims Chief Emma Grede Says This Is Her Precise Daily Routine

Grede is a CEO, founder, and serial entrepreneur. Here's how she prioritizes her day.

Business News

New AI Model Will Likely Blackmail You If You Try to Shut It Down: 'Self-Preservation'

When given the choice between blackmail and being deactivated, Claude Opus 4 chose blackmail 84% of the time.