It's Show TIME!

It's Show TIME!

Well not exactly, but this is the time of year that you really have to put the work in if you plan to have any rental revenue for the winter.

Late fall will always mark the beginning of the off season, or a period of decline in rental reservations. I have spent a great deal of time providing tips that will help you offset the decline in sales during the winter months. Before you can tackle the problem with declining sales in the winter you have to first understand what happens to your rental sales after Black Friday.

Unfortunately what is a great time of celebration for retailers, often marks the beginning of the season of red for the outdoor events market. Party rentals are primarily a commercial outdoor service, which means as the weather goes, so will our sales. The market north of Tennessee will normally see a decline in reservations towards the beginning of October, south of Tennessee will experience the same decline around November 15. The reason for the decline is really simple, it's cold.

There are still some die hard customers who will still order inflatables in the colder months, but this segment of our market is really too small to be divided up by all of the rental companies in your market. So the question remains; how can I sustain my revenue during this period?

Listed below are 3 strategies that will create a revenue source until the spring arrives with a bail out.

During the winter there is a big demand from retailers for advertisement space. Rent your really tall units out as advertisement displays for local business. It is always a good idea to have two units that are over 16ft tall because the units can be attached with the advertisers banners. You can even take two units and place them side by side and attach the customer's banner in the middle displaying whatever message the customer wanted. You can also turn the castle sideways allowing the side of the unit to face the street. This technique will allow you to place a really large billboard size banner on the unit transforming it into a traffic generating inflatable. The good news is you can charge the commercial customers for a one week rental, which will produce mid week revenue. Yes!


Despite cold temperatures kids still love to run and jump. I suggest that you add two dry slides, and two obstacles courses to your inventory for the winter months. Every January the nation gets caught up in "Get Fit for the New Year". Here is where you take one dry slide and one obstacle coarse and promote kid fitness to all of the schools, community centers, and church organizations in your town. The goal here is to make any money you can Monday - Friday, this way the weekend rentals will only push you over the top. Yes!


Finally don't rule out the earning potential of costumed character rentals and cotton candy machines. A large percentage of our clients will not reserve a castle during the winter out of fear of their child getting sick after jumping in the cold all day. Please keep in mind that children born during the winter months still have birthday celebrations, the only difference is the parties are held inside. Costumed Character rentals are a great way to capitalize on indoor parties. The absolute best part of character rentals is you can book 3 - 6 parties a day ranging from $99 - $175 per party. This is where you tie in your cotton candy machine, and face painting which really maximizes your earning potential per party. Yes!

In one of my previous articles I shared how I would allow my preferred clients to keep the unit from Christmas Eve until January the 2nd for only $149 - $179 for the entire week. If you plan to use this strategy then it will require you to get your direct mail brochures out before the second week of December.

Whatever strategy you decide to use please approach it with a positive attitude, and an appreciation for every customer you generate during the off season. Please visit our website for addtional free sales strategies http://www.bouncingncash.com As always, "were never going to survive unless we get a little crazy". Crazy means Creative.

Tj - "Bouncer Boss"

Default Author Bio:

Tyronne Jacques is the GM of Sales and Marketing for Bouncing N Cash. We invite you to visit out website at http://www.bouncingncash.com or email us at tj@bouncingncash.com