I Miss Ron Popeil

 A couple of weeks ago, Fox Nation rolled out a three-part series called "The Infomercials That Sold Us". It was pretty good, but it came up way short in the coverage of Ron Popeil. In the three-part series, they gave only a few minutes to the story of Ron Popeil.

How could this happen? Ron Popeil is the stuff of legends when it comes to selling on television. Unlike Dionne Warwick and the Psychic Friends Network, Popeil's products actually worked. I will admit that Suzanne Somers and her ThighMaster infomercials might have been a little more stimulating to young men than Ron's Showtime Rotisserie, but there was a better chance that you would end up with a rotisserie or a Pocket Fisherman than with Suzanne.

In his excellent book "What the Dog Saw", writer Malcom Gladwell wrote a chapter about "The Pitchman". He covered a lot of the Popeil family history. Ron came from a family of sellers and manufacturers. Yes, Ron's family actually made a lot of the stuff they sold. In today's business jargon, I think that would make their enterprise "vertical". Ron sold a lot of the things that his father manufactured. Then he started designing and manufacturing his own line of Ronco products.

Gladwell tells the story of how Ron was going to be on QVC one day more than 20 years ago. His daughter was working with him, and they were starting with an hour at midnight. Gladwell recounts how Popeil started his rotisserie presentation and in his usual sales style demonstrated how it worked and all of the features. Like everything else he sold, he would show you how it worked several times before telling you what a great deal you were getting and then asking you to buy it.  So, Ron Popeil was selling a $129 rotisserie on television at midnight in America. When that hour ended, Popeil had sold a million dollars' worth of Showtime rotisseries.

The best of Gladwell's points about Popeil was about VCRs. He wrote that if Ron had built VCRs, they would have a traditional clock instead of digital. They would have had big buttons and large numbers. They would have been brightly colored and sat on top of your television. Then when your neighbors came over, they would see it and say "Wow, you have one of those Ronco Tape-o-Matics!"

But what Gladwell missed in his analysis is that Ron's products sold because he explained how to use them. He just didn't tell you once how to use your Showtime Rotisserie or your Veg-o-matic. He went over how it worked, several times before asking you for your money. The problem with VCRs was that all you got was an instruction manual. Americans don't read! People bought them and didn't use even all of the limited features. Did you ever see a VCR with the clock not flashing? That would not have happened with the Ronco Tape-O-Matic! Ron missed a big opportunity there.

A lot of people laughed at Popeil and his products. Comics would imitate Ron's presentations for laughs. Yet two years after his death, Americans are still buying Pocket Fisherman and Showtime Rotisseries. Ron had the last laugh.

I love to watch a good pitchman selling his products. About 25 years ago, my older son and I were working a booth at the North Carolina State Fair for an organization to which I belonged. Across the aisle was a guy selling kitchen knife sets. This guy wasn't as good as Popeil, but he was pretty good. When we got ready to leave, I walked over to him while he was taking a break and bought a knife set. He appeared surprised and I told him, "I don't even need the knives, but I have enjoyed the show for the last four hours." It was worth it to watch him attract a crowd and then draw them in to make the sale. I may have picked up a few pointers there on selling.

It's time to grab my Mr. Microphone and do a few songs! Thanks Ron.