Danny and Pete are back together for this one, and the energy is high — because Black Friday is about ten days away and both of them live for this time of year. For Pete, it's his 18th year in rent-to-own and it still feels like a first date. For Danny, the fourth quarter is the make-or-break moment that defines the whole year — not just for sales, but for setting up the following year. Whether you had a great year or a rough one, this is your chance to finish strong.
The conversation kicks off with product prep. Normally, Danny and his team would use the Florida Rental Dealers Association trade show to lock in inventory deals for the fourth quarter, but Hurricane Ian forced that event to be canceled in 2022. Without it, the approach shifted to leaning on vendor relationships week by week to find out what's available and what the deals are. The hot items are still electronics — TVs and gaming systems never go out of style — but both hosts agreed there's always a search for that one breakout product. Last year it was e-bikes. This year, nobody quite knows yet, and the honest answer is to stay in close contact with your vendors and ask what's in the goody box.
Pre-selling is where Danny really digs in. The moment he had deal information in hand, he was calling everyone — active customers, paid-off accounts, return customers — letting them know what was coming and asking for a deposit. A commitment isn't a sale, he says, but money down is. He and Pete would even call neighboring stores to see how many pre-sales they had, conveniently shaving a few numbers off their own count just to keep the competition guessing. That friendly rivalry, they both agree, is part of what makes this time of year so fun.
On the showroom side, Pete is a firm believer in going all out. Decorate for Christmas, move the showroom around, put matching sets together, and create an atmosphere with sight, sound, and smell — Danny's personal touch is cinnamon scent, giving customers that Christmas feeling the moment they walk in. Pete even recalls disco balls, smoke machines, and Santa photo corners from past years. The point is to make it feel like an event, not just a business day. Every item on the floor should have some kind of Black Friday tag or Starburst, and this is the perfect time to blow out your high-idle and pre-release inventory at reduced rates. Danny's goal: an empty showroom by the end of Saturday.
When customers walk in, the opener matters. Danny's go-to is simple and assumptive — "What are you leaving with today?" — which signals confidence and sets the tone immediately. Pete jokes about offering free gift wrapping on everything except sofas. But beyond the one-liners, both hosts stress that all hands need to be on deck. Delivery drivers, account managers, everyone is a salesperson on Black Friday. The phones will ring all day, online leads will come in fast, and whoever responds quickest is most likely to close — because most companies are selling the same products at similar prices. Pete even suggests pulling your best salesperson off the floor and putting them on the online queue if they can type fast and build rapport digitally.
To keep the team engaged and competitive throughout the day, Pete shares his "funky hat" tradition — whoever has the fewest sales at any given moment has to wear an outrageous hat until someone else falls behind them. It passes all day, everyone's got skin in the game, photos get posted, customers get a laugh, and by the end of the day even the person wearing the hat has been part of something memorable. Danny riffs on the idea, suggesting a Santa hat for the top seller and an elf hat for the bottom — and hinting that a future Rent King commercial might be involved.
Beyond the sales floor, both hosts emphasize consistent marketing leading up to and through the day. Facebook Lives, hourly social media check-ins, guessing contests on how many candy canes are on the tree — anything that keeps your audience engaged online, plants seeds for Christmas, and keeps your brand visible to people who may not need something right now but will in December. Because Black Friday is huge, but it is not the finish line.
Danny closes with a piece of advice aimed specifically at newer GMs: the day before Thanksgiving, go buy two or three turkeys and personally deliver them to a great customer, a paid-off account, or someone going through a hard time. It costs almost nothing, builds your reputation in the community, and reminds customers that this business is about relationships, not just transactions. He points to George Hatamillo at Great Rooms Tampa as someone who does this every year and does it right. As Pete puts it — take care of the people who take care of you, and it always comes full circle.
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