Practical Sales Training™ > How To Convert > Free Selling Tool
Free Selling Tool
Some of the best sales tools cost nothing at all, because the vendor pays for them instead. A Free Selling Tool is a resource a supplier or partner hands you that makes their product easier to sell. You get something useful, and they get more sales.
The most famous example is the Coca-Cola fridge. It’s cold, branded and free, so you plug it in, stock it with Coke and start selling. Coca-Cola wins because you’re more likely to stock their drinks. You win too, because sales get easier with no extra cost.
That’s the whole idea behind a Free Selling Tool. It’s a genuine win-win, so both sides benefit without anyone losing out.
What Is a Free Selling Tool?
A Free Selling Tool is a no-cost resource a vendor, supplier or partner gives you. It directly helps you sell more of their product. It could be physical, like a branded fridge, or digital, like a co-branded landing page. So either way, it removes friction from the sales process.
These tools make the vendor’s product easier to promote, display or explain. Because the cost sits with the vendor, not you, there’s little reason to turn one down if it genuinely helps you sell.
The Free Selling Tool works because it creates a true win-win. You get something that makes selling easier, while the vendor gets increased distribution and product visibility in return.
Why Does a Free Selling Tool Work?
1. It creates ease
A good Free Selling Tool makes the act of selling smoother or faster. Instead of explaining a product from scratch, you can show it, demonstrate it or display it instantly. So the easier something is to sell, the more often it gets sold.
2. It adds visual presence
A branded fridge, display or asset gives the vendor’s product more visibility in your environment. Because the product is physically present and impossible to miss, customers notice it without you having to say a word. That visibility does a lot of selling on its own.
3. It increases default bias
A Free Selling Tool increases the chance you’ll promote the vendor’s product. That’s because it becomes the path of least resistance. If a branded fridge is already sitting in your shop, stocking that brand is easier than switching to something else. So convenience quietly becomes loyalty.
4. It builds a sales channel without a sales team
By providing these tools, the vendor integrates themselves into your sales process. As a result, they effectively sell through you without needing a direct sales team of their own. That’s a highly efficient model, and it’s exactly why so many vendors invest in giving tools away for free.
How Can You Use Free Selling Tools In Sales?
You can use the concept of the Free Selling Tool in three key ways.
1. Spot it
Look at the tools your vendors, suppliers or partners have already made available. Have you overlooked something that could make your sales easier? Ask whether they offer demo kits, signage, calculators or templates. Find out if you can get access to branded assets or trial versions too. There might already be a Coke fridge equivalent sitting unused.
2. Ask for it
If the tool doesn’t exist yet, ask for it. Vendors want to increase their distribution, so they may be willing to invest in helping you sell. Try saying: “Can you provide us with a free tool to help showcase this?” Or simply ask: “What are your other resellers using that’s working?” The worst they can say is no.
3. Offer it
Flip the model. If you are the vendor, consider what Free Selling Tool you could provide your resellers, distributors or partners. Ask what makes it easier for them to sell your product. Could a branded tool, free calculator, sample or script help them along the way? In short, could you be someone else’s Coke fridge?
When Free Selling Tools Work Best
Free Selling Tools work best in channel sales and reseller networks. They also help in any relationship where someone stands between your product and the end buyer. The more steps between you and the customer, the more value a tool brings. It reduces friction at each one along the way.
They also work particularly well when the tool itself is genuinely useful rather than just branded. A fridge that keeps drinks cold gets used every day. A poster that just says “buy this” gets ignored. So the strongest Free Selling Tools solve a real problem for the person receiving them. They’re not just there for the vendor giving them away.
When Free Selling Tools Become Dangerous
The risk for vendors is giving away tools that don’t actually drive sales. A free asset that sits unused costs money with no return. So it’s worth tracking whether the tool is genuinely being used.
For the person receiving the tool, the risk is dependency. If your whole sales process leans on a vendor’s free asset, you can end up locked in. That’s true even when a better option appears. So always weigh the convenience against the flexibility you might be giving up.
Common Free Selling Tool Mistakes
1. Overlooking what’s already available
Many resellers and partners never ask their vendors what’s on offer. As a result, useful tools go unused simply because nobody checked. Always ask what’s available before assuming there’s nothing to gain.
2. Giving away tools with no real value
Vendors sometimes create Free Selling Tools that look good but don’t actually help anyone sell. A glossy brochure nobody reads isn’t the same as a fridge that gets used daily. So always design the tool around genuine usefulness, not just branding.
3. Never asking for one
Many resellers assume vendors won’t help, so they never ask. However, vendors often have budget specifically set aside for exactly this kind of support. Asking costs nothing, and the upside can be significant.
4. Forgetting to track the impact
Whether you’re giving or receiving a Free Selling Tool, it’s easy to lose track of whether it’s actually working. Keep an eye on sales before and after the tool arrives. Without that, you can’t tell if it’s earning its place.
Free Selling Tool – An Example
The Coca-Cola Fridge
The iconic Coke fridge is the best known example of a free tool of real value. It’s given away purely to help sell a product. Every shop owner who has one didn’t pay for it. Coca-Cola did.
In exchange, the shop gets a piece of equipment they would otherwise have to buy themselves. It keeps drinks cold, it looks good and it works every day without any effort. So the shop owner has every reason to keep it stocked with Coca-Cola products. Switching to a rival brand would mean losing the fridge too.
Coca-Cola, in turn, gets guaranteed shelf space, constant visibility and a retailer who’s incentivised to keep buying their stock. Nobody had to convince anyone of anything. The fridge itself does the selling, every single day, without a single sales call.
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