Sometimes it may seem like they’re looking for trouble, but complaining customers are probably just looking for a solution to a frustrating problem.
If you provide excellent customer service and follow procedures, complaints should be rare. When they do occur however, stay calm. Breathe.
I know, staying calm is tough when your patience is challenged by complaining customers! Continue reading How To Handle Customer Complaints in Four Easy Steps »
Retail is still poised for a shakeout. That’s because retail is still overbuilt by 20% with 20% more places to buy more of the same stuff that everyone else has. Oh yes, and cheaper.
I don’t care if you sell luxury cars, yachts, jewelry, clothes, electronics or other widgets; whether its in a mall, a strip center or Rodeo Drive, there’s only one thing worth your money right now. Continue reading How To Create Memorable Retail Training »
So now that you know your customers’ buying cycle, what happens to it when they see a 20% off sale?
The customer purchasing cycle is squished.
They aren’t coming to the purchase via their own desire but their logical pocketbook.
There is no child-like wonder, no seeking out the goods, they go right to Aunt Jean mode. “Is this Continue reading Three Ways To Maximize A Retail Sale »
What’s wrong with old-fashioned selling? It’s pushy, it’s aggressive, it sizes you up immediately either into a sucker or a tire-kicker. The salesperson needs you more than you need the sales person. The trouble is everyone hates it.
You hear it when they reference used-car salesman, say “He could sell ice to Eskimos,” or compare them to “Insurance salesmen, I don’t trust the lot of ‘em.” But most salespeople are not like that, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman or Danny Devito’s character in the 1987 film Tin Men.
Salespeople know that it is a balance between talking and listening, presenting the product and matching to the customers’ wants. They know they have to build trust first, not after the sale.
Remember the old American Express holiday radio commercials in the 80′s? The couple were shopping in a busy store trying to get attention and finally held up their AMEX card to get service. That’s not selling, that’s opportunism; treat them special because you “know they’re going to buy.”
But not everyone you meet will want to buy from you today. And not everyone you think is “just looking,” truly is. That’s what led me to the sales formula: SW, SW, SW, N.
Some will, some won’t, so what? Next!
Being a sales person is a lot like being a baseball pitcher. The more you pitch strikes, the more likely you are to duplicate them. The greats know the only way to do better is practice how they approach the pitch. With sales it is also a game, the more customers you meet, the better your skills, the more likely you are to close the sale on a regular basis.
But it starts with genuinely wanting to both meet people and move merchandise. Without both traits, you can have the nicest guy in the world who never gets around to moving the merchandise because they talk so much. This irritates owners and customers alike. And if he only looks at you with dollar signs in your eyes, you feel empty and used because they “sold” you something (you tell yourself) you didn’t need.
The only way to build trust these days is to slow down and focus, silence your judgements, open your eyes and see there is one individual in front of you. Not a prospect. Not a “guest.” An individual. Only if we can afford ourselves the luxury of making a connection before we try to move the merch, will we have any hope of making a sale.
Yes you can find out at the register their daughter goes to the same school as you. But that’s too late. Yes, you can share an amusing tale of putting together your own kids’ bicycle for their birthday while they sign the credit card slip. But that’s too late. Yes you can followup with a handwritten thank you note. But if you didn’t establish trust with your attention to them at the beginning, it rings hollow and is a waste.
Some will, some won’t, so what? Next!
Learn how to both build trust and sell your merch with Sales RX: Five Parts To A Successful Sale
In the old days sales people knew how to be friendly because they were treated better in stores than they were on the street.
Nowadays with reality TV where everyone sees others belittled and the sitcoms where everyone is a wisecracking cynic, everyone is seeing the worst behavior modeled. Interacting with people has become harder and our sales associates have few positive role models to guide them.
As a result, the art of being friendly has disappeared from most retail.
After a friendly greeting, it is up to the sales associate to look for something unique about the person standing in front of them. This second part of the sale is what I call the Windows of Contact.
You want to find something you like about them, compliment them and then find something in your experience to tell the customer about.Common windows of contact are jewelry, hairstyles, and clothing.
You begin by finding something you honestly like or notice about them – people will see through phoniness.
For example, a woman walks into your store with a “Soccer Mom” T-shirt and two small children in tow. The obvious window is soccer so you might say, “Good afternoon, did they win today?” Or “Did you just come from a game?” Bonus points if you asked the children something about the game.
Then it would be up to you to speak from your own experience about soccer. Perhaps you played in school and could say, “I was goalie in college, I really loved it when we beat Ohio State” Or “I’ve got two kids myself that play in the soccer league at Greenville High school.” Or even “I never played soccer, my game was baseball. I was the MVP when I played at Hoover High school in ’76.”
The second part of this is the most important because it lets you become memorable. If you’re not memorable they won’t return to you.
And my goal of a customer interaction is that when they leave they are willing to crawl naked over glass to repeat it. That’s why they will drive past a bunch of your competitors -because they know someone at the store on a much deeper level.
Without that conne3ction, you are a robot where people are asked what they want, they tell you, you fill out some forms and their products are either taken with them or delivered.
Always remember we are in the people business, which means you must notice them and share something of yourself if you want to build loyalty. That loyalty pays off big when they talk to their friends about the nice people down at your store – something your competitors can’t even think about having their customers say!
This information is based on Phibbs’ best selling book, The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business (Wiley)
Sign up to get monthly tips and tricks delivered to your inbox direct from The Retail Doctor®, Bob Phibbs.
