Make the Trust Sale First
When most customers first see a salesperson, all they see is someone wanting their money. Trust of you or your store is not automatic.
Your customers know nothing about your background, education, values or morals; they just see a salesperson. The sooner you start “selling” the quicker that suspicion becomes validated.

Start With Safe and Honest Questions
Many well meaning salespeople start off with a “small talk” question, assuming that they are relaxing the customer; NOT! If a stranger in the mall stopped and asked you, “How are you doing today?” what would you think?
Once you have greeted your customer, ask a “safe” question like, “Do you live close by?” and/or “Have you been in the store before?” These are “safe” and “honest” questions that are not likely to get you an answer you don’t want to hear.
You can then segue into telling the customers the 4 “W’s” about your store.
Tell your customers:

WHO you are…
WHAT you are…
WHAT you sell…
WHERE it is in the store…

Sell your company and store before you start selling your merchandise. You will be trusted sooner and sell more.

It’s NOT Spying
“Opportunity Shopping” is a rapidly growing segment of our business. I am turned off by the terms “Mystery Shopping” and “Secret Shopping” as they infer “spying.” If you are shopping your competition that’s the case, but to shop your own business is “managing.” Business owners have a right to know what is happening with THEIR customers.
“Opportunity Shopping” is shopping for opportunities to be better. There always are some. Our clients tell us that my personal comments at the end of every Opportunity Shopping Report amount to a “Sales Class.” When owners and general managers visit stores they see employees on their best behavior.
There is a value there as well, but to see it as the customer sees it is priceless. “Listening” to the customer will always generate more sales by way of better “Salespersonship.”

Teach It!
Teaching “clerks” to become salespeople is the name of the game. Clerks “ring up sales”; salespeople “sell.” There’s a big difference. The best way to “teach” is by example. People will pay more attention to what the manager does than what he or she says. Do what you expect, and then inspect what you expect. You will then get what you expect.

Three Steps
Step #1 – Understanding. Teach your salespeople that customers need help, but won’t always ask for it. Customers have questions, but don’t ask them. Customers will buy more, but don’t without your help. Helping is not asking, “May I help you.?

Step #2 – Priorities. Teach your salespeople that customers come first. Whenever they are doing a task or chore, and a customer comes into the store, the customer goes to the head of the list of “things to be done”. Tasks, duties and chores will wait until you finish with the customer. Customers may not wait until you finish the chore.

Step #3 – Selling. Selling is “Giving the customer sufficient information to make an intelligent buying decision, be it yes or no”. This definition from Retail Selling Made Easy must be at the core of all behavior, and must be done in a pro-active, yet no-pressure manner. When it is, selling and success become easy.

Building Trust
Although I personally have had a lot more success with selling than I did with dating, I have noticed many similarities. Whether it be asking someone out, approaching a customer, asking someone to dance, or closing a sale, in most cases one person probably would like to get more out of the relationship than the other would; or is ready for. Consequently your words early in the “relationship” are crucial.

Six Things You Should Never Say on a First Date
“So how much do you earn?”
“I’ve never had any luck with dating.”
“Sorry I’m Late, I forgot my meds.”
“Have you had any work done?”
“Let me tell you about my ex.?
“What Do You think of a big church Wedding?”

To see the entire article from E-Harmony.com CLICK HERE:
PS
No, I have not been visiting E-Harmony, this article was posted on Oceanic Cable’s Home Page today.

Six Things You Should Not Ask When Greeting a Customer
“May I help you.”
“Is there something in particular you are looking for?
“Are you finding everything okay?”
“Would you like to try that on?”
“Do you have any questions?”
“Is there something I can show you?”

While these questions may seem harmless, and even effective at times, they also can shut you down. Questions demand answers, and sometimes the answer may feel like a commitment the customer is not ready to make. The rule when asking questions is NEVER ask a question that MIGHT get you an answer you DON’T want to hear. Ask questions that are safe for the customer to answer and you will gain permission to proceed.

The sign on your door or window can oftentimes be your 1st (and lasting) impression. Since you never get a second chance to make a 1st impression, be sure that the one you are making is what you want it to be.

Help Wanted
If you choose to advertise for employees on your store door or window, be sure that the sign is professional, and implies that your need for help is because of growth, not your inability to keep employees.

Sales
People are not likely to believe that you are really offering an 80% discount. Signs offering huge discounts are more likely to communicate “huge markups” than they are “huge bargains.” Generally speaking, discounts should be used to close sales in the store, not to bring people in the door.

Be Back
When you have to close your store for some reason, accept the fact that you are going to miss some business while you are gone. Most shoppers will move on, and not return. The most expensive salesperson is the missing salesperson. If you ARE working alone, and MUST leave, be sure that your sign tells the precise time that you will return. A sign that say’s, “Be right back” or “Will return in 10 minutes” makes one wonder; “Starting when?”

Customer is King
You can get by without a lot of things in business, but your customer is not one of them. Never take customers for granted. Be sure that your signage shows appreciation and respect for the most important person in your store: the customer!

Clever???
Not! Too many times an attempt to be clever actually leaves the customer wondering just what you mean, if you made a mistake, or were just not thinking. Be smart because your customers are.

Another Record Crowd
I conducted my 1st Monthly Success Rally at Whalers Village in May of 1991. We had about 25 people in attendance. Today, 19 1/2 years later, we set yet another attendance record; 195 people.

The Line-Up
People line up early at Leilanis on the Beach to get their refreshments and favorite front or back row seats.

SRO
Today we had standing room only. My topics at these rallies vary from teaching Pro-Active, No-Pressure Selling to “Life Lessons” that can be used no matter what a person’s job is today or will be tomorrow.
Today’s subjects were “Handling Customer Discount Requests, Being Positive, Goal Setting, and Discipline.”
I am grateful to the management staff at Whaler’s Village, Leilani’s and General Growth Properties for extending this long time, ongoing opportunity for me to make a difference.

Everybody Loses
When salespeople argue over a sale there are no winners. There are too many available customers to spend time talking or fighting over who made the sale and who didn’t. Disagreements destroy teamwork and create a bad atmosphere for everyone. It must all be about the customer.

Karma is Real
I just received this copy of a note sent to a team of salespeople in a company with four stores, two of which are right across the street from each other. I asked the manager to send it to all salespeople in all four stores. As I re-read it, I decided to send it to everyone I could, thus this post. It’s a bit lengthy, and I chose not to edit it down, but if you are in sales, especially commission sales and have co-workers, it is well worth your time to read it.

——————————–  
Hi All,
I just wanted to share this with you all.
Last night Chad was helping a man and his family with some Titanium rings. We did not have his size, so we called over to the IMP store to see if they had it, and they did.

The family said they wanted to see what the IMP (International Marketplace) looked like, so Chad walked them over, and the man tried on the rings there. After a few minutes the man became engaged in talking with Daniel and Amanda, so Chad excused himself and came back to our store.

I received a phone call from Daniel saying that the man is buying the ring and he does not know what he should do regarding the sale. I told him I would have Chad call him right back.

When Chad returned, I told him that Daniel called and wanted to know how to ring up the sale, as it was clearly Chad’s customer. Chad called him and said, “Daniel, you take the sale!” 

OMG—I was blown away! Was Ron Martin standing there egging this young man on?

The customer asked Daniel if we work on commission. He said we did and the man, Steve, said he wants Chad to get the credit for this sale. So Chad walked back to the IMP store and escorted Steve and the ring back to our store to ring up the sale.

Incidentally, Steve and his family were waiting to be called for dinner at DUKE’S, so going back and forth did not bother him.

While Chad was ringing up the sale, Steve told us that we have the best people working here. Not only was Chad great, but so were Daniel and Amanda at the other store. Steve said that he has his own business and knows what it’s like to find good people!!!

Next came the befriending part:

Chad asked Steve what he does. It turned out that Steve is the visual effects coordinator for CSI MIAMI and the other CSI show. The bullet flying through the air in slow motion is part of what he does. He runs his own business doing the special effects.

An hour later Chad was helping another couple with Titanium rings, and again we didn’t have the sizes needed. Chad called the IMP store, and they had them. He told the couple this, and they decided they will go over there, as they too are waiting for their call from DUKE’S.

I asked Chad why he didn’t just go over to get the rings and he said, “They wanted to see what our other store had, and besides it’s Karma.” I knew it was, because of Daniel and Amanda’s actions when Chad was open to releasing this customer.

Five minutes later the couple returned with their friend. They too began looking at the rings. I offered to run over to the IMP store to get the needed sizes. When I got there I found that the sizes were incorrect, so I brought over 2 sizes that were the closest to what the man needed.

End of story; the couple bought 2 rings. Talk about KARMA! Well, I think it was the professionalism Chad displayed, and his willingness to think about the customer first, and not be that pushy salesperson we hear about in Ron’s talks.

I was sooooo PROUD of Chad! It’s fun to see the lessons we learn being acted out in real life. Good going Chad!

Mahalo,
Patty

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
My specialties are Sales and Motivation, and I have been at it for more than 40 years. I read a quote long ago that stuck with me. It was, “You learn the most after you think you know it all.” I don’t recall who said that, but the concept makes a lot of sense. As someone who makes a living giving selling advice to retailers, I recently discovered that I had a lot to learn about some other important aspects of retailing. It happened when I read The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business, and it didn’t take long. Before finishing the first few chapters I started handing out copies to my clients.

Bob Phibbs
Bob got my attention right at the start by making the point that revenue isn’t necessarily profit. As mundane as that sounds, I realized that many of my own clients are making the mistake of marking down merchandise to get rid of it, or having needless, non-profitable sales that attract the wrong customers.
Then came lessons on the store layout, traffic patterns and case merchandising. These are also areas of retail where I claim no expertise. I now find myself looking at these things differently. Discovering how and where to put what you prefer to sell is vital.
I do possess deep experience when it comes to recruiting and interviewing salespeople, but here again I got my eyes opened up to several new (to me) approaches and philosophies to use. For example, I hate “Help Wanted” signs in store windows, but Bob shows a way to word and use them effectively, and points out who the target audience is.
“Aha Moments” continued for me throughout the book and I feel certain they will for you as well. So rather than try to learn from my sketchy review here, get down to your favorite bookstore or Amazon and get a few copies. I am certain you will want to share what you read.

Who Needs Traffic Anyway?
I often times hear a salesperson use “lack of traffic” as an excuse for not selling today. When I hear the “S Word” (Slow) I say, “Then speed it up.” Retailers and salespeople are always looking for new customers, and while that’s good to do, it’s no excuse for not selling more to the past ones. A past (satisfied) customer is seven times more likely to buy something from you than the new one is anyway. And, an unsatisfied customer is even more important to reach out to.

Ouch!
A broken bone once healed is stronger than it was originally. Do you have any “broken bones” among your customer base?
I have one client that consistently targets existing customers with special offers available only as a result of a special e-mail just to them. It works; big time. He is succeeding in an industry where I hear a lot of whining these days about the economy. It pays to reward ongoing customer loyalty. Make loyal, existing customers your “bread and butter” and new ones the “frosting on the cake.” You just may have an existing customer that has been meaning to come see you, but in this hectic world we all live in, has just been proscratinating. Your timely invitation can make the difference.

Somethig for Free
What are you doing to capture the data needed to build your a data base? The easiest way is to have some sort of drawing with an attractive, desireable prize or more every month. Make the entry form easy to complete. I suggest name and e-mail address only. Asking for too much information will keep people from entering. I like posting the winner’s names on your web site, and leaving them on there until the prize is claimed. Can you see how that will drive traffic into your web site?
Once you have the data on file you can launch all sorts of cool offers aimed directly (and only) at your best customers. You can e-mail easy to print coupons to bring into the store to claim bargains. This is much more effective than huge sales signs that people don’t believe anyway. The more special you make your ongoing customers; the more often you will see them in your store.

Selling Can Be Taught

I make the point in RETAIL SELLING MADE EASY that there is no such thing as a “natural born salesperson,” yet many people think there is. Selling is a skill that can be learned.

The Green Bay Wisconsin Press Gazette ran a story entitled Selling Takes More Than Asking, “May I Help You?” The contributing writer, Paul Lotto, is a marketing/business teacher at Ashwaubenon High School. He teaches the class “Selling and International Business.” In the class, his students learn how to sell. It is a skill that retailers need to teach employees.

Lotto said. “The vast majority of retail stores have very poor sales training programs or they do not provide training at all.” I call it the “Bible Method of Selling.” That’s where you hire people, put them out on the sales floor, and pray to God they sell something.

Lotto’s seven steps of selling outline what needs to be done. I am sending Paul a copy of RETAIL SELLING MADE EASY to round out his program. Maybe it will become his new text book.