Too Busy?
As I was finishing up my walk this morning I decided to take a break and check out a new coffee shop in a luxurious condominium by the beach. When I entered, there was one man waiting to be served. I got in line behind him. The person behind the counter was doing what appeared to be some opening chores. She eventually greeted him, got his order and turned around to prepare it without looking at me. I waited a few minutes (about 5) and then left to walk some more instead of drinking coffee.

Think About It?
As I was walking I started thinking that if she had only greeted me I would not have left. I didn’t miss the coffee (that much) but the store missed the business (not much) and even worse a potential customer (too much) in the future. The sad thing about this experience is that the owner has no idea what transpired. It surely wasn’t a big enough deal to complain about and I’m certain that she saw nothing wrong with what she did. Actually it wasn’t anything she did wrong, but rather something she didn’t do right. You cannot add up the business you miss.

“How Did You Know?”
A mainland client recently described her visit to 40 stores in Ala Moana Shopping Center. She told me that in the vast majority of stores the greeting was, “Hi, where are you visiting from?” And this is in a mall where 50% of the shoppers are local.

“Ole!”
When people travel somewhere, they try to do look like they are local to that place. Everyone likes to “fit in.” They look at how the locals dress and act, and then set out to look and act like they do.

“Me, a Tourist?”
When you ask, “Where are you from?” you run the risk of offending a local person and fail to flatter a visitor.

“Tourists? Not Us!”
Instead, ask, “Do you live around here?” I asked this couple recently if they live in Waikiki. They lit up, and the man proudly stated, “No, we are from Nigeria.” Sure, there were a few clues that they were visitors, but by overlooking them, and purposly mistaking them as locals created an instant bond.

Friends!
Asking people if they are local implies that locals shop in your store, thus creating added credibility, and says that you are not just a “tourist trap.” I complimented this couple on their great selection of Aloha wear and they were tickled. People who are traveling love to get to know someone who lives locally. It works. Try it!

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
I have heard that quote attributed to so many people that I dare not say who first said it. I don’t think it needs a famous name to add credence to it. Everyone knows that it is true, but not everyone keeps it in mind at all times.
Work to be sure that the first impression you make is the one you want it to be. As unfair as it sounds, people will form an opinion about you within seconds after meeting you. All at once (or so it seems) they look you up and down, noticing your dress, jewelry, grooming, body language and facial expressions. This is one reason that clothing boutiques, jewelry stores and salons do so much business.

Would You Buy a Used Car From This Guy?
There is no profession where a solid first impression is more important than in sales. People will forgive the sloppy appearance of a new doctor faster than they will an unknown salesperson. The doctor’s credentials are framed on the wall, yours are not.

Pretty Woman
One of my favorite quotes was made by Julia Roberts; she said, “Even I don’t wake up looking like Julia Roberts.” Chances are that you don’t either. Put your best foot forward, a sincere smile on your face, and expect more success. When selling, you must not only think about the first impression that you are making, but also to be sure that your first impression of the customer does NOT influence your behavior. Speaking of Julia Roberts and first impressions, most people have seen the movie Pretty Woman, and recall the mistake made by the salesperson in that posh Beverly Hills boutique. If you missed it, CLICK HERE and enjoy it. If you saw it, enjoy it again.

Customer Contact

Dealing face-to-face with customers can feel like “mental combat” at times. Not everyone is cut out for it. While customers are not always nice, salespeople must be.
“We found that we could hire nice people and teach them how to sell. We had problems hiring salespeople and teaching them how to be nice.”
-The Nordstrom Way

“Leave Me Alone” 

Customers do not always welcome a salesperson’s approach, even when it is a friendly one. Customers have all encountered pushy salespeople, and think you just might be one of them. Customers can be pretty “closed up”.

“How about…?” 

Getting close to a customer is a lot like flirting with a love interest. One person may want more out of the deal (at the moment) than the other, but both have an interest, or they wouldn’t be there. You want the sale and the customer needs your help. Timing can be everything.

Togetherness 

Your goal is to build a bond with the customer and break down those barriers early on. 
The tricky thing is doing it without appearing phony. The best way to come across as “real”, is to be “real”. The customer is in your store. Talking about the weather or anything outside of the store can be seen as insincere. Sincerity sells!

“Come On In” 

Your customers take a big step when they make the decision to enter your store. Their purpose is not to tell you how they are doing today, so don’t start off by asking that question. Doing so (unless you know one another) is phony. They don’t think you care how they are doing today, and you probably don’t. Be Real!

“Relax and Look Around” 

You probably have a lot of things for your customers to look at, and if you ask, “May I help you?” the answer will most likely be, “No thanks, I’m just looking”. Bad Question!
Always ask a safe, but meaningful question to get started. When you ask a question that assumes a purchase before the customer has seen what you have to offer, like; “Is there something in particular you are looking for?” you set yourself up for an answer you don’t want to hear.

Launch the Discovery 

Most customers are on a discovery mission. You can get in synch with your customer’s mission, launch their discovery and seize control all at the same time by asking the right question. Ask, “Is this your first time in our store”, or in the case of a repeat customer, “How long has it been since you have been in our store”. These are both non threatening, safe to answer questions that set you up to talk about the store and fulfill your customer’s mission.

How Important is Selling in Retail?

How well do you know your job? Unfortunately the answer for many in the retail sector is, “Not well enough”. The sad thing is that they don’t know it. Many people believe that customers know what they want, will ask questions if they have them and seek help if they need it. All of these assumptions are wrong. Selling in a retail store is a trade that must be learned.

 Money Down The Drain

You cannot count the money that runs out of the faucet and down the drain when customers fail to get the information they need to make intelligent buying decisions. It is not enough to ask, “May I help you?” Your job is helping customers and you do not need to ask for permission to do your job.

If you work in a retail store and find yourself struggling, get yourself a copy of RETAIL SELLING MADE  EASY today.

How Many?
Most people have more than one mom in their life. They have mothers, grandmothers, spousal grandmothers, mothers in law, ex mothers in law, wives, mothers of husbands or wives, and even some mother friends.

Big Day
Mother’s Day is the biggest single gift giving day of the year. Like any other holiday, people tend to proscrastinate and put off their gift buying until the last minute.

Be a BIG Reminder
Help your customers remember that Mother’s Day is coming soon and encourage them to start buying now. Create a simple countdown sheet of some sort saying how many days are left to shop for Mother’s Day and update that number every day. It will keep this upcoming event in your mind as well as put it into the mind of your customer. Ask your customers, “How many mothers are there in your world?” Don’t wait for Mother’s Day Sales.

Somebody’s Got To Do It!
Companies spend enormous amounts of money on things intended to generate revenue. Things like, Rent, Advertising, Signage, Displays and Merchandise. Too many times they then expect these things alone to bring in the sales. The most they can do is attract a customer. What’s now needed to make these expenditures pay off is a good salesperson doing a good job. It all comes down to that. You can have a great location with great merchandise, wonderful advertising and beautiful fixtures and signs, but a poor salesperson can undo it all. Likewise a great salesperson can succeed when these other things are marginal. Your biggest challenge and most important priority should be in building and maintaining a first class sales sales team.

Hiring
Recruiting is a process, not an event; it never stops. Don’t wait until you think you need a salesperson. That may be too late. Always be on the lookout for someone better that your weakest salesperson. Weak salespeople talk to customers and miss sales that a strong one would make. Even worse, they turn customers off forever. For HR reasons, companies these days are afraid to hire and afraid to fire, but both are needed to be the best that you can be. The Dead Sea is dead because there is no outlet. Rain water comes into the lake and then stagnates. Life cannot exist in a stagnant environment. As soon as it becomes apparent that you have made a hiring mistake you should make a replacement. In order to do that you need a “bench” of people ready to go to work for you.

The Bench
In sports the bench is obvious. Talented athletes are sitting there waiting for their chance to get in the game. You most likely will not have the budget to hire people that are sitting on a bench. Your “bench” is your ad in the paper and a steady flow of applicants. The better your team becomes the more difficult it is to find someone better that your worst one. That’s a nice problem to have, and much better than “grasping at a straw” when someone quits and leaves. We hate it when people quit and leave, but it’s worse when they quit and stay.

Hire Attitudes; Teach Selling
Customers form a fast opinion as to if they like a salesperson or not. When they don’t, they don’t buy. Think the same way when recruiting or interviewing. Look at the applicant as a customer will. Too many times companies pour over a resume to see if the applicant has the ideal experience. They say things like, “She doesn’t have enough sales experience” or “He has had too much sales experience, he has moved around too much.” Some of the best salespeople you will find will come with no sales experience at all, and when they get it from you will be loyal and stay with you. Hire the right stuff and be willing to teach the easy stuff.

Look Ahead to the Future
When selling, think about more than just this sale. With a little added thought and effort you can manage the lifetime buying cycle of your customers. There is someone else out there that wants your customer, and it is a sad scenario when a customers goes to a different store next time when you have what they are buying.

Communication Tools
The key to future sales is building lasting relationships with existing customers. You have access to tools today that didn’t exist just a decade ago. How effectively are you using e-mail, your computer, your web site, CRM, and the good old the telephone? When you use all of these tools (and more) to stay in touch with your customers, you will have satisfied customers that wouldn’t dream of buying from your competition. Could you imagine getting great service in a restaurant and then dropping your tip on a different table?

Why the Rooster?
Many people do not know that the sound the rooster makes in the morning (cock-a-doodle-doo) is called his “Report”. The rooster “reports” early; sometimes too early.

Our Morning Report also arrives early. We say, “Send us your numbers at closing time, and you will have your Morning Report BEFORE the rooster crows in the morning.”

The Lion King musical had a great Morning Report tune in the play. You can see and hear it HERE:

Businesses are famous for reporting monthly numbers after it’s too late to do anything about them.
When you get the Morning Report you will be able to see trends in plenty of time to impact them, well before the month ends. CLICK HERE to see examples of how it works.

WIIFM?
Whenever asked to do something, most people filter the request through “WIIFM” which stands for “What’s in it For Me?” Unless there’s good answer to that question it many times will not be done. This is true both in parenting as in managing salespeople.

Do it For the Customer
Too often salespeople that want to sell more are thinking more of themselves than their customers. The customer will benefit more from the sale than anyone else. When a sale is made, there are a lot of people who benefit; the salesperson, the store or company, the vendor, the landlord, plus the state and country. All of these benefits are monetary. What the customer gets out of the deal will last longer than the money will last for any of the others.

“Mine, No Mine!”
One of the worst things that can happen in sales is salespeople arguing over whose sale it is. Whenever I am asked to referee one of those arguments, I ask, “Who did the customer give the money to?” When you get good service in a restaurant you don’t drop your tip on any old table on your way out.

Teamwork Works!
Those that work together get more done. Here’s a good rule to keep in mind; “The commission on any one sale is never more important than your relationship with your co-worker.” If you make this and the “Customer First” a part of your being, you will succeed more than the selfish people who get it turned backwards.