True salesmanship in retail is all but disappeared in most sectors of the industry. Customer service and merchandising seems to rule the day at the mall. Not that customer service and merchandising aren't important, mind you, but what about the ancient art of face-to-face selling?
When the stacks of sweaters are folded, the carpet is vacuumed, the glass is sparkling, and the till is counted, how about stepping into the zone of retail zen? Here are ten tips to help you do so:
1. Look shoppers in the eye.
Eye contact between salespeople and customers has been gradually waning in retail for years. Let's bring it back!
I once read that parents spend each day with almost no eye contact with their children. It has been suggested that one way to show children you love them is by honoring them with your attention, and attention means eye contact when they're talking or you're talking. The same applies to retail customers. Put down the scanner, the sale signs, the merchandising plan...and lift your eyes to your customers.
2. Be clever.
"May I help you?" is great for a nurse to say when a patient at the hospital rings the nurse call button, but it's so awfully boring in the retail arena that I wish retail sellers would abolish it. Come up with something more clever. Infuse some personality into the day-to-day milieu.
3. Do the unexpected.
An additional "SALE" sign isn't going to help your store's sales.
But whenever prospects are confronted with something unexpected, they tend to pay attention. One challenge with retail is that it has become profoundly boring for most shoppers. Do your customers a favor: do the unexpected. Bake some spinach puffs in the new oven your company started selling and serve them to customers. Show an episode of The Office in the recliner gallery. Wear a football uniform to work at the kids play equipment showroom. Play a polka on your PA system.
4. Suck them in.
Draw the customers in with your smile, your wit, your knowledge, your interpersonal communication skills. Lock down the person-to-person connection first, then worry about the product. Selling is all about people. It is not all about the carpet, the shoe, or the computer; it's about what those things do for the customer.
5. Take a deep cleansing breath. Now exhale!
Outside B2B salespeople get to drive across town to meet with their prospect, or fly to far away destinations. Retail salespeople get to visit the rest room.
Fight the monotony of retail selling by taking time to breathe, to refocus, and cleanse the mind of unwanted negative thoughts. You may not be able to select the music that's playing on the speakers overhead, but you can select how to react to it.
Relax those tense shoulders!
6. Ask customers what they think.
You just put a new refrigerator on your appliance sales floor? Great! Ask the customer to take a look at it with you, then ask them what they think of it. Ask them what they think of your company's new logo, or your store's new video game display, or the new LED lighting.
7. Be a salesperson, not a clerk.
Become proficient at opening conversation with your shopper. Become skilled at identifying their needs, even the hidden ones that the prospect isn't likely to talk about. Help the shopper understand her needs. Clarify. Do an impressive presentation. Ask for the sale. Handle objections.
That's what salespeople do.
8. Be thankful.
Retail can be a wonderfully rewarding career. Revel in it. You will probably talk to more people in one day than most business-to-business salespeople talk to in a week or more.
You could be stuck in a cubicle, you know.
9. Sell add-ons.
Isn't it mundane to only sell what customers say they want? Why not sell some things they haven't said they want? Sell two vases instead of one. Sell a digital camera with the laptop. Sell underwear -- yes, underwear -- with the suit. Sell a satellite dish with the RV. Sell a subscription to Metropolitan Home with the dining room.
The possibilities are endless!
10. Have some fun.
Do you sparkle at work? Do you add value to your prospects lives? Do you entertain, make people smile, and truly make them feel welcome? Find your inner retail child. Remember how much fun it was to play "store" when you were seven years old?
What suggestions do you have to help retail sales professionals find "Retail Zen?"
If you like this post (or don't) please click on "comments" below and share your comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, in the financial, real estate, and insurance markets, and other consumer-selling industries.
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