1. Sell more. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
2. Be “on” from the moment you walk onto the sales floor. You have an important role to play so play it well.
3. Be genuine. If you can’t, you need to change either your attitude, mindset, or job.
4. Never stalk a customer. If when you first engage a customer she gives you the cold shoulder, back off and give her a chance to get comfortable in the store and to see for herself that you’re different from most salespeople. The way you engage others allows them to experience for themselves that you’re interested in them as a person, not just as a customer.
5. Skip small talk and engage with purpose. For most of us that means developing a relationship with our customer and making sure he/she has a great experience in our store. Remember: never ask a customer a question if you don’t care what the answer is.
6. Listen more, talk less.
7. Never talk over your customer. It’s not only bad manners but it tells her you’re not listening.
8. Don’t show products, sell them. The difference is that when you’re selling a product it means you know enough about the customer to choose the right product for him.
9. Focus the conversation on the outcome of the product and its benefits. As an example, people don’t buy luggage for the sake of buying luggage but because they wish to transport clothing and other belongings from one location to another. Focus on how the end result at that destination will be enhanced because of the product itself.
10. Assume the customer is buying. Remove the idea that anyone is a “looker.”
11. Do something nice and unexpected for your customer. It will almost always result in a stronger relationship.
12. Never ask a customer how he’s doing. The phrase is trite, completely overused and most people who ask it don’t really care about the answer. The same is true with “May I help you” and “Can I answer any questions.”
13. Don’t over greet or over welcome your customer. Once a customer is well into the store a simple smile and “hello” is sufficient. Customers would rather be ignored than greeted excessively.
14. Having a large selection of products for the customer to choose from increases the likelihood that the customer will make a purchase.
15. Reducing the number of products you show a customer increases the odds of making a sale even more.
16. Recommending one or two of those products improves the chance even more.
17. Skip telling the customer everything you know about a product. Instead give them the information they need to make an informed decision.
18. The only way to be able to do that is to gather information from the customer. That’s why just showing products costs sales.
19. Help the customer make the purchase. If we’ve done our job it is only appropriate to give the customer an opportunity to buy what we’re selling.
20. Forget trying to “add-on” to a sale. That’s completely internally focused and self-serving. “Enhance” the customer’s life with the products they’re buying and you’re guaranteed to sell more.
21. Don’t stop enhancing until the customer says so. We like to compare it to the all-you- can-eat buffet. Your customer will tell you when he’s full.
22. Use the kind of manners during checkout that would make your mother or grandmother proud. Use a lot of “please,” “thank-you” and “you’re welcome.”
23. Always see a customer bringing a product into the store as an opportunity, not a burden. Assume it’s a return until you’ve learned otherwise.
24. Follow-up a customer’s purchase with a thank-you note, email, or phone call.
25. Contact a good customer to tell him about something new in the store and why you think it’s something he would like.
26. Always go above and beyond for every customer. If it doesn’t result in a sale today, it will tomorrow.
Very informative post. Thanks for sharing this one. this could help retailers a lot. But if you’re going to view the movement of retail sales today you might be distress. The report on retail sales for July has just been released by the US Census Bureau. The Census Bureau observed that retail sales for July grew about 0.4 percent from June and had grown 5.5 percent since June of 2009. The increase was less than estimated. Most economic data is pointing to a slower restoration. The consumer price index has also inched higher. Consumer prices are being viewed closely, as increasing prices and decreasing incomes and assets are signs of deflation.