Could or should. Two words simple words that lead to two different outcomes.
I’d say 75% or more of the retail salespeople I meet are “could” people, although most them probably don’t even know it. How about you? Are you a “could” or a “should”?
What’s the difference, you ask? It’s a mindset, a belief, and a completely different approach. Could people show products. Should people create sales and customers.
Let me give you an example. I’m going to use a baby stroller as an example but you can substitute any product you sell.
A customer walks into a baby store and is warmly welcomed by a Could sales associate. The customer says she is interested in a stroller and would like to see what the store has. The Could associate takes her over to the strollers and tells her about all the different strollers she could buy. The customer is impressed with how knowledgeable the Could associate is and leaves with a lot of a great information.
Here’s what would happen if that same customer encounters a Should sales associate.
The Should associate also warmly greets the customer but then takes a moment to learn more about the customer and how she will be using the stroller. He also will discover what strollers the customer has already researched and looked at.
Armed with that information, the Should associate will recommended two or three strollers the customer should consider. Using the Butcher Rule (always show your best product first), the Should associate explains the features of each recommended stroller and personalizes the benefits based upon the customer’s needs.
The difference doesn’t stop there. Once they have narrowed down which product the customer should purchase the Should associate explains why the customer should buy it from this store today. A Could associate doesn’t do that because, unlike the Should associated, he hasn’t assumed that the customer came in to make a purchase.
The customer is impressed with how knowledgeable the Should associate is and leaves with the store with her purchase. And even if the customer wasn’t ready to make purchase the day, chances are she will be back. That’s a lot better than “could” be back.
Could or should. Two words simple words that lead to two different outcomes.
