Even among those who should know better, there’s an often-repeated falsehood – ‘anyone can sell’.
Many retailers believe that every trained salesperson can engage the customer in a non-business approach, assess customer needs through questioning, retain vital information, and then skilfully introduce the right product to the customer through a benefits-driven pitch.
Wait a minute! It gets better. This talented salesperson effortlessly bundles the add-on to the product that the customer must have.
Elated, the customer leaves the store ready to share the tale of the experience with 20 other potential customers and turns them into ‘evangelists’ for that business.
It’s important to remember that customer service is not the same as selling. Some sales staff don’t know how to sell well, or indeed, even at all. While a smiling face, sunny disposition, and helpful manner are important, they don’t make these people profitable salespeople.
The greatest asset of any salesperson is being a strong, active listener who is confident, has the right degree of humility, and is genuine in their interest in the customer.
They should know the product and be enthusiastic when explaining its features and benefits. The correct sales training will go a long way to delivering these increases and help you stay fit and resilient in today’s uncertain and unpredictable market.
Avoiding the missed opportunity
Over the years, we’ve seen selling data from a large range of retailers, including more than 6,000 individual stores over the past two years, and one area where opportunity is consistently lost is the add-on or up-sell.
Our research suggests that sales staff may lose this opportunity in as many as 50 per cent of encounters – this is profit walking out the door.
Once again, a strong sales strategy will never be delivered if the investment in selling skills and performance framework is not in place.
Between 70-80 per cent of purchases are completed based on impulse. These customers will buy that add-on with their product purchase - if only somebody would ask!
So, this begs the question: Are we selling more to our existing customers, and are we measuring this by ‘items per sale’, ‘average sale’, ‘conversion', and 'gross sales’ by staff members?
Did you know that the conversion ratio of shoppers-to-buyers in specialty retail only averages approximately 15 per cent? This means 8.5 out of every ten people who walk through the typical store are leaving empty-handed!
Consider what the effect would be on your bottom line if transactions remained static while your average sale figures were increased by 10 per cent or if your conversion rate increased to 30 per cent and items per sale rose by even just one unit.
Selling more to the customers you already have is a vital objective in today’s environment. Operationally ‘fit’ companies maximise sales conversions and, therefore, dollars without any capital investment or increase in overheads.
What would it take to increase the ‘suitability’ of your salespeople so they have the skills and motivation necessary to convert more shoppers into buyers?
What should you be doing?
Think, talk, and make sales: ‘Fit’ businesses have an aligned culture, and employees accept the importance of making sales.
What do I mean by aligned? If the owner of the business and the manager are not discussing sales at every opportunity with each staff member, then it is unrealistic to expect that the other staff will think, talk and make sales.
Consider the following example: A customer approaches someone whose job is to maintain the cleanliness and inventory of a jewellery store with a question.
If that employee were focused solely on their responsibilities, it would be understandable for them to answer the question as quickly as possible and return to whatever task is at hand.
However, when that same employee is ‘sales conscious’, extra care is taken to direct the customer to an employee tasked with securing a sale. Ideally, the customer will leave the business not only with another sale secured but also with another customer pleased with their experience.
It’s important that everyone working in your store has a sales focus. Even if their responsibilities don’t specifically involve sales, they should still be consistently conscious of this.
Keep everyone in the loop: The owner or manager should regularly communicate the state of the store’s sales performance to all staff members.
I believe that this information should be relayed at a minimum each quarter.
I recognised this with a client a few years ago, and it has stayed in my mind as an effective way to speak of the importance of sales efforts and the joint teamwork required by everyone at every level to deliver increased sales.
Recruitment guidelines: Clear and standardised recruitment guidelines will help align your staff to a common goal and create an authentic sales culture’ in your business.
Examine the turnover rate and consider the reasons when and why employees choose to leave the business.
Depending on the size of your operation, you will see some common trends, and, in many cases, inconsistent recruitment practices are a significant factor.
Recruit from a base of straightforward, sales-aligned behavioural questions with the adage ‘recruit the will, teach the skill’.
More than 70 per cent of staff exit surveys we complete show that staff that initiate leaving do so because they did not feel ‘engaged’ with the business.
Strong engagement starts with strong induction: Whether it be a buddy or mentor system, making sure the new staff member has a clear ‘go to’ person – who is not the boss – is a helpful step to inducting them to the sales focus of the business.
Match your new employees with someone with whom they are comfortable asking questions and expressing concerns and who can communicate the value of this sales-driven culture.
The secret ingredient: No business will succeed without motivated people. We all know that great people make great businesses. Ask workers whether they feel great working for their boss, and you will likely get a mixed response. Our research tells us that engaged, motivated staff deliver 20 per cent higher sales on average.
Conversely, consider the damage the unmotivated team member can do. Brand damage by stealth can be detrimental, so keep your staff happy with you, and they will make you happy in return.
Set clear performance standards and goals, provide coaching, training, and feedback and offer reward systems for excellence.
It should reach the stage where you do not have to worry about making sales or delivering great, consistent customer service; it will happen as part of your winning culture!
Ask your managers and staff to anonymously nominate their top three goals in the business. If 100 per cent of your staff are not nominating sales as their number one goal, it’s time to consider increasing your cultural alignment.
Think back to that conversion rate! Don’t worry if you don’t achieve over 70 per cent alignment; our research shows this is common.
‘Fit’ businesses, however, will measure this regularly and always aim for 100 per cent! Provide teams with knowledge for confidence.
Are your salespeople fully confident in their product ranges and the features and benefits of the products they are selling? If the answer is not a resounding ‘yes’, work on further training in this field.
Introduce new products and have your salespeople ‘sell’ them to their fellow team members at weekly team meetings. Be sure they know the features and benefits of all products, associated accessories, and add-ons to assist them in maximising conversion. Knowledge is the key to making additional sales!
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