The adage is, “We achieve what we believe.” Sometimes, this holds true; other times, it’s less applicable.
Here are a few examples of sales beliefs that are more myth than fact.
Myth: Staff can't make sales goals on slow days
Granted, it may be challenging to make a sales goal when fewer people are walking in the door; however, slower traffic also allows the sales team to spend more time with customers.
All it takes is one good customer to make the day.
Reality & Response: Set the sales team higher goals for average daily sales on slower days.
Push them to use the additional time they can spend with each customer to sell higher-priced items. It’s also important to determine what actions are required to achieve these results.
Perhaps set higher expectations on calling customers on slow days, as well as other traffic-building actions.
Myth: Customers want to be left alone
It’s true that customers like to be left alone by employees who don’t add value to their shopping experiences until they are acclimated to the store.
Still, if the store experience is better with an employee than without one, it’s up to sales staff to make that connection.
Reality & Response: Engaging customers is one of the most undervalued skills in specialty retail, especially in jewellery stores.
It needs to be practised daily and coached by managers and store owners. Focus on it for just one week and be amazed by how quickly this can elevate everyone’s skills.
Of course, if the customer wants to shop without the assistance of staff, that’s fine, too.
Myth: It's hard to find good help
It’s not a myth that hiring good people is difficult; however, this is because most store owners and managers aren't looking for these people in the right places.
Often, storeowners and managers hire the best candidate who applies for a job. Managers need to go out and find and enlist great people.
In this sense, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that finding good retail help is hard.
Reality & Response: Always actively recruit. True, that’s easier said than done.
To make it more actionable, try inviting at least one potential applicant to visit the store every week and, if suitable, take the opportunity to recruit them.
This should happen at the store because no one likes it when businesses recruit people at their places of current employment.
One way to do this is to look for good examples of customer service. When a barista or waitress provides excellent service or when someone presents as interesting and outgoing at a social event, tell these people about the store and invite them to visit.
Managers will be amazed at how easy it is to discover good people when they look for them.
Myth: Individual commissions negatively impact the experience of customers
It’s not individual commission that’s the issue; it’s the behaviours of storeowners and managers who allow it to happen.
Many retailers pay individual commissions, and their businesses deliver some of the best customer experiences in retail.
Reality & Response: If owners think individual commissions may benefit their businesses, try testing this with two-week or month-long contests that present awards to the employees with the highest sales per hour.
Pay special attention to unacceptable behaviour by more aggressive employees.
If that goes well, consider adopting a commission model based on individual sales.
Myth: It's pushy to show product
Demonstrating the value that good salespeople can bring to customers is an important part of delivering a valuable in-store experience.
Staff should know to warmly welcome customers with a smile, get out from behind the counter, avoid using retail clichés like “How may I help you?” and make every sales transaction personal.
However, do they know how to use the products to enhance their sales?
Reality & Response: There are many myths about showing products to customers, and it’s important that these are dispelled.
Customers can’t buy an item if they don’t know it exists. Sure, they can look around and see some of the products but do they see all of them?
Can they quickly tell what is new and what is from the previous season?
It’s unlikely. This is how staff add value and, simultaneously, bust a barrier. Indeed, staff shouldn’t ask customers if they want to see a product because the natural reaction here is to say no.
Instead, it’s better to ask, “Have you seen our new XYZ?” This way, a yes or no answer still gives a salesperson an opening to engage.
This might still trigger a response from the customer of “I’m just looking,” which is a clear sign that a customer wants space.
If this happens, the best response is, “Great, please let me know when you have a question and want my assistance.”
This plants the seed that the shopper will need to engage with the staff member at some time.
Take advantage of every opportunity to hand customers a product whenever possible.
Especially in jewellery retail, research shows that a shopper’s likelihood of purchase increases dramatically when staff get them to hold or wear a product.
If a product can be picked up, proactively hand it to the customer, and they will take it.
Retailers with glass showcases will want to proactively take products out to develop rapport with customers while reading the cues until they find a product that’s right for them.
Suppose a product is too big or valuable to be removed from a showcase. In that case, staff can still invite the customer to view it through the glass while also handing them a representation of the product — this might be a brochure showing a model wearing the item or the exclusive gift packaging in which it is presented.
The sales team should aim for every customer to touch or try at least one product in the store. Now, there are probably a few readers who think this is a pushy store experience, the kind that customers hate.
Reinforce with staff that they’re doing this to add value. At a time when customers have been programmed to receive poor service that doesn’t add value, this is why salespeople must use products to break through the barrier.
Even if showing a product turns off one or two incredibly picky customers, it’s better to engage and deliver a great experience to 98 per cent than not engage and deliver a great experience to anyone.
If staff are passionate about products and customers, this approach will work way more often than it doesn’t.
It is essential while showing products that staff tell customers what is being displayed. If a customer is looking at a product but not touching it, pick it up and hand it to them.
If that customer is holding a product, show something similar. Comparing two products is a great way to engage a customer and create product interest.
Discuss the product they’re viewing and include questions that ensure it is the right product for the person.
To recap, retail has no shortage of misinformation about what salespeople should and shouldn’t do.
Dispelling some of these myths will open staff to sales techniques that will enhance the shopping experience for customers and improve the store’s bottom line.
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