After
graduating college I was hired as a department manager for a large retail chain
that no longer exists. Our store was not
terribly successful so we experienced a certain amount of manager
turnover.
During my
final week as a department manager, we welcomed a new general store manager who
viewed credit card applications as a road to success. I hated asking customers for them and the new
store manager saw that as a complete failing on my part. It led to my immediate demotion to commission
sales in the appliance department at a different store.
The
transition was pretty easy. I learned
how to recognize buyers versus browsers and I learned how to sell appliances
that I had never used and couldn’t possibly afford. It was really fun.
The
competition in that department was fierce.
There were usually three or four people on the floor hunting for customers. The goal was to snag a buyer and then wall
them off from the rest of the sales crew.
We all developed our own techniques for doing this. It was a daily competition that only the truly
hungry could survive.
I learned a
lot about closing sales during that time.
First, I learned how to read reactions to statements about price,
delivery and product. Second, in order
to sell something, you needed a person’s full attention. If the customer likes you, they listen to
you. They also are much more likely to
buy from you.
The third
thing I learned was that if I had to stop in the middle of a sale to ask
someone else a question about a product, or if I had to glance at the owner’s manual,
the sale was almost always lost. There
would be no more customer when I got back.
Worse, someone else would step in, ‘help me out’ and take the sale.
I spent time
studying the washers, driers, stoves and refrigerators I was selling. I learned how long a cycle took, how much
water was consumed and how much power each one used. When customers asked questions, they could
count on my confident answers. Sales
were easy and upsells were absolutely assured.
Today, I
spend a lot of time talking with salespeople about the best way to adjust logos
for embroidery. I try to suggest alternatives
and edits when possible in order to get the logos to sew most accurately and
clearly. A few of my customers pay
attention and when they move on to their next customer, they apply what they
have learned in order to advise the new buyer.
They tend to close their sales much more quickly and profitably. Their customers generally have more realistic
expectations of the appearance of their apparel. Sales are faster and smoother and ultimately
very profitable. They take the time to
learn their product.
On the
converse are those salespeople that send a design with no instructions and who
expect me to just know what the right answers will be. On the one hand, this allows them to slide
away from any responsibility regarding design or quality. If they can blame mistakes on the decorator, they
never lose any money. On the other hand,
they are not keeping their customer’s attention, they are not closing the sale
and they are certainly not going to get value added sales.
The sales
profession is a tough one in many regards.
It requires a very tough skin and a willingness to have doors slammed
shut. Beyond that, a little bit of
knowledge and the willingness to advise a customer, ask questions and show some
interest in what they are selling.
I learned to
sell things a long time ago. Our culture
has changed a lot since I started selling and yet the process remains pretty
much unchanged. The very best salespeople
make their customers into experts, provide them with honest information and
deliver as promised. In order to do
this, those very same salespeople have to know their product, advise their
customers and have a genuine interest in what they are selling and to
whom.
Of course it’s
much easier to take no interest and rely on someone else to do your
thinking. I just don’t understand where
that could be a very fulfilling way to pass the day.
