Sign in now
Logout
|
You are signed in as guest Sign in now Logout |
 |
Plain Talk
|
||||
|
I Wanted to Buy a Second Item, But . . .
by Rick Segel I was asked to do mystery shopping for a national chain. My job was to take my time going through the store, reviewing the visual merchandising signage and employee attitude and performance. This is a chain that I absolutely admire. All the people I’ve had contact with are very nice people who do a very good job. They are a specialty retailer whereby people who go into the store generally know something about what the store sells. Without giving the name of the store or product away, it would be like someone going into a scuba diving store. They have some inclination they want to go scuba diving, which tends to create an insider group of people who know the product and understand it and those who might be coming in that are exposed for the first time. This is similar to the customers going to a ski shop. If you are a skier, you are familiar with the various ski gear, and you know when you see the super duper, latest model skis. But if you are a beginner, you really don’t know the difference. Well, in this particular business where I was mystery shopping, I was an outsider. So I went into the store and walk around. They’re having a major sale, and all the salespeople were busy. I was looking at all these products with not a clue as to what to do. I needed help and direction, but the store was so busy, all the salespeople were tied up. I finally was approached by a salesperson. I don’t know if they were a manager, assistant manager, or owner. But they knew their stuff, and even more importantly, they had a contagious passion for the product that made me want to buy even more. I asked about different products I would need to complete a specific project, and the person laid out all of the products that I would need. If you think about it, he created a shopping list of wants and needs. What could be better? There was one major issue: I was not in my home town. I was traveling 2,000 miles away from where I live. I had limited luggage space, so I had to be careful about what I bought because it wouldn't fit into my luggage. So I asked different questions about which would be the best product to buy, and I was giving the salesman buying signals saying that “I really like that.” “I really need that.” “I should really buy that, too.” And the best of all buying signals: “Would there be any way of shipping this additional item to me?” And the person said, “Yes we just charge for shipping costs.” So what I had laid out was the ability to purchase a minimum of two items, that is until the salesperson said, “So you really want the second item?” And I said, “Oh, I guess not.” He said, “OK,” and proceeded to wrap up the sale of just one item. In other words, he gave up. What part of being a sales rep didn’t he get? He demoted himself from expert salesman to clerk. What would it have taken? He had a list of all the things I needed. He could have easily pushed for three times and had to settle for two, four times and settle for three. He could have said, “We’ll take care of the shipping costs.” The total I could have purchased at that time was approximately $600.00. The shipping costs might have been $30.00. I was in no hurry to receive the products. They could have shipped out on the slow boat to china. But instead, he closed the door saying, “Do you really want that?” making me feel as if i shouldn't be buying it. So in the salesperson’s eyes, he believed he did an excellent job. We bonded. He got my information to follow up with me, to get me on a mailing list to make sure I was aware of any specials, and inform me about classes taking place in the store. He made me feel like an insider as opposed to the true outside I was. He gave me a buying guide. He converted wants into needs. He had the ability to make the multiple sale, but because he didn’t want to be too “pushy” or because he wanted to be likeable, he missed out on a selling opportunity. Worse than that, he didn’t service his customer well because I had to make an additional trip to another store to purchase what I needed. See, when you’re servicing a customer well, you’re selling them. You’re selling them on yourself, on the ideas, on the product. And when you’re selling, you’re serving. You’re taking care of needs. As good of a person he was, the salesman didn't take care of my needs. I wanted to buy the item, but I didn’t. Retailers make their money not by selling an initial item; they make their money by selling multiple items to the customer. We’ve paid to bring customers in the store, to have someone wait on them, and to gain their trust to have them buy something. Don’t throw all those advantages away. Believe me, the customer will thank you later.
Rick Segel can be reached at:
|
