How to be a Salesperson
There are two types of people in
this world: followers and leaders. As a salesperson it is your job to be a
leader. If you are a master at sales you should be able to read your customer
and weave a story about your product to fit their amusement so enticing that
they believe it is their personal idea that they cannot live without it. As Lau
Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher of Taoism, stated “The best leaders are
those their people hardly know exist.”.
To bring
the sale to a close and have a enjoyable experience for both you and your
customer you must do five simple steps.
Dress Appropriately. This is fairly common sense for most people,
but others will struggle with this idea. Here is some motivation: according to Business
Insider first impressions are formed within seven to seventeen seconds of
meeting someone and fifty five percent of a person’s opinion is determined by
physical appearance. The way you dress could well be the deal breaker between
the two thousand dollar sale and the walk out the door.
Have good body posture. If you are slouching over a display case or
slinking around the floor you will not exude confidence. Customers will catch
onto this and will be less likely to follow you or trust you. During face to
face meetings, 93% of people's judgments of others are based on non-verbal
input like body language. How you stand, sit, and shake hands communicates
a lot more than what you say. Eye contact is included in this. To build a
trusting relationship with another person your eyes should connect about 70 to
80% of the time. This shows your customer two things. First: that you are
listening to their story and what they wish. Second: that you like them. While
you should make eye contact, do not stare, or excessively blink. Too much
blinking is suspicious. Adults normally blink around 15 to 20 times per minute.
When under pressure, or stressed, blinking increases (Bill Clinton’s blink rate
during his deposition was at 92 blinks per minute)
Greet and read the customer. In order to welcome the client a
general “Hello” or “Welcome to (enter store name here)” will suffice. This
instantly tells the purchaser that you are there to help them. You are
essentially their waiter/host while they are in the gallery. Next, figure out for
whom they are shopping for by asking leading questions such as
“______________________?” By asking questions such as this one you learn what
type of customer they are. There are essentially four different types of
purchasers.
The first, buying for others. If
they are shopping for their ten year old daughter who is likely to lose her
bracelet in a couple of weeks you might want to steer them to a less expensive
item so that they are more willing to buy it. If a hopeless customer is
shopping for their significant other you can input your own opinions about
pieces: which will often sway their opinions about the product as well. There
has been many a time that I have been forced to choose out a necklace to
surprise a fiancé.
The second, buying for themselves.
These people are some of the easiest to sell to because they know their taste
and they know their budget. All you have to do is wait it out, present all of
the pieces, and be pleasant.
The third, waiting for others who
are shopping. If you get stuck with the elderly gentleman that simply wants to
know your life story as his wife shops find him a stool and like an ex-couple
politely, but firmly, move on. You do not need to babysit him. In fact he will
probably be happier now that he can simply sit and wait rather than have to
maintain conversation.
The fourth, “just looking”. There
is no “just looking” person. They entered your store for a reason.
Subconsciously they are there to buy something. It is your job to continue to
ask leading questions until you find that one person they forgot to get a gift
for, or the birthday that they forgot.
Present the product. In order to give off all of the superb
qualities of your product you must truly believe in it. Make sure that you believe 100% in your product. People either
follow leaders or are leaders. Make sure that they are following you. If there
is any hesitancy or dishonesty in your sales pitch customers will sniff it out
like a dog to meat and will instantly jump off your bandwagon. Furthermore, The
customer is NOT always right. Often times customers will tell you that they
know everything there is to know about your product and that you are selling
something fake or too expensive. Although they may be an expert on that type of
thing; you are an expert on your
merchandise. One time I was taking care of a lady who was trying on a pair
of Amber earrings. She clearly adored them, and also clearly wished for a
discount. After several hours of requesting for a cut in the price I finally
gave her the last NO. She went on to say that, as an avid Amber collector, she
recognized these earrings as pseudo-Amber and again demanded a discount. I
remained calm and professional, and held my ground that they were true Amber,
and eventually she bought them at full price.
Take it to the cash register. Once your client has found a couple
items that they like begin to ask leading questions just like when you first
met them. Ask them “would you like me to set these over by the counter as you
continue to look around?” or “Will you be paying cash or credit?” this brings
up the idea that they will actually be making the purchase rather than just goggling
and drooling over the items.
No comments:
Post a Comment