“No Thanks! I’m Just Looking!”

How often have you heard that?

And what do we do as sales associates? We say something stupid.

"No problem. My name is John and if you need anything I'll be over here"

"No problem"? Of course it's a problem!

And by the way, very few people are "just looking". How do I know this? The same way you know it. It's what we say as customers to push salespeople away. And it works great because you can see sales people physically bounce away from this 'defensive shield' that is thrown out there!

We say "just looking" because it's just easier to look around a store on our terms rather than risk asking for help and getting pushed into buying something we don't want..... or at least that is the fear that drives us.

You know it's true. A customer will walk in and avoid the salesperson who is standing there smiling but will walk up to the guy who is half way up a ladder changing a light! Why? Because the guy up the ladder isn't a threat.

So what can we do? What can we say after we hear "just looking"? What can we put in that moment?

Customer: "No Thanks! Just looking!"

Salesperson: "Great! What are you looking for?"

or

C: "I'm just getting some ideas...."

S: "What's the special occasion?"

or

C: "I'm just seeing what you've got...."

S: "Fantastic! What would you like us to have?"

Try it! And you'll be stunned how many customers tell you what they are doing in the store!

"Just getting something for my dad" or "Need something for my wife" or "It's my daughters birthday"

And of course they can turn around and say "Seriously, I'm just looking". That's fine! Then I'll back off.... because they may indeed be "just looking".

But if they are I'll make them say it twice before I step back.

5 Worst Opening Lines Salespeople Use

“Don’t wish it was easier. Wish you were better”

- Jim Rohn, Business Philosopher

We’ve all heard them and lately I’ve been hearing them a lot more. So in celebration and awe of mediocrity and procrastination, here are the 5 worst opening lines I’ve heard salespeople use....

5. “Hi, how are you?”

Fine thanks. Just looking.

4. “Can I help you?”

A perfect yes/no question. That always gets my favourite response - “Just Looking!”. Why ask if you know this is what people say by default!?!?

3. “Did you guys need anything?”

Wow. You just totally blew me away with such a creative and imaginative opening line. Please take my money... actually I’m “just looking”

2. “Are you happy just to look around?”

Well now that you’ve given me permission, I am very much happy to look around.... and not buy from you!

1. “You guys don’t need any help?”

Seriously? Are you kidding me? Why don’t you just tell me I should save my money and go home!

What’s the worst opening line you’ve heard?

No one wants to take my money!

i-ron-ic

happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this

“You don’t need any help?”

- Opening line from Anonymous salesperson

Normally I like to pace out my blog entries but today something happened that I just had to share with you all.

Now, let me start off by saying that when it comes to home entertainment I’m a big fan of Sony product. I have a Sony Bravia LCD television, Sony surround system and Sony DVD player. I even have a Sony PS3 as my blu-ray player. I researched and like what I discovered about the product and I enjoy the brand. I am indeed a Sony fan!

Today I walked into a Sony Centre in the United Kingdom. (I won’t tell you which store exactly because that would be cruel). Now I had gone in with the intention of buying some new wires for my surround sound system - a fairly dull project that happened to coincide with a meeting I had nearby.

When I entered the store there were 2 other customers and 1 salesperson. I don’t know how long the other customers had been waiting but I was certainly happy to wait - it’s a home entertainment store after all!

While I was waiting I couldn’t help but watch one of the nearby televisions. I thought it was a very impressive set and I was happy to watch “Wall-E” that was playing! Then I saw the price. Now I won’t share the price with you but it was definitely within my budget and I started to weigh up the pro’s and con’s of buying it. Will my fiancee yell at me if I leave this store with a new TV? Do I deserve this new toy? Can I justify it?

And the answers were - no she wouldn’t, yes I do, and yes I can.

I actually surprised myself by how excited I got at the possibility I would have a nice shiny toy for the weekend! I just bought a new blu-ray movie and was eager to see what it would look like on this new, larger and more impressive screen than the one I have at home. Ask me to buy and you’ve got yourself a sale!

But no one did ask me to buy.

In fact, after 10 minutes no one had approached me or even acknowledged that I was in the store. And when an extra salesperson did finally appear, he approached the other couple first and his opening line was “You guys okay?”.

I swear to you that I honestly laughed out loud.

After 10 minutes (even more for these other customers who were there before me) this was his opening line? And that was the point I decided I didn’t need to get this TV. Not that I don’t deserve it or want it. I just don’t want it from this store. Why should I spend my money on a dreary in-store experience when, after a bit of searching, I can save myself a few hundred pounds by getting it cheaper online or somewhere else?

All this because a salesperson did a dozen things wrong and nothing right. Did he judge me by the way I was dressed? Or by my age? Or did he just not care? I don’t know about you, but it makes me angry when businesses complain that sales are down but are throwing away opportunities in their stores!!!!

I could have spent some money today but nobody wanted it.

To discount or not to discount...

ox-y-mo-ron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

“We have the best product in town! And it’s 25% off today!”

- Anonymous jeweller

What does the future look like? Can you picture the landscape of retail in 20 years? What about in 5 years? In a global recession the world changes and shifts its paradigm. Our reality is re-defined and while times are tough our resolve is strengthened and our talents are pushed.

Some retailers have no choice but to discount. Their entire definition is established by an owner who puts “50%-off” signs in the window because of the pressure of a entire industry saying “0%” discounting is impossible. When I ask a salesperson, manager or owner why they discount it is always the same answer - “Well, we have to. Don’t we?”.

The answer is Yes.....and No.

If you’ve been discounting for the last few years you’ve got a tough time ahead if you want to stop. Because if you’ve been discounting, any repeat business you’ve been getting is because of that and not your customer service or relationships.

If you have been discounting you don’t have to stop - you just need to handle it better.  When a customer asks “Can you do me a better price?” or  “Can you take any off for me?” you have an opportunity to still sell something. And you won’t have to discount it as much as you do now!

I’m still stunned by how often salespeople go to 10% as the default discounting position. Or go and ask the store manager if they can bring down the price without checking how much of a discount the customer actually wants!

Rather than procrastinating or pretending to be working out figures on a calculator in front of your customer, what about being honest? What about creating a sense of formality in the sales process?

Can you imagine responding with this - “A discount? I’d love to try and accommodate you today. Can you tell me what you were hoping for?” And you’ll be surprised how often the figure is less than the 10% you go to as standard. And remember the language - “I’d love to try and accommodate you today”

Of course, you can get the customer who won’t tell you how much they were looking for - “No, no. You tell me how much you can take off the price first”. Or the customer who throws out a ridiculous discount - “Alright then. Take off 50% for me”.

Firstly, don’t take it personally. They’re just trying to regain the power in the relationship and this is their way of doing it. But now it is more important than ever before to bring a sense of formality to the process - “I’m afraid we just don’t do that here at Smith Jewellers. I’d love to be able to do something for you but I really need to know how much you were hoping to spend today.” Or - “I’m afraid I can’t take off 50% because the boss will never forgive me! If you let me know what you’re budget is I may be able to match it or find another item that would be suitable for what you were hoping to get today.” That’s right - today!

If discounting is going to be part of your business model there is certainly nothing wrong with that. But make sure you’re in total control of the process. Done correctly it will increase your current average margins and your customers will respect you for it. Don’t lie and use language like “We don’t normally discount but....” - if you always discount. It will come across insincere and you will not get any points with your customer for it.

There are very few retailers I know who have a zero tolerance policy to discounting - and they can only get away with it because their service is extraordinary. So if you want to stop discounting how will you be memorable? What will be the in-store experience? 

And why aren’t you doing it now?

Surviving this recession

“It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job.

It’s a depression when you lose yours.”

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States

We’ve never had a recession like this. In fact, here are a few things that we didn’t have when America, Australia, and the United Kingdom were last in a recession...

1. • The Internet - it’s only been the “www” since 1993.
   
2. • Email and YouTube - 3 things we couldn’t live without today.
   
3. • About a billion people on the planet. Yes, we’ve grown that much!
   
4. • DVD’s, Blu-ray, PS3’s and Wii’s! Some of the most popular retail selling items in the world. The majority of which are sold on eBay - another thing that wasn’t around during the last recession.
   

The world is not coming to an end. In fact, many things were born from the last recession that dramatically shaped the next generation and the retail world.

To survive this recession we need to be innovative. That is what distinguishes between those who lead and those who follow. If you’re waiting for things to get better, you won’t make it. And I don’t have many answers for you - I only have one answer.

Use a whiteboard.

Get together with your entire team and bounce around ideas on how you can gain greater market share. How can you sell to more people who are already walking in your business, rather than trying to get more people in? Believe me, it is far easier to increase your closing ratio than to increase your foot traffic! And we all know that a happy customer talking to their friends is more powerful than a full page ad in your local magazine.

How can you innovate? And what’s stopping you?

is your business insane?

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results”.

Albert Einstein

There is one big problem with early or “overnight” success in business. It’s that we develop bad habits because we create superstitions regarding our early triumphs! “What did I do right? I should just keep doing that!”. Well, you’re right......and wrong.

One of my mentors once told me that “when times are good you don’t realise what you’re doing wrong”. And why would you? If my business is up 22% YTD then do I really care if I’m making a mistake along the way? I’d rather be wrong and rich, than right and poor!

But what happens when the world shifts its reality? What happens in a world where every week a business seems to going into administration or filing for bankruptcy? What happens when less people are walking through the door and the stores around you have “up to 75% off” signs in the window?

In those moments you need to do two things. You need to take a personal inventory of your past success and highlight what really made you money over the years. Then you need to adapt and evolve that entrepreneurial spirit that made you shine in sales and retail! Let that spirit flex its creative muscles and ask yourself, “What can I do differently? What more can I do? And where does the change begin?”. 

Sitting still and “riding the storm” - that will not work. We need to be aggressive and pushy. And no, not push towards our customers but demanding towards ourselves! It’s time to change our world! Break your business plan and re-build it! Train your staff! Even if it’s having a weekly meeting and talking about the sales process is better than nothing! Have a staff incentive daily for the person who sells the most items, the most expensive item or any random item! Take cash out of the till and give it to them then and there! Call every customer who bought a present in your store last Christmas and make sure they and the gift receiver are still delighted! And, for those who can’t do that because you don’t collect customer details......START! I guarantee you that the future of any sales business will not be the ability to serve customers but rather the talent to manage relationships.

It’s time to iThink about how to change your retail world and fight for success. Start today and I guarantee that 2009 will be far more fun than any year you’ve ever had before!