Part two of your primer on things not to do when selling.

On Sales : More Sale Killers on the Floor 

BY SHANE DECKER

Published in the April 2012 issue.

Part 2 of 2: Things not to do.

Your No. 1 priority should always be the sales floor. Whether you’re an owner or a salesperson, nothing else matters — not advertising, inventory, store environment, nor anything else if you’re not effectively working with clients and remaining aware of what’s happening on the floor.

Last month, I discussed three sale killers that happen as a result of poor store floor awareness. Here are three more I see regularly:

SALE KILLER #1 >> Huddling. This isn’t the Super Bowl, people — it’s a jewelry store. Yet, I walk into jewelry stores and  see the entire sales staff gathered around the POS station. Somebody tells a joke and everyone’s laughing and having a grand time. When a client walks in, the first thing he thinks is that everyone is laughing at him. That isn’t logical, but that’s what he thinks. So he’ll have his guard up. The second thing is that no salesperson wants to interrupt the moment, so they all wait to see who will go wait on the client. The client thinks no one wants to wait on him. So not only does he think we’re laughing at him, he thinks no one wants to wait on him.

Be scattered across the floor and be busy. Having fun is OK, but you can’t huddle.

SALE KILLER #2 >> Interruptions. These happen because of a lack of communication, lack of training and being unorganized. You may be in the 30-second window when the client has made up his mind to buy and he’s waiting for you to close the sale, when another associate walks up and asks, “Where’s the Stuller book?” Now the client’s thought process has been broken, your flow and presentation have been interrupted, and your chances of closing just sank. The client feels like the information your associate asked for was more important than he is; he also thinks your associate is extremely rude.

Another interruption is cell phones. They should not be allowed on the floor, even in vibrate mode. The customer will hear the vibration and be distracted. The salesperson will also be distracted and wondering who called, and will rush through the presentation. 

SALE KILLER #3 >> Not closing. The manager or owner (not other salespeople) should have permission to walk in on the sale uninvited to help a salesperson close. They can tell when someone is struggling. When the manager or owner steps in, the chances of closing almost double! Managers and owners need to be available to help close. You’ve spent all this money on advertising and creating a beautiful sales environment; why would you let a client leave without an item he wanted just because an associate can’t close it? 

See Shane Decker as part of the “Monsters of Sales” seminar series at The SMART Jewelry Show April 21-23 in Chicago. (Conference begins April 20.)

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