DURING THE HOLIDAY season, we tend to “clerk” sales and skip over those little things in our presentation that mean the difference between making a single sale (or worse, walking the customer) and making a customer for life. You should be able to check off the actions listed below for every single sale that you make. Otherwise, your presentation is incomplete, and you’re costing yourself business.
1. Was the sales floor covered when the customer came in, with a salesperson standing in the “sweet spot?” (That’s the left side of the store, looking out, about 15 feet from the door — see July 2007 column)
2. Did you make sure not to violate the Five-Second Rule? (That is, was the customer smiled at, greeted and spoken to within five seconds of entering?)
3. Was the greeting sufficient? In other words, were you really willing to wait on the customer, and did he or she feel comfortable?
4. Was your greeting creative?
5. Did you make positive eye contact with the customer and show positive body language?
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6. If the customer said he was “just looking,” did you engage him further by asking questions or showing him something?
7. Did you introduce yourself and get the customer’s name at the beginning of the presentation?
8. Did you take a product out of the showcase and hand it to the customer?
9. If it was a repair or battery customer, did you use a lead-in line like “Let me show you this” rather than letting her stand there?
10. Did you ask relationship-specific and selling-specific questions? (Relationship-specific questions help you to get to know the customer; selling-specific questions help you find out what he or she wants to purchase.)
11. Did you handle the customer’s objections and close each objection with speed and accuracy?
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12. Did you exude professionalism, and did you listen?
13. Did you sell company benefits (reasons to buy from your store specifically)?
14. Did you romance the item shown, selling feelings and emotions as well as perceived value?
15. Did you close all the way through the presentation, so smoothly that he couldn’t tell you were doing it, but all the while you were giving the customer reassurance?
16. Did you try for an add-on sale?
17. If you didn’t close the sale, did you offer it to someone who could?
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18. Did you wow the customer before he or she left the store?
19. Did you walk the customer to the door and say thank-you, goodbye and give him your business card?
20.Did you follow up with a thank-you card, phone call and/or a personal note?
Person be you?
This story is from the November 2007 edition of INSTORE.
