It took some serious clienteling to pull this sales pro out of his worst slump ever.
[dropcap cap=B]rian Barfield, 36, senior sales associate for The Gem Collection, admits his sales slipped a bit in the first three months of 2009 — whose didn’t? But increased attention to clienteling salvaged the year. By late 2009, his customers were back, and in early 2010, his sales had tripled over that dark period of 2009 he calls his worst sales slump ever. — EILEEN MCCLELLAND [/dropcap]
[componentheading]INTERVIEW[/componentheading]
GOLD: Just about anything that Shane Decker says is gold.
FAITH: Success is about more than skills. I have a strong belief that my faith has a lot to do with it. Falling into the right sale at the right time, saying the right things. Acknowledging my faith opens up a lot of doors.
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CHANGE: Early in my career, it was pounded into us to call, call, call, call, call. As technologies changed, people, especially busy people, respond better to texting and e-mail.
FOCUS: I usually take about five or 10 minutes in the car before I come into the store to focus and clear my head, to leave everything outside of work behind.
FOLLOW-UP: I’ve had quite a few sales in the 30s and 40s. I just had one two days ago that was $37,000. A customer had shopped with us for the first time this Christmas. He came in for something small and bought a $7,000 diamond pendant. I kept in touch, sent him a thank-you card and he showed up out of the blue. He bought a Tacori mounting with a 2-carat, top-of-the-line cushion cut. If I hadn’t followed up, he might not have come back.
ENERGY: My style of sales takes a lot of energy. It’s that comfort you create that opens the door to gain the trust. Have a bad day and it’ll affect you forever with that customer.
QUESTIONS: Ask the right questions so you can touch their lives in a meaningful way.
[span class=note]This story is from the May 2010 edition of INSTORE[/span]
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