IT’S THAT TIME of year! For many of us, this is our time to shine, the time where we spend the most time selling. For me, there’s nothing like it, truly a Super Bowl type experience where an entire year of hard work boils down to just a few weeks. Now is the time to close those holiday shoppers, but I have good news – they’re already closed.
If you are a free-standing, non-mall store, I have some great news for you. That customer that just walked in your door is there on purpose, with a mission. They are closed the moment they park in your parking lot. Think about this; they had to get in their car, drive through traffic, and park in your lot. Parking in your lot and entering your store is the buying signal. Nobody in their right mind is “just shopping around” this time of year, they are here to make a purchase.
Lucky for us, the blueprint for converting these sales is very straightforward, after all we have the benefit of knowing that time is of the essence and that our customers are motivated to buy. Three steps to follow this time of year and we should be converting the majority of our opportunities.
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1. Greet Instantly – from the sweet spot
Two of Shane Decker’s famous 9 Absolutes tied into one. If my team were to tell you the thing that I’m the most persistent about, it’s this. It’s so simple, but it’s effective. Welcome people into your store, not from a position of power behind your case, but a welcoming position out in front of your case. Take the edge off, help your guest navigate to where they need to be or who they need to be working with.
2. Assume the Sale
Everyone, and I do mean every single person that visits your store over the next few weeks is going to buy something from someone. It may be your store, if it’s not it will be another store or online, but I promise you that between today and December 25th, they are going to buy something. The whole “well I have time” is bull. It’s something that people say to get us away from our mission. Why in the world would they waste time “thinking about it” when you have the thing they’re looking for, at a price they can afford. If they’re giving you smokescreen objections, you need to root out the real objection.
3. Believe That They are Better Off Than You Are
Three questions for all of you. First, how many of you have sold something over a year ago that you collected a commission on, which your customer is still happily enjoying? The answer is all of us, because even if you’re “not on commission” you’re paid to perform.
Second, how many of you still have every dollar from that sale you made over a year ago? I’m guessing none.
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Just one more question, who got the better deal?
As salespeople, we believe that closing is something we “do” to our guests, rather than “for” our guests. We’re lucky, the things we sell last a lifetime. The gifts that our guests buy from us this year are the best gifts they will give this year. We are doing our guests a service by selling them, they are not doing us a favor when buying.
So, if you do nothing else this holiday season, greet your guests right away, assume they are going to make a purchase, and believe in your heart that you are doing right by them every time you make a sale. They’re pre-closed when they enter your store, it’s up to us to guide them the rest of the way.