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ARCHIVE
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Issue 3
May 13, 2004
Vol. 1
Issue 3
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Issue 2
April 14, 2004
Vol. 1
Issue 2
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Issue 1
March 1, 2004
Vol. 1
Issue 1
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RETAIL SELLING SKILLS
A 15 Point Plan to Increase Sales in Your Stores
www.hownet.com
by Ed Legum, President of The Edmond-Howard Network
Visit a mall today, stop the first ten people you meet, and ask them, “What is your opinion of the typical store salesperson?” What adjectives do you think they’d use? We’ve asked this question thousands of times across the United States and Canada. Here are the answers we hear most often: pushy, disinterested, unknowledgeable, unavailable, rude, hurried, inexperienced, confused, bored, anxious to go home.
The way it was in 1956
My grandmother used to walk me over to Teddy Earle’s corner grocery store, although we always just called it Teddy’s. I watched as she handed Teddy a list of things she needed. Teddy then went around the store, and got everything for her. He bagged it all up, and handed her the goods. Teddy always wore a white apron, and a big smile on his face.
If it was raining, or too hot, or too cold, my grandmother would call Teddy and tell him over the phone what she needed. An hour later Teddy would come down the street with his red wagon full of groceries. He’d wheel it right into the back yard, let himself in the back door, and put all the perishable groceries away in the ice box.
It’s funny, I never remember Teddy saying to my grandmother, “May I help you?” Instead he greeted her by name. And he always said hello to me, and made sure my grandmother got me a cold Coke, or a chocolate covered donut.
I never remember Teddy saying to my grandmother, “Will that be all?” Instead, he would tell her how he just brought in some fresh smoked fish and bagels from Baltimore.
So, how can a wireless retail Sales Associate become again the salesperson that my grandmother found in Teddy’s grocery store? Consider these four tools of retail selling:
1 Product knowledge
2 Energy (making the most of every opportunity)
3 People skills
4 P __ __ __ (This is illustrated in the story below.)
I walked into an electronics store in Richmond, Virginia, walked up to the salesman, and asked outright, “What’s the story on wireless phones?”
He said, “Well, that depends. Are you looking for a cellular phone, a digital phone, or a smart phone?”
I said, “I don’t know. What’s the story on wireless phones?”
He said, “Are you looking for a phone for your car, or one that you carry around with you?”
I said, “I don’t know. Where are your phones?”
He said, “Over there.” He pointed.
I said, “What can you tell me about these phones?”
He said, “Well, that depends. Are you looking for a cellular phone, a digital phone, or a smart phone?”
I said (mercifully), “What’s the difference?”
He said, “Well, that phone is free, and that one is $29, and that one is $119, and this one is $249, but it’s digital, and that one is $699, because it’s got a PDA in it and you can get stock quotes.”
I said, “What will it cost to get it installed in my car?”
He said, “We don’t do installations.”
I said, “Still, what would it cost if you did?”
He said, “I told you, we don’t do installations.”
I said, “Well, how do I get it installed?”
He said, “You can do it yourself. It’s easy.”
I said, “Don’t I need an antenna, or something?”
He said, “We don’t do installations.”
I said, “Well, I guess I can’t get this phone here.”
He said, “There’s a place down the street that will give you a phone free and install it free, too.”
He was now quite helpful. He gave me all the information I needed to buy it somewhere else.
My salesperson lacked the fourth tool of retail selling –
a plan. He had no earthly idea of what to say to someone who walked into his store and wanted to know all about wireless communications.
A 15-point plan to increase sales in your stores
1. Greet each customer and introduce yourself by name.
2. Invite call-ins to visit the store, and give them reasons why. Ask them to ask for you by name.
3. Never prejudge your customers.
4. Ask questions to determine needs before you suggest specific phones and plans.
5. Ask your customers to draw out on your coverage map where they will be using the phone.
6. Explain why your company offers a choice of rate plans.
7. Instead of defaulting to the lowest cost service plan, help your customer project their actual usage.
8. Determine their level of interest before you demonstrate.
9. Sell the obvious. Appeal to the five senses. Let your customers play with the phone.
10. Ask for confirmation: do they like what they see and hear and touch?
11. Anticipate and prepare for common objections.
12. Never say, “Will that be all?”
13. Suggest accessories that will help your customers get the most out of their phones.
14. Suggest enhanced services that will help your customers get the most out of their service.
15. Suggest universal items that anyone who comes into your store can use. For example, those little notepads that affix to your car’s windshield can be used by almost everyone that enters your store. Display them at the point of sale counter, and suggest them to every customer.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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TRACPOINT WIRELESS PRESS RELEASE
www.tracpointwireless.com
by TracPoint Wireless
TRACPOINT WIRELESS LAUNCHES NEW TURNKEY SALES AND MARKETING PROGRAMS FOR WIRELESS DEALERS AND RETAILERS TOPSFIELD, MA
(Business Wire) - June 8, 2004—TracPoint Wireless today introduced a suite of revenue programs and value-added services for wireless dealers and retailers. With intense competition for new wireless subscribers, TracPoint’s sales and marketing programs are designed to help wireless dealers and retailers increase new subscription activity in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace
[FULL STORY]
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