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 Retail's Best Selling Book!
Now in it's 11th printing!
"NO THANKS, I'M JUST
LOOKING!"
Professional Retail Sales Techniques
For Turning Shoppers Into Buyers
By Harry J. Friedman
An excerpt from...
Chapter Two - Opening The Sale
The Primary Goal of Opening the Sale is to Get Past Resistance
What happens when a salesperson greets a customer in a retail store? Do you think you
can predict the response in 90 percent of all these contacts? You bet you can: it's "No
thanks, I'm just looking." It's amazing how many salespeople hear this and never seem to
figure out how to get beyond that reply. I'm not talking about how to handle it once you
have heard it - I mean how to avoid getting that response to begin with. I was in a store
recently where the salesperson said, "Are you looking for anything in particular, or are
you just looking?" Talk about sleeping on the job! I had the irresistible desire to smack
him and tell him to wake up!
Establish a Person-to Person Relationship Rather Than a Salesperson-to-Customer Relationship
A person-to-person relationship is the opposite of what I refer to as "clerking." Think of
the last time you were in a store. Can you remember the kind of relationship you had with
the salesperson? Or how about doing this exercise: Write down the stores and the
salespeople you can name that you go back to time and time again because of the
personal relationship and the terrific service. This entire process begins in the opening of the sale. Take the few extra seconds in the
beginning and you will have a customer who not only enjoys the process, but might
spend a lot more money.
OPENING LINES
If you greet a customer with a business line, then you will get a reactive and resistant
response such as, "I'm just looking," or something similar. What is even more amazing
is that most of the time customers don't even know they are saying it. It's a spontaneous
reaction - but customers also know that it works and sends salespeople away. I'm sure
you would agree it would be nice if we could go up to customers and be helpful and say,
"What can I do for you?" or "How can I be of assistance?" Well folks, here's the truth. It
does work.with three out of ten customers who know what they want, or with people
who go to McDonalds. But not if you want to sell to the majority of the people you talk
to in a retail store, where people really don't need what you have. Therefore, rule
number one in creating an opening dialogue would be:
Opening Lines Must Have Nothing To Do With Business
You really shouldn't go any further in this book until you understand that your opening
salutation cannot be about business. It's as if you have a neon sign over your head that
reads, "Don't trust me, I'm a salesperson." If your opening cannot be business related to
be effective, then it holds true that the most used and written-about technique, the
"merchandise approach," would also be ineffective.
The Merchandise Approach is Ineffective and Rude
My brother calls me on the phone and tells me that he has just purchased a $500 tennis
racquet. I think, "That's reasonable - for someone who is nuts!" I don't like tennis, and I
find what he is telling me a little difficult to understand, particularly since he isn't that
great a tennis player. I am, however, a scuba diver and I need a new mask and snorkel.
As I enter the sporting goods store all excited about getting a new mask, what should be
on display in the front of the store? You've got it - tennis racquets. I stop and pick up -
guess which one? You've got it again. The $500 racquet just like the one my brother
purchased. As I'm looking to see if it has a motor or some built-in parts to help his game,
out of nowhere a salesperson comes over and says, "It just came in, isn't it a beauty? I'm
sure that no matter how well you play the game now, it will help improve your game."
Any guesses about what I'm thinking? "Get off my back, you idiot. I don't want a
racquet."
A very talented salesperson in Florida told me about the first time she was on the selling
floor. She had just been promoted to the floor from a clerical job. She eyed a customer
coming in and started the long journey of making her first presentation. The customer
had his head buried in a ring showcase in the front of the store. She walked over and
started the conversation by saying, "I see that you are interested in our beautiful rings."
His simple reply? "No, I'm the carpenter and I was told the case needed repair."
First off, how could you possibly determine what customers want or why they have
come in by what catches their eye, or where they just happen to stop? Second, it's rude to
have someone come into your store, where you spend a major portion of your life, and
not even say "Hello" before you start your presentation. The merchandise approach is
lazy and can ruin more relationships than it helps.
However, if you are inclined to sell only two or three out of the ten people that come in,
use it because there will always be two or three who know what they want and won't let
even you deter them - no matter how hard you try and mess things up.
Opening Lines Should be Questions to Encourage Conversation
Person-to-person conversations are the key ingredient in the process of breaking down
resistance. Short and quick statements do not get you anywhere. Have some fun. Make
your questions interesting. But don't forget to make your initial greeting a question.
It must have been 15 years or so ago that a lady came into the store with a child in a
stroller. You might think I would have said, "What a beautiful baby?" Sound good? No
way. It's not a question and doesn't get you past the resistance that may be there. This is
what I did say. "That's a beautiful little baby. Where did you get it?" Now I know you
might be laughing, but the truth is that I used the line then and have been using it ever
since. It has never, ever failed to get a terrific response.
Available January 2012 in 240-Page Hardcover or E-Book!
Pre-order Hardcover Now at a Discount from:
The Friedman Group
Corporate Headquarters
Call: 888-611-4304 or 310-590-1248
Fax: 310-590-1555
E-mail:info@thefriedmangroup.com>
Write: The Friedman Group
..........5759 Uplander Way
..........Culver City, CA 90230
..........USA
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