Advice for retailers during tough times: stay positive
Advice for retailers during tough times: stay positive
As I flipped through the pages, I overhead a conservation between a store employee and a customer. The customer was discussing the high jobless statistics in Canada that had been announced earlier that day. He was pretty pessimistic, predicting that the economy would tank in the months ahead.
The store employee was in complete lockstep with the customer about the deteriorating state of Canada’s economy. He even added his own negative thoughts to the conversation. In my opinion, this was a big mistake.
The employee could have handled the conversation differently. He could have agreed with the customer in principle, but politely steered the conversation away from the economy, by mentioning the great deals the store was offering on selected titles. He could have recommended a new author or asked the customer what kinds of books he liked to read.
The result: I didn’t buy the book. The negative tone of the conversation convinced me to be more prudent with my money and to forgo the purchase.
When people visit retail stores, there is a reasonable expectation that they will make a purchase. It’s never a slam dunk, but if the stars are aligned properly, if the right merchandise is displayed correctly and priced well, then customers are more predisposed to buy.
Customers don’t visit your store to hear bad news. They come to your store hoping to find something they want and to have a positive buying experience. If they want bad news, they’ll pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio.
The book store employee missed a great opportunity to influence a sale to the customer he was speaking with. He also missed an opportunity to influence my purchasing decision, and whoever else happened to be eavesdropping.
Retail employees should be coached in how to talk to customers. Part of their job is to sell and to influence buying decisions. It’s not to gripe about their lives or the rotten state of the economy with customers.
Retailers take heed: There’s enough bad news in the air, without adding fuel to the fire. When customers come into your store, they want to feel good. They want to feel good about buying.
Advice for retailers during tough times stay positive - To learn more about this author, visit Ross Fattori's Website.
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I was at a major book store the other day, eyeing a book I wanted to buy. The book was discounted to $6. That’s not a lot of money, but with a slowing economy, discretionary purchases are becoming less frequent, and consumers are scrutinizing every purchase they make.
As I flipped through the pages, I overhead a conservation between a store employee and a customer. The customer was discussing the high jobless statistics in Canada that had been announced earlier that day. He was pretty pessimistic, predicting that the economy would tank in the months ahead.
The store employee was in complete lockstep with the customer about the deteriorating state of Canada’s economy. He even added his own negative thoughts to the conversation. In my opinion, this was a big mistake.
The employee could have handled the conversation differently. He could have agreed with the customer in principle, but politely steered the conversation away from the economy, by mentioning the great deals the store was offering on selected titles. He could have recommended a new author or asked the customer what kinds of books he liked to read.
The result: I didn’t buy the book. The negative tone of the conversation convinced me to be more prudent with my money and to forgo the purchase.
When people visit retail stores, there is a reasonable expectation that they will make a purchase. It’s never a slam dunk, but if the stars are aligned properly, if the right merchandise is displayed correctly and priced well, then customers are more predisposed to buy.
Customers don’t visit your store to hear bad news. They come to your store hoping to find something they want and to have a positive buying experience. If they want bad news, they’ll pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio.
The book store employee missed a great opportunity to influence a sale to the customer he was speaking with. He also missed an opportunity to influence my purchasing decision, and whoever else happened to be eavesdropping.
Retail employees should be coached in how to talk to customers. Part of their job is to sell and to influence buying decisions. It’s not to gripe about their lives or the rotten state of the economy with customers.
Retailers take heed: There’s enough bad news in the air, without adding fuel to the fire. When customers come into your store, they want to feel good. They want to feel good about buying.
Advice for retailers during tough times stay positive - To learn more about this author, visit Ross Fattori's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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