My first job was as a 16 year old Saturday girl at Woolworth's, where, for some strange reason, I usually managed to get what was regarded as the plum role of serving behind the cosmetics counter (this was in the days before self-service and paying at a check out).
I’d work with full-time sales assistants who, for the most part, chatted to each other, took payment from the customers, put in their time and collected their pay at the end of each week.
I figured that if I was going to spend eight hours (give or take) every Saturday behind that counter, I might as well learn as much as possible about the stock carried and the store’s customers.
Taking in whether they were wearing make up was usually enough of a guideline to assess whether the customer was likely to require help on selection or would prefer to look around in her own time.
I noticed that many of the women who stopped by the counter didn’t wear any make up and discovered by gentle questioning that they generally wouldn't spend money on what they considered to be frivolities. They most often wanted to buy a little something for some upcoming special event. Therefore to spend even four shillings (twenty pence) on a small lipstick and matching nail varnish (if they could find one) was a Big Thing. So we’d spend ages selecting the right colour lipstick first (nothing too bold or ‘brassy’), testing it out on the inside of the customer’s wrist, and then try and match it up with a discreet pearl effect nail varnish.
Sometimes they’d be particularly daring and succumb to some mascara (always brown rather than the harsher black, unless their colouring and skin tone dictated otherwise), and, on rare occasions, a gentle powder eye shadow.
I’m not making fun of these women; that’s the way it was then. And it taught me my first ever sales lesson, though I didn't think of it in those terms then:
They weren't buying a lipstick or nail varnish, they were buying something to give themselves confidence and, together we worked out what would suit them, achieve that desired result, yet let them stay within their comfort zone.
And they would come back!
I know that this is a somewhat simplistic example, but what we sell (unless it's a commodity) is usually what our customers see as a vehicle either to achieve a desired end or avoid something unpleasant rather than an end in and of itself. If you don't spend the time discovering what end they want to achieve, chances are your sales activities will be an uphill struggle.
Happy hunting!
Linda
PS More tips and pointers athttp://www.sellingforbusiness.com
Find out what your customers REALLY want - To learn more about this author, visit Linda Mattacks's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 The softest sell
|
| |
“Don't talk to me about telephoning or writing to past customers,” exclaimed the MD. “The last time we did that we expected a load of add-ons and easy sales, but all we got was complaints. Our service engineers wer...
|
|
Finding New Customers For Your Business
|
| |
New customers and new businesses require two things from any business person or company. Knowledge of the marketplace, a clear understanding of all the dynamics of marketing, and action are all required to locate, a...
|
|
Whats in a name?
|
| |
A: Profit.
If you know exactly who your customers are, and have their name and address, then you can use this information to help both your customers and yourself.
|
|
Tips for Powerful Customer Service - Part Three
|
| |
Concluding this series of articles providing powerful tips to help you
- and your people - to gain a positive reaction from your Customers
|
|
How to find out what your customers want
|
| |
Finding out what your customers want can transform your business. Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking shows you how to find out.
|
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
Leanne Hoagland Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland Smith's Website |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
Linda Mattacks
(Visit Linda's Website)
"Linda Mattacks is one of those rare
professionals who combine deep
strategy-awareness with a thoroughly
practical approach to business marketing.
What's more, she is as much a hard-nosed
and sales-driven results seeker as she is
an intuitive people person who understands
what makes everyone tick. She has built a
wealth of experience in sales training,
business research, marketing campaign
planning and project management. Linda has
helped organisations of all types and
sizes in the UK and Europe to learn more
about their customers and markets, and
turn that knowledge into revenue. Her
mature and human manner has won her both
business partners' and colleagues'
complete trust, which has opened many new
opportunities for all involved.” - Jaakko
Alanko - MD McCann-Erickson, Business
Division, London, England ... Linda
Mattacks M IDM (the Institute of Direct
Marketing) is a trainer and mentor. She
has developed Selling For Business, a
course that combines the sales, research
and contact marketing skills that enable
individual entrepreneurs and small
businesses to compete successfully with
large organisations. Please visit www.sel
lingforbusiness.com for more details
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
