***Retail Sales: Acknowledge Potential Customers in Retail Selling

By Sam Manfer
The official guide to Sales Management Training

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Wal-Mart may conger up some images for you, yet one thing Wal-Mart does is to have a Greeter to make people feel welcome. Even the old K-Mart use to announces “Welcome K-Mart shoppers.” Unfortunately, after the Greeter or the welcome message, you get lost in the sea of people and merchandise ...Wal-Mart may conger up some images for you, yet one thing Wal-Mart does is to have a Greeter to make people feel welcome. Even the old K-Mart use to announces “Welcome K-Mart shoppers.” Unfortunately, after the Greeter or the welcome message, you get lost in the sea of people and merchandise and it’s next to impossible to find someone to show you where to find what you’re looking for, because they’re too busy stocking shelves.

So always greet your customers. If all your people are busy with other customers, someone should at least acknowledge the new entrant. Even the post office gives you a number. Don’t ignore them or make them feel like an intruder. Let them know how long the wait will be and point them to a sitting area where they can peruse or sit with a bottle of water, look at a video promo or experience pleasantness. This is a good captive advertising moment. If your facility is big with lots to see, have a map with a numbered walking tour.

Burn this into your staff’s heads. People are coming into your establishment for ideas and/or to buy. Both are good for your business. The better the experience the more they will buy and buy and buy.

Lose “Can I help you?”

It’s like asking the Pope, “Are you Catholic?” As I said above, people come into your place of business for a reason. Of course you can help them. However, to do this your front-line people have to: (1) Make them comfortable; (2) Find out why they came in (their motivation); and (3) Find out what their perfect something looks like, that they are willing to spend and spend and spend on.

Now let’s wrap this up. Make your customer have a wonderful experience in your Center. To do this you will have to first convince yourself that it’s all about the customer. I’m not saying to succumb to abusive people that give no energy and waste your time. I am saying, however, if they are a motivated buyer and they have a pleasant experience, they may buy a lot more than they originally intended and they will tell their friends how great it was.

Second, show your employees what to do. Don’t think for one minute they should know what to do, or that you will insult their intelligence by spelling it out. This is your Center, and it should be done your way. They don’t know your way unless you tell them, and it’s your responsibility to tell them explicitly. Otherwise, they won’t succeed. You’ll get upset and the demotivating cycle will begin.

Finally, you have to monitor and give feedback. Look for the positives. “That part of what you did was good.” Don’t tell what was done wrong, but rather how to do it better the next time. “In the future, try doing this or that.” Realize, you cannot just instruct and turn your employees loose. Until there is recognition, reinforcement and reward, the behaviors you desire will not happen. So, to insure success make your business establishment a pleasant experience.