doing this . While Blaine may know well in advance which guitar they will end up choosing , the customer still has to take the time to go through the whole process for themselves . Ultimately , the end goal is for the customer to feel good about their purchase , and tell everybody what a great shopping experience they had . Money can ’ t buy such wonderful advertising .
“ The best style is connecting with customer ; the trick is to match the customer ’ s style ,” McNamee tells me . “ You don ’ t want to overload a customer with too much information . They ’ ll get confused and ‘ think about it ’ instead of deciding to buy … Show them three options — the one they ’ re likely to buy , bracketed by two different price points . Often price and features are related , so this provides some points of difference to discuss .”
And remember , the teaching and information can go both ways . No one ever really knows everything . “ I learn stuff from customers all the time — they point out stuff I don ’ t know ,” McNamee adds . “ Thank them , and be gracious about it .”
THE MANAGER
Craig Spelliscy is the store manager . One day when the store was quiet , a teenager came in with his mom , shopping for an electric guitar . As a starting point , Spelliscy asked , “ Do you see any guitar you like the look of ?” The
Craig Spelliscy teenager said , “ I really like that one up there ,” and pointed to a heavily-worn 1964 Stratocaster on consignment . Spelliscy told him that ’ s a genuine vintage instrument , priced at $ 25,000 , and the boy said , “ Oops ! Obviously not going to get that one .” Spelliscy paused a moment , then said , “ Meh , let ’ s play the Strat . I ’ ll get a ladder and bring it down .” He set up a chair and an amp so the teenager could have the experience of playing a guitar that was older than he was .
Afterwards I said to Spelliscy , “ Wow ! What story will he be telling at the dinner table tonight ?!” We reminisced about all the times as teenagers we got kicked out of guitar stores for hanging around even though we didn ’ t have money to buy anything . Yet here we were years later , both working in a guitar shop ; music had become a big part of our lives .
This illustrates the concept of the “ lifetime value ” of a customer . A teenager may not have much money to spend , but he ’ s not going to be a teenager forever . Providing a pleasant , memorable experience makes the customer more likely to shop at your store in the future .
Spelliscy has a child-like enthusiasm about guitars . He ’ ll choose a cool point about a guitar and stretch it out . His style is very chill , very comfy . It ’ s as if he and the customer met at a dinner party , and they ’ re just buddies , hanging out .
“ It might stress you out , as a manager , if [ your staff ] don ’ t have the same style as you , but if it works , it works . You can ’ t fight it ,” he says . “ Number one is come with as much knowledge as you can . Try and be up on that , because all the information is available online .”
Spelliscy notes that he tries not to show his own opinions too much . Instead , he focuses on talking “ favourably but honestly ” about the equipment . “ Most of sales is getting to know people . Figure out how they ’ re using the instruments . The main thing is to listen !” he adds .
THE OTHER MANAGER
When it ’ s Spelliscy ’ s day off , the other manager is Jonathan Lindsey . Sometimes I would watch him helping a customer who was buying their first guitar . Being so new to guitar , they didn ’ t even know what questions to ask . He ’ s been
Jonathan Lindsey through it so many times , and sometimes instead of answering what they asked , he would provide them with the information he knew they needed at this point in the sales process . He would do it so seamlessly , they didn ’ t even realize the question they asked went unanswered . Lindsey was being kind by guiding the customer through the buying decision , and directing them gently from the wrong question to the right answer , without contradicting them or pointing out their lack of knowledge .
This is a really important point . As a musician , you know you ’ re always in the middle . No matter how much you know about music , no matter how well you play your instrument , you can always find someone who knows so much you could learn , and someone who ’ s absolutely in awe of your ability .
“ This is what customers expect when they walk into a music store : to be treated with respect , and helped with their learning process , wherever they are to begin with . It ’ s the salesperson ’ s job to figure out where they ’ re at , and bring them along from there ,” Lindsey says . “ Experts and beginners require markedly different selling styles , so my approach is going to vary . But in both groups , some want a lot of product knowledge , while others are more into the ‘ feel ’ of it . It ’ s a matter of starting a conversation , to get a sense of what selling style is appropriate .”
As a last note of practical advice , one of Lindsey ’ s strategies is to show the customer very dissimilar options . This , he says , “ will usually elicit some sort of reaction from the customer that will clarify what they ’ re after .”
THE PERSONAL TOUCH
Nick Fefer has the ability to chat with anybody . He ’ s taken a keen interest in music and movies , not only from his own generation , but his dad ’ s as well . This gives him a tremendous breadth of pop culture to draw upon . He
Nick Fefer enjoys finding the common ground with people , and just having a conversation . They sit down among the amps , and at some point he asks what brought them into the shop and sets them up to try some gear . If they find something they like , they ’ re really comfortable buying it from Fefer . This guy gets really good reviews . Behind the scenes , he is acutely aware of sales targets and margins , but he never lets this overtake the importance of being personable and taking a genuine interest in his customer .
“ You have to talk to the customer . Everybody wants a ‘ cool ’ guitar — you have to figure out what ’ s cool to them … And no one wants to be ‘ sold to .’ You want to feel like you decided to buy it , and your friend helped you out ,” Fefer shares . “ Sales is connecting the person with the guitar they need , and you ’ re the vital link . Comfort is important ;
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