KLEINHANDELSTORIES
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Retail
tales
Tips To Help You Sell More in Retail,
Backed By Science and Bob the Builder
AS RETAIL CHAIN, YOU PROBABLY SPEND A LOT OF
RESOURCES GETTING PEOPLE TO WALK THROUGH
YOUR DOORS. BUT, WHAT DO YOU DO ONCE
THEY'RE IN? CHANCES ARE, MORE OFTEN THAN
NOT, YOU LEAVE IT UP TO CHANCE, LUCK, OR
GOOD FORTUNE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THAT
PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER WILL BUY SOMETHING
OR NOT..
Or perhaps you've got a way with words, or have hired some-
one who you can't help but admire when it comes to their abi-
lity to make a sale, perhaps calling it an art, or an innate talent
they were probably born with.
Let’s look at four key areas of focus with lots of tips and insights
inbetween that are sure to help you sell more and build greater
customer loyalty resulting in a more solid customer base and
repeat sales.
Let's dive in.
You Don't Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
How do you get onto the right foot when engaging a customer
who just walked in? You might have heard that it takes one-
tenth of a second to form a first impression of someone, but
let's look at what's actually taking place inside a person's mind
when they make that judgement.
Social scientist Amy Cuddy explains that when we first form a
first impression, we actually form two. Firstly, we're determi-
ning how warm and trustworthy the person is, and secondly,
we're trying to answer the questions, "what are this person's
intentions towards me?" and "how strong and competent is
this person?"
According to Cuddy, these two dimensions make up 80 to 90
percent of an overall first impression which holds true across
cultures. We've all walked into stores and been approached by
sales associates who made us feel suspicious, uncomfortable,
and on our guard. And we've had the opposite experience of
feeling helped, comforted and relaxed. So, what accounts for
the difference.
Cuddy has quite a few suggestions which would help you make
your customers feel more at ease, some of them are:
Let the other person speak first. You can do this by simply
asking a question. Our typical thinking is taking charge of the
conversation and attempting to be in control, but that doesn't
pan out so well when trying to understand your customer's
needs and how your business and products fulfil them.
Collect information about the other person's interest. Getting
the other person to talk about themselves or what we like to
call "making small talk" goes a long way. Research proves that
just five minutes of "small talk" before a negotiation increases
the amount of value created in the negotiation.
Next, let's look at study that attempted to increase room service
tips for waiters in hotels. Researchers discovered that there was
a quick, easy, and simple way to increase their tips. Can you
guess what it might be?
Starting the interaction with a positive comment. Obvious
right?
The researchers discovered that as hotel guests opened the
door, waiters simply said "good morning" and gave a positive
weather forecast. Just a single positive comment increased tips
by 27 percent. To be continued in the next issue of Hinterlan-
der. Source: Shopify Inc.
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