Don’t get frustrated when your customer tells you she’s “just looking.” Tell her you are glad she is shopping in your store and let her go explore. Despite your urge to follow her through the store, let her wander on her own. Don’t give into the urge to approach because you’re worried she’s been alone for too long. Approach when she shows interest in a specific piece of furniture and engage by asking a friendly question.
Let’s look at a couple of examples.
Your customer stops and sits on a leather sofa.
Sales Person: “What do you think of the leather on that sofa?”
Customer: “It looks and feels beautiful.”
Sales Person: “That is a full-grain leather. It has the softest feel of all leather finishes, and it’s also the most durable.”
Your customer stops to open a drawer of a bedroom chest.
Sales Person: “What do you think of the dovetail joint in that drawer?”
Customer: “Actually, I didn’t notice.”
Sales Person: “Well those drawers are held together with dovetail joints. Dovetail joints are really cool because they are the strongest of all wood joints. Those interlocking fans give lots of gluing area and make it resistant to being pulled apart. Dovetail joints can hold together even without glue.”
Waiting for the customer to show interest in a specific piece of furniture and then approaching with a friendly question helps you start a meaningful conversation and establish your value as a sales person. Salespeople who start their conversations talking about price lose their chance to become a valuable resource who can be trusted to help solve home furnishings needs.
Visit our website and register for our training to become best sales person you can be. www.furnituretrainingcompany.com. Or, feel free to email me at mikep@furnituretrainingcompany.com.
Great advice!