Scared to buy your sofa? Is the sales expert a help or hindrance?
07/02/12
Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, it’s Saturday afternoon and you decide to partake in a few hours of domestic shopping. You need a new sofa, or a dining table, or maybe an electrical appliance. You get in the car, head to the prime retail hotspots and, wait for it, ‘brace’ yourself... your about to walk into a retail warehouse which is housing a herd of money hungry, energy zapping, tie wearing ‘sales people’, each one ready to stalk you and replace the position your shadow once had.
It’s classic YouTube material, that moment you start changing your normally vertical posture to a new type of archaic ‘ape’ walking. As our ancestors once roamed the earth, you now proceed to wander the aisles, head down, no eye contact, praying you’re not approached. You play aisle to aisle ‘cat and mouse’ in the hope that you can make it to one end of the store and back safely!
I always find it interesting that so many of us find this scenario somewhat intimidating, after all, what can you really be made to do? Are we that controllable that we are guaranteed to come away spending more than we first anticipated?
Sales people are employed to help us not hinder, granted sometimes the more excitable of sales people can overstep the realms of comfortable questioning but the majority of people are experts in what they do. They know a whole lot more about which fridge freezer combination will better suit my needs or which sofa has the better quality of finish, or even which model of TV will give me the quality of picture and sound that I desire.
Selling in its true sense is not about making people buy something that they don’t need. It’s about assisting us in our already considered purchase decisions by answering the questions that we need to know, but just haven’t asked yet. The best sales people talk less and listen more, as this is what we want as customers. A considered approach offering sound advice based on true knowledge and expertise. When sales skills are applied in this way they allow us to feel more confident in our buying decisions and satisfied that we have made the right long term decision.
Thought? Maybe the reason we have this mindset is because the human race more often than not retains the question they have in their mind rather than pose it through a fear of it being a ‘silly’ question. Maybe if we asked more silly questions the sales assistants would be need to roam stores looking to share their knowledge before it starts bursting from their seams.
The key to liaising with sales people is to offer the same level of confidence in what you want to buy, as what they have to sell. Don’t accept anything less than what you wanted and in turn you won’t end up disappointed. Being up sold isn’t a problem, if somebody captures your needs and applies a product that far exceeds your expectations then don’t feel you have to say no because the ‘up sell’ product is more expensive. It’s a common misconception that sales people sometimes exist to sell you something that you don’t need. In reality, we don’t always voice the ‘need’ or want when we have decided to buy a product. Consultative sales people are there to communicate to us and allow us to make informed decisions based on facts. If it’s in budget, the chances are that the product will offer you more satisfaction so ask yourself is this decision in my best interests and if it is, great, but if not, you CAN say no.
In the same way we have utilised those tools at our disposal for centuries to mow the lawn, cook a steak, facilitate a mortgage or find a job, we should be embracing the experience of those experts that, frankly, know more than we do about what we are considering to buy.
Unfortunately, we can’t all know everything about everything: can we? Let’s all try and remain walking upright the next time we need that all important purchase!
What’s your verdict? Are sales experts a help or a hindrance?
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By Dale WilliamsDale is an experienced business owner and director with past successes gained from new business development, account management, man management, leadership and motivation. Dale excelled in previous performance related roles prior to establishing a niche market new business project in Yolk Recruitment Ltd. @dalewills9 |
