Know Where to Go for Answers

The scene was a Los Angeles County Superior Court deposition room.
     Because the witness was a child, the attorney set out some basics. Holding up a pen, the attorney said, “If I were to tell you that this pen is red, would that be the truth or a lie?”
     Since the pen did indeed appear to be red, the child answered, “The truth.”
     “Very good,” said the attorney. “And if I were to say that dogs could talk, would that be the truth or a lie?”
     “The truth,” replied the child.
     “Really?,” said the attorney, having failed to heed the fundamental advice to know precisely what the witness is going to answer before you ask the question.
     “Dogs can talk?,” he continued, “What do they say?”
     In the midst of this examination of veracity and falsehood, the witness chose to avoid exaggerating, even a little. “I don’t know,” replied the child. “I don’t talk dog.”
     In that dialogue, the child had strengthened credibility as an expert.
     Your shoppers love being served by experts. In fact, they judge the salesperson’s expertise even before the two start talking. The salesperson’s dress and body language say a lot as the prospective customer asks, “How much does this salesperson look like somebody I’d like to be?” If the store is busy, does the salesperson appear to have things under control? If so, that’s the mark of an expert.
     Then as the salesperson asks questions and answers the customer’s questions, it gets clearer. So do your floor staff know where all the merchandise is located? Are they aware of the comparative features of brands in their department? Can they explain them to the customer if asked? Can they also explain other things well?
     Staff your store with experts who enjoy sharing their knowledge with customers in a team-oriented way. Customers want sales staff who know it all, but without acting like stuffy know-it-alls. Retired journeyman plumbers make terrible hardware store employees if they have trouble explaining the steps to replace a faucet. Teens with a wonderful sense of fashion style are bad clothing department advisors if they label some teen customers as beyond fashion rescue.
     Sure, each of your staff won’t know everything. Most shoppers don’t expect the salesperson to. They do expect the salesperson to get the answer when they don’t know and to do a personal handoff to another expert whenever necessary.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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Have Staff Who Show and Share Expertise