Educating The Mattress Customer

Furniture World News Desk on 9/2/2015

by David Benbow

Just the other day, my wife and I went shopping for a badly needed kitchen and steak knife set. After years of sawing thru tender steaks, my wife decided it was about time for good quality knives. The trouble is, neither of us knew anything about what to buy. Luckily for us, we found a “salesman” or I should say, a saleslady. Her name was Betty, and she said she had 40 years of retail sales experience. It showed. Betty gave us a 15 minute seminar on features and benefits of her various products, with stress on the benefits. She qualified us and found out what we needed in a knife set; then she proceeded to educate us on proper usage, proper care and storage. At no time did she recommend a set, but gave us all the information we needed to make our decision. It was a masterful sales performance, and we not only left with a quality knife set, but we left happy and satisfied that we had made the right decision.

How often does this kind of demonstration of skill happen in your average mattress showroom? Far too seldom, it is my unhappy task to report. Most mattress shoppers are in a similar boat that my wife and I were in when we were looking for a new kitchen utensil set. They are not sure what they want or need, and don’t usually know what questions to ask. That is why educating the customer is so important to making the sale.

Of course, being able to educate the customer requires that the RSA (Retail Sales Associate) have a solid foundation in the knowledge of his products. How many RSAs really know their mattress and bedding products? Unfortunately, probably not all that many, according to my observations through the years.

The retail customer that is in the market for a premium bedding set usually is pretty intelligent. They actually understand most anything an informative RSA has to say. They know they want a quality set, but they probably have read confusing and contradictory data on-line and in consumer magazines. When they walk into the showroom, they aren’t just looking for a new bed, they are looking for accurate information and education in making the right decision. The RSA who fails to provide this education will probably not get the sale. As the old saying goes, “customers will keep shopping until they find a salesman.” No less an authority than John F. Lawhon, in fact, defined sales as “providing the information the customer needs to make a proper buying decision.” The RSA that stands mute while the customer walks around the showroom pushing mattresses with the palms of their hands, does not deserve the sale and, justly, will not get it.

There is, however, more to this discussion than merely providing information to the shopper. An RSA who demonstrates his knowledge and is genuinely helpful to the mattress shopper builds credibility and trust in the eyes of that shopper and would-be customer. People buy from salespeople they like and trust. The smart RSA has specialized knowledge that the customer needs and is looking for. I have also noticed that the shopper who has been educated feels an obligation to the RSA who provides the information. This implied obligation can be part of a powerful CLOSE to the sale.

The whole point of this article is lost, however, if the RSA does not equip himself with the requisite product knowledge. Before the RSA can educate the customer, he must first educate himself. Most stores provide some training for their RSAs, but that training is just the beginning of the RSA’s own education. The acquisition of product knowledge never ends. New products hit the showroom floor nearly every day. The RSA must show some initiative, study hard and become an EXPERT on the products he is selling.

What about sales trainers who say, “You can give the shopper too much information. Some RSAs just sit and bloviate to the customer all day and never ask for the sale.” My response is to say this; yes, you can overdo it. But, too little education is much worse than too much education. With experience, the RSA who educates his shoppers will learn to recognize when he has given enough information and when the shopper is ready to become a customer.

About the Author: David Benbow, a twenty-three year veteran of the mattress and bedding industry, is owner of Mattress Retail Training Company. Dave’s company offers mattress retailers a full array of retail guidance; from small store management to training retail sales associates (RSAs.) Dave’s many years of hands-on experience as retail sales associate, store manager, sales manager/trainer and store owner of multiple stores in six different American metropolitan areas uniquely qualifies him as an expert in selling bedding at the retail level.

David is the author of the recently published book, “How to Win the Battle for Mattress Sales, the Bed Seller’s Manual”. This book is the first book to systematically present a complete, organized, but easily read and understood text book for mattress and bedding retail sales associates, beginner and experienced professional alike. It is a complete training course in one 292 page book. The book can be purchased on-line at  http://www.bedsellersmanual.com.

He also offers hands-on training classes for retailers on a variety of subjects and issues as well as on-line classes that can be downloaded from the websites mentioned above.

David can be contacted via e-mail at dave@bedsellersmanual.com or in person at 361-648-3775. Email David Benbow

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