Engaging With Shoppers
Part 21 — by Scott Morris
Build reciprocity at the beginning of a sale by giving valuable information to shoppers who’ve researched online
and
believe they know it all.
Serious-minded sales professionals are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to help their customers
and
improve sales. This Next Level Training installment describes a solution your store might employ when shoppers
fail to
engage with your salespeople at various points on retail sales floors!
Engaging at the “Greet”
The normal “greet” occurs when salespeople welcome new customers in a friendly and inviting way, near the store
entrance
or further into the store. Today’s savvy shoppers usually do a lot of website research before visiting stores. A
result
is that more of them believe they don’t need any additional assistance from salespeople.
In extreme cases, you may witness customers rudely pointing their phone at a salesperson and saying, “If we need
you,
we’ll call you!” This kind of behavior poses a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that must be overcome by
salespeople.
That’s because it prevents them from doing their job: finding what customers are looking for, building rapport,
and
helping shoppers to find their perfect choice.
“Shoppers usually do a lot of website research before visiting stores. A result is that more of them
believe
that they
don’t need additional assistance from salespeople.”
While working in retail, I came up with a solution to this problem, based on the fact that when a store offers
something
very valuable for free, shoppers can’t resist engaging to receive it. So initially I asked myself, “What might
be an
ideal gift to give a shopper in this particular situation?” It makes sense that shoppers who’ve researched
products
before visiting a store like to seek out helpful information. So, giving them a great deal more information
might be the
key to breaking down barriers to engagement. I therefore created a series of very informative and helpful
one-page
handouts with names like:
- 12 Key Questions to Ask Myself First!
- Key Needs of Smart Furniture Buyers!
- Eight Very Important Furniture Buying Tips!!!
I found out that when offered one of these handouts with a very brief explanation and without any strings
attached, it
immediately established me as someone who was truly helpful and instantly opened the door wide for further
conversation.
It worked well, because it’s just basic human nature that when someone does something nice, most people wish to
respond
by being nice in return. This concept is referred to as the “principle of reciprocity.”
Engaging at Re-Approach
Sometimes, customers still wanted to browse on their own. And when I re-approached them, some would still be
guarded and
difficult to talk with. To break down that barrier, I gave them another handout, specific to the furniture
category they
were looking at, with titles such as:
- Shopping for a New Bedroom Set? 10 things You Should Know.
- Everything Has Changed! Have You Heard About the 2 ‘Revolutions’ in Sleep?
- Looking for Kids’ Bedroom Furniture? 10 Important Questions and Insights to Guide You!
These handouts, designed to help them at their very point of interest, always generated a great deal of useful
conversation.
My Sales Ambassador”
The handouts revealed additional advantages in generating lots of “be-back” customers. That’s because people who
didn’t
purchase on their first visit brought them home to share information with their significant others. The handouts
became
my “ambassador” in the home, helping shoppers make final buying decisions and reminding them about how helpful
the store
and I were. I later learned that people usually saved these materials, so I printed them on heavy card stock to
make
them more durable. They were also the perfect gift to give to customers who visited the store just to get ideas
for
future purchases. They certainly went a long way to highlight the store and made us stand out compared to other
stores
they’d no doubt be visiting.
“Giving them a great deal more information turns out to be a key to breaking down the barrier to
engagement.”
Do You Have a Card?
Once a shopper finds something they really like, they will often say, “Well, you’ve given me a lot to think
about! Do
you have a card?” Most salespeople will hand them their card and may even walk with them to the door in as
friendly a
manner as possible. However, other salespeople might say, “Sure, I do,” but a little later they’ll ask, “What
seems to
be concerning you the most?”
If your salespeople ask that follow-up question, they often discover that shoppers’ biggest concerns usually have
nothing to do with the merchandise itself. Instead, it’s about some very important room considerations, such as:
- Will the furniture they saw in your store be a good fit, and complement to the style of their room?
- Will it coordinate with their color scheme?
- Will it clash with the textures and patterns of items they already own?
There’s often another unspoken problem lurking in the background that hardly ever gets properly addressed.
Although most
customers are going home to perform a proper room assessment, they often don’t have the slightest idea about how
to
actually do so.
Every room has three different personalities. The first is the room itself, how it looks and feels when empty. Is
it
spacious with lots of windows and sunlight? Perhaps it’s a smaller room with no windows and very dim lighting.
Its
second personality comes into full focus with the addition of furniture, which provides a style statement and
mood-altering colors and finishes. An example would be how a room takes on a completely different look and
appeal when
it contains a sleek, contemporary upholstered group with chrome and glass tables compared to the same room
furnished
with coastal or rustic furnishings.
However, there’s a third room-personality that makes any room personal, and also a cherished family space. It’s
all
about how people choose to decorate it. That very personal expression is only accomplished by adding one’s
favorite
accessories, collections, mementos, wall adornments, plants, and more.
Okay, so what’s all that got to do with the price of tea in China, you may ask? It has everything to do with the
fact
that Mrs. Jones said she needed to go back home to decide whether or not to buy that “china cabinet” she saw in
your
store and liked so much. But she had no idea whatsoever about how to make that decision by using core decorating
principles that would easily allow her to create that stunning look she desired.
So I began thinking, “Why not just put the dozen or so most important decorating principles on a simple handout
too and
send it home with those shoppers?”
The title of that handout was “12 Very Empowering Decorating Insights!” It addressed topics such as selecting a
good
theme for the room, determining its focal point, plus the importance of texture, scale, and balance, to name a
few. It
could be read in less than two minutes, and included a graph for convenient room sketching, assuring everything
would
fit properly. I have to be honest. After I started giving out decorating handouts I didn’t exactly get invited
to
anyone’s family reunion, but it certainly created a lot of repeat loyal customers! This brings us conveniently
to yet
another unique helpfulness of customer handouts: “locking down” their next purchase.
Locking it Down
Imagine that when you shopped for your last major purchase, a salesperson handed you free of charge, “The Top 10
or 12
Things” you should know about buying a car, a house, or a TV set. Have you ever been given anything like that
before? I
sure haven’t!
That decorating handout, printed on a heavy card stock, to which I attached my name and contact information,
really
increased my “be-back” percentage! It also had the surprising unexpected benefit of routinely being shared with
customers’ family and friends.
Plus, at the end of every sale, I also asked customers if there was anyone else they would like me to send one of
the
handouts to and offered to mail it. Everyone seems to know someone who will be moving, getting married, having a
baby,
and so on. If they provided contact information, I followed up with information just right for their home
furnishings
needs.
Conclusion
Many shoppers think they know all there is to know about something they are looking to purchase because they did
their
due diligence online. However, even though they think they know it all, they still lack lots of important
information
needed to make a much more informed purchase. My journey began simply with a need to overcome the obstacle of
the newly
dismissive customer. I didn’t know when I started that it would guide me to insights about how providing helpful
customer handouts, at just the right times in each person’s shopping journey, would greatly benefit them. Thank
you for
letting me share my journey with you! I hope this article will stimulate your thinking about how to engage
customers in
brand new ways to truly help make your store’s experience much more helpful, enjoyable, and profitable. Happy
Selling!
