Mike Cooper
When someone asks, 'What you do for a living', what do you tell them? Chances are you might say you’re an orchardist, a wine maker, a barrel maker, a candle stick maker or one of many other titles, none of which include "salesman".
But, no matter what title you give yourself, you are a salesman. Let me repeat that, you are a salesman! It’s ok though, you don’t need to feel sleazy or embarrassed about it. The fact is that if your product doesn’t sell you won’t be in business and if you are the one responsible for making those sales happen, you’re a salesman!
We all know and dislike that cliché of the used car salesman, or the vacuum salesman who came to your door in the 80’s trying to push something on you that you really didn’t want. The key to being a good salesman today is knowing that you don’t need to portray that image to be good at sales. In fact I am positive that the further you are from being one of those examples the better you will be at connecting with your customer.
In our last column we learned a lesson on up-selling from a clown and how simply asking "Would you like fries with that?" helped build an empire of fast food restaurants. We also gave some great examples of how to price your products to encourage up-sells. If you missed that article I urge you to find that issue and give it a read, or look for it on www.orchardandvine.net. This time I want to go a step further and give some practical ideas on how to encourage up-sells and make it effortless, or dare I say, even fun.
To be effective at up-selling requires patience, detailed observation, resilience and some skill. Here are five tips to help you get a little more revenue from each customer. Remember, a small extra sale with each customer adds up to a lot at the end of the year.
- Get people talking, People love it when you show interest in them. The better the conversation, the longer a customer stays in the store, the more they tend to spend and the greater the chance they’ll become a repeat customer. Conversation helps build a relationship, showcases your product knowledge and makes the customer feel like you’re their friend instead of a salesperson. How, though?
- Get your customers talking by asking them open-ended questions. You don’t want their response to be "yes" or "no". You can’t learn anything about them, how they plan to use your product or how much they’re able to spend if all you can get out of them is a yes or no. This process will reveal products or services that the customers didn’t intend to buy. Try asking questions like: What are you planning to use this product for? How will you be using this product? How often will you be using this product? What kind of budget did you have in mind on spending on this product?
- Suggest products and accessories your customers need. The answers to your open-ended questions will help you suggest products the customer might need to solve a problem they expressed during your conversation. If you’re suggesting a more expensive product than the one they came to the store to purchase, always explain its features, benefits and why this product is better suited to fulfill their needs. Not every up-selling story has a happy ending. How you handle rejection can send a message to the customer about how genuine your recommendations really were.
- Let your customers use their senses. Having a sample product out that people can smell, touch or taste makes a sale a lot easier than trying to convince them they need to purchase it. The sample product you are going to get in their hands should be your premium product. You want them to be wowed by that product! That way when they go to see a lower model of the product they immediately see the difference and are more compelled to want the higher end product because they know what they will be missing if they sacrifice for the lower model.
- Close the sale the same way you started it Remember how friendly you were when they came in? Act the same way throughout the entire transaction, tell them your name and don’t forget to thank them for shopping at your business before they leave.
Up-selling does not need to be an uncomfortable task. By having the right tactics in place you can make sure it’s easy, fun, and eventually, it becomes part of your routine. ■
Mike Cooper is the owner of Black Mountain Media.
Send Mike a note at: mike@blackmountainmedia.ca
See what Black Mountain does at: www.blackmountainmedia.ca
You can also call: 778-214-0519
