Success in Sales - if the shoe fits....

As someone who has been involved for around 15 years in sales training, I constantly observe how sales people - whatever they are selling - engage in the sales process.

And I regularly see how, by making just a few simple changes to their approach, and by reading the signals sent by the customer they could achieve results which would be astounding ! And they may even be surprised themselves.

The more the sales person 'connects' with the customer - and does this quickly - the more effective the engagement will be and that leads to an 'easier' sale. But when it goes wrong, the sale walks out the door.

Here's an example. Yesterday, in need of a new pair of shoes, I walked into a menswear store which I could see had a range of shoes. At one of the stands displaying shoes, I began picking up and looking at...oh ..perhaps, 3 or 4 different styles of black shoes. The salesperson who had been standing nearby watching then stepped closer. He picked up a shoe and said "This is a really nice shoe."

I said "I'm sure it is but why would I be interested in that shoe?"

What this man had done was to watch me pick up three different black shoes - and then offer me a BROWN shoe.

Now, this might be an extreme comparison but if I was to go into McDonalds, I wouldn't expect to be asked if I would like a pizza. My behavior indicates what I want -and it ain't pizza !

Clearly, I had indicated that I was interested in a particular style of shoe. What the sales person did, in one sentence, was to indicate that he had no interest in my needs - there was no connection- that he was only interested in selling a particular product. I'd given him clear and positive clues, short of holding up a large sign saying "Black Shoes only".

He agreed with me when I said that brown shoes wouldn't look great with a blue suit.

I left the store - and he missed out on a potential sale.

The customer always sends out signals. Sometimes the signals are very obvious: "I want to buy those shoes - or that car - now."

Mostly, the signals are far less obvious - but they are there and the successful sales person reads and acts on those signals.

If you're in sales - or any interaction or relationship which involves a customer - how proficient are you at 'reading' the signals which the customer is sending out ?

Remember this: even if the customer isn't saying anything, they are communicating.

Now I'm off to find another shoe shop.