Retail Selling Problems?? It Ain’t the Economy

This is one of those brutally honest blog posts, so if you’ve got thin skin, you may want to skip this post. But to give this topic its proper due, it is my feeling that frankness is our best route of travel.

The Art of Selling Retail is Lost

For the most part, the art of selling retail has been lost in our society. Whenever I go into stores these days, the things I often witness are appalling.

"Trust me, numbers are down because of this economy...I'm at the TOP of my game!!"

Just getting a retail person to say something other than, “How can I help you?” seems to be a monumental task. Sadly, so many retail salespersons do not understand, or at least believe, this simple truth:

If someone has taken the time to come into your store they are there because they want something.

Until salespeople and their managers start understanding this fact, more and more stores will go out of business. For example, how many furniture stores have gone out of business in your town recently? How many restaurants? How many car dealerships?

It Ain’t All About the Economy

Sure, everyone can blame the economy all they want. It’s a very easy excuse. But the economy is only part of the problem here. The biggest problem is that most sales people stink. Their managers typically stink. Their manager’s manager stinks. And their sales methodology really, really stinks…..Yep, the 80/20 rule has stuck again.

We live in a world full of order takers. Anybody can take an order.

Let me give you an example. My wife and I recently went to a store to buy furniture for our new house. Having already moved in without a kitchen table and other essentials, I was more than ready to spend a good bit of money on some nice, new furniture. You see, I’m the type of guy that doesn’t shop around all day just to save a few bucks. If I like you, if I like the product, I’m going to make a decision fast.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the furniture store, I noticed a couple of employees smoking outside the entrance door. “What a nice welcome party” I thought.

Once we got in and started looking around, my wife found what she dubbed ‘the perfect table’. As we were admiring her find, a salesperson came up to us and asked if we needed any help.

"I guess I'll write it up then!"

 In response, my thought was something to the effect of, “Of course not, I’m a professional furniture shopper and I know everything there is to know about kitchen tables, couches, mattresses, etc!!…Yes I need some help you ding-dong!!”

Notwithstanding, I responded by showing him the table we were interested in, hoping he’d by some slim chance give us even more reason to want to take home this lovely item for our new abode. But alas, I heard nothing at all from the sales guy about the specifications of the table my wife and I had fallen in love with. Nor did the man even ask what we were looking for. Heck, he didn’t even find out our names. Ridiculous….frustrations mounted…..but despite any form of decent assistance coming from the salesperson, my wife really liked the table and so we agreed to take it. The genius salesperson was so skilled and professional that he walked away without even asking us if we wanted anything else. By this point I knew I was on my own to learn about the store’s products so I figured I’d just move along with my business.

Our next stop in the showroom was to look at the mattresses. Again, my wife and I found one we liked and when the salesperson came back, he said (keep in mind with invoice in hand from the table), “Oh, are you guys looking at mattresses as well?” Here again my thoughts were something like, “No genius, we are just over here lying on these beds because we really need a nap.” But my wife responded kindly and showed the salesperson the mattress we wanted. Again, he had nothing positive to add to the product, and really served no purpose whatsoever other than to breathe our nearest oxygen.

After we agreed to take the mattress, the salesperson, amazingly, walked away and re-wrote the invoice to include the mattress. Still, at this point, he had yet to ask my wife and me a single question. Heck, even after his first blunder he didn’t follow up the mattress sale with, “Is there anything else you might be looking for?” Nope, instead, he hurried to write up his order like a kid headed to the candy shop.

 My wife and I then headed to the china cabinets. Again, she found ‘exactly what she’d been looking for’ and so when the idiot (aka sales guy) came back we told him we’d take the cabinet. By this point, though, I couldn’t stomach the thought of giving this guy any more of my money. I told him to write it all up and we were done.

A few seconds later, I could see the salesperson at the front desk being slapped on the shoulders by his fellow ‘sales-extraordinaires’. The guy had his chest puffed out and a big grin as everyone paid homage to his incredible sales abilities. Personally, I just wanted to vomit as I witnessed the scene. ‘Un-freaking-believable’ was my thought. ‘This guy and his cronies actually think he has done some great job in achieving a sale of a few thousand dollars. Wow.’

So there it is. That’s the state of our sales-economy. Do you think such a company would fare well when times are tight and competition is at its pinnacle??

So what’s my point?

Look, I know time are tough. I know the economy, especially for many retail businesses is at best below-average. But such times give us all the more reason to step up our sales-abilities.

Heck, even Micheal knew who it started with.

We must increase our skills. Average sales and simple order taking is our quickest route to losing our jobs and our businesses. So as the late Micheal Jackson once said:

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways.”

To be the best, I believe we need to make this committment each day. Although we cannot necessarily control the economy, we can elevate ourselves and our abilities. We can reach another level of personal development as difficult times stretch us and force us to be better and stronger. This is our challenge.

May we all leave mediocrity behind and open ourselves to the excellence that awaits the fruits of our labors.

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