How to sell retail business
How to Greet Customers in Retail - Never Say This!
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did you know that how you greet
customers in your retail store has a big
impact on whether or not they will buy
from you whether or not they'll become
returned customers it's true keep
watching and i'm going to share with you
what you should never ever say to them
and also what you should say to them to
make sure that they're having the best
customer experience ever
[Music]
hey there i'm kathy donovan wagner
founder of retail mavens and mom of
america's most fun family it's true and
i love to share the science of retail
and the science of consumer psychology
with independent retailers like you so
that you can get more profits and better
sleep make sure you hit subscribe and
click that bell to get notifications to
know when i share more retail tips and
strategies many retailers i work with
either feel awkward greeting a customer
when they walk in their door or they
fall into a standard response because
they think that's what they're supposed
to do the problem with this is that
you're not setting your customer up for
a great experience in your store and i
know that's what you want to do i know
you're known for your customer service
consumer psychology tells us that a
customer is more likely to buy when
their dopamine is flowing what does that
mean when they're feeling good when
they're happy and when they're relaxed
the problem is is that often when they
walk into a store they expect to be
jumped on they're programmed to expect a
salesperson to walk right up into their
face and try and sell them something
they don't need or don't want and that
they're going to be forced to push the
person away so they get all defensive
right the truth is people don't like
salespeople because there are sales
people like that and they give all of us
good salespeople a bad name they do walk
right up into their face and like hey
how are you how can i help you today
what are you buying today what can blah
blah that whole thing sets the customer
up for a bad experience they're already
on the defensive ready to deflect people
they're tense they're obviously much
less likely to buy your job is to help
the customer feel instantly welcome to
feel relaxed and to feel comfortable so
how do you start when a customer first
walks in no matter what you're doing if
you're behind the counter or unboxing
something or talking to another customer
the first most important thing to do is
to acknowledge the customer maintain eye
contact look at them smile say hello
welcome glad you're here if you
recognize them tell them good to see you
again it doesn't matter if you don't
remember their name it's so important to
acknowledge their presence and to show
them that you're genuinely appreciative
that they took the time to come into
your store today then give them a moment
or two to get comfy in your store you
don't want to tackle them right away you
want to allow them to take it in and
revel in this beautiful first impression
that you've set up for them then what i
recommend doing is going to nearby not
close by but in the area where they are
start straightening a display or a
counter and start sizing something just
to be closer to them and more in the
presence of them now you're getting
ready to first exchange words for them
and what i want you to know is that all
you have to do is start a conversation
that's all it is you don't have to worry
about the sale you're just here to build
a relationship because your true success
is going to
count on having relationships with
customers not just one-off transactions
so that's the reason why when you think
about this from a conversation
standpoint and from relationship
building and not worrying about the sale
doesn't that take the pressure off it
takes the pressure off you and it takes
the pressure off them everything comes
across so much more honestly and openly
and enjoyable for everybody so start
with an icebreaker of some sort
compliment them on something they're
wearing something that's going to lead
to a conversation what always leads to a
conversation an open-ended question
that's what your goal is is to get to an
open-ended question of any sort it's on
a monday or tuesday hey do you do
something anything fun over the weekend
or if it's a thursday or a friday i used
to always say hey are you doing anything
fun this weekend it's just anything to
try and get the conversation going like
i said to try and develop a relationship
questions you should never say the
totally useless questions that will not
create relationships and instead will
stop them from forming is saying things
like uh how can i help you today we're
saying hey if you have any questions i'm
just gonna be right here or i don't even
like have you been in the store before
i'm not even crazy about how's the
weather you wouldn't say that to a
friend if you were really starting a
conversation with them now you might in
some sort of context like you might say
oh my gosh what a beautiful day it was
just like this last sunday when we went
sailing what did you do last sunday it
was so beautiful wasn't it you see how
that starts a conversation so you can do
that but any of those other useless
questions just
scream at the person i am a salesperson
and they will go running so that's what
you want to do is try and get into a
conversation and then you'll sense when
the conversation naturally slows down
and that's when it's time for you to
discover how you can best serve their
needs you don't do this by interrogation
this is the phrase that i have found
that works like magic every single time
so what brings you into the store today
this invites them to share their ideas
with you right and shows them that
you're available to show them products
it's all said in those words what brings
you into the store today what's so funny
though is that because we're all so
programmed to have a sales person in our
face in a store we're so programmed to
not ask for help in a store what i've
discovered people so often say is
they'll say things like oh nothing i'm
just looking for a baby gift bingo
i had a kids store so that's all i
needed to know but it's amazing how
programmed we are to deflect salespeople
so you really have to work on building
that relationship and just focusing on a
conversation that's what's so critical
about this
and then as long as they're sharing with
you keep asking open-ended questions so
that you can learn more and showing them
relevant products in your store asking
what else do you need to know so for
example you could say to that how fun so
who had the baby and just getting them
to talking now it for sure happens that
the person might indicate that they just
kind of want to walk around by
themselves okay no problem at all give
them the space to do so and just stay
out there and continue straightening or
whatever because the thing is is the
second you go behind the counter then
there becomes this wall between you and
the customer as much as possible stay on
the floor keep resizing keep
straightening do whatever you need to do
and then what i would often do is when
they pick up something say hey can i
just tell you something about that item
and sometimes they'd say oh no it's okay
i'm fine
totally cool other time they say oh yeah
sure and then you can go into whatever
it is you want to share about that
particular item the point is is that if
they look like they have a question
about something or they're lost or
looking for something it's your job to
respond accordingly and you want to make
sure that you're there for them and that
they don't have to come looking for you
the other kind of customer that comes
into the store is the person who's on a
mission that's the person who's just
like
walks right in really really super fast
and i would just flat out come from
behind the counter and say hey looks
like you're on a mission how can i help
you get out of here fast and they would
smile like they welcome that that's not
something sales people say but it's
something that you would say to a friend
right to a person at a relationship with
that is so powerful often they'll say oh
wow that takes them aback oh yeah i have
to find a baby gift can you help me i've
got like 15 minutes yeah sure let's go
and then just start talking to them
asking them open questions that's the
best way of greeting a customer and
setting it up for success in every way
teach these tips to your team have them
watch this video and then role play play
with the scenario over and over again
with them so that they get used to it
and more comfortable to opening the sale
with someone and working to create a
relationship with that new raving fan
that just walked through your door hey
if you found this helpful but you're
thinking kathy
i need to get more people in my store
that's my problem stay tuned because i
have a couple videos for you that you're
going to love and don't forget to
subscribe with the bell for more tips
tools and strategies so that i can help
you improve your profits sleep better
and become a richer retailer
happy retailing
[Music]
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