Why Clients Do Buy

Between 20 to 30% of all retail customers, including those coming to decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms, don't buy, because the experience stinks. Salespeople who are living in the past, pressing the easy button to sell what they are spiffed on or directing customers to tried-and-true solutions that may or may not be appropriate for the job are a problem. The reason why many people opt for online purchasing is that it offers a better (or easier) option than schlepping to a showroom only to be frustrated by a sales professional's inability to ask the right question, care about the response they get or determine the reasons why the prospect wants to renovate their bath or kitchen in the first place.

 

Consider this: When someone walks into your showroom, it's not because they need to purchase from you. They can find faucets, shower systems, tubs, vanities, lighting, accessories, etc., in many other locations, including from the comfort of their couch. The reason prospects come to your showroom is because they want to. It's a choice that they make.

 

A new way to looking at closing a sale is assisting your clients accomplish the goals they set out with, which is to obtain guidance for their new baths. When you help clients achieve their goals, you are transformed from sales professional to trusted advisor and at a minimum you are delivering on, if not exceeding, their expectations.

 

A primary reason why customers won't buy from your showroom is that they don't trust you. Establishing trust requires knowing the real reasons why a customer has made the actual effort to visit your showroom. What is the motivation to renovate or build a new kitchen or bath? What goals, aspirations or dreams do your clients have or want to achieve? Why is the renovation important to the client? When you look beyond the basics of having something new or replacing something that no longer works, you can drill down, understand the personality of a person you just met and then craft solutions to meet their individual needs.

 

Once you determine true motivators, the next step in establishing yourself as a trusted advisor is to paint a picture of what your customer truly values. When you do, you help establish an emotional connection to your solutions. Using the word imagine, is a powerful tool to help connect. "Imagine what it will be like when after a hard day, where nothing seemed to go right, you can take a few minutes just for yourself, soaking in your tub or sitting in your steam bath and washing away the stresses of the day." "Imagine how much better you will feel knowing that the lighting around your mirror puts you in a position to look the best you can be." "Imagine how much easier it will be to prepare for the day knowing that everything in your bath has its own special place, making everything easier to find and use."

 

What does it mean when a prospective customer pauses, telling you they are not sure or not ready to move forward? Usually this means they are overwhelmed. As Robb Best explained at the 2017 Conference, when you offer customers too many choices, they become overwhelmed and shut down. Another reason why customers may balk is you forget to ask for the sale. If someone hesitates, find out the reason why. Inquire about the next steps and where you may help them. Most showroom customers have been researching a renovation for at least six months. When they near the end of their journey and balk, it is your role to explain they won't get closer to achieving their goals. This puts the decision to delay in a new light.

 

Everyone has a budget. Price is never, ever the reason someone does not buy from you. If a prospective customer takes the time, effort and energy to come to your showroom and after spending considerable number of yours and their hours looking for a solution walks away because your recommendations cost too much, that's the excuse but not the reason. When someone says the price is too high it is because the salesperson failed to prove the value they bring to his or her project.

 

Picasso is quoted as saying, "If I knew what the point was before I began, why would I paint?" Here's a fact - your customers have not changed. Their access to information has gone under a revolutionary metamorphosis, but their need to feel good about the purchase, to work side-by-side with a trusted advisor who takes the time to understand their true needs and to believe that they spent their resources with those who care about them and respect their time have not changed. The keys to closing more sales is asking the right questions to establish trust and need, making emotional connections, minimizing the risks associated with ripping apart one's home and learning how to deal with price sensitivity.   When you approach sales with those goals, you will not only increase the number of sales you make, you will see your referral business and positive reviews skyrocket.