Talking Less = Selling More

Looking through the lens of a first-time visitor to a decorative plumbing and hardware showroom, what would you see?  Imagine the reaction of potential customers who are building a new home and were sent to your showroom to pick out products for a master bath, child's bath, powder room, guest bath, kitchen and laundry room.  What would be the customer's first impression.  How many similar products would they see?  And what would their reaction be to a first-time greeting by one of your sales professionals?  

 

The answer to the last question, according to 2018 DPHA Conference workshop leader Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor), is that many brick and mortar retail customers view first-time meetings with sales associates negatively.  Customers believe that sales associates will undervalue, misunderstand or railroad customers when they walk through the door, Phibbs wrote.  And the reason why?  Because most retailers, decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms included, focus conversations on features and benefits because that's what they have been trained on.  What most sales professional don't now is that before you can sell most anything successfully you need to learn how to establish a rapport that leads to trust. The key, Phibbs writes, is to "present just the right amount of information at just the right time."

 

Presenting the right amount of information at the right time requires speaking less and listening more. Many sales associates, especially those newer to the industry, tend to want to show how much they know and talk too much.  Phibbs suggests that sales associates pause before speaking to make sure that a customer has finished his or her thoughts, which enables the sales professional to craft a response.

 

Another key is to determine the reasons why the customer has visited the showroom before making recommendations.  Why does someone want to renovate their master bath?  Why is someone building a home?  What do they want the rooms to look and feel like after construction ends? Before making product recommendations, ask clarifying questions, advises Phibbs, to determine what is most important.  When you determine the motivation for a customer's project, you can start to frame the next steps to create trust and get the sale.

 

Robb Best taught us at prior DPHA Conferences to limit choices. Offer no more than two product choices at one time.  If you describe the reasons why you believe a particular product will meet the client's needs, focus on the most important contribution that the product brings to your client's project.  Don't go through a litany of features such as it comes in 32 design finishes, you can adjust the length of the spout, it has a ceramic disk cartridge, the finish is guaranteed for life, etc.  Focus on what's most important to customers and then be quiet so you can gauge customer feedback.

 

Pay attention to how much you or your sales professionals speak during a customer interaction and how much customers say.  Customers should always talk more because when they do, you gain the information needed to craft the best solutions for their projects.  

 

Want more guidance from the Retail Doctor Bob Phibbs?  Click here to reserve for the DPHA Conference.