Looking to increase retail sales during a pandemic? The key is to realize in many ways, brick and mortar retailers have a finite client base. After all, there are only so many people who will be willing walk into your store with or without a mask on any given day.
While marketing can certainly impact that number, your focus can’t be just about attracting new customers. In fact, if you’ve felt meeting your retail sales projections depends solely on the number of shoppers who show up at your door, then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.
Why?
Because you probably aren’t maximizing the shoppers who already come into your store.
You’re probably not consistently moving them from a browser to a customer who purchases from you that day. You have to keep track of your conversion rates to know if you are making progress.
You’re probably not consistently using suggestive selling of additional products your customers could use but are never shown. We're hearing more and more standoffish associates during the time of COVID-19 who believe customers just want to get in and get out quickly. That's costing you money.
Your staff may have created a culture in your retail store of price selling – what’ s on sale, what’s cheapest, and even I’m not trying to sell you. After all, with unemployment still stubbornly high and analysts suggesting the next 6 to 12 months will be rocky, their mindset is understandable.
But that doesn't make it right.
When customers leave with only one item and not with everything they need, a competitor gets their additional business and a chance to make a loyal customer out of one who should have stayed yours.
Make no mistake, the stakes are high when a browser walks out without purchasing anything or with only purchasing one item. Think of the effort it takes for you to go out and go to a store in this social distancing world. You don't want to go back if you forgot something or didn't get the best. You just don't return.
In short, you’re settling for crumbs when you could have the whole feast.
The best approach must capitalize on the visitors who do enter your store - whether it’s twenty or fifty. Routinely building higher per-ticket sales is a win-win.
With fewer shoppers and seasonal downturns, you can still meet your sales goals. Selling higher per-ticket averages directly boosts your bottom line
how do you improve per-ticket averages and increase overall retail sales?
the best way is with staff training that cultivates an atmosphere of value selling
your sales associates need to be constantly aware of how to sell the value of a single product over the price of the product while looking for ways to enhance that value with additional products
not only will this lead to more up-sells and add-ons, but it will also help eliminate the need for markdowns to move higher value items
3 tips how to increase retail sal
1. build rapport with every person who walks in your doo
exceptional shopping experiences begin with exceptional employee skills. your staff needs to know how to engage people from all walks of life in a genuine manner. that means getting out from behind the counter because they want to, not because you have to tell the
those employees must be able to listen to why the customer walked through your doors today, identify their motivators to buy, and link all of your products in a way that encourages them to bu
when they build rapport and connect with their customers, it will keep customers from browsing for better deals on social media while standing in your store. it will also lay the groundwork for a true relationship where each looks forward to seeing the other again, increasing customer retentio
that also makes it easier for the sales associates to suggest add-ons because they are seen as human beings, trusted advisers rather than nameless clerk
2. always be value selling over pric
value selling is the foundation of how to increase sales in retail. it’s easy to mark down items or steer customers toward the cheapest option. heck, that’s 90% of retail help these days. however, markdowns are bad for profit, and the cheapest option is rarely the best option for the custome
with the proper understanding of the premium products they’re selling, salespeople can keep the conversation focused on the long-term value those products offer. once customers understand that there truly are differences in quality from good to better to best, they’ll be more understanding of the price differences between those level
a good tip is to teach them the differences in your most popular skus and then have them tell a story using the feel, felt, found method and say, “i used to feel that way too about the price of this item. i felt it was too much. that was until i found out how much (better made, easier to use, quicker, etc.) it was over the others
having established the value of the product in the customer’s mind, it’s easier for the salesperson to then segue into a conversation about add-on
3. find ways to be suggestively selling to boost average chec
salespeople who have an in-depth knowledge of the products they sell should also have a clear understanding of the items that complement those products. if they work in electronics, they know that even the best 4k television only offers limited sound qualit
that can lead directly into a conversation about sound bars or surround-sound systems. they’ll know that a beautiful dress is not, by itself, an outfit. that a camera has a lot of accessories to make it truly an artistic device. the customers leave with products that exceed their initial expectations, and the salesperson gains higher per-ticket sale
to do this effectively, your salespeople need to see the full picture when it comes to their product lines, more-so than the product features.
for even if they don’t know the specifics of an add-on but understand the concept of what it does, they’ll be able to create additional value for their customer and not settle for clerking a single item.
In Sum
The skills and knowledge necessary to increase retail sales all start with the right training program. A well-conceived training program will teach all of these techniques while also instilling an attitude geared toward creating an exceptional customer shopping experience.
When they are exceptional, those experiences build a foundation for higher per-ticket sales, repeat customers, and increased retail sales. Discover SalesRX, my online retail sales training program to engage a stranger, build rapport, deal with objections and sell your merchandise
. Train your employees to be available and interruptible. Retail is becoming a job of tasks instead of a job of interacting with shoppers. Sales associates are often so busy trying to complete a task that they ignore shoppers obviously looking for help. If you want them to have strong sales skills, train your sales staff that no task is that important, that customer purchases pay their salary, and unless they’re with a customer already, they should drop the task to help shoppers every time.
2. Train your managers to be the best salespeople on the floor. If managers themselves aren't trained to begin with, how will they be able to recognize, analyse, and give guidance when an associate loses a sale? Only if managers understand how to make a sale, can they unpack a missed sale and say something like, “You got scared. Listen more and look for the windows of contact to customer engagement.” Then they will be able to help their team grow your sales.
3. Train your managers on how to coach their associates. Employees are being elevated to managerial positions not based on merit but more likely on how long they’ve lasted at your store. Too often it becomes the blind leading the blind. Without proper retail sales training, they often think they can coach people with atta-boys and an occasional pizza. They also can’t lead by rolling their eyes and saying, Don’t over and over. Both approaches can create a lot of wreckage to your employees who are left adrift. Your managers must be trained on how and when to tell employees to change their behavior. That’s because employees, like most people, can’t see when they make a mistake. Or if they do see it, they won’t acknowledge it.
4. Retail training must be based on making a human connection. You have to bring employee skills up slowly. As you do that, you have to change the words you use in your retail space, the way you look at your customers, as well as the way you look at your employees. When your managers can train and model listening over talking with shoppers, employees will see how that training makes them more human; especially when it comes to high-priced product. Until that happens, they’ll think growing sales is all about the features when it is really about being more human and making connections that lead to larger sales
5. When asking customers questions, ask one, not 20. We used to say the most important customer service skill for sales associates was the ability to ask questions, but that has changed. Nobody likes being blasted with 20 questions; shoppers know they are being set up and hunted for ways to get the sale. You can get the same or better information from them without playing 20 yes/no questions. Don’t ask multiple questions that begin with Can I? or Are you? Instead, craft just one open-ended question like, What’s your project today? you can ask everyone.
6. Know how to think like your customer. A lot of bad sales advice essentially says, "Don’t start selling until they say no.” But that's thinking like a salesperson, not a potential customer. Salespeople know how to sell in a general sense – unearth the problem, have a product as solution to that problem, preempt objections, and understand the buying process. What we don’t get when we think like a salesperson is what shoppers are really scared about, what motivates them, and what is going to assure them that you’re the right partner to get them what they want. That takes thinking like a customer and being curious about why today did this person leave their life to come to our store?
7. Love the merchandise you hate. There are many products you yourself may not care for. But you need to come up with ways to look at how other people, not you, might take those products and use them to make their lives better. It is a much better use of your time to keep asking yourself How can I find other ways to sell these products?, than to just stare out the front doors looking bored.
8. Use your customer's name. There's a reason the Ritz Carlton requires employees to use a guest's name three times in a conversation, not two and not four. Why is it important to use a customer's name when you meet? It's because it works. Using their name more than once works to make their guests feel important and to force the employees to commit their names to memory. Wherever you can get their name, use it. Even if you get it wrong occasionally, most people will appreciate the gesture.
9. Modify your body language to an angle. Facing a shopper by standing directly in front of them can feel intimidating to them. Sales psychology training shows the best way to sell to someone is to stand side by side like buddies. This says, "Let's figure this out together." Improve your body language and you stop being a salesperson but become a trusted advisor.
10. Get rid of retail checkout counters. Your cash wrap counters often allow employees to hide. That’s bad. It gives employees a false sense of privacy to do whatever they want - check social media, eat a sandwich, you name it. It also gives customers a visual barrier and a them vs me feeling. That's why so many newer retailers are doing away with counters altogether and going to self-checkout or arming their staff with tablets to conclude a sale quickly from anywhere.