The Key To Suggestive Selling Is “Repeat”
Keywords: suggestive selling, performance management, employee training, secret shopper, mystery shopping
Are your employees promoting your best items–the ones that are both profitable and crowd-pleasing? Or, do they leave it all up to the customer and miss opportunities for greater sales, customer satisfaction and profit?
If they’re not employing suggestive selling, then you’re not fulfilling your profit potential. The good news? Effective customer service training can make all the difference.
Your employees are the key to just how profitable your company can be. When you provide customer service training in the techniques of suggestive selling, employees will help you increase profits and give your customers a better experience. After all, it’s in their best interests to increase their tips, commissions, and careers too! And, if you’re thinking, “Customers don’t want to feel hustled to spend more money,” you’re wrong. It’s all in the way you do it.
Give your employees the tools they need and they will improve both your sales and your customers’ satisfaction.
One Word Can Increase Your Bottom Line. That word is “repeat.”
It’s amazing what happened to a shampoo company that changed one word on their product. They added the word “Repeat” to the directions. It almost doubled their nation-wide sales! Who says this couldn’t happen to you? If your sales associate suggests a perfect accessory for the shirt the customer has selected, it is likely that other customers standing in line may see the item, too. If a server offers one table the beer-battered shrimp appetizer, it is likely that a nearby table overheard the suggestion. And, even if the first customer doesn’t accept the offer, the patrons who overheard just might have been thinking, “Oh, that looks great!” When the offer (or a similar one) is repeated to the next customer, the suggestion will already have been planted–and is even more likely to succeed!
Why not apply this to your company? Add the word “Repeat” to your training. Servers and sales associates may not think that suggestive selling works, but make them use these skills and then show them how much your company’s profits increase. They’ll also be pleased by the increase in commissions or tips they receive by being such a great, upbeat, knowledgeable server or sales associate.
How do you start the process?
Even if you don’t have a formal customer service training program in place, you can teach your employees to make suggestive selling work for them.
Lead by example. If yours is a restaurant, start by taking them out to lunch. Have another employee you’ve already trained serve them. The new employee will learn while watching the trained employee take the order and make specific suggestions for an appetizer, entree, dessert and drink.
The same principle applies in other customer situations. Set up a role-playing situation with the trainee, and have him or her “purchase” from a trained sales associate. Have the well-trained associate say, “I know the perfect scarf to go with that blouse. May I show it to you?” or make another suggestion for an additional item. Demonstrate that for the customer, this actually can enhance the purchasing experience by helping the customer walk out with an “outfit” they love instead of a single item.
o Reward employees for getting it right.
Rewards for good performance are one of the best possible forms of performance management–much more effective than penalties for poor performance. If suggestive selling is your goal, make sure that employees see it as a winning strategy for both of you. If something as simple as suggesting an appetizer works, the reward might be as simple as giving the server a pat on the back.
You don’t have to hand out all of the new cash you earned; it’s much simpler, and often equally effective, to give out awards. Place these awards up for everyone to see. Employees will always work harder if they’re more interested in the incentive–but don’t forget that public praise is a powerful performance management tool, too.
o Monitor employee performance more consistently.
In some cases, you can review sales by individual employees and note how many “add-on” sales they typically achieve in a day. Customer research surveys from an outside vendor can provide detailed performance management feedback you can use to help your employees improve. Secret shoppers can identify which servers or sales associates are doing their jobs right, and are using the suggestive selling techniques effectively.
For example, sales associates or restaurant servers sometimes unconsciously fall into the habit of making negative statements to the customer instead of using positive language. (”You didn’t want the pink scarf with that, did you?” “So you don’t want an appetizer?” They may think they’re employing suggestive selling, but may not realize it’s working against them. Secret shopper feedback–which can include collection of verbatim comments from your employees–will help them zero in on how to improve. We’ve seen it happen time and again.
Just remember: if “repeat” is the key to employees generating better sales and service through suggestive selling, it’s also the key to you achieving better customer service training and performance management. Train new employees in suggestive selling. Then repeat frequently with ALL employees.
And enjoy all those newfound profits!
Dan Cosgrove is CEO of Mercantile Systems, Inc., www.MercSystems.com and an expert at practical ways to improve customer interactions for business gain. More great resources are in the Library & Case Studies section of their website www.MercSystems.com
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Chicken Wing Recipes - Part 2 (1)
If you have extra sauce, cook in saucepan until thick. Barbecued Chicken Wings 35 Chicken wings -- tips removed 1 Stick butter 1 cup Brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon Sauce 1/2 cup Dry red wine 2 teaspoons Dry mustard 2 large Garlic cloves -- crushed 1/4 cup Fresh lemon juice Fresh ground pepper to taste Requires marinating and long cooking time but it is simple.
Easy Way To Cut Losses (2)
The question is why is it so difficult? I smoked from the age of about 12 until I was 25. During that time I made many attempts to quit, like most smokers, but it was far too difficult, so I never succeeded.
Nursing Entrance Test, An Introduction (3)
These include: math skills (from basics through algebra) reading comprehension (at the 10th grade level) for science textbooks a reading rate exam an evaluation of test-taking skills a stress level profile a social interaction profile learning style evaluation Although there are required passing grades, of a C at the least, the Nursing Entrance Test must be passed in order to be put on the list for admission to nursing school.
Cheesecakes For Chocoholics (4)
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.Blend in sour cream and vanilla; pour over crust. Combine remaining 8 ozs cream cheese and melted chocolate, mixing at medium speed on eletric mixer until well blended.
The Nursing Entrance Test Mathematical Content (5)
Some students elect to take refresher math courses. These math courses are misnamed, in the fact that they are not so much a refresher course but a course that only covers certain aspects of the math that is tested on the Nursing Entrance Test.
The Pre-Nursing Experience (6)
Many of these students bring with them a vast life experience base. Therefore it is not surprising to find nursing students that have one or two Bachelor Degrees, previous careers in engineering, science, secretarial fields, emergency medical technicians and teachers.
Ink Cartridge Refills Cut Printing Costs (7)
For example, ink cartridge replacements for a lot of printers can cost more than the printer itself. For some computer users, this means it's cheaper to replace an entire printer each time the ink needs changing.
Check Your Mortgage Plan Every Year (8)
As times goes, this information changes and your credit scores change as well. Your equity is the security for your loan and there are steps you can take to increase the value of your equity.
EBay Auction And Drop-Off Franchises (9)
The amount of commission that drop off franchises can demand for services can vary, with the majority of main businesses charging between 20 to 40 per cent to help sell clients' goods.
Proteins: The Most Important And Least Understood Nutrient In Cat & Dog Food (10)
Proteins, especially those making up the genes, communicate to each other. We know they communicate, and usually quite accurately, because animal bodies have an internal and external reason, memory, and purpose.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
Top Writers Around The World Will Write For You - Outsourcing (1)
The top sites would probably be the best since they have done a good job of keeping their content at a high quality to get them high rankings. But you may also want to shop around and read some of their sample work to get an idea of how much it will cost you.
Writing The Resource Box So It Makes People Click (2)
Another tip is to use keywords that should be related to your site. Do not mislead your potential website visitors. Build your credibility so that more people would get enticed to visit your site and browse what you have to offer.
Web Hosting Options (3)
You will also need to research bandwidth. When a visitor comes to your site, clicks or downloads anything it takes bandwidth. If you go over the allotted bandwidth the web host gives you, they may shut down the site until you can pay more or the next billing month comes up or they may automatically bill you, depending on their policy.
A Day In The Life Of An Affiliate Marketer (4)
Who knows, someone may be inclined to join. Time flies. Missed lunch but is quite contented with the tasks done. Bed time. Ok, so this may not be all done in a day.
The Art Of Encouragement (5)
Remember that you had many encouragers along your journey. Take time to do the same for others. Practice the Art of Encouragement. Paula K. Switzer is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and contributing author on the subjects of leadership, team building and communication.
What Is The Best Home Gym? (6)
First and foremost you will want to determine how much space you have for the home gym, before you begin choosing home gyms. This is because there are different gyms that will fit in different amounts of space.
Make Money Online-Become An Affiliate For FREE (7)
Try to make your link live with a 'href' tag if they allow it. The link must go to something that is directly related to the topic. Three software you will need that are free is HTML KIT , Filezilla, and NVU.
Instant Approval Credit Card- 2007 Tips (8)
Search the web today and anyone can practically find more than enough websites to choose cards. You must also know that in order to choose credit processing services, you should take into consideration certain points- the credit processing service is approved by the average approval rating.
Wholesale Playstation 3- Crutial Facts (9)
The worst case is that you will not get your playstation 3, and some unscrupulous crook will get your money. Why? The first answer is simple market economics.
Influence - A Necessary Ingredient For MLM Business Success (10)
Who is usually the influencer? The first in the class. People look up to those who produce the best results. People want to see that those they listen to have already achieved a certain level of success.