Retail Training Tips

A lot of people assume that selling is not easy. And that’s because of the numerous objections potential customers will shoot at you whenever you attempt to contact or talk to them with the intention of starting a sale. Today I want to give you some basic retail sales training tips. Some objections may be given as the sale presentation or sales pitch is in progress. But little do they know that some of these objections, like the price of the product or the service that comes with it, could very well be an indication of a customer’s interest in buying.

If you think about it, your customers won’t object about how high your product’s price is if they have not really considered the possibility of owning it. Therefore, you must take on all their objections accordingly, and convert them to your benefit. Over time, different new techniques are being developed to handle the customer’s every single objection. The ones listed below are the most
effective retail training tips as practiced by thriving salespeople.

The Boomerang Technique

The goal of this technique is to turn the customers around by taking exactly what they said to you, only to show that they are mistaken in their argument. It is called the boomerang technique because you use their opinions like a boomerang. They go around in a full circle; and when they come back, you are there to persuade them again.

A good example of a boomerang technique is as follows:
Customer: I think this necklace is very expensive.
Salesperson: I do believe it is too. But I assume that you don’t want to give your wife a much cheaper present. Anyway, the necklace comes in a beautiful case and a rebate coupon. It is a nice present as it is. And even if you don’t have the cash to pay for it today, we accept other payment methods like credit cards or even personal checks, though that requires some time to clear. And we can
reserve this piece for you so that nobody else can buy it before you do.

The main idea here is to first agree to what customers are saying to make them believe that they are right. Then you try to attach what you, as a salesperson, want to impart. Retail training on a regular basis will drive these skills into your being and help you use them on the spot. By doing that, you are using the principle of association. What you say simply becomes correct as well.

Renaming the Objections

There may even be times that the customer’s objection can be turned into a positive energy outright. If the customer says that they have to talk to their husband or wife before they make a purchase or that they don’t have the money to buy it right now, you don’t just leave that as is and let them go with it. Instead, you handle it by making a play with words. If you are a retail  manager, then you should have learned this in your retail management training. Check out the example below:
Customer: I think I like your product but I can’t buy it right now, as I don’t have the money. I would need to tell my husband about it and see what he says.
Salesperson: Yes, I suppose that’s proper, but instead of doing that, could you rather discuss it with him so that I can finalize your order today? I can arrange somebody to pick up the payment tomorrow for you.

As you can see, “tell” and “discuss” almost mean the same thing. But “discuss” is a much stronger word than “tell”. To effectively close a sale, you should always use the more powerful word. You don’t really change their meaning, but you have successfully translated them more to your favor.

Show The Customers The Bigger Picture

There are times when there is a need to show your customers that small and insignificant things are exactly that – insignificant. Make their objection about the color of the product look trivial compared to its portability or any of its other strong features. The technique here is to show to the customer what they can get in contrast to what they can’t. But don’t dwell on the things that your product can’t give. Focus more on the things it can offer.

Here’s an example:

Customer: I think this laptop is too big for me. I would like to buy something more compact.

Salesperson: You might have a point there. But this laptop is complete. It comes with everything you would need in a computer. What are a few inches in size if it can give you full functionality? Try to distract your customers from the issue that you cannot resolve like size, shape, weight, and similar objections. Create an entirely different perspective on your product. Make it appear the best buy despite the small detail the customer requires. This is where retail training can really benefit your career.