Seven retail selling tips to boost your retail sales numbers
Merchandise Management in Retail
February 3, 2021
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February 16, 2021Selling is a critical function of any organization. Selling requires the seller to use the capability of influencing customers to buy products or services to generate revenues for their business. There are many selling tips that sales executives use to improve their business sales.
Retail selling is the sale of finished goods and services to individuals for their use. The retail selling process involves prospecting customers, presenting products and services to customers, helping customers make decisions, and finally closing the sale. To achieve success in your retail business, you must become better in retail selling skills. There are people out there who are scared by the entire process of retail selling. It’s just that you must be aware of the retail sales techniques and use the most fitting ones depending on the types of customers and products/services you are selling.
There are many retail sales techniques that you must learn and train at sincerely, and use them as your retail selling skills in front of your customers. Such retail sales tips will help you improve your retail sales skills, improving your sales figures. Therefore, if you are looking forward to counting an unexpected jump in your business sales, follow the below-mentioned retail selling tips:
Retail selling tip 1: Welcome customers with a warm greeting along with a smile
Yes, greeting everyone with a smiling face shows and spreads positivity. Customers are impressed with a warm, smiling welcome along with a greeting like “Hi! How are you?” or “Welcome to our ABC store. Wish you an enjoyable experience here!” It is the first impression of the retail store on the customers, and if done correctly, it makes a good impression.
Retail selling tip 2: Understand your customers’ needs
The most crucial requirement in retail selling is to understand your customers’ needs. For this, retailers and sales executives must interact with customers and observe their walk around the store to understand their interests. You must see what they intend to buy, ask them questions about their purchase or choice of products to know their purchase mindset and understand the reason for some specific purchase. All these will help you understand what customers are actually looking for, and then you can suggest to them products and services based on their interests.
While recommending products to your customers, make sure to mention the benefits and fit well with the customers’ needs. It is a good retail sales skill to ask customers if they agree with their suggestion, even if they do not buy it. Furthermore, it will help you comprehend customer behavior, based on which you can stock up your inventory and place orders with the suppliers. Thus, it is one of the key retail selling tips that you and your sales executives must develop to up your sales.
Retail selling tip 3: Engage in cross-selling and upselling
Upselling and cross-selling are retail sales techniques to recommend other relevant products to the customers. While upselling focuses on selling a higher-end product than the original one, cross-selling focuses on selling complementary or related products. An example of upselling would be to recommend that customers buy a fully automatic washing machine when they have come to buy a semi-automatic washing machine. An example of cross-selling would be to encourage customers to buy matching accessories for a dress they have just finalized to purchase.
For both of these retail sales skills, you must consider the right timing to make your recommendations. The recommended product must not be too expensive, and the additional purchase must add value to your customer’s shopping basket. The best time is when the customer has finalized buying the main product or just thinking over what to match with it. This is possible only when you interact with customers during your retail selling process.
If you find the customer in a hurry or tight on budget, refrain from recommending any additional product. Furthermore, you must not recommend a product that is priced higher than the original product. Retailers must hold back if they sense that customers do not need the product and ignore any recommendations. Retailers must ensure that the recommended products add value to the original product purchased.
Retail selling tip 4: Have the right attitude toward retail selling
One of the key retail salesman tips is for the retail executives to have a positive mindset, confidence, and friendliness to complete the sales deals. Have the right positive mindset to expect the best from your abilities, which will help you achieve your sales targets. Sales executives must work on their retail selling skills, specifically, the different types of pitching they can do to the customers. This generally comes from having good knowledge of the products and services that your retail store sells.
Furthermore, they must be dressed appropriately since that gives them the required confidence to deal with customers. It would help if you were smartly dressed, well-groomed, and have a friendly smile on your face so that customers feel welcomed in the retail store. Be honest with your sales pitch or recommendations to the customers. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the product and provide a comparison between products. Customers will like your honesty and hence, will show a willingness to try your recommended products.
Another one of the great retail selling skills is the rapport that retail executives have with customers. You must find a good opportunity to converse with your first-time customer by either complimenting them or asking them about the weather. Based on their response, you can have a conversation, which builds rapport between you two. This may lead to friendship and trust between you and your customer, which helps in retail selling.
Retail selling tip 5: Share stories or teach them something new
When customers show some interest in a product or service, educate your customers about that product. You can talk about its origins, unique features, some strange use in another country or the benefits customers obtain from buying that product. Another important retail selling skills is to tell your customer some stories around that product. You can probably share your experience of using it, an experience of someone else’s usage of that product, or some success stories of your customers who used it.
All these stories and knowledgeable tidbits on a product or service generate
heightened interest in the customers, converting into sales. Such stories attract customers to your stores and may result in informed decision-making regarding the purchase of that product. Another way of doing this is to take experts’ help or hold an interactive workshop on a brand or product type. These result in the trust-building of customers into you, thereby influencing sales.
Sales executives must try imbibing these retail selling skills of sharing such customer stories or product stories or knowledge about products or brands. You can share these on the online page or social media pages of the retail store and the displays and signages in the store, depending on the products you are selling.
Retail selling tip 6: Study and assess customer behavior
Saying your sales pitch and talking about the product’s features is one of the key retail sales tips. However, you must listen to how customers respond to your question or behave after listening to your pitch. Be conscious of customers’ reactions through eye contact, voice tone, expressions, and body language. Based on their reactions and their words, you would be able to gauge their level of interest in the product.
If you realize that the customer is getting irritated with your presence, just go away. If you find some positive signs of interest, then talk more about its benefits and how it will address the customer’s needs.
Furthermore, an assessment of your potential customer base through some
survey or feedback form also helps. You can ask questions on their likes and dislikes regarding the store, their favorite purchases from the store, their best experiences, and any worst shopping purchase from the store. All these factors will give you an insight into your customers, and hence, you can change your retail selling strategies accordingly.
Retail selling tip 7: Be aware of your performance
Generally, retail stores track every sales executive’s performance and appraise him or her accordingly. It would be best if you did the same for yourself after every successful sales instance or a failed sales attempt. Understand where you were lacking, what you were good at, what needs to be improved, and the other ways to approach customers. Relate all these with your sales numbers, and then you will be able to gauge your performance and opportunities for performing well.
Lastly, put these retail selling tips to good use
Remember to develop these retail selling skills to improve your sales numbers. Using these retail sales techniques, you can draw customers’ attention, develop interest, create a desire to own the product, and convert it into a sale. Work with the retail sales tips that work best for your business and product and just be honest and committed to it – you will work wonders and grow your sales.
