Create sales and kick back by 6 p.m.

February 21, 2008

Doug Fleener is president and managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group (www.dynamic experiencesgroup.com) in Lexington, Mass., and author of "The Profitable Retailer."

By Doug Fleener

Woody Allen once said, "It is clear the future holds opportunities—it also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to seize the opportunities, avoid the pitfalls and get back home by 6 o'clock."

Some time ago, I worked for a district manager who told me over and over, "'Create' happens before 'waiting' in both the dictionary and with sales opportunities." So in the spirit of the New Year, here are some ways you can create additional sales opportunities in 2008 and still get home by 6 o'clock.

1. Commit to calling between one and three customers every day. Most salespeople don't enjoy calling customers on the phone, but the fact is that calling works. Imagine the impact on your sales if you can get just one out of every 10 customers you call to make an additional visit and purchase.

2. Treat every customer as if he or she is a star. Deliver the same great experience to the customer who comes in for "just" a repair as you do to the person who comes in to buy a diamond. Today's watch-battery buyer may well turn into next month's or next year's diamond buyer. Do what it takes to make each person your customer, and sales will surely follow.

3. Always establish some type of rapport with a customer before discovering why that person is in your store. Customers are asked "How may I help you?" in almost every store they enter. "Just looking" is the usual automatic response. Taking a moment to engage the customer in purposeful conversation will establish a rapport that differentiates you from other salespeople and eliminates the "just looking" barriers to sales.

4. Help your customer say "yes." Since most people don't like pushy salespeople, those of us in retail often err on the side of not being persuasive enough. If we've done our job of properly identifying the right product for the customer, then we owe it to that person to help he or she say "yes." One way to do this is to use assumptive language to help the customer picture the positive outcomes from the purchase. Try this: "She's going to be absolutely thrilled when she opens that box."

Here's wishing you a very successful 2008.

Editor's note: This article first appeared in the February 2008 issue of National Jeweler.