Recently I got contacted by a someone over Linked-in indicating that they wanted to get connected with me. Less than 10 minutes after I approved the connection, they sent me a message introducing their business. I politely indicated that I was not interested and proceeded to delete the message and remove my connection to this person.
Then it got me thinking, why did this connection seem like such a put off to me? Which then got me pondering about the quickest ways that retail businesses / retailers often kill their chances of creating a selling relationship with their clients. Here are 3 quick ways to do so.
1. Not bothering to build a customer relationship
Nobody likes to be sold or feel like their being sold to. Hence, retail businesses should seek to understand as much about the customer before trying to sell to them. Find out your customers likes, dislikes, when do they like to shop, etc. The more you know about your future customer the closer you will be to building the foundation of a sales relationship in the future with them.
More importantly, DO NOT sell them within the first 5 minutes of connecting with them.
2. Not creating a value proposition for the customer
Simply put, customers will only buy your retail product or service if it potentially offers them these 3 things which are more freedom, happiness or success. What freedom means here is that your service or product offers them the ability to have more free time be it to spend with their family, loved ones, etc. The second would be your retail product or service offers them more happiness which would mean visiting your retail store and buying from you will ultimately make them happier or bring them more joy. Third, your retail product or service will bring them more success be from a monetary standpoint or a productivity stand point.
Thus, the gist of creating a value proposition means if your product or service can solve a big headache which your customers are facing, the more likely they will buy from you.
3. Not knowing when to close the sale or following up with the customer
After you have built a strong relationship and are able to offer your customer a value proposition which is meaningful to them, you must remember to close the sale. I have seen too many a time where retailers who have been diligently serving the customer and answering all their questions end up not asking for the sale either because they are too afraid to ask for the sale or do not know how to ask for the sale. Sometimes the customer is literally ready to buy but most retail staff do not want to nudge the customer for fear of being called pushy. Remember the customer is ready to buy so do not hesitate to close that sale! The worst thing that can happen is that they say no to you.
Get what’s yours! In the event if you truly do not close the sale, remember to keep following up. Most retailers reported success with customers after more than 8x of following up with them to close the sale. Patience and persistence are key to your success.
These are just some of the key factors to look out for which could be detrimental to the success of your retail business. Until next time, go out there and build those relationships and I promise you will have a retail business that will indeed be successful and prosperous.
Connect with me in the comments section if you have more questions about this article or even your thoughts on this piece. I can also be contacted at connect@viscreative.com