Hey, everybody. It’s Bob. And in this episode of Real Retail TV, I’m gonna share why I feel cursed and ask you to think about if you’re afflicted with the same thing.
So recently, Susan and I were in a beautiful mountain town with a lovely historic downtown.
And as we do, we shopped with all the local independents. We went up and down the street and went into the stores.
And about a third of the stores that we went into, we were virtually ignored.
Most of the stores that we went into had kind, friendly, helpful people who might have looked up and said hello, might even even have have approached us and said, can I help you find something? Are you looking for something in particular?
But that’s not selling. And then finally, we went into one store that gave us an absolutely amazing experience.
And so here’s why I’m cursed, and I’m wondering if you feel the same way.
It bothers me so much to go into a store where people have clearly spent a lot of time and thought and energy in building out a beautiful store, of working on having a great assortment of, you know, clearly branding their store, spending a lot of money on branding, and then they don’t provide the kind of service that turns that traffic into money.
Let me say that again. That turns that traffic into money.
And it it really, really bothers me. And so the reason that I’m asking you, if this is true for you too, is because I feel so frustrated when I go into a store and I’m not getting the kind of experience that I know I should get. I don’t get the kind of experience that I know is possible, and it frustrates me that these people have a business that could be so much better. I feel like the basketball coach is watching the team flail out there on the floor, and I just wanna go out and say, hey. If you do this thing, this is going to happen.
So here’s what I want you to think about.
What kind of experience are your team members giving your customers when they come into your store?
Are they being ignored?
Are they being helped by good, kind, friendly, helpful people who aren’t skilled salespeople?
Or are they being helped by people who actually know what the world they’re doing? Who know how to ask good questions to get into a conversation?
Who know how to, you know, really ask good questions so they can recommend the right merchandise, who know how to add on so that the the perfect the purchase is perfect. You know, skilled sales people.
And that’s why I wanna get to the last person. So we had gone into all of these beautiful stores. I mean, all they were all beautiful, and none of them had given me the kind of service that makes me want to buy.
And then we went into a glasses store, and you’ve heard me complain about my local glasses opt optometrists or opticians or, whatever they’re called. How I’ve been trying to get into a couple of stores. A couple of stores didn’t have styles, I like. A couple of stores I wanted to go try, but they were closed during the hours that I worked.
This one, this store in this town was open later. When I walked in, somebody immediately greeted me. You could tell that they wanted to help me. They asked me good questions.
They were incredibly helpful.
Guess what? I bought some new glasses.
So my curse is that I want to get a great experience. I know what makes a great experience, and I so seldom get a great experience.
Are you cursed when you go into stores and you see that it could be so much more? Does it frustrate you?
If it does, here’s what I’m gonna I’m gonna suggest two different things for you. The first is is that you send your team members out into the world, out into the wild, and have them shop the stores in your town or go to another town that’s nearby and have them shop their stores. Come back, have a team meeting, discuss what the experience was like. Let them see a less than stellar experience through the eyes through your eyes. Have a conversation about what was good, what was bad, what do we do well, what don’t we do well. You know, just really help them understand what a great experience looks like and what it feels like.
The second thing that I would suggest is that you consider, I would say you should, but I’m just for the sake of this conversation say you should consider signing up for the retail sales academy. Why? Because selling is a skill.
The people in the glasses shop were skilled salespeople.
I put a nice piece of money into their store. The other stores I went into, if there had been skilled salespeople who engaged me skillfully, probably would have got some of my money, and they didn’t. So it’s two things. One, it’s helping your people understand what a great experience looks like, and two, giving them the skills they need so that they can engage skillfully, so they can ask good questions, so that they can feel comfortable selling higher priced goods, so that they can add on successfully, so that they can give your customers the kind of service that they deserve when they come into your store.
So, again, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to send your team members out into the wild and then let them tell you about their experience.
And two, go and consider investing in the Retail Sales Academy. You will be glad you did. There is a link down below. You can get a tour. We’ll show you what it is and what it can do for you and how it can help you give your customers the kind of experience that makes them want to come back and makes them want to spend more.
Alright. I hope you found that helpful. If you have any questions, put them in the comments. Or if you have any comments, put them in the comments. I’m Bob Negen. We’ll see you next week.