By
Bob Phibbs
Updated August 1, 2024
Are you looking for effortless retail sales training that can transform your staff? Are you willing to do the hard work to achieve it?
It's not easy to transform your staff into selling powerhouses.
You've probably heard it said of someone, “They could sell ice to an Eskimo,” or something similar.
But how did they get that way? Is the ability to excel at retail selling an easy, instinctive talent that can’t be learned?
Not at all.
Anyone can learn the best sales techniques in retail. If you want to hit the target, you must be more human...
Here are the best retail sales techniques:
1. Sell people on benefits
The “selling ice to an Eskimo” comment may be intended to compliment someone’s selling ability, but in truth, it highlights what a salesperson shouldn’t do.
Selling products or services that aren’t genuinely useful, enjoyable, or beneficial to a customer may help a salesperson’s short-term retail sales numbers.
However, you can’t be a great salesperson in the long run if you don’t consistently provide value to your customers.
Selling things to customers that they’ll regret buying will result in them never returning and likely spreading negative impressions of your brand across Facebook and Twitter.
The best salespeople not only understand this principle but also apply it to their sales efforts. They clarify to the customer how an item will benefit them, then repeat what they will get from buying the product throughout the selling process.
2. Be honest
Never overstate the value of a product or service, and don’t gloss over potential shortcomings.
Not only does lying hurt your reputation and the brand’s reputation, but most customers are also savvy enough to tell when someone is honest with them—and they like it!
If they trust you, they’re more likely to buy.
3. Upsell
Great salespeople always try to increase sales. This isn’t something a salesperson should feel guilty about. As a salesperson, that’s your job—as long as you’re honest.
Often, you can upsell or suggestively sell by identifying a customer’s fears. If you can understand what customers are worried about, you can demonstrate how additional products and/or services can help alleviate their problems.
For example, "Have you ever gotten home, ready to paint, and discovered you were out of masking tape? We have several types right here."
Other times, you’re appealing to upsell a customer’s desires, which are sometimes not clarified in their minds. If you can identify what a person is really after (e.g., not a specific car but a safe, affordable car that’s a little sporty), you can gear your selling toward meeting that desire.
This can often result in a larger sale and make the customer truly happy.
4. Learn from your successes and mistakes
You don’t stop learning to be a salesperson when your training is over—it’s an ongoing process.
Great retail salespeople treat each sales opportunity as a chance to learn what works and what doesn't and always look for ways to improve. And if it doesn't work, they know the selling equation.
5. Go the extra mile
Selling is like dieting, learning a sport or musical instrument, or improving your language skills—persistence pays off. You don’t want to be pushy, but you also want to be diligent in your follow-up, both pre-sale and after the sale.
Show customers you genuinely care about their experience and want to help them, not just yourself, via their wallet. Consistently making slight personalized contact can go a long way toward increasing your sales. In many ways, making a sale is a courtship, and there’s nothing wrong with “wooing” customers.
6. Pay attention to customer psychology
Great salespeople focus on “reading” customers’ personalities and adjusting their sales techniques based on the personality type.
For example, Drivers require a different selling approach than Amiables. Consider how various kinds of people react differently to sales approaches and alter your techniques accordingly.
7. Don’t act desperate
No matter how much you want to make a sale, don’t let the customer “see you sweat.” Remember that you’re selling them something that will improve their lives (or you should be), and your attitude should reflect that to the customer.
See also: Customer Service: 50 Things Retail Employees Should Never Do
It's all about the customer experience.
Too often, we approach selling at retail as if it were all about how great our product is.
It is a one-sided arrangement where we try to get the person's money to make ourselves happy.
The best selling techniques will make you better. However, to become great, you should understand that it's not about your need to make the sale—it's all about the customer's experience in your store.
