The Other Side of the Counter

If you are a retailer, from time to time it's beneficial to move from behind the counter. Look at your business the way your customers do. What they see and experience is important. Does the appearance of the store reflect what you want the customers to feel? This starts with the obvious thought that a "dollar store" can have a cluttered look while a high end clothing store shouldn't. Take the assessment through to more refinement. Does the look reflect the price range that you carry or the market you are in? Are you contemplating a change in your offering? Are you bringing in a new line?

This can have a dramatic effect on the success of a business. A new owner of a small town jewellery store renovated the store and the result was a beautiful store that perhaps bordered on lavish. The locals felt uncomfortable in the store, it seemed beyond their means and they stopped shopping in the store.

This "other side of the counter" assessment should also include staff. How do they look? How do they interact with the customer? What is the customers' experience in your store? Get out from behind the counter and analyzing your business from your customers' perspective.

You Don't Need Better Sales People, You Need Better Customers

In a recent meeting with a prospective client we were discussing how to communicate with today's consumer. Compared to the past, today's consumer has increased money and decreased time. Today's consumer is less sensitive to price and more sensitive to time. Look at the extremely time stressed, if they saved a few bucks on a purchase but ended up having to bring the item back for service they feel as though they lost. "Plug and Play." They want to take it home and start enjoying. My "prospective" client will become someone else's problem. He was stuck on his need for "better sales people" with "higher closing ratios." His focus is on the process of converting traffic through his door into sales, instead of customer needs.

"Higher closing ratio" is more about control and less about delivering a wonderful experience. It's the difference between being sold and being helped to buy. Sometimes when you are in the sales game and you deal with a "closer" it's fun to go through the process and watch how the "closer" handles the situation. But when you are aware of the process you can choose to opt out because you know the techniques that are used. This is not fun when the consumer is not in the sales game and through manipulation end up making a purchase. The company that is focused on "closing ratio" thinks this is good but they are focued on their agenda and the consumers are being "sold." It is infinitely better to work alsonside them coaching them as you acquire what it exactly right for them.

Look at your business. Are you selling what you want customers to buy or are you helping customers get what they want and need? For the long term health of your business you are better off helping customers because they will return, often with lower resistance and they will refer their friends. A serious note of caution, when they do return with lowered resistance, NEVER take advantage. Treat this as a sacred trust. In the long run your closing ratios will go way up because you will be attracting better customers.