Whether you work on commission or not your customers must be trained if you don’t own your own business. Good customers and clients should be trained to only come into the business when you are there. At the closing of each sale, you start off by repeating your days off and never to come in on those days. You also write it on the back of your business card and give it to all good customers. Most important you must remind your customers that if they come into the business and do not see you, it does not mean you are not there, and that they should always ask for you; you could just be in the back room for a moment. You want to avoid other salespeople taking you customers. What you want to project to the customer is the image or perception that working with you will always be fun and uplifting. Those who are successful at this will increase their bottom line. $$$$$ This mostly applies to those working in retail. However if you don’t make their buying experience fun and uplifting you will only be partially successful. If you are in a position to Retail Only:
- Do a return that is beyond the return date. Let the customer think you are breaking all the rules for him or her.
- Once in a while give the customer a discount to make him a loyal customer to you.
- When ever you bend the rules make sure the customer or client knows that you are making the exception just for him alone and you want him only to ask for you when buying.
Treating Your Customers Like Friends
This is a big part of the customer training. Respect your customers, but not to the point to make yourself seem too stiff. Talk to your customers in a very relaxed manner, like friends even dear friends. The friendlier and more helpful you are the more trusting the customer will become. The end result will be more sales for you. Only spend extra quality time with big spenders which is part of time management.
