What methods can a medium-sized shoe store use to motivate its sales staff?
Nicole Voss: Mental coaching is important because success starts in the head. How often do we unconsciously have our inner price limit in the back of our minds or how often does the typical salesperson’s favorite question slip out: “Can I help you?” Purchasing decisions are made purely emotionally. That’s why we urgently need an understanding of new ways of thinking and acting in retail. It is no longer enough to offer goods in beautifully decorated rooms. It’s about so much more today. It’s about the entertainment and the magic in the moment when people interact with each other. But it’s also about mission statements, added value, lived culture and the authenticity of the people and brands. We can rethink the willingness of the entire workforce and think big together.
How do you approach sales training and coaching?
Success is always a reflection of the company. The message must be clear and real. This is how trust grows. When the mood is good, customers feel good, the time they spend in the store increases, customers come more often and buy more regularly. Our seminars are not classic sales training, but in our coaching we always focus on the power of words, active listening and the resolution of language patterns, taking typology into account. And we radiate a good mood. In our training sessions, participants should experience and understand the philosophy and core of the brand. Is it about quantity or class? About the experience? Host? Should customers stay longer in the sales rooms? What is the language like among each other? The atmosphere? How is it handled? Is the mission statement lived? How specifically is appreciation felt? Is everything rather loud and casual? Or rather quiet?
How do I turn my team into entertainers?
Not every salesperson is an entertainer. Otherwise no one would have a say and we would have a lot of chaos in the areas. The basis for an excellent team performance can be compared to a perfectly coordinated football team. One can run faster and the other is better at defense. This example alone shows clearly that we cannot continue to leave success to chance and set up the team based on typology. Get out of the old thought patterns. Stop selling. The entertainers in the team find their place just as much as the organizers, the emphatic ones or the controllers. People can do so much more once they are aware of their potential and talents and are positioned precisely.
Give us a tip for more frequency and sales on the premises!
Nothing works without emotion and this should definitely be ensured on the surfaces. Goods management, returns… and, above all, private conversations do not belong on the floor. The area is a stage and the stage is a show. As soon as we are on the floor, we are on stage and delight our fans. Maybe there’s a bit of acting here and there, or a bit of drama. But that is what attracts customers. People make brands.
How can impulse purchases be generated in sales? Do you have a tip?
Once people understand that 97% of decisions are made emotionally and how emotionalization is consciously controlled by the limbic system, these teams are proven to generate measurable peak performance. Receipts of up to 50 parts are not uncommon here. That sounds a bit crazy, but even if the receipts were only increased by a fraction per customer, that would be a pretty good result. Customers always buy when the mood is right and the atmosphere is good.
What is the absolute no-go when talking to customers?
There is not just one no-go, but many no-gos that are off-putting. “If it’s no longer there, it’s gone,” we know this typical sentence and so many other salespeople’s nonsense sentences, such as “If you have any questions, please get in touch.” And then there are the types of salespeople, who would rather take care of organizational matters than greet a customer happily. Everyone knows them, those bored faces that scan you from top to bottom, unwilling to move a meter in your direction. But negative conversations among each other and gossiping about other people also disrupt sales. Better imagine that the space is your party and the customers are your guests. Conclusion: Service means serving and if you don’t feel like that, you should clean up the warehouse.
