Closing a sale is a lot easier than all the books make it out to be.
It starts with asking a whole bunch of questions before you make the sale to make sure the product you recommend is the perfect fit (or at least really good).
And it ends with three simple tasks – Complete, Compliment and Suggest
Complete the Sale
“Ya want fries with that?” Although that has become the iconic symbol of poor add-on sales technique, the premise behind it is dead-on. You need to make sure that with every purchase the customer has everything she needs to complete the purchase.
If she is buying a blouse, does she need a sweater, jacket, pants, skirt, shawl, necklace to complete the look?
If she is buying a toy for her child does she need batteries, accessories, a play mat?
If she is buying a necklace does she need the bracelet, watch and earrings to complete the set?
If she is buying a new grill for the deck does she need grilling tools, a grilling cookbook, a conversion to natural gas kit, delivery and installation?
It isn’t just the obvious, either. Look at the whole picture. Why is she buying this item? Who is it for? What else will they need? Make sure you have shown all the possible items needed to make the sale complete so that she will not have to make another trip to the store later (which will not be to your store because she’s mad about not having everything she needs.)
Compliment Her Purchases
This may seem weird, but if you have done your job and helped her pick the perfect item, you need to then compliment her on her selection. It reassures her that she is making the right purchase. It helps her feel better about buying, and it opens the door for more relationship-building conversation.
Tell her why she will be happy with the item. Remind her why you believe it is a good fit to her needs. It is even okay to point out the flaws, if only to let her know that while not perfect, it is still a good fit. If you have used the product, tell her why you like it or why other customers who have purchased it have liked it. Be honest, though. She will smell a phony compliment instantly.
(Note: if you cannot sincerely compliment her on the purchase then you did not get her the right item. Sometimes you win in the long run when you simply say you are sorry but you do not have what she really needs. Show her something you know she will be happy to own.)
Suggest Better Ways to Use Her Purchase
One more way to make her feel good about what she is choosing to buy is to give her tips and suggestions that make the use of her new product easier.
We use this with strollers by showing customers how to clean the wheels, why to use a silicone lubricant rather than WD-40 (silicone is better for plastics than WD-40). Not only do we arm her with more product knowledge, we also eliminate the unhappy customer coming back because the wheels squeak. She knew they would eventually squeak and knew how to solve that problem.
If you Complete, Compliment and Suggest you will give your customer the ultimate confidence in her purchase and the same confidence in your store. Not only will you close this sale, you will have already begun closing future sales. Yeah, it is that WOWerful!
-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com
PS For more examples of how to WOW your customers, download my FREE eBook Customer Service: From Weak to WOW!