Our recent webinar was entitled, “That’s My Customer!” – Building Personal Trade.
We have partnered with Karen Barry of The Friedman Group, to do some deep dives into 7 different hot topics in Retail Sales.
What is Personal Trade, and why is it so important?
Here are some of the highlights covered in the webinar:
- Customers who ask for a specific sales associate on any visit or telephone call
- May be repeat customers or referrals
- Personal trade clients are much more likely to buy.. And when they do their average sale is higher than the store’s average sale.
- It’s always easier to sell to a repeat customer
How do you earn the right to follow up with clients?
Throughout the selling process look for opportunities to gather some personal information such as:
- Family details
- Work
- Personal tastes for future recommendations
- Lifestyle and hobbies
- Language and culture
Be practical about this. Don’t make it into an interrogation
Record details in a system like Trakwell.ai. In the Trakwell CRM, there is a searchable database.
For example, your store is having a sale on leather loveseats. You know you have spoken to several people in the last month about their need for ‘a new loveseat’ . Now you can search and filter everyone that has expressed an interest and use that as an opportunity to build personal trade with them!
What are some strategies for building long term client relationships?
Diligent follow-up sets you apart from the competition, creates trust and generates sales.
Some follow up ideas:
- Thank you notes
Send a personal, handwritten thank you note.This creates a powerful and positive impression on your customers.
Don’t make it about a discount or coupon. - Telephone
- Getting permission to talk.
- Identify yourself and confirm that they have time to talk.
- Use your words to enhance communication. Deliver a headline. Make it brief.
- Gaining a commitment or having an action plan
- Email
- Use a non-robotic subject line.
- Keep it short and simple. Include photos and/or links.
- Close with your plan for follow-up.
- Social media
- Keep tone positive and lighthearted when tagging customers.
- Remember the effect of social media is meant to be cumulative.
- Report and react at every opportunity, and remember others are reading.
- Know when to switch to private messaging.
- Don’t flood their feed, but stay top of mind.
- Text messaging
- The customer belongs to the store, not the salesperson.
- Less formal does not mean unprofessional.
- Don’t overdo it.
- If possible, use a store-owned device.
When it comes to developing your personal trade business, the most important factor isn’t technique or even strategy. It is simply your understanding of the value of personal trade and your commitment to fully realizing that value.
If you would like to schedule a consultation with the Friedman Group to see how they can help you turn your retail staff into sales generating rock stars: click here.
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