I recently came across yet another article about the frustrations of dealing with poor service in the retail sector.
In this particular case, the author described his rather negative experiences as he shopped for a new car. Instead of trying to help him in this process, it seemed like the car dealerships he visited were a lot more focused on the ‘Sales Prevention Game’.
No doubt, many of you reading this have had the same experiences in all types of stores and businesses.
So, you know what I’m talking about and can likely recognize some of these ‘sales prevention’ activities in stores:
- Customers left unacknowledged and unattended
- Being served by unmotivated and uncaring staff
- New employees who haven’t been trained properly
- Stores that are merchandised or maintained as if this type of work is only performed in the dark
- Discounted product (or any merchandise) that isn’t properly signed or tagged
- Store Managers setting a poor example for their staff to follow
Unfortunately, the list goes on and on.
You, of course, realize that you’re really in the business of making sales, not preventing them. But I’m not so sure that all of your staff are as clear on this issue. So, this is really just a challenge to them.
Ask your employees, point blank, if they are in the ‘Sales Prevention Department’ or the ‘Sales Generation Department’. Get them thinking about the role they play and how important they are to the overall success of the store. You’ll probably find that this is a great opportunity to recognize those team members with the best attitudes. However, you should also be prepared to have a clear and candid discussion about performance with a number of others as well!
Don’t forget to ask yourself what you have or haven’t done that may have created the current sales attitudes prevalent in your stores.
Have you been sending the right messages?
What skills have you developed in your staff?
What behaviours have you been rewarding?
Does YOUR company offer effective management training to prevent this situation from happening in YOUR store?
If not, we can help with that. Just contact us at solutions@graffretail.com or 905-842-1275.
