By Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY, NSW: Here’s a novel tip for sales staff looking to avoid having to discount in order to close a sale: offer the consumer your own money.
Retail training expert Bob Johnson told Current.com.au that if you offer to discount a product the value of your sales commission, many will be too gratified by the gesture to accept. He said this is a good ‘last resort’ tip to help get a wavering consumer across the line.
“As a last resort, give away your own money: tell the customer you’ll give them the value of your commission on the item,” Johnson said.
“If that is, say, around 2% of retail value, then on an $800 item your commission will be $16. Offer the customer the $16 off the ticketed price.
“Many will not like the idea of taking money out of your pocket.”
Johnson, who currently owns and operates his own retail training business, is a former retailer himself. He is passionate about helping retailers maximise sales without having to discount. Another of his tips is to build personal relationships between sales staff and customers. Learn regular customer names, hobbies and habits, and they will be more likely to pay full price for an item, rather than haggling as they would with someone they didn’t know, he said.
Bob Johnson is the proprieter of Turning Point Training & Development and Applied Retail Training. He is a regular contributor to Appliance Retailer magazine.
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