THE CUSTOMER AS THE SALESMAN’S GUEST
THE HUMAN HEART THROB
So far we have been considering those important matters that have to do
with the salesman’s relationship to _himself_—the responsibility he has
to build for himself a healthy mind, and business spirit. We are now
interested to consider his relationship to the person who supplies the
power to operate the whole machinery of commerce, who foots all the
store’s expenses, and who regulates the size of the salesman’s pay—the
customer.
A man whose career as a salesman had extended over many years, and who
had been unusually successful in his work, was once asked before a large
gathering of business men to tell them what great power he considered
responsible for his success in selling goods. His reply was the simple
and beautiful fact that he learned to _love_ his customers. What he
meant, of course, was that he had trained himself to regard each
customer and to show him the same consideration and interest as though
the customer were his warmest friend. Mention love, and we immediately
think of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, with his fiery devotion, would have
made a wonderful salesman if he had applied the same enthusiasm to the
commercial field.
The man who said he loved his customers was not some soft, wishy-washy
dreamer who gazed soulfully into his customer’s eyes. He was a strong,
vigorous, man’s man, who understood enough about human nature to know
that it is sympathetic interest coming from the heart that the customer
wants and for which he is happy to pay. He wants to feel that his
request to be served will be considered by the salesman not simply as
another series of mechanical motions, but rather as an opportunity to be
of genuine help.
GREETING THE CUSTOMER
The kind of respect and consideration a gentleman gives to a guest in
his own home is the standard by which the successful salesman measures
his service to the customer. There is nothing false or artificial in it;
simply a genuine effort to please. When reduced to this basis the art of
good salesmanship is not a series of cut-and-dry rules to tell the
beginner how many steps to take forward when greeting a customer, when
to reach up to remove a box from the stock, case, or when and how to
accept the customer’s money. Those are simply mechanical operations and
should not constitute a more important part of the sale than the arm
motion of a speaker in delivering an address. To the man who has his
heart in his work the mechanical motions called for in conducting a sale
will come as naturally as breathing.
In line with the thought of natural selling, it is evident that a
salesman should not rush at the customer. To pass someone else who is
approaching a customer with the idea of serving him means to cause
resentment both in the customer’s mind and in that of the fellow-worker.
Of course, the customer will be treated with politeness, but this again
is more of a forced expression of consideration. The trick monkey that
accompanies the Italian organ grinder has been trained to take off his
little red cap whenever anyone put a cent in the tin can. This is a
mechanical movement that might be considered politeness, but surely it
does not express any part of the salesman’s responsibility in serving
his customer. The salesman is _courteous_, which implies that there is
in him a genuine regard and an honest effort to show every respect to
which his customer is entitled. Courtesy is the habit of being
polite—that means it is a natural expression and not artificial.
The impression made upon the customer at the time he first enters the
store or department depends upon the manner in which he is
received—whether his host is glad to see him or whether he seems bored
by the fact that another visitor has come. When he realizes that he is
welcome there comes at once a warmth of friendship that removes his
natural tendency to restraint. The salesman’s responsibility is to
remove every obstacle that stands between the meeting and the final
sale. A cold reception will prejudice a customer against the house and
the salesman. Therefore, greet him cordially, so that the sale may
commence on even ground. This will save both time and selling effort.
H. T. Conner, vice-president of the George E. Keith Stores Company,
believes that a natural smile on the face of the salesman as he greets
the customer governs the success of the meeting. He says: “The first
duty of the salesman is to smile. A great big smile always wins. Be good
natured. No matter how grouchy your customer may be you can rest assured
that a pleasant word or two will set him right. Look your customer
straight in the eye and convince him that you are at his service. Do
this and the sale is yours. Never permit the grouch to get the better of
your patience, for it means lost time and ten to one you will not be any
good to serve the next customer.”
REMEMBERING THE NAME
To know the customer’s name and to greet him by name sets aside many of
the first obstacles in the way of getting started with the sale. By all
means the art of remembering names should be cultivated. George Boldt,
who until his death a few years ago was proprietor of the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, built up a fortune of millions on the
strength of his great personality. He recognized that men and women feel
more at home, and are also mildly flattered, when addressed by name. Mr.
Boldt made it his business to remember the names and faces of thousands
of his guests, in order that he might greet them cordially as they
entered. To remember all these names he followed the plan of repeating
each one over and over to himself when first hearing it. He pictured in
his mind how the name would look when written and then associated it
with the appearance, voice and manner of the individual man or woman.
This required some effort, of course, but it is important enough to be
seriously considered by everyone who is constantly serving people.
In Chicago there is a woman in the shoe department of a large store who
has built up a large following of customers in much the same way. She
has gone a step further, however, in that she remembers also their
special preferences, when they made the last purchase, and, if there are
children in the family whom she has served, she remembers also their
names. When we consider that her income is two or three times as great
as that of other salespeople in the same department, who will say that
it isn’t worth the effort?
NO GEOGRAPHY IN SERVICE
The summer resort shop requires a special style, color or material in a
shoe in order to satisfy the needs of its customers; the professional
man prefers one style above another; the laboring man has his
preference; the Westerner has his choice, which is altogether different
from what the city man in the East requires, and so on it goes, each man
for his own needs and preferences. But not so in the quality of service
required by the customer. Human nature is the same from Maine to
California, in the ditch digger and in the bank president. The salesman
who does not recognize the truth of this fact cannot grow. The
successful salesman of the East is also the successful man of the West,
the North and the South, but the salesman of narrow vision and small
purpose is a failure wherever he goes.
FAMILIARITY
A splendid thing it is, and a mark of genuine service, to recognize a
customer, to know his preferences and to take a personal interest in
him. But what a different thing it is and how important it is for the
salesman to know the difference between this and forced familiarity or
attempts at “showing off.” The latter can do nothing but cause the
customer to lose his regard and perhaps go elsewhere to be served. The
man of experience in business recognizes the difference and governs
himself accordingly. He continually bears in mind the fact that the
customer has come on a business matter and that his sole interest is to
be well served with the goods he needs.
MEETING HIM FACE TO FACE
Without giving the matter a thought, a salesman, or a group of them, may
sometimes take station at the front of the store with their backs toward
the door while they engage in conversation. Although this may seem a
minor matter it is nevertheless important, for the reason that the
effect given is not good on a person entering the store. A person’s back
suggests coldness and a spirit of unfriendliness. Make every effort to
establish and hold the good graces of the customer—this is necessary.
Meet your man face to face. Let him know you are pleased to serve him
and he will be just as pleased to give you the business.
SIDE CHATTER
Here is the experience of a man as told by him at a recent sales
convention. On his way to the office one morning about nine o’clock he
dropped in at a nearby store to make a purchase of a pair of shoes.
Entering, he noticed three of the salesmen grouped around one of the
display cases, listening attentively to a member of the party who had
full sway of the interest. At the farther end of the store was the only
other salesman on the floor, and he was busy with the stock. In relating
the experience the man further mentioned that he waited for a minute or
two (which seemed to him like five or ten), and finally turned to make
his way to the door. Not until then, when he was about to leave, did one
of the number break away from the group and call out, “Something I can
do for you?” Under the circumstances the answer, of course, was “No,”
and the door closed on a perfectly good sale that was missed.
This man was not a grouch by any means. He was a busy business man and
thought enough of his time and the day’s work before him to become
restless when called upon to waste his minutes when there was no
occasion for it. Very likely the story that seemed so important to the
salesmen at the time was the recital of some ordinary experience of the
night before—whatever it was it was not important enough to warrant
losing the man’s business, not only on that sale but ever since. Anyone
who thinks about it for a minute will realize that idle talk on
unimportant matters, gossip, story-telling and the like, is just plain
waste. It wastes the time of the man who talks and of those who
listen—and any person around cannot well help listening. There are
certain times in most stores and departments when trading is quiet and
there is no important current work to be done. This can be well used as
an opportunity to get acquainted with the trade papers, catalogs and
good business books, or to talk over with fellow-workers store problems,
experiences, ideas, etc.
Then there is “kidding” with some other of the men or girls while
waiting on a customer. This is fatal. As far as retaining the customer’s
respect and confidence is concerned the salesman might just as well tell
him that he is of no importance—and that is practically what it amounts
to.
The following is another form of side chatter to be guarded against.
Consider what an impression this would have on you if you were in the
customer’s position:
_Customer_: “Do you have this same style in a vici kid?”
_Clerk_ (turning around): “Hey, Joe—do we have this style in a vici
kid?”
_Joe_: “No.”
_Customer_: “What is the price of this pair?”
_Clerk_ (turning around and holding shoe in the air): “Joe, what are we
getting for these?”
_Joe_: “Nine-fifty.”
When next the customer comes in to buy, if he does, it is a certainty
that he will either choose Joe or someone who seemed to have some reason
to be called a salesman. Successful selling is based on confidence.
Anything that destroys confidence injures the salesman.
PAINFUL SILENCE
Washington Irving, the famous American author, tells of one of the early
Dutch settlers in New York who made it his special rule in public always
to be silent. At public gatherings he would be present but would say
nothing, and when a discussion arose he would smoke his pipe soberly and
silently look on. After the question had been decided and all
differences of opinion had been set aside the men would turn to the
silent friend and find on his face an expression that meant: “Of course,
I knew the answer all the time, but was letting you younger boys work it
out for yourselves.” In time he came to be considered the wise man of
the community.
But this sort of thing does not go in retail selling. The customer must
be made to feel comfortable and at home. A man coming into the store
said that he would like to look at a shoe, size 7D, the same as the one
he pointed out in the window. Turning about, without comment, the
salesman made his way to the rear of the store to select the shoe,
leaving the customer to look over the row of empty chairs and choose one
for himself. Returning the salesman seated himself on the stool and,
without comment, removed the customer’s old shoe and finally, without
comment, placed the new one on the foot, laced it up, and then only then
did he break forth into speech with, “There, how’s that?”
Until then the anxious customer silently wondered whether, perhaps, the
shoe was one he should not have asked for, whether possibly he had
selected a chair he should not have taken, or whether it was just a case
of the salesman not liking him. Surely he could not be expected to know
whether the salesman was a silent wise man, making an effort to please,
or just a silent man not sufficiently interested even to extend the
customary courtesies.
A general rule on this point that will never go wrong is to say at least
enough so that the customer will understand you are on his side.
CUSTOMER CONCENTRATION
Another way of expressing the idea of customer concentration is just
this: Give the customer, while you are serving him, one hundred per cent
of your attention, interest, thought and knowledge of the business. Any
measure less than that means there will be a loss somewhere and the wise
salesman will make sure it is not his loss.
One of the retailers with a long chain of successful stores, in speaking
of this, brought out the distinction between classes of salespeople in
this way:
“Salespersons may be divided into two classes: those who simply wait
upon the customers and those who sell and _produce business_. The
members of the first class perform their work like machines; they sell
goods asked for by customers and their chief thought is to get rid of
the customer as quickly as possible, and, perhaps, to get all the money
from him they can. They have _no suggestions to make and no advice to
give_. They know little more about the goods than the price.
“The other class of salespersons take an interest in their customers to
make them satisfied with the service given. They firmly believe that a
sale is not complete unless satisfaction on the part of the customer
accompanies it. They firmly believe in the goods they are offering and
they communicate this confidence to their customers. They know that a
satisfied customer is a walking advertisement for their store.”
The salesman should bear in mind that the customer is not a shoe expert,
that the person of average means does not buy a pair more than two or
three times a year, and that he actually needs helpful advice and
suggestions. By learning, first of all, just what it is the customer has
in mind to buy, the salesman, with his knowledge of the stock and of the
business, is well able to offer a genuine service. An important point is
well brought out above, that a customer, rightly served, is a living
advertisement, not alone for the store but also for the man who serves
him.
TALKING IN TERMS OF “YOU”
A splendid thing it is, and a needful part of every salesman’s make-up,
to have loyalty for his house and a firm conviction in its high standard
of business character. On the other hand, in his relations with the
customer he should always remember that there is in the customer’s mind
just one question and that is, “In what way will this thing be of
benefit to _me_?” He is interested in the honesty of the house and the
guarantee behind its word, he is interested in the salesman who serves
him, he is interested in the style of the shoe, in its fit and wearing
qualities only in so far as they are to be of special benefit to
himself. It is for the salesman to appreciate and to take advantage of
this fact in his treatment of the customer.
This same idea has been expressed in another way, as follows: “The man
who is to be a success in selling must learn to ‘put the buyer in the
picture.’” This is just another way of saying that the salesman, in his
effort to serve, must convince the customer, at every turn, of the
special advantages the goods hold for him. If the customer is a stout
woman she is not interested to know that the shoe would look
exceptionally well on a tall slender person, nor does she care
especially that there are some very nice shoes in stock at twice the
price she has to spend. From start to finish talk shoes for stout women
of her height and around the price she has to spend, bearing in mind, of
course, that she may be able to increase her idea of price.
In selling women’s suits and dresses, and men’s suits, too, there is a
little trick of the trade to get the goods on the back of the
prospective customer as soon as possible. The salesperson might show the
customer a fine picture of a slim young miss wearing a similar pattern
of dress as the one in which the woman expressed an interest, or the man
might be shown the picture of a college boy wearing the same model as
the one he inquired about, but the experienced salesperson knows better
than to waste time that way. The moment he finds a suit in which the
man, for instance, has shown an interest, he asks him to slip on the
coat “just for the size,” and then leads him over to the mirror. What he
has done, you will notice, is to place the customer in the picture,
which is just exactly what appeals to every buyer.
Follow this cue from the experience of the clothing salesman. Plan the
whole effort to please the customer from the moment he enters the store
until you bid him “Good-by,” by showing him _himself_ as the central
figure in the picture.
STICK TO THE SALE
Someone has told an exaggerated yarn of a young sales clerk who had been
given as a word of advice by a well-meaning salesman of more experience
the suggestion that he should show a special interest in each customer,
because upon that would depend his success. The first customer to
approach the clerk was an old lady heavily weighted with the worries she
had accumulated and nursed for almost sixty years. Being comfortably
seated in one of the chairs her mind began its usual pastime of
freshening up the worries of the past, and the old lady became
talkative. Determined that he would be a success as a salesman,
according to what little he had been told of it, the clerk showed every
indication of interest and sympathy—even grief as the sad story
proceeded.
The old lady, encouraged and comforted because she had found such a good
listener, continued on and on and on, and as she continued her recital
became more expressive and her grief more bitter. At any rate the two of
them enjoyed the sorrow together, and after the lady had been partly
revived with a glass of water and a large fan she was then able with
assistance to reach the door and make her way homeward. She had lost all
thought of the sale and had wasted an hour of her own time and the
clerk’s.
The trouble here was that in his effort to follow instructions the clerk
had allowed himself to lose sight of the fact that he was selling shoes
and not sympathy. Certain types of good customers there are who like to
talk. The experienced salesman learns the knack of listening without
encouraging a long yarn that will take his time and prevent him from
serving the next waiting customer.
As with the customer so with the salesman there is sometimes a tendency
to drift to things that have no relation to the sale he is trying to
make. Remember that the sale is a courteous business transaction and not
a social visit. Stick to the sale and make it _pleasant business_ from
start to finish.
TALKING IN POSITIVE TERMS
“You wouldn’t want a nice pair of canvas shoes, would you?” ventured the
clerk. And the answer suggested to the customer was, “No, thank you.”
The salesman is not interested in knowing what the customer may _not_
want and it certainly is not part of his job to suggest “No” to the
customer. Consider the effect on the customer’s mind of the same idea
expressed in _positive_ terms rather than negative. “We have just
received some new styles of pretty canvas shoes that I know you will be
glad to see,” and then the salesman is on his way to produce a pair.
When put in some such positive form there is less than one chance in ten
that the customer will not remain and be well pleased to look at the
shoes. Then a new sale begins from that point on.
“You did not ask for tan shoes; you asked for black,” says the
inexperienced salesman. Although what he says is absolutely true, it is
bound to set up in the mind of the customer a feeling of antagonism
which will have to be overcome later before the clerk can number this
man among his friendly customers. Anything that suggests a negative
thought in the customer’s mind must be faithfully avoided. It is bound
to kill confidence and enthusiasm.
“Don’t you like that style? Why not?” The reaction on the customer’s
mind as a result of that question will probably be that he did not come
in to explain his preference in style but to buy himself a pair of
shoes. Take advantage of the point he has made, that he does not care
for the style. It is evident that you have misjudged his taste. Make a
positive suggestion out of it by letting him understand that you are
interested to know first how the shoe is for fit and that you have a
different style that you believe will meet his ideas on appearance and
quality.
To ask a customer “What size do you wear?” might give him the impression
that the salesman does not know his business. If he is the kind of man
who keeps those things in his head, he will probably mention the size by
the time the shoe is removed from the foot. If he does not, the
experienced salesman will carefully use his measuring stick and then
confidently start off for the stock. There are, in fact, some stores
that have established a special rule among the salesmen that the old
shoe is not to be referred to for size, but that the measuring stick is
to be used at once. To repeat for emphasis: Most men do not buy shoes
often enough to remember all the details of size, style, materials and
the like. They are not experts but come to the salesman to receive
expert service.
DON’T ARGUE
Following the thought of suggesting only positive ideas is the important
point to avoid argument with the customer. Argument is negative, and
does not serve to get the customer in a buying frame of mind. He may
make some statement that is absolutely without foundation concerning
quality, make or price. Whatever it may be the salesman can do nothing
better to strengthen himself and the reputation of his goods than to
give the customer the true facts in the form of confident suggestions
rather than sledge-hammer blows of argument. For example:
“There is no occasion for these present high prices of shoes. The
manufacturers and the dealers are simply taking advantage of conditions
to make big profits,” says the customer.
“Yes, the prices certainly are higher than those we have been accustomed
to lately,” says the salesman, agreeing but preparing the customer to
accept the facts, “but when we consider that the price of hides and
skins has advanced anywhere from two hundred to five hundred per cent,
due to scarcity, and that labor costs are close on to seventy-five per
cent higher than they were a short time ago”—and the salesman need not
go further in most cases. He has “let the customer down easy” and at the
same time given him the facts. The result is a better understanding of
the true conditions and a higher regard for the salesman’s ability. It
distresses any man to have himself brought face to face with the fact
that his statement is without foundation. The salesman should plan, as
in this instance, to offer his facts so skillfully that the customer
will not recognize that he is being convinced of his error.
Concerning the goods of competitors, the salesman in most instances will
find it best, by all means, to make no effort to go into the relative
merits of quality, style, fit, business policy or any other such
questions. He is not in business to advertise his competitors, and
therefore the more he leaves them in the background of the picture the
greater will be his success in selling his own line. This point is
treated more fully in the chapter on “Showing the Goods.”
WAR-TIME PORTIONS OUT OF DATE
During the war period everyone learned to accept gladly war-time
portions, of food especially, and also to a great extent, war-time
portions of service. That term “war-time” meant to us just a little bit
less or just a little lower quality than what we had been accustomed to
and what we needed in order to be perfectly content.
Although a salesman may be busy and have several customers waiting to be
served, there is no need for him to render war-time service. A few words
of explanation to the customer the moment he or she enters the store
will bridge over the delay caused by the salesman’s inability to give
instant service.
Courtesy and consideration of the customer’s needs does not, as a rule,
require more time than slip-shod service and the delay caused by it. As
already mentioned, the general run of men and women come to the store on
a matter of business and they do not have any special desire to remain
any longer than necessary to get well served in their requirements.
A full measure of service, then, is the just dessert of every customer.
It pays dividends for the store and increases the salesman’s salary.