Download OBJECTIVE: 5.02 Demonstrate the steps of a sale.

UNIT E
SELLING FASHION
5.02 Demonstrate the steps of a
sale.
The Steps of a Sale
Approach
Determining customer needs and wants
Merchandise presentation
Handling customer objections
Closing the sale
Suggestion selling
Thanking and reassuring the customer
Sales follow-up
The Approach
The initial face-to-face meeting with the
customer.
Usually within 30
seconds from the
time a customer
enters the store or
department
Used to
acknowledge
customer presence
Greeting approach
Service approach
Merchandise approach
Greeting approach
May include an
introduction of oneself
May be combined with
the service or
merchandise approach
Service approach
Considered the least effective
approach method
Appropriate method to use
when customer has already
decided what to purchase
Merchandise approach
Includes comment(s) or a question
about the merchandise the customer is
looking at or handling
Appropriate to use if customer is
actually handling or looking at specific
merchandise
Considered the most effective approach
method
Customers make a purchase
approximately 63% of the time when a
merchandise approach is used.
Determining Customers’ Needs
and Wants
Determine buying motives
Observe customer type
Use open-ended
questions
Buying motives:
A customer’s
reasons for
buying goods
and services.
Rational motives
Emotional motives
Patronage motives
 Rational motives: Customer
reasons for buying based on
logical thinking and decisionmaking.
 Emotional motives: Customer
reasons for buying based on
feelings.
 Patronage motives: Reasons
customers choose to shop at
one store instead of another.
Types of customers
Casual lookers: Customers who are
killing time or simply browsing.
Undecided customers: Customers who
need an item but want more
information before making a purchase.
Decided customers: Customers who
know exactly what they want and why,
and prefer to make their purchase
quickly.
Open-Ended Questions
Cannot be answered with a “yes” or
“no”
Used to get more information from
customers to help select appropriate
merchandise to show
Merchandise Presentation
1. Determine which product features and
benefits are important to the customer.
2. Translate features into benefits.
3. Actively involve the customer in the
presentation.
4. Show no more than three items at once.
5. Show medium-priced merchandise first.
6. Exceptions are made to items 4 and 5 in
the case of the decided customer who
already knows what he/she wants to
purchase.
Product features and benefits
Product features: Physical
characteristics of an item.
Product benefits:
Satisfactions customers derive
from product features.
Translate features into benefits.
Customers buy benefits, not specific features!
Benefits change from customer to customer for
the same features.
The salesperson observes, listens, and
questions to determine which benefit(s) to
stress to customer.
An individual customer may desire different
features and benefits from time to time—even
for the same product.
Example: “The vertical stripes (feature) make you
look taller (benefit).”
Handling Customer Objections
Objections: Honest reasons a customer
hesitates to buy.
 May be spoken or unspoken (hidden)
 May be logical or psychological
 May relate to the product, price, store,
time, salesperson, or need
 May occur at any point in the sale
 Should be welcomed
 To handle an objection, listen,
acknowledge, restate, and then answer
the objection.
Techniques For Handling
Customer Objections
• Boomerang
• Question technique
• Superior point
• Direct denial
• Demonstration
• Third party
Techniques For
Handling
Customer Objections
 Boomerang: A technique of handling
objections in which the objection comes
back to the customer as a selling point.
 Question technique: A technique of
handling objections in which the customer
is questioned in an attempt to learn more
about the objection(s) raised.
 Superior Point: A technique of handling
objections in which the salesperson
acknowledges objections as valid, but
offsets them with other features and
benefits.
Techniques For Handling
Customer Objections (cont.)
 Direct Denial: A technique of handling
objections that provides proof and accurate
information in answer to objections.
 Demonstration: A technique of handling an
objection by showing one or more features of
a good or service.
 Third Party: A technique of handling
objections that uses a previous customer or
another neutral person who can give a
testimonial about the product.
Closing the Sale
Getting a commitment from the customer to
buy the merchandise.
Look for Buying Signals
 Physical actions such as smiles or nods of
agreement
 Comments that imply ownership such as
“This jacket will go well with jeans and
other casual pants.”
 Questions such as “Does this dress come in
black?”
Closing the Sale (cont.)
Trial Close: The salesperson’s initial
attempt(s) to close the sale.
 Used to get an indication of what else
needs to be done to close the sale.
Example: Sales associate asks the
customer, “Would you like to place
the purchase on your store credit
card?”
General Rules for Closing the Sale
If you think the customer is ready to make a
buying decision, stop talking about the product.
When a customer is having difficulty making a
buying decision, stop showing additional
merchandise.
Help a customer decide by summarizing the major
features and benefits of a product.
Don’t rush a customer into making a buying
decision.
Use words that indicate ownership, such as “you”
and “your.”
Use major objections that have been resolved to
close the sale.
Techniques for Closing the Sale
Which close: A method of closing
the sale that encourages a customer
to make a decision between two
items.
 Remove unwanted items to bring the
selection down to two.
 Review the benefits of each item.
 Ask the customer, “Which one do you
prefer?”
Techniques for Closing the Sale
(cont.)
Standing room only close: The
method of closing the sale that is
used when a product is in short
supply or when the price will be
going up in the near future.
 Example: “This is the last pair of these
shoes that we have in your size.”
Techniques for Closing the Sale
(cont.)
Direct close: A method of
closing the sale in which the
salesperson simply asks for the
sale.
 Example: “Would you like to put
this purchase on your charge?”
Service close: A method of
closing the sale that explains
services that overcome
obstacles or problems.
 Example: “May I gift wrap this
for you?”
Suggestion Selling
A method of increasing sales by
encouraging the customer to add
items to the original purchase.
Used to help customer, not to force the
customer into purchasing unnecessary or
unwanted items
Takes place after the customer commits to
make the original purchase, but before the
sale is entered into the register
Requires knowledge of store’s products and
customers’ needs
Suggestion Selling (cont.)
Add-ons: Additional related merchandise
items that create complete outfits.
Trading up: Suggesting a substitute item that
is higher priced, of better quality, or more
economical for the customer than the item
originally requested.
“More-than-one” selling: A type of suggestion
selling in which the salesperson offers more
than one (multiples) of the same or similar
item.
Special offers: Additional items that can be
obtained as a result of purchasing an item.
Checkout Procedures
Enter the sales data into the cash
register
 Computerized point-of-sale (POS) systems
include price lookup (PLU).
 Registers compute discounts, subtotal, taxes,
and total sale.
Announce the amount due, take payment,
and make change as necessary.
Remove the merchandise from hangers, etc.
and fold if necessary.
Place the merchandise in a bag or box.
Provide the customer with proof of
payment.
Methods of Payment
Cash
Personal check
Photo identification usually required
Check verifying companies may be used
to electronically approve and guarantee
money or disapprove
if
customers’
account funds
are
insufficient.
Methods of Payment (cont.)
Cards with magnetic strips
Cards are processed electronically by swiping
them through a machine that reads the
magnetic strip and sends information over the
phone lines to credit bureaus or financial
institutions for approval.
Customer is required to enter a personal
identification number (PIN) or to sign the store
copy of the transaction tape.
Transactions are electronically approved or
disapproved by the credit bureau or financial
institution.
Methods of Payment (cont.)
Charge/credit cards
 May be issued by the store or a financial
institution.
 Salespeople encourage a customer to
complete a charge application and open
a store account.
 Charge customers spend four times
more than other customers.
Methods of Payment (cont.)
Debit cards
Processed similar to a credit card but debits the
customer’s checking account instead of
creating a credit debt.
Gift cards
Electronically debited with each purchase until
the card balance reaches zero.
Additional amounts may be added to gift cards
while still carrying a balance or when the
balance reaches zero.
A popular means of gift giving.
Deferred Payment Sales
 Layaway: A deferred purchase agreement in
which the store sets aside the customer’s
merchandise until the customer has fully
paid for it.
 Customer pays a deposit and makes payments
until the full price has been paid.
 If full payment has not been made by a preset
deadline, the merchandise may be returned to
stock and the deposit may or may not be
refunded.
 C.O.D.: A “cash-on-delivery” sale in which
payment is made to the delivery person
when the merchandise is delivered.
Returns, Exchanges And Other
Adjustments
Return: Merchandise
returned for a refund or
credit on account.
Exchange: A transaction in
which previously
purchased merchandise is
returned and replaced by
other merchandise.
Returns, Exchanges And Other
Adjustments (cont.)
Exchanges
 Even exchange: An exchange transaction
in which the replacement merchandise is
the same price as the returned
merchandise.
 Uneven exchange: An exchange
transaction in which the replacement
merchandise sells for more or less than the
returned merchandise.
Returns, Exchanges And Other
Adjustments (cont.)
Exchanges (cont.)
 Allowance: Partial return of the retail price
for merchandise the customer has kept.
 Usually given when there is a defect in the
merchandise
 Often given as a percent off the sales price
or a specific dollar amount off the sales
price
 Rain check: A certificate that entitles the
customer to buy an out-of-stock advertised
special at a later time at the same
advertised price.
Thanking and Reassuring the
Customer
Reinforce customer’s buying
decision with an approving
statement and a sincere
“Thank you.”
 Use the customer’s name.
 Shake hands when
appropriate.
 Give personal business card
to the customer when
appropriate.
Thanking and Reassuring
the Customer (cont.)
 Bonding (relationship selling): The process
of salespeople doing everything possible to
strengthen relationships with customers.
 Develops loyal, repeat customers
 Increases sales
 Examples:
 Follow-up calls to ensure customer is pleased
 Contact with customers when products they
typically purchase come in or are on sale
 Survey of customers’ needs/wants
Sales Follow-Up
Follow-up: Contact with the customer
after the sale has been made.
 Ensures customer satisfaction and creates
goodwill
 Follow through on commitments made
during the sale.
 Alterations
 Delivery
 Special orders
 Send thank you notes or call.
Client File
A book, card, or electronic file in which
customers’ names, addresses, phone
numbers, sizes, important occasions, color
preferences, and previous purchases are
recorded.
Helps salespeople manage
customer information
Should be updated with
each purchase