Use these three approaches to help get more dollars out of each retail furniture sale.
Question: What makes a retail furniture sales team successful?
Was ‘sales volume’ your immediate knee-jerk reaction? It may seem like a simple question with an obvious answer, but just because you know what kind of result qualifies your team as ‘successful’, that doesn’t necessarily mean your team fully understands the best route for reaching success.
When it comes to getting more dollars out of each furniture sale, there are a number of different approaches sales professionals can take. Here are three worth sharing with your team:
#1: The ‘Necessary Add-On’ Approach
Looking to boost that final sale price? As you might expect, one of the most straightforward methods is adding more to the initial purchase. As we’ve mentioned before, it’s important to communicate that add-ons should not be treated as such; otherwise customers will have the same outlook. Instead, position add-ons as necessities. Rather than offering extras once a sale is closing, train them to talk through add-ons during the selling process and provide situational examples for added validity.
One of our favorite add-ons for furniture retail? Extended service plans, of course! (What did you think we were going to say?) From incentivizing sales staff to building customer loyalty, extended service plans and furniture warranties provide a number of benefits for retailers, including adding dollars to the final sale. Educating your team about what these extended services plans include and how all customers can benefit – not just those purchasing pieces with light-colored upholstery and mechanical parts – will help them be able to sell these add-ons with greater success.
#2: The ‘Money-Making Merchandise’ Approach
Figure out what merchandise is driving the most profit and capitalize on it. If your sales team focuses too much on bringing in, or engaging with, as many new customers as possible, under the assumption it will lead to higher sales volumes, your effectiveness might be suffering. Although new customers are important and in-store customers shouldn’t be ignored, selling more of the merchandise that’s already selling the best can be a route to greater success (and increased sales).
#3: The ‘Spot The Tire Kicker’ Approach
Unless you’ve been replacing the word ‘furniture’ with ‘tires’ for the last few minutes, you likely don’t sell tires. However, your store has probably seen its fair share of tire kickers. You know the type; they appear to be interested in buying, but just end up asking a lot of questions. Make sure your sales team can recognize them too.
Train your team to recognize body language cues that will allow them to know when to not spend any more time (read: money) on unmotivated customers who are just browsing or price shopping. The moment your sales rep realizes a potential customer has no interest in buying (or maybe just doesn’t understand what they want) its time to move on to another customer. But keep in mind: this is the ‘Spot The Tire Kicker’ approach, not the ‘Treat Customers Rudely’ approach. Remember to disengage as politely and professionally as possible. (Note: it doesn’t hurt to check in every once and while to ensure a positive customer experience.)
The best part of these three approaches? They can be used together. That’s important, because when it comes to the sales landscape – particularly furniture – the right approach can mean the difference between meeting sales goals and falling short.
Give these tactics a whirl and let us know how it goes on Twitter @Fortegra.
