Help the customerr help yourself

By Jeremiah J. Attridge

.f m TYPICAL do-it-yourseH sales

I prospect comes into your yard or store not because he or she wasjust passing by. Building materials are not impulse purchases although, once inside and exposed to inviting layout, design, promotion and signage, impulses can be activated.

The person has a want or a need (there rs a difference-nobody wants a funeral but some day we'll all need one) or a problem which requires a solution. Frequently, even though they are intelligent and well educated in other disciplines, they do not know what they need. Often, what they want is not what they need.

Laymen do not knowthe wide range of altematives available to do the job or solve their problem including tools, fixtures and accessories required for correct installation. They need help and solutions. They come to you because they can't get these things at a mass merchandise discounter.

A recent suruey asked customers what was important:

Knowledgeable sales people

. High quality products o Low prices r All materials for the job available in one location

Although customers admit they need knowledgeable sales people, most individuals are wary and suspicious of them. They do not want to be sold (they prefer to think they have bought), manipulated, patronized, talked down to, pressured or insulted.

Different people behave differently. The sales person can not approach and deal with everyone the same way. Since the customer will not change his behavior, the sales person must adapt. The ability to recognize behavioral characteristics is critical. People do not buy for strictly logical reasorn. Retailing expert Nicholas Samstag claimed, "Practically nothing is bought for logi cal reasons, almost everything is bought for emotional reasons." We think with our heads but we buy with our hearts.

Less experienced, less professional sales people have a tendency to believe

Storyat aGlance

How to solve your customer's problems, fill his needs... different approaches for dif' ferent people... sell the results, notproducts cross sell to help the d-i-Yer be more successful. that selling is telling-piling on facts and figures until the scales tip in favor of the sale. This wouldbe valid if prospects were adding machines or calculators. A more successful approach is to overcome the natural tendency to talk and, instead, look, listen and ask questions. One of the greatest salesmen in the United States, Joe Girard, states, "Selling is espionage. The more you know about the prospect-his wants, needs, problems, expectations-the better your chances of making the sale."

You listen to leam the right questions to ask. You ask questions to identify the perceived want or need and, most importantly, the real problem and what is needed to solve it. What? When? Where? How? Who? Which room? Have you installed one before?

In this way the customer thinks he is leading the discussion. The sales person shows interest, lets the customer know he is not pushing any productbut is concerned with finding the ideal solution to the problem. Customers don't care what you know until they know that you care. Selling is helping a person make a decision that will benefit him.

Product knowledge and applicatiory' installation know-how are absolutely essential, but not sufficient for maxi(Please turn to page 53)

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