How to Really Close the Sale in Retail | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

One of the worst mistakes I see retail sales trainers do is they allow employees to get all the way to the end of the sale and they try to close it. And then the customer says, "Oh, I'll be back." And they're like, "Okay, well here's my card." Look, if you have to give them your card, you didn't really close them. And the reality is once somebody walks out of your store, they're open to another competitor getting the sale. So how do you deal with "I'll be back"? Qualify them before they leave. That means once they say that, say to them three things you heard them say were important to them. So you might say, "You said it was really important that you got this matching color because that color was really special to you growing up and you always wanted it in your dining room," if you're a paint store.

You might say, "And you said that you wanted to have this ready by the weekend because you have friends and family coming and you said that you and your husband have blocked off Wednesday to be able to paint. Did I miss anything?" And then just shut up. But your goal is to help them understand that they've just invested 15 minutes, let's say, at your paint store or whatever your story is, and that they really want this item. Why not help them through it? Because nothing pains us more than the things that we don't buy. And that usually comes down to the employee gave up at the very moment they needed to push forward and help us make that decision.

If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

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