In 5 to 10 seconds, a customer knows whether they want to stay at a store or not. According to an Accenture survey conducted in 2017, neglecting customer contact can drive 50% of them away. Certain attitudes by sales consultants send customers away. What are they and how do you correct them?
1. Ignoring the customer
Leading these repelling attitudes are those that give the customer the unpleasant experience of being completely invisible. In the presence of a salesperson absorbed by his smartphone or by a personal conversation with a colleague, 3 customers out of 4 say they will leave the store.
2. Neglecting verbal and body language
The appearance, look, facial expressions and first words of a salesperson that display weariness or a lack of consideration or politeness affects the customer interaction. According to American Express, 78% of North American consumers would abandon a transaction due to poor customer service.
3. Insincerity
Expressing boiler-plate phrases, feigning interest – the spoken words are here cancelled out by non-verbal messages, and conversely. However, a customer tends to avoid a store where he does not feel unique and privileged.
4. Applying pressure
Being insistent and invasive gives the negative feeling of forcing the customer’s hand and selling him a product without taking his wishes into account.
5. Not being informed
According to the 1st Financial Training Services firm, when faced with a salesperson who does not know the store and its products, 91% of customers will go to the competition.
How to eliminate these irritants
Be aware of them
The first step is to be aware of them “To change a habit, you have to recognize it. The salesperson must realize the impact his attitude has,” says Dominique Duquette, certified coach at BetterSelf Solutions. “He must then make the decision himself to improve.”
Be authentic
“Forcing to change your voice, your posture, shows,” the coach stresses. A manager must take each salesperson’s personality into account, without imposing artificial attitudes. According to Dominique Duquette, “Too often, consistency between a company’s values and the personal values of an employee are neglected.” Assigning tasks to a salesperson in a position where he feels best maximizes his potential and encourages him to improve.
Practice
Each salesperson is primarily responsible for his own personal development and his career. “Eliminating tics, improving speech is not so difficult,” says Dominique Duquette. “At BetterSelf Solutions, we work step by step on practical situations, not only on theoretical cases.”