Brad Huisken

Make The Switch

Every now and again a customer will come in looking for something that you don’t carry. At that point, a salesperson will make one of three decisions. Option one is the salesperson will tell them that they don’t carry the item, and walk the customer. Option two would be to get the item for the customer through a special order or someone else that you know in the industry. A third option would be to switch the customer to an item that you already carry in the store.

The preferred choice a professional salesperson should make is number three, switch the customer to an item that you already have in the store. In order to make a switch, a salesperson must first determine if it is a switch-able item. For example, if my daughter wants a pair of Nike aerobic shoes and a salesperson tries to sell me a pair of Reeboks, will he/she be successful making the switch? Probably not! However, if my daughter simply asked for a pair of aerobic shoes and I had just seen an ad for Nike, could a switch be made? The answer is more than likely, yes.

The key to making a switch is found in asking the question, “why?” The salesperson should say something like, “I’m curious, Why Nike? This question will enable the salesperson to learn valuable information: whether the customer is willing to switch or not. If the customer says something like, “Because my daughter asked for Nike and she has always worn Nike”, a switch probably won’t be made. However, if the customer responds, “No reason really, she just wants a comfortable, durable pair of aerobic shoes,” then a switch can be made. The salesperson should then say something like; “If she likes comfort and durability, I have a pair of Reeboks that she will just love. Would you like to see them? Once the customer says “yes” a switch can be made. Should the customer not be switch-able, go back to the second option, if possible; and as a last resort, the first option. But I certainly wouldn’t ever want to walk a customer without attempting to make a switch or get the item for them first.

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Posted by Brad Huisken on January 16, 2009 | Comments (0)