Small business best practices

WE ALL CAN SELL THE SAME MERCHANDISE , for the most part . With profitability being the goal , selling for a lower price should not be the way we want our store to compete .

The message at the Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference last summer was that customers make a choice using a combination of these factors : Our store has to be in a convenient location , open at the right hours ; stock the items most relevant to our BY TOM location ; have a great shopping environment ; and our store must be an active

SHAY part of the community . We also want to earn referral business , which comes from the most overriding advantage we have — how we treat the customer .

Accordingly , we taught our staff to take these nine steps .

Allow the customer to get into the store . Do not chase them down at the front door and don ’ t holler “ hello ” from behind the cash register or across the store . Greet customers with an open conversation . (“ Hello . How are you ?” or “ Hi . Glad to see you .”) Never use , “ can I help you ?” or other questions that can be answered with a simple “ yes ” or “ no .”

Always check the store for other customers . While “ just looking ” is the defensive way of blowing off a salesperson , we all know the customer is shopping . There likely comes a time when they could use an answer , or suggestion . We teach our employees that they should never go more than four minutes without stopping to check for customers .

The second person to talk with the customer should use a different approach . This can be done easily by walking past the customer . Perhaps the customer is in the bourbon area , and you could show them a new whiskey that recently arrived .

In approaching the customer , another employee could ask questions such as , “ What kind of wine can we offer a sample taste of ?” By using the words “ we ” and “ our ,” the employee shows interest in the customer .

In helping the customer , ask questions about the intended purchase . If the customer is trying to decide what kind of wine to buy , ask , “ What have you enjoyed before ?” “ What are you serving with the wine ?” or “ What type of restraints do we want to consider ?” Maybe the customer is restrained by money , or a guest who only drinks white wines .

Offer directions , shortcuts , personal experiences or other customer testimonials . Be cer-

PHOTO CREDIT : © JACKF - STOCK . ADOBE . COM tain that you end this part of the conversation with words of encouragement .

After making the selection , it is time to make the additional sale . In our store , we stocked add-on items in each department . The task is to get the add-on sale into the customer ’ s hands . The customer is 14 % more likely to purchase an item if it is in their hand . The customer is 19 % more likely to purchase a second item if the employee simply says , “ Is one enough , or would two be better ?”

Hand the customer a copy of your current sales circular or newspaper ad . Something more than just a receipt . If they have not been a member of your loyalty program and have just joined , you should have a flyer that describes the benefits .

WE TEACH OUR EMPLOYEES THAT THEY SHOULD NEVER GO MORE THAN FOUR MINUTES WITHOUT STOPPING TO CHECK FOR CUSTOMERS .

The final step in making the sale came after the customer said “ thank you ” to the employee . We made a special point of thanking our customer . We remind our employees that we have many competitors , and the customer chose to shop in our store . That shopping helps pay for our salaries . BD

Tom Shay is a lifelong small-business owner and manager . He has authored 12 books on small business management ; a college textbook on small business financial management and co-authored a book on retailer / vendor relations . Watch his latest webinar at beveragedynamics . com / insider /

www . beveragedynamics . com July / August 2020 • Beverage Dynamics 7