| GOAL OF THE STAGE | | | | notice. Mack advises that you assess the |
| To get past customer resistance, create a | | | | customer as they enter the store, not to qualify |
| person-to-person Relationship, and start building | | | | or pre-judge them, but rather to discover some |
| trust. | | | | sense of how to open the sale. Is the customer a |
| BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE STAGE | | | | neat freak? Is he Sloppy? What type of watch is |
| SALES EXPERTS agree that the first 30 seconds | | | | he wearing? Are his shoes Shined? Does he have |
| are critical to the success of any sale. Your job is | | | | goop in his hair? "If he has goop in his hair, it says |
| to set the customer at Ease and pave the way | | | | he's interested in how he presents himself," says |
| to begin your sales presentation. | | | | Mack. "And your opening line should take that into |
| You won't get there by using the traditional | | | | consideration." Why does your opening line have |
| opening lines. | | | | to be so personal? Because people aren't looking |
| "Never ask a customer 'Can I help you?' You'll | | | | for Pearl jewelry, they're looking for a place and a |
| always get The same response: 'I'm just looking,'" | | | | person from whom to buy, says Mack. |
| says Brad Mack, President of IAS Training and | | | | Let the customer know that you can |
| author of I'm a Salesman! Not a Ph.D. "Instead, | | | | communicate on a Person-to-person level and |
| open the Jewelry sale with a meaningful, | | | | their comfort level will rise Tremendously. Your |
| non-business conversation about current events, | | | | next most important task is to sell yourself and |
| their jewelry, their kids, their car, etc. | | | | your Pearls Jewelry store. You should do This at |
| "Your opening salutation can never be | | | | least three to five times over the course of your |
| business-related", | | | | Presentation, says Mack. According to Mack, the |
| Says Harry Mack, retail | | | | best transitional question after a few moments of |
| Consultant/trainer/speaker and author of No | | | | person- To-person conversation is |
| Thanks, I'm Just Looking! | | | | "What brings you into our store today?" |
| Instead, opening lines should be questions that | | | | This question is extremely open-ended, and will |
| encourage conversation -unique, sincere, or | | | | generally lead smoothly into the second stage |
| different enough to cause the customer to take | | | | -needs determination. |