What Does This Button Do?
October 29, 2009
Sales person uses his expertise and knowledge of his product line to help swing a sale from a competitor.
With the development and rapid deployment of e-commerce, it has become easier and easier to use the Internet to research, price, and purchase almost anything. So there has to be a compelling reason to spend a bit more and purchase an item at a store when you can buy an identical item online and pay less. Employee product expertise is a good reason.
Several years ago we were shopping for a video camera. Our old VHS camcorder was beginning to show its age and was very large and bulky when compared to the current models.
At the time, there were two major electronics stores where you might go to buy a video camera: Circuit City and Best Buy.
Armed with our requirements and a list of questions, we went to the first store and were instantly greeted by a salesperson. He asked us a few questions about what we were looking for and how we were going to use the camera. He answered all of our questions, but what was impressive was that he knew each and every feature of the nearly two dozen cameras on display.
He was able to recommend a camera that he felt would meet our needs and was within our budget. I told him that we were going to go and check the other store and that we would let him know what we decided in any case.
When we went to the second store, it was another situation entirely. We stood around the video camera section with “lost puppy dog” faces looking for someone to help us. No luck. We looked in some of the adjacent sections: CDs, personal audio, televisions, still no luck. Then, over in major appliances, we caught sight of a warm body.
“Can you help us over in video cameras?” we asked. “I’ll try,” was the salesperson’s halfhearted answer. What followed was a conversation that I still can’t believe even when I think of it all these years later.
Us: What is the difference between VHS-C and 8mm?
Him: They’re different formats.
Us: What is the difference between 8mm and Hi-8?
Him: One’s higher than the other.
Us: What is the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom?
Him: One’s optical and the other’s digital.
I swear this was exactly what he said! Which store did we buy the camera from? The first one, of course. Now, I won’t say here which store gave us the better service, but when I tell this story in our Customer Service training programs, most people know right away which store we selected, and you probably do too.
The factor that distinguished the first store from the second was the dedication on the part of the sales staff to learn the product line. The salesperson learned, remembered, and was able to communicate the features and benefits of over 20 different cameras. This kind of expertise is valuable to the customer in any situation as well as to the company.
An employee who knows the product will do a much better job matching the customer’s needs with the items available. And this will frequently result in higher sales volumes and higher customer satisfaction.
How often have you gone in a store to buy a washer, for example, thinking that it only needed to get your socks white again. However, when you started analyzing the features with a knowledgeable employee, you realized that you really would like that timer at the end of the cycle and the extra temperature booster sensor.
Suddenly, you realize you’re buying a washer that is $100 more than the one you looked at with the competitor, but that’s okay because you realize you’ve gotten what you wanted and then some.
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