Retail sales process involves lot of questioning to understand customer requirement.
All salespeople at retail stores tend to ask sales questions to customers showing that we care for customer requirement. However, a lot of those sales questions are—simply put—stupid.
When retail customers are attempting to close a deal, these ridiculous sales questions actually work against them. When prospects hear these sales inquiries, they become quickly uninterested. Along the way, I’ve noticed that these seven queries are among the stupidest, most surprising, and most common.
Retail store owners will have many challenges in training their retail sales staff to achieve more customer walk-ins. Hope the below information will be a handbook for every retail store owner & retail staff.
These are 7 Questions you shouldn’t ask retail customers.
1. How Are You?
Admit it, you don’t care, and the customer is aware of it. This prompts the client to repeat a particular response, “Great, and you?” The retail staff either responds with another expected response, “Great,” or they ask another thoughtless inquiry or remain mute. It’s wrong to make customers have to lie to you when you don’t want it to.
What to say instead: Good morning. Feel free to look around, and I’ll be right back.
2. What Are You Looking To Buy?
I know, it’s surprising to hear, yet folks who are attempting to sell you anything from at the store. Many times, some visitors enter a store with no intention of purchasing but end up treating themselves regardless after becoming enchanted by the decor, merchandise, and salespeople. An unexpected attitude could cause them to walk away without making the planned (or unintended) purchase.
What to say instead: Just don’t say anything apart from greeting them with a gesture smile.
3. Isn’t This Weather Is Too Hot (Cold / Windy)?
No matter where you are, it is extremely difficult to convince someone else to agree on something they are not looking for. Finding common ground with someone is the first step in developing a good rapport with the retail customers. It’s better to avoid unwanted questions which sometimes really turn to have negative impact.
What to say instead: Something positive about what they are wearing or holding.
Connect to the Best POS Billing & Inventory Software
4. Can I Help You Find Something?
Consumers routinely respond “just looking” as they would be still deciding what to buy as many options are displayed any planning to try something new. So, it’s better to leave him to choose or wait until he asks for. Additionally, it assumes that every consumer has a clear understanding of what they want as if everyone in the business is there to replace a leaky hose. The majority of the time, customers go shopping to try to fix a more significant issue which sometimes they don’t want to discuss.
What to say instead: If you are a hardware store, What’s your project today? If you are a furniture store: What room gets the makeover today? If you are a supermarket: Would you like to walk though the best offers for the day? If you are an electronics store: How can we connect your world today? You get the idea; ask an open-ended question, or two, about the customer’s needs.
5. What’s Your Budget?
This is yet another deceptive query meant to bind the user. Customers are dishonest when they claim that a sale is just about pricing. By asking this question right away, the salesperson runs the danger of not receiving genuine client feedback. This is wrong because this question makes the assumption that consumers won’t go beyond the budget. It enables the salesperson to restrict the customer’s options and eliminate what most likely would be the ideal pick. The better options are more expensive. You already know that if you see something you like, you’ll do whatever it takes to get it and pay whatever price is necessary.
What to say instead: We have various options and price points. To find your best solution, may I show you them all?
6. Are You The Decision Maker?
If a salesperson asks you that are you the decision maker? What do you think the customer wants to say in response to that question? Of course, he wants to say yes—even if the answer is really no. This sales question is way too direct, and it will never get you the information you really need in a selling situation. All you’ll actually accomplish by asking this stupid sales question is either getting false information or actually pissing the prospect off.
What to do instead: Instead, learn about the prospect’s decision-making process by focusing on the process itself. It takes a lot of pressure off of the prospect. When you as the right sales questions to dig into a prospect’s decision-making process, the prospect will inevitably tell you who’s involved in making the decision and, more importantly, how the company actually goes about making that decision.
Get a Free Demo for POS Software
7. Would You Be Interested If…?
If a salesperson asks would you be interested if I could offer you best deal? Of course, no-one says no . This stupid sales question is not only old-school, but it’s also diverting your customers to buy lesser value instead of what he had planned to buy of more basket value either in supermarkets, grocery shops, textiles etc. Moreover, you’re already starting from the wrong place. In a selling situation, you’re not trying to get prospects interested; you’re trying to uncover their challenges. Modern-day selling is just not all about asking sales questions that help you identify the challenges that matter—and then solving them. Interest-based selling focuses on the product that you’re selling rather than the actual prospect, so drop it.
What to do instead: Instead, ask strong sales questions that uncover challenges.
Conclusion
Although questions are an essential part of the sales process, asking foolish ones is a surefire way to derail your efforts to close the sale. Before your next meeting, consider how you will arrange and format your questions so that they will come naturally to you when you are speaking to your next potential client.
