After 4 days of not venturing out of the house because of the ice and snow, I finally went out today. It felt good to be out and about. I had a few errands to run, one of them was to Radio Shack. I walked into the Radio Shack and I couldn’t believe what I saw, there had to be 12 people in there and they were all buying flashlights.
My first thought was, hey the storm is over what do you need flashlights for now? My second thought was why would you buy a flashlight at Radio Shack? They cost twice as much here as they do at the Target across the street.
It didn’t matter, there they were talking to the ONE salesman in the store about which light is brightest, which flashlight will last the longest, which flashlight costs the least, had the widest beam, went the furthest, and every other question you can ask about a flashlight.
The lone sales rep answered each question as he helped the customers. He definitely knew his flashlights. As he rang up each sale (and if you know Radio Shack you know ringing up a sale is a process all by itself) and the customer paid he said thanks and went onto the next customer. People started to come into the store faster than people were leaving. After about 15 minutes of waiting there had to be at least 20 people, me being one of them, waiting for this one salesman.
When my turn came I bought the jack and plug I needed, paid the bill and left thankful to be out of there. Then it hit me, the lone sales rep in the Radio Shack never once asked anyone, including myself, if I wanted anything else. He never offered or suggested anything else. As a matter of fact, he NEVER even offered batteries to the people buying the flashlights. I am not an electrical engineer, but I know a flashlight without batteries is worthless.
I wanted to go back and say something, but thought better of it. That poor guy had enough problems and way too many customers to appreciate my two cents. But it did get me thinking about how many sales calls I have been a part of, either making them myself or with another rep, where the customer bought a product or service and were never offered another product or service.
This is something that goes deep in to the sales rep psyche. I call this the “thief in the night” syndrome. A rep swoops in, makes a quick sale, and runs like a thief in the night. WHY? I have no idea, but I can tell you I have done it myself.
I have asked reps about this syndrome and have been told some really strange and funny things. I had a rep tell me that he was afraid that if he asked the customer to buy another item the customer would cancel the first item. I had a reps tell me that she felt customers would ask her if they wanted another item. I had reps tell me they were uncomfortable showing the customer more products. I had one rep, and this may be the funniest answer I have ever gotten, tell me she got so excited about making a sale that she couldn’t concentrate enough to ask about another product. (she was serious) When I tried to think of why I didn’t ask all I could think of it I simply forgot to ask.
It doesn’t matter what the reason, not offering additional products is simply UNPROFESSIONAL! Think about the rep at Radio Shack, imagine the customer’s disappointment when they got home with their new flashlight, only to find out that it didn’t work because they forgot batteries knowing full well that Radio Shack sells batteries and wondering why the salesman didn't offer them.
A sale that isn’t complete isn’t a good sale. I have said it before in postings, a sale needs to be good for the customer, good for the sales rep and good for the company before it is a good sale.
By the way, has anyone reading this blog ever had a customer tell them to cancel an order for a product because they showed the customer another product? It has never happened to me either!
Lorin
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