Page 142 - Lighting Magazine January 2019

on the Mark
How to Make the Most of
FACE-TO-FACE SELLING
Online discounts may cause the loss of potential sales, but the people who walk into your showroom have a purpose. Give them a reason to buy from you. BY MARK OKUN
At this time in our lives, we are accustomed to the ease and speed the digital world has made available to us. Categorically, it has leveled the playing eld when it comes to making any purchase. Face it,
we all buy online in one way or another.
Although e-tailers aggressively court shoppers with
pop-up discounts and promises of speedy delivery, they also accept that digital can never replace the tactile experience consumers desire when it comes to a personal purchase.
We must be grateful when clients walk into our showrooms today; it is a deliberate and speci c action. O en they want to verify the information they uncov- ered during their internet search before they buy. This initial visit is rapidly becoming the only visit customers want to make, and why not? Time is precious and it is easy to buy anywhere, at any time. We must give them a reason to buy from us.
When speaking with showrooms across the country,
I’ve heard the common theme that foot tra c is down. This decline alone remarkably increases the value of every person who has taken the time to walk into your store — yet in many cases, we interact with them like it is still 1999!
I believe that the most signi cant opportunity show- rooms have today over their digital competition is to optimize the limited, personal, one-on-one time with the customer. Developing this personal connection is essential, and it may be the only chance the showroom has.
in-Person selling begins online
Customers walking into a showroom are not looking for more products; they have been inundated with tar- geted product choices. They are coming in to con rm what they have seen online with a tactile experience, to verify the information they’ve heard or read and discover what they don’t know from the expert. The showroom is the place where the experts live.
140 enLIGHTenment MagazIne | January 2019
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