Page 90 - enLIGHTenment October 2016

on the Mark

and your location that are di erent than what is the sales sta and the customer with unbridled
trending in the industry or in the reports you have passion. Enthusiasm for an item will never be

been given. Those di erences may include recom- higher than when it is newly added to the prod-
mended “hot” items that sit on the shelf and don’t uct mix. Fanning the ames of that re will impact

move. Or maybe there is a style, nish, or another sell-through.
category that is repeatedly special-ordered in your Display items that reinforce the style story you

store and yet is not represented on your displays — want to convey and create themes for each dis-

this equals missed turns.
play. Great showrooms know that they can’t be
everything to everyone. By focusing on the par-

seleCTion
ticular outcome you want, you will be leaps and
Choose products you are passionate about. Why? bounds ahead of the showroom that practices the

It’s easy to build marketing and sales presentations “hang it high and see if it will y” method.

Emotion around them. The real essence of experiential The litmus test is a series of questions you and
selling is the ability to impact the buyer emotionally — your buying team must answer. Did you see how I

sells, and that is a factor missing from big box stores.
slipped buying team in there? Yes, in most cases
Emotion sells, and logic keeps it sold. Sharing ittakesateamtobuy.Ateamcanbeasfewas

and logic that passion with your client base is easy when two or as many as you like. Since every customer is

keeps it
you and your sta are in love with what you/they not like us, having other personality pro les from
are doing and with the items that you/they are members of the store team involved in the selec-

selling. For that reason, new product releases or
tion is bene cial in choosing a well-rounded mix sold.
of goods. The closer to the day-to-day customer purchases for store display must be presented to

interaction these folks are, the be er their input is

about customer preference.

Within buying teams, opinions will vary, and the
result will be a variety of appealing products.

Utilizing this simple list of questions to focus your
purchasing intent:

* Would you buy this item/style and use it your-
self? If you are passionate about a product, and

you represent a segment of your target market,

this means the items you like will have appeal to
customers like you.

* Does this product excite me? Excitement is
what it is all about. Excitement and enthusiasm

about a product or service you o er will do more

to create sell-through than any slick ad or even a
discount. Without excitement from the team about

a product, your success at selling it through will be
reduced.

* Would you sell the piece to your mom? (If it

were her style) An a rmative answer to this ques-
tion says many things. It relates to the quality of

materials, construction, and also your vendor rela-
tionship. If it is mom-approved, this means you are

comfortable with the quality.

* Are they a supplier or are they a vendor part-
ner? A major component of successful product

sell-through is an in-depth knowledge of your ven-
dor’s strengths and weaknesses, along with their

88 enLIGHTenment Magazine | OctOber 2016
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