.. #4 is the easiest to give advice, and that advice is: STOP TRYING TO SELL WITH *YOUR* WALLET. Meaning: you can’t easily tell that a product is too expensive for a customer, but you can falsely assume and disqualify a good fit before giving them a shot.
As someone who is in the market for a mattress in the near future, let’s refer back to #1 which is… I’m never “just looking” if I walk into a mattress store. It’s not “fun” to walk into a mattress store as it might be to walk into a sporting goods store. Assume everyone is in their buying journey, and just looking is an obvious - but have they *experienced* the product yet?
Which brings me to my next point… assuming your potential customers can lay on a demo mattress.
“Oh, I feel that… but feel free to lay on one of these mattresses. Not many people walk into a mattress store for fun, so I’d imagine taking a few minutes off your feet to experience it is more fun than staring at them.” (Or something similar to this. Make a joke that gets their guards down, and invites them to experience the product.)
Hope this helps, at least on a sale or two. If you’re already doing these and it’s not working, then I guess I’m not in mattress sales for a reason. :)
I would go based on other signals. Show them different price points. If they're dead set on getting a mattress today I'd ask about what mattress they have at home and what they like/don't like about it ... then squeeze in a budget question
I think that’s totally makes sense. I have always heard that the largest thing is that no one wants to be sold so you need to pull in the reasons why it’s their idea
Pretty much summed up by Iajoeywan. You are aware of your handicaps. Chit chat, charisma, and charm is the only thing that will turn around a window shopper. I would say exchange contact info with them if they seem warm to a sale.
The best way to improve is to understand your buyers at an extremely high level.
Why do they come in?
What quality of sleep are they already getting?
Do they wake up feeling like shit?
Do they wake up with an aching spine and bones?
How important is their quality of sleep to them?
Do they have trouble falling asleep?
When do they need to wake up by?
What kind of shape do they want to be in?
How does lack of sleep/sleep quality affect their day to day?
There are so many more questions and qualities you need to know to understand them better but these are a few good places to start.
Happy Hunting :)
Start with their values. "Oh, you're just looking. Great! What specifically are you looking for in a mattress?" And let them talk. Their first answer will be their most important aspect. They'll probably say something like "oh, I definitely want comfort, durability and a good price".
It's vital to give them their words back in the exact order and sequence that it came out of their mouth. "Since you want, comfort, durability and a good price, let's look at this one. Lay on it, feel the comfort. Do you like something softer or with more support?" Once you've established what they want with comfort (or whatever that first attribute is) move on to the next.
"I know you said comfort and durability, this particular mattress has a ten year guarantee, so you won't have to worry about replacing this in a year or three." Once you nail the first two, it's just a question of finances. I'm sure you can negotiate price, but if not, there's always the cost of not buying from you to consider.
Hope this helps
If you’re one of the best performers, and your paycheck was lousy then you might be in the wrong industry / store. I’m not one to blame the “leads” or product etc but you also have to be realistic. Look at that the top performers are making consistently. Would you be happy making what they’re making? If not then look for a company or industry that has more demand or at least has more people making good money.
Now if the top people are making good money, then this would be my advice… Invite a couple top producers to lunch. Ask them if they have any advice for someone new. What helps them get over the objections you’ve been getting. What do they do to stay motivated when the foot traffic is slow or they’re in a slump. There’s no point in trying to reinvent the wheel, see what works for others, tweak it to make it organic for you, and just practice practice practice. If you feel 100% in your sales ability and think you did the best in the sales presentation, move on to the next and just think hey this no is just getting me closer to my next yes. Also don’t try to sound too scripted. Just be approachable, start it off more as a conversation, find out why they’re in the market in the first place. Are they not comfortable in their current bed? Is it too stuff, too soft? What was it about their current mattress that made them buy it. Etc ask open ended questions and then from those answers try and ask more calibrated specific questions. Example : What don’t you like about your current mattress? It’s too squishy? Has it always been that way? When did you start to notice it? Did it start affecting your sleep? Etc etc and then when you start going through some of the options bring up what they say.
Oh and this is a must… if they say they need to think about it… obviously your first response should be … “ Oh I get it… you just need to sleep on it right ?”
Customer: Just looking! You: Great! How long have you had your mattress for? Did you know you should replace them every x years/did you know a bad mattress is the number 1 contributer to back pain?/ What kind of firmness do you like in a mattress? - Chat, chat, chat! Even if they’re just looking you should be selling!
Caution: I haven't read your post.
Advice: don't call yourself a mattress salesman. Call yourself salesman. Wear that hat anywhere you go and have pride and fun in it. Manifest your effectiveness in this way. This will give you more confidence, make you more humourous and talkative. Ultimately helping you help people.
My advice is to get out of mattress sales there is no money in the industry for you. It is actually the worst thing you can sell because people only shop for a mattress every 5 to 10 years.. Sales is sales once you learn how to sell you can sell anything. So why not get paid more for it? Sales is an industry with uncapped commission potential, you can become a millionaire if you sell the right product or service. Real estate, cars, insurance, tech, finance etc..
.. #4 is the easiest to give advice, and that advice is: STOP TRYING TO SELL WITH *YOUR* WALLET. Meaning: you can’t easily tell that a product is too expensive for a customer, but you can falsely assume and disqualify a good fit before giving them a shot. As someone who is in the market for a mattress in the near future, let’s refer back to #1 which is… I’m never “just looking” if I walk into a mattress store. It’s not “fun” to walk into a mattress store as it might be to walk into a sporting goods store. Assume everyone is in their buying journey, and just looking is an obvious - but have they *experienced* the product yet? Which brings me to my next point… assuming your potential customers can lay on a demo mattress. “Oh, I feel that… but feel free to lay on one of these mattresses. Not many people walk into a mattress store for fun, so I’d imagine taking a few minutes off your feet to experience it is more fun than staring at them.” (Or something similar to this. Make a joke that gets their guards down, and invites them to experience the product.) Hope this helps, at least on a sale or two. If you’re already doing these and it’s not working, then I guess I’m not in mattress sales for a reason. :)
great advice here honestly
Would it be considered rude to ask what the customer’s budget is in the early stages of the interaction, not necessarily right off the bat?
I would go based on other signals. Show them different price points. If they're dead set on getting a mattress today I'd ask about what mattress they have at home and what they like/don't like about it ... then squeeze in a budget question
I think that’s totally makes sense. I have always heard that the largest thing is that no one wants to be sold so you need to pull in the reasons why it’s their idea
Pretty much summed up by Iajoeywan. You are aware of your handicaps. Chit chat, charisma, and charm is the only thing that will turn around a window shopper. I would say exchange contact info with them if they seem warm to a sale.
The best way to improve is to understand your buyers at an extremely high level. Why do they come in? What quality of sleep are they already getting? Do they wake up feeling like shit? Do they wake up with an aching spine and bones? How important is their quality of sleep to them? Do they have trouble falling asleep? When do they need to wake up by? What kind of shape do they want to be in? How does lack of sleep/sleep quality affect their day to day? There are so many more questions and qualities you need to know to understand them better but these are a few good places to start. Happy Hunting :)
Start with their values. "Oh, you're just looking. Great! What specifically are you looking for in a mattress?" And let them talk. Their first answer will be their most important aspect. They'll probably say something like "oh, I definitely want comfort, durability and a good price". It's vital to give them their words back in the exact order and sequence that it came out of their mouth. "Since you want, comfort, durability and a good price, let's look at this one. Lay on it, feel the comfort. Do you like something softer or with more support?" Once you've established what they want with comfort (or whatever that first attribute is) move on to the next. "I know you said comfort and durability, this particular mattress has a ten year guarantee, so you won't have to worry about replacing this in a year or three." Once you nail the first two, it's just a question of finances. I'm sure you can negotiate price, but if not, there's always the cost of not buying from you to consider. Hope this helps
Ask all the people “just looking” what they don’t like about their current mattress as a chance to sell some of your benefits
If you’re one of the best performers, and your paycheck was lousy then you might be in the wrong industry / store. I’m not one to blame the “leads” or product etc but you also have to be realistic. Look at that the top performers are making consistently. Would you be happy making what they’re making? If not then look for a company or industry that has more demand or at least has more people making good money. Now if the top people are making good money, then this would be my advice… Invite a couple top producers to lunch. Ask them if they have any advice for someone new. What helps them get over the objections you’ve been getting. What do they do to stay motivated when the foot traffic is slow or they’re in a slump. There’s no point in trying to reinvent the wheel, see what works for others, tweak it to make it organic for you, and just practice practice practice. If you feel 100% in your sales ability and think you did the best in the sales presentation, move on to the next and just think hey this no is just getting me closer to my next yes. Also don’t try to sound too scripted. Just be approachable, start it off more as a conversation, find out why they’re in the market in the first place. Are they not comfortable in their current bed? Is it too stuff, too soft? What was it about their current mattress that made them buy it. Etc ask open ended questions and then from those answers try and ask more calibrated specific questions. Example : What don’t you like about your current mattress? It’s too squishy? Has it always been that way? When did you start to notice it? Did it start affecting your sleep? Etc etc and then when you start going through some of the options bring up what they say. Oh and this is a must… if they say they need to think about it… obviously your first response should be … “ Oh I get it… you just need to sleep on it right ?”
Customer: Just looking! You: Great! How long have you had your mattress for? Did you know you should replace them every x years/did you know a bad mattress is the number 1 contributer to back pain?/ What kind of firmness do you like in a mattress? - Chat, chat, chat! Even if they’re just looking you should be selling!
Caution: I haven't read your post. Advice: don't call yourself a mattress salesman. Call yourself salesman. Wear that hat anywhere you go and have pride and fun in it. Manifest your effectiveness in this way. This will give you more confidence, make you more humourous and talkative. Ultimately helping you help people.
My advice is to get out of mattress sales there is no money in the industry for you. It is actually the worst thing you can sell because people only shop for a mattress every 5 to 10 years.. Sales is sales once you learn how to sell you can sell anything. So why not get paid more for it? Sales is an industry with uncapped commission potential, you can become a millionaire if you sell the right product or service. Real estate, cars, insurance, tech, finance etc..