My daughter is a natural salesperson at 3. I was working at home the other day and she asks me to play shops with her, after she said please in a rather sweet voice followed by “just 5 minutes mummy”. I agreed!
We started in the ‘cafe’ where she got me to sit down and eat some cake (making me feel welcome). Then came the sales pitch…
“This necklace will look beautiful on you” (well naturally it did, so I agreed to buy it)
“What about this bracelet mummy, it really is a set!” (true, and I was impressed by her knowing this at her age so agreed to that too…)
“This ring is lovvvvvely” (even if it only just got on my little finger)
“What about this scarf, it’s the same colour” (laughing, I agreed to that as well…)
“So how much for all this sweetie?”
“That will be £5” (Bargain, no problem…)
“…and what about this necklace for your friends”
“how much for just the necklace”
“£5!” (less of a bargain)
“well ok, but I need to go back to work now”
“That’s ok mummy, you look lovely! Can you come back tomorrow with Daddy?” (accompanied by a gorgeous smile!)
Aside from the fun I had playing shops with her, I was also very impressed that at 3 she has grasped some basic principles of sales and marketing that many business owners have yet to learn.
1. Be polite and smile – manners cost nothing but they offer good value and a smile makes people feel good
2. Don’t always take no for an answer – no need to stalk but maybe a compromise can work
3. Upsell – if someone is interested in one item they may want a more expensive item or something else that goes with the item so no harm in mentioning it (insurance etc)
4. Cross sell – look for complementary products or services if you feel a customer may be receptive
5. Encourage loyalty and referrals – don’t be afraid to ask but keep things gentle
Above all – enjoy your work, and this will come through in your client relationships as you naturally and passionately think of ways to help clients and help them get more value from your products and services. We work to live we don’t live to work!
Written by Julie Joseph