Footwear Insight

32 • Footwear Insight ~ November/December 2022 footwearinsight.com "Selling is a science… I encourage our salespeople to try on the product, just like the restaurant's waiter samples the dishes so they know what to tell their clients. Next, unless it's a repeat, regular customer, I firmly believe in the art of schmoozing. Open the sale with personal talk about nothing to do with business, then hit them with the Magic question: 'What brought you in the store today?' is question will get the customer to open up 90% of the time, and tell you what the real purpose for them coming in the store was. We never approach a new customer by saying 'Can I help you?' We also teach probing skills. Who? Why? When? Where? What? How? Get the customer to open up and talk. e best salespeople are good listeners! Finally, we teach team selling. We meet monthly as a team on zoom calls. Some meet- ings are product meetings. Some meetings are about new promos and events. Everyone knows that the customer is King or Queen in our store. Just like in basketball, we put the full court press on when necessary. Post the num- bers and goals so the entire team knows what we need to do. Also post the individual sales reports monthly showing their commissions. e team is looking at the numbers like it's the NFL standings. It creates a good fight to the top." — Bruce Wesley, Wesley's Shoes "I tell my staff all the time, the customer is 'everything to us.' Every part of every day is all about the customer. If they do not come in our door to purchase shoes and other products, everything else we do means nothing. ey are the whole reason we open the doors every day. We are dependent on them to pay our bills, being able to purchase new products and especially to pay my employees paychecks. Every customer needs to be treated as who they are — #1 for us." — Melissa Walker, Walker's Shoe Center "It is really about the basics. We continually coach and work with our staff to give our best to our customers. at can be from the way we greet them to going above and beyond to get them a great fit in their new shoes. I believe your staff will rarely treat your customers better than they are treated by their managers. So, while 2022 has been challenging when it comes to recruiting great staff, we have been very focused on honoring and valuing our staff that we do have." — Loren Martin, ELM Shoes "We want our customers to view us as their advocates. Our approach is simple: 1) Be friendly and make shopping with us fun! 2) Be a great listener. 3) Provide solutions. 4) Offer ideas for their next visit. 5) Reiterate our appreciation for their business and invite them back." — Justin Kehrwald, Tradehome Shoes "ere are so many different things that go into quality customer service. At the top of the list is the employees themselves. A must have, find the right personality for service. An employee's attitude makes all the difference with the customers and the experiences they have. We need to make every effort to keep and develop good staff. Service is what will set brick-and-mortar apart from the internet and direct sales from manufacturers." — Brian Ferguson, e Foot Performance Center SECRETS TO SUCCESS Gold Medal Service Award winning stores share some of their top customer service tips. By Bob McGee & Cara Griffin GOLD MEDAL SERVICE AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE 2022 Bruce Wesley, Jenny Stinson, Ivvy Hicks, Pat Williams and Roger King, Wesley's Shoes. Tradehome Shoes, Fort Wayne, IN. ELM Shoes, Greencastle, PA.

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