Morris holds better sleep clinic at F/T's Bedding Conference
David Perry, Bedding editor -- Furniture Today, June 1, 2009
In this story:
Retail sales associates should sleep on a good bed
Focus on the consumer
Don't get hung up on the wrong things
Recognize the importance of the RSA
Change the mattress buying experience one customer at a time
Product and price are not the answers
The damaging effects of low price
The enduring power of the mattress
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — Veteran sales trainer — BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — Veteran sales trainer Gerry Morris put on a better sleep clinic here in a presentation at Furniture/Today's Bedding Conference.Morris, director of training and development for Sleep Trust Guarantee, is the author of two books on mattress selling. He has trained thousands of retail sales associates in more than 20 years in the industry. His mission: “Nothing too ambitious: I'm just out to change how mattresses are bought and sold.”
Here are some of the points he shared with his audience at the Bedding Conference.
Retail sales associates should sleep on a good bed
All retail sales associates should sleep on a top-quality mattress that is less than five years old. “There is nothing more powerful than a retail sales associate saying, 'I got a good mattress for myself and my one regret is that I didn't buy it sooner,' ” Morris said. “You never hear someone say, 'I wish I hadn't gotten quite as comfortable a mattress as I bought.'”
The best-selling tool an RSA can use is that of speaking from personal experience, Morris said. And it is essential for RSAs to believe in the products they are selling.
Focus on the consumer
A subtle change in a basic consumer question can pay big dividends. Focus on the consumer, Morris says, and not on the bed. “How do you feel on this bed?” is a much better ques-tion than the commonly used query: “How does this bed feel to you?” The mattress industry is selling a better night of sleep, and guiding consumers to find beds that make them feel better is a critical sales skill.
Don't get hung up on the wrong things
Consumers who buy big-screen television sets don't want to see the circuitry inside the set, Morris commented. What they want to see is a clear, crisp picture. Similarly, mattress shoppers really want the health and well-being that come from a good sleep set, yet too often RSAs want to use a demo unit to provide a look inside the mattress.
Effective RSAs help consumers imagine how a new mattress will improve their life.
“Everyone wants to be happy, feel good and have a sense of well-being,” Morris noted. Good RSAs help consumers connect the dots from the mattress to a better night of sleep.
Recognize the importance of the RSA
New products and marketing campaigns may be sexy, but it is the RSAs who are at the top of food chain on the supply side of the business. They may be the only touch point the consumer has with the retailer and the bedding producer. Everything comes down to a single conversation that the consumer has with the RSA; this is where the rubber meets the road.
Good RSAs build trust in themselves, their store, and the brands they sell. Consumers want to buy from people they trust, Morris said.
Change the mattress buying experience one customer at a time
“Can you solve our industry's image problem?” Morris asked. “Well, not as a whole,” he continued, “but you can change your customer's perspective by creating buying experiences for one customer at a time.”
Product and price are not the answers
Neither manufacturers nor retailers will gain a significant long-term advantage with product or price. The facts of mattresses are simple and straightforward, Morris said. There are four basic sizes, two primary components and simple materials like wood, steel, foam, fibers and fabrics, all wrapped in a package of neutral colors.
Given those limited parameters, with little significant product differentiation, the industry needs to strike out in a different direction. “Growth,” Morris said, “will come from better and more creative marketing and merchandising, developing relationships through superior customer service.”
The damaging effects of low price
Morris sees several problems here. For starters, low prices set the retail sales associates up for failure, because they face the burden of trying to sell consumers up to better beds. In addition, touting low prices plays into the consumer mindset of seeking value, rather than encouraging consumers to think about the better life they would enjoy with a better mattress. “Everyone loses,” Morris said, “when a customer buys a lesser quality bed.”
The enduring power of the mattress
Morris urged retail sales associates to stay positive. He offered this upbeat perspective: “In spite of the current economic climate and the predictions for continued difficulties, in the long term can you think of a better product to sell than a mattress? Think about it. Every living person is a potential customer; everyone sleeps on a mattress every night. People will ultimately replace their mattress if they aren't sleeping well.”
Featured Company
-
Brandwise Inc.
Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
