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Trainers share tips on getting consumers to lie down

By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 8, 2007

How do you train sales associates to encourage consumers to lie down on the beds?

Craig McAndrews, Innovative Retail Group: "The only thing we emphasize is to extend the invitation once or even twice if the customer seems resistant. The reality is that you can buy a bed without laying down on it. If you don't believe me, spend an afternoon in Sam's or Costco and watch how many people make a bedding purchase. The point is to respond to the customer and their preference. If they don't want to lie down, you can't make them. However, this should not prevent you from extending the invitation by saying, 'It might help to lie down and see if it provides the support you are seeking,' or 'Some people feel not lying down can make selecting a mattress very difficult, so feel free to make yourself comfortable.'"

Tim Sommer, SommerTime Consulting: "Put a sign over the most expensive bed saying, 'This is the most comfortable bed in the store!'"

Bob Eilenfeldt, Spring Air: "Point out to the customer that they don't buy a pair of shoes without trying them on, or buy a car without a test drive. So why would they buy the only product that they use eight hours every day without trying it out? And do not hover over the customer when they are lying down. Give your customer space."

Kurt Ling, Kurt Ling, Chief Dreaming Officer: "There is a segment of the bedding buying population that does not want to lie down on beds. Period. They don't need to. Most of these folks lie down when asked, but they hate it because comfort isn't their primary buying driver. By making the customer lie down, we add angst and time to the process. Second, ask them to lie down. This is a no brainer, right? Last, BACK OFF. There are plenty of people who will lie down if you don't hover, don't keep talking, and don't follow them around. It is a space and privacy issue."

Gerry Morris, consultant and author: "First, I believe it is important to have a bedding department that has an atmosphere that can help put customers at ease. I tell associates to ask customers to sit on a bed first. Most will. Then the sales associate should also sit on another bed next to the customer, but not directly across from them. Resume the conversation for a moment to explain that most people don't really get the feel of a new mattress until it is already in their home. Say, 'Did you know that in one month you will spend 10 full days sleeping on a mattress? That's more than three years in 10 years of use. Now lie back and get in the position you normally wake up in. That's how you probably slept most of the night.' If they are still reluctant, I encourage the customer to try the bed out while I go check on something, and I leave them alone for a few minutes."

Brett Swygman, Simmons: "There are many techniques that retail sales associates use to get the consumer to lie down on the bed. You can just ask them to lie down or you can lie down on the bed first and then encourage the consumer to do the same. One thing that I have seen work is always let the consumer know what you are going to be asking them to do during the selection process. Let them know early in the sales process that you will be asking them to lie down on three mattresses. Then when you get to that point in the process always ask them to do you a 'favor' and lie down on the mattress. I truly believe that if you have given the consumer a reason to lie down and they trust you, they will lie down."

Donna Favia, Restonic: "Sixty percent of people sleep on their sides. One of the qualifying questions I encourage sales associates to ask is, 'Are you a side sleeper?' Since most answer yes, it sets the stage for the sales associate to encourage the consumer to try out the bed by lying down on her side.

"Incorporating analogies into the selling process helps customers understand why lying down on the sleep set is imperative. For instance, the best way to purchase shoes is to try them on first. This is especially true when the sales associate relates the benefit of a pair of shoes that fit well to the benefit of finding the right sleep set."

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