Many retailers don't get it: Pushy salespeople a turnoff
David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, August 25, 2008
Why don't retailers get it?
The question, posed by one of the bedding industry's top executives, was directed to me. I wasn't quite sure what to say.
This executive and I were having an off-the-record conversation, which is why I'm not going to reveal his name. But the question he raised is an intriguing one, well worth some discussion in this space.
We were reviewing some important consumer research findings that we published in our Aug. 11 issue. That report, “Consumer Voices: The Bedding Shopping Experience,” was presented in a special bedding supplement sponsored by the Sleep Trust Guarantee.
The consumers were sounding off on what they would change in the mattress-buying experience:
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“Having salespeople leave you alone to try out the mattresses.”
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“Nagging salespeople.”
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“The salespeople could be more honest and when you lie on a mattress at the store, they could walk away a little bit so you wouldn't feel uncomfortable.”
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“I like to look a lot and I don't like feeling pressured to buy.”
See any common themes there? The executive did. “Retailers can read this and they can see what consumers are saying,” he said. That led him to the question that began this column.
And it leads me to wonder, along with that executive, why retailers can't diagnose this problem and do something about it. So let's start with this thought: Retailers need to spend more time analyzing the shopping experience as it unfolds on their sales floors. They won't have any difficulty discovering that many consumers are turned off by how they are treated when they look for a new sleep set.
What to do about that? Retailers need to spend much more time teaching the fine art of engaging consumers — and then giving them their space. Hovering near a prospect is a turnoff. The skilled sales associate knows when to back off. One technique: The sales associate says he or she needs to check on an order and retreats to the sales desk. There the associate watches from a distance, letting the consumer try out a couple of beds. After a few minutes the sales associate checks back in with the consumer and re-engages with her.
It may seem counterintuitive that walking away from a consumer actually helps to close the sale, but that's what some skilled sales associates tell us.
There are many different ways to sell mattresses. Retailers and their sales associates who don't learn from their mistakes are, sadly, doomed to repeat them.
Contact David Perry at dperry@reedbusiness.com
