Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013 - 38

UNPACKING SHOWROOMING

Equipping staff, closing the sale

Staff, says John Torella, senior partner at J.C. Williams Group, should be
a retailer’s first line of defence.
The reason that showrooming is
growing is because the sale isn’t being
closed in the store, he says, and that may
be as simple as a lousy incentive package and poor training.
“Retailers can really be doing a more
effective job working on their performance based compensation so
that the staff has a vested interest.
I’m not just talking about a flat commission, but if the staff have more
skin in the game they are going to
care more about closing the sale.”
Start by making sure they are helping the customer find the right products and then develop a relationship
with the customer, he says. “If an associate does a very good job of building a relationship with a consumer,
the consumer is going to want to reward them by giving them the sale.”
Merril Mascarenhas, managing part-

ner at the Arcus Consulting Group, recommends equipping staff with the
technology that gives them immediate access to information about your
products and your competitor’s products, so that they can go beyond the
basics of friendly, courteous service.
“It’s about leveraging technology to
draw on knowledge that helps your customers make better choices,” he says,
adding that customers may return just
to learn more. “And they may buy from
you because of the knowledge shared
with them by that sales representative.”
Trusting your associates

Rieva Lesonsky, president and
founder of GrowBiz Media, says part
of the challenge with small business is
that owners often don’t train their staff
to deal with more than just stocking the
shelves or working the cash register.
“Make sure your staff are not just
glorified sales clerks, that they understand the product, and maybe even
know what the competitors are offering.”

SEPTEMBER 10-11, 2013

In a clothing store, she says, staff can
help customers put outfits together,
and at the same time cross-sell or upsell
them a scarf or a purse, for example.
“You can't compete with a big retailer on price—you'll go broke. So the
way you can compete is by doing what
they can't do—they can't match you in
customer service, so put that together
and make it happen,” she says.
Smaller retailers have a huge advantage here, she says. “But you
have to take advantage of that by
providing more personalized service, taking a little more time getting
to know the customer and providing
something that the customer feels
that they can’t get elsewhere.”
That may be as simple as free, onthe-spot gift wrapping she says or
delivering an out-of-stock product to
their home the next day.
“People want value, not bargains,”
says Lesonsky. “They are looking for
the best value and value is more than
price, it's the experience.”

CONFERENCE 2013

September 10-11, 2013
Toronto Congress Centre – South Building

38 |

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013

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