Evan Carmichael shares three ways to increase sales per customer in high-end retail: ask questions and genuinely care about what the shopper wants, let them try things on to build confidence, and reduce risk with guarantees or flexible returns. He cites Harry Rosen's suit-fitting approach and a 30-day money-back guarantee as examples.
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How to convince people to buy in retail. So I got a great question from one of my YouTube viewers, love you guys, Myra, who wrote in to say, "What if you work in retail? How would I convince people they need an item? I work at Armani and I need to sell 2 to 3 items per transaction." This is a great question, and having dealt with a lot of salespeople at malls and in retail outlets, I've seen the worst, and I've seen a few people who do it really well. So I wanted to share 3 quick tips with you on how to sell better in retail. Number 1: actually care. This might sound crazy, but for some reason nobody actually does this. Actually care about your customers, okay? When somebody walks in the door, if I'm walking into your Armani store, I don't want you just seeing the money in my pocket. Okay, I want you seeing me. I want your goal to be when people come into your store, your goal is not to sell them anything, your goal is to make your customer happy. That's a different mindset because too many people come in and they're just trying to sell you stuff and you haven't even listened to my store and listened to what I'm all about and care what I'm trying to do. Why did I walk in that store? Do you even know? Probably not. So maybe you want to get an understanding of that before you try to sell me something. That's the big shift. That's why most of the salespeople, they don't have a lot of great success, because they don't care. You want to ask me questions. When I walk in, learn about me. Ask me what I'm interested in. Ask me why I walked into this store, right? Find out a little bit about me so that you can make recommendations. Because here's the thing, okay? You might be an expert. You might be, and I hope you are, right? You're an expert at picking out clothes for men and women. That fit the Armani style. Okay, you might look at me and say to yourself, "I know exactly what this guy needs, you know, he needs to get this tie and this shirt and these pants, he's gonna look amazing." But if you approach me and I get the feeling you're trying to sell me stuff, even if you have the right recommendations, even if the stuff that you're trying to sell me is the right thing for me, and if I tried it on, I would be amazed by it and walk out the store with 5 items. Even if that's the right call, if you come and you're trying to sell me stuff and I get the wrong vibe from you, I'm I'm walking out. I'm not buying from you because you're trying to sell me and because you don't care about me. So that's number 1. Actually care about your customers. Number 2, let them touch it. There's a certain fear that people have in buying stuff that may be a little bit outside their comfort zone. And you may know that, hey, this is the right thing for you. You know, you feel like after listening to me and after Hearing my challenges and what I'm looking for, you make the right recommendations. Like, this is what you need. Say you're trying to sell me a ring, okay? You're trying to sell me this ring. You're trying to sell me this ring and say, you know what, this is the right ring for you. And I look at it, it's like, ah, you know, I don't like how chunky it is and how my reflection comes off in the lighting, and, you know, I don't think it's going to be a good fit for me. If you really believe that after listening to me and knowing who I am and caring about me, that this is the best thing for me, you're not just trying to sell me stuff, you're You're actually caring about me, then get me to try it on. Get me to put it on my finger like that. Just encourage them, just try it on. Just humor me and try it on, I think, just to see. And then when I look at it, it's like, hey, you know what? You're kind of right, I kind of like it. It makes a big difference. So whatever clothing item you're pulling out, accessory, shirt, jean, whatever it is, get them to try it on, get them to touch it, get them to feel it. This is the advice of Harry Rosen, who's a really successful Canadian retailer made men's suits and dresses some of the most successful men in Canada, and I think he's open in the US too. But his secret was always to get people to try it on. He would look at them, understand them, and get them to try on the suit. And once they did and they felt it and he talked about it and they could see how they move around in it, then they're much more likely to buy. So get them to touch it. Number 3, reduce the risk. As much as possible, you want to reduce the the risk for somebody coming in to buy. If somebody's coming in and they've picked the right product, you know, you've helped them with it, but they're a little reluctant, they're still a little worried and say, "You know what, maybe I'll come back," the chances of them coming back are super low. Sometimes they do, but it's a small minority of people who actually come back after they check it out. You want to try to get them while they're on the spot. And again, you're only doing this because you believe that this is the right thing for them after listening to their needs. So what I look for is how to reduce the risk. So for example, somebody may say they come in and they try on something and say, "You know what, I like it, but I wanna talk to my wife and get her opinion before I buy." Maybe your store offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. You could tell them, "You know what, for your convenience, you can buy now, take it home in the comfort of your own home, try it on, show it to her, go on a date, see how it works together." And if it doesn't work out, come back, you've got 30 days full refund guarantee, no questions asked. And so you're reducing the risk. So it makes it easier for me to say yes, I'm buying on the spot. One last note about being successful in retail. I was recently buying a suit and I really wanted a Calvin Klein suit. I knew what I wanted, I checked out the styles and I wanted my Calvin Klein suit. And I walked into a store and I asked, "You guys have Calvin Klein suits?" And the guy tried to understand what I was doing, what I was looking for, and provide me options. But at the end of the day, he didn't have any Calvin Klein suits. He didn't sell it. And my heart was set on it. And instead of trying to convince me of why I need to get this other suit, he said, "You know what? We don't have Calvin Klein suits, but the store 3 aisles down, they'll sell it, and they have one on sale that might be a good fit for you." And so he sent my business away to somebody else, and I ended up buying a suit from that store, but I always remember the guy who made that referral. And if I ever need anything else, I'm going to him first because that guy cares. He's not just a sales guy. He cares. And so I'm gonna buy from him. So remember, to make more sales in retail, number one, actually care. Number 2, let them touch it. And number 3, reduce the risk. And believe. For those of you watching, you want to see more videos like this, you can subscribe to the channel. You can click on the link in the description to support me. And leave a comment, let me know what you think. Your feedback means so much to me and I love seeing it come in. So thank you, and I'll see you soon.
