How the seller should meet the buyer. Babushka, or How to start communicating with a buyer on the sales floor

An important point is that the sale itself begins from the beginning of contact with the buyer. A few points to help you effectively start communicating with your client.

How can I help you

We will not dwell on this point - such questions are too hackneyed and cause rejection and a desire to close down. Phrases like “how can I help you” or “how can I tell you something” are things that should be avoided.

But there is an interesting point - many people use similar phrases and this does not always lead to failure. The fact is that if the client came purposefully to make a purchase, if the client is confident in his intention to buy, then phrases like “how can I help you” will be a simple reason for the buyer to initiate contact and inform the seller of his intention. Sometimes it is better to say such a phrase than to simply remain silent and not contact the buyer. However, there are a sufficient number of methods on how to start a conversation with a buyer, allowing you to avoid hackneyed phrases.

Client in the hall

Depending on the sales area and the specific situation, the most appropriate tactics of behavior are selected. The client can be given the opportunity to look around, just greet him at the entrance. For example, if you have a large assortment. Or you can clarify the reason for the visit if there is less choice.

In any case, it is worth greeting the client at the entrance. A simple “good afternoon/morning/evening” will do for this. At the same time, you can take a small step back, making it clear that you are not going to “attack”. I was greeted with an interesting “welcome” greeting. Such a greeting is original and can arouse interest.

Phrase - pause - question

One of the good methods for starting a conversation with a buyer is “phrase - pause - question”. The essence of the method can be understood from the name:

Phrase. This can be any neutral phrase that is logical at this moment. For example, “we are running a promotion” or you pay attention to the product that the buyer is looking at and say the phrase about this product “this model is now the most relevant and in demand.”

Pause. After a neutral phrase, we simply take a short pause, allowing the client to think about what you said.

Alternative question

Trying to avoid a monosyllabic, closed-ended question is a good idea. Having heard a closed question, the client may answer “no” out of inertia. We ask an alternative question to establish contact, for example, “are you coming to us for purchase or service?” and so on.

Have you ever had a strange feeling when you go to Foxtrot, Eldorado or any other electronics supermarket, and sales consultants swarm from all sides, trying to advise, answer questions, help you choose, help you decide on a model (underline as appropriate).

Have you also felt the desire to run away from there, away from the intrusive service, and simply order equipment with delivery from some well-known online store?

Don't be alarmed. You are not a sociopath. It’s just that the realities of Ukrainian sales in the mentioned networks (and not only in them) in recent years, with their excessive activity and standardization, really force the unprepared consumer to consider them intrusive.

And even our opinion is just an opinion. After all, reputable companies are free to work as they wish. Moreover, if you sell something and want to have a “less intrusive” service in your business, everything is in your hands.

The beginning of a conversation with the buyer is the first and very important one, which determines the further course of events. This article contains some tips, how to start a conversation with a buyer correctly so as not to seem intrusive.

The perfect conversation starter with the buyer

When it comes to developing an internal standard for greeting a customer, sales managers take one of 2 paths:

based on your own “like”
based on testing different options and statistics

At the same time, the first is closer to unique small businesses where the owner is the ROP. The second is the lot of seasoned sales people who put sales figures above aesthetics.

Once, the sales trainers of the Result Factory spent more than 2 weeks fighting against the wall of misunderstanding of the owner, who wanted “it to be like this, and to sound like this, because this expresses our philosophy and uniqueness,” although very specific requests for improvement were voiced sales, and for whom the first thing to do was to change too unselling, aimless phrases in the standards. That is, the situation was: I want an apple, but I don’t want an apple.
And don't worry about said lady. We sorted everything out and came to an agreement with everyone. And everything ended well.

The best way to start a conversation with a client is one that both satisfies the seller's goals and remains within what is emotionally acceptable to the buyer.

The very first step is to decide what do you want to get out of the conversation?. It can be:

a certain emotional state of the client
understanding the message you are conveying
interest / intrigue
the client's willingness to take certain actions
surprise, remembering

Accept that there are situations that are mutually exclusive. You can't sell without offering. You can't be remembered without standing out.

Phrases for starting a conversation with a buyer correctly

When you clearly understand the goals of prescribing standards for starting a conversation, you can move on to formalizing them in the form of specific phrases.

The most important rule is that it shouldn’t be like that joke when the seller’s phrase “can I help you with something” was answered with “help me financially.”

There are 7 rules for composing greeting phrases that business sales trainers in the Results Factory follow. One of them is that the standard can be implemented only after checking the matrix in 4 planes - in relation to the manager, the seller, the potential client, and the competitor.

You should also take into account the specifics of whether you understand how to properly start a conversation with a buyer on the phone or on the sales floor.

By the way, the job of a sales consultant is not to give you beautifully structured lists of offers, but to understand your product, structure and sales funnel, and, based on their specifics, offer one or another solution.

Any standard must not only be “good”, but also appropriate. This is called the principle of congruence. Take note.

The main thing you need to understand

There are no universal phrases for starting a conversation between a seller and a buyer - there are speech structures that solve certain problems. For example:

If you need to attract attention, talk:

Did you call and ask if there were 25 of these laptops in stock?
Are you also from a new building next door, and asked about a special price for this sofa for your address?
Did you ask to secretly pack the phone while the girl is not looking, so that it would be a surprise?

When you need to show your client “corporate spirit” and high standards of work from the very beginning:

come in, we are glad to see you, if you have any questions, just let me know, and I will provide any assistance in choosing...
We welcome you to the *** branch, when you need me please let me know

And so on and so forth. There are special speech structures that identify a need, or inform about promotions, or help, or, or, or even force non-target clients to leave quickly. We hope you understand the logic.

Basic rules for starting a conversation with a client

Since the purpose of this article is to analyze application tools (which you could use immediately after reading), let’s also formulate the basic rules that need to be taken into account when standardizing the beginning of a conversation between a seller and a client.

No running up to the client immediately after he has entered - let the person choose for himself from 30 to 90 seconds, this time is considered suitable for most areas and industries, as evidenced by statistics from the fields.
Try to do without hackneyed and boring slogans- you are not McDonald's, and “free cash register” will most likely be inappropriate and even funny in your business. We wrote about the principle of congruence above.
Conversation starter phrase cannot be out of conjunction with greeting phrases on the one hand, and need identification phrases on the other. Consider the standard of behavior of a seller globally, because the practice of our trainers shows that real profit is provided only by a well-thought-out algorithm with specific goals, which sometimes takes up a dozen Whatman paper.
In order for salespeople to start using your conversation starters, you need to in role-playing exercises, repeat them at least 500 times. It would be a mistake to think that it is enough to tell and show, and everyone will understand and apply everything. Provide quality sales training.
Even the most trained and motivated salespeople bend their standards over time. Need constant monitoring in the form of secret shoppers and the reaction to what it shows you.

Total

In one article, instead of presenting a list of phrases on how to properly start a conversation with a buyer on the phone or in the sales area, we decided to convey the basic rules, principles and concepts. They even showed several examples.

This will help you draw valuable conclusions and generate useful ideas that will form the basis of your highest quality standards for starting a conversation with the buyer.

If you still have questions, ask and we will answer for free, because we want the beginning of a conversation with a buyer in Ukraine to be more humane, and at the same time professional.

If you need help developing sales scripts, or need to write turnkey scripts, .

1. Smile

It's free and it prolongs your life. And, perhaps, it works most effectively. If you are on opposite sides of the computer, you can still smile at the client: in a friendly tone in a letter, on a website, on social networks. Politeness is the key to anyone, even the buyer of a concrete mixer! :)

Imagine that you are creating a shopping cart in your online store. In one case, the site tells the buyer “Thank you! We have received your order, today we will collect it and prepare it for shipping. Our courier will call you in advance to coordinate delivery time,” and in the second, “Order No. 123 has been sent.” What text do you think is written with a smile?

2. Ask

Just don’t even think about asking the question “Can I tell you anything?” An emotional person may think to himself, “Am I blind? I can already see everything!” Of course, he won’t say this out loud, but he may be left with the impression that he was looked down upon in this store. The same goes for other phrases: “Do I need help?” - “Am I completely weak?”, “What interests you?” - “If I had known, I would have bought it right away”, “Have you already chosen the right product?” - “If you are in a hurry to sell me something, then I will go to another store where they will not pester me.” Of course, we are exaggerating a little, but you get the main idea. This also applies to online sales: intrusive pop-ups and direct messages repel, rather than push to purchase. It’s better to ask who he is buying the product for, clarify the details of the order, packaging, and delivery. Ask the buyer questions that he will be happy to answer.

3. Be hospitable

This is more difficult than it seems, although you can say: my salespeople or myself are always friendly, what more do you need? But buyers always sense feigned politeness “for show,” and distinguish it from true hospitality. Imagine that each of your clients is an old acquaintance whom you have not seen for a long time. You will immediately feel a friendly attitude towards him, but it is difficult to hide it.

4. Ask for feedback

The client will be happy to spend a couple of minutes with you to tell you what he likes about the product and what he would like to improve. It’s the same with social networks: users are more willing to repost and answer questions under photos and videos if you directly ask them to do so. This way you can more effectively collect information about products and improve them.

5. Be proactive

Immediately inform everything about the order: timing, price, special delivery conditions, lack of a specific model in stock. Most orders in a store follow a well-trodden path: a person finds out the price, delivery and payment methods, and then makes a decision to purchase or postpones it. Don't make him pry every detail out of you.

6. Respect the visitor's decisions

Is it inconvenient for a client to communicate with you on the phone during business hours and is it much easier to respond to messages in the messenger? Great! Don’t miss out on a regular client just because you’re not used to communicating with clients, for example, on Telegram.

7. Pay special attention to those who doubt

The most common reason is price. A person thinks: “Is this product worth the money they are asking for it?”, but not everyone dares to openly say that it is expensive for him. Offer him a similar product, but cheaper, ask what the buyer’s expectations are from the purchase. Remember that the final decision is always up to the buyer, so give him the opportunity to choose.

8. Don't judge the buyer

Especially in appearance - it can be very deceiving. The worst thing is when the seller’s attitude towards the buyer, his politeness and willingness to help directly depends on this. Be caring and attentive to any buyer - this will help reinforce in him the desire to make a purchase from you.

Communication with a client is a delicate science; contact personnel leave the client’s most important impression of the company. If communication with your staff brought pleasure to the client, this can eliminate many of the disadvantages in your company or product. Conversely, one wrong word or intonation can deprive you of a client forever. Today we will talk about how to properly conduct a conversation with a client.

How to learn to speak correctly and beautifully

To begin with, I would like to say that there is no more valuable competency in life than the ability to speak correctly with people. Communication skills will help a person in any life situation. Unfortunately, society has now moved very much into online life and because of this, many people communicate little with each other. This prevents them from improving and developing their communication skills. Only true geniuses of their craft, whose work is so perfect that anyone can appreciate it, can achieve heights without this skill. The rest need to be able to build relationships with people, be able to make friends and be able to defend their point of view. History knows many examples when a genius could not gain the favor of society and his works were recognized years after his death. Unfortunately, even the best idea needs to be presented beautifully to the public.

You can learn to speak correctly and beautifully only by constantly communicating with other people. This skill only develops through process. This article outlines tips and recommendations on what you should pay attention to first of all. But just reading the article will not force you to change your behavior; it is you who must do this. If you are a manager or business owner and want to influence the behavior of subordinates. Then only a clearly defined system will help you, it is usually called standards of communication with the client. And most importantly, these standards. The system itself will not force people to change their behavior.

Standards of communication with the client

Any self-respecting company should have a set of rules for communicating with clients. Which clearly states how dialogue can and cannot be conducted. For salespeople and contact personnel who solve the same problems, the easiest way is to write scripts and dialogue scripts. We have already talked about this, so we will discuss the general standards of communication with the client. In fact, using the criteria described below, you can immediately determine whether a person knows how to speak correctly with a client.

Emotional attitude and openness to the client

Often the seller is in a bad mood and shows it to the client with all his appearance. Some employees have such an expression on their face that the client is simply afraid to approach them. There have been cases in my practice that the seller was minding his own business and did not pay attention to the client, and the client did not want to distract the seller, seeing that he was busy. It doesn’t matter who initiates the contact, it is important that the seller demonstrates that he is ready to help the client.

The client doesn't have to wait

Absolutely everyone is annoyed by waiting and the uncertainty associated with it. Often, for good reasons, we cannot promptly answer a client’s question; unfortunately, such situations cannot be avoided. The task of the contact staff is to help the client as quickly as possible. But if the client has to wait for a consultation, then it is important to show concern: say how long he will have to wait, offer options for how the client will spend this time, and apologize in advance about what happened. This applies not only to live communication, but also by phone or email.

Determine the contact initiator

Often companies do not think about who should initiate the contact, from the client or from the employee. Although this is an important criterion when drawing up communication scripts. In addition, these are fundamentally different customer service strategies. You've probably noticed that in some stores, sellers actively approach you and immediately offer their help (Euroset, Eldorado, Tekhnosila), and in some, on the contrary, sellers stand and wait for you to call them (mediamarkt, Mvideo). Each strategy is good in its own way and has a right to exist.

Make contact correctly

Addressing the client by name

There is no sound sweeter than your own name. This simple truth should be hammered home to all employees. The ability to call by name should be brought to complete automaticity. This will not happen quickly, but overall it will serve any person well.

Communicate in the same language with the client

If you need to explain something to a deaf-mute person, you will probably use sign language, take a pen and paper, or type on a computer or phone. But you are unlikely to explain in words; I have often encountered deaf-mute people, there are many of them, and I know what I am talking about. But unfortunately, when communicating with a client, an employee often chooses a language of terms and slang words that the client does not understand. This is a big mistake, the only language worth using is . Every organization should have a list of properties and benefits, and how to tell all this to the client.

Dont lie

The worst thing an employee can do to a client is lie. You lose all the client’s trust in one moment and you will never get it back. Many times I have had to communicate with clients who were lied to by employees and the labor costs to return such a client to the company are very large.

Don't burden the client with your difficulties

For one reason or another, an employee may encounter various difficulties that hinder him. Remember that you should not tell the client about all the problems you encountered. At first, the client doesn’t care (if he does, he’ll ask himself), then big difficulties can scare the client away. I have often heard the phrase “well, if everything is so complicated, then I don’t need it.” All you have to do is apologize for the delay and, if possible, somehow compensate for the client’s losses.

Always do a little more than required

If a person receives more than he expected, then he becomes happy. This simple rule should be your motto. I read several articles on this topic. For example, vending machines selling hawthorn tincture have now become popular; for those who are not in the know, this is a cheap substitute for vodka. So, these machines are configured so that sometimes they dispense 2 bottles instead of one, this allows you to create a stir and start word of mouth among the target audience.

The ability to say goodbye

Few people think about how important it is to say goodbye to a person correctly. There are actually two good reasons to do this right:

The effect of not long ago - after parting with you, a person thinks about your last phrases, what happened in the middle of the dialogue is remembered less often. If you say goodbye positively, the client can forget the troubles that he encountered during the communication process;
Your psychological attitude for further activities. If the breakup was positive, then it will be easier for you to tune in to the next positive contact. Even if the dialogue was not simple, what was psychologically important was what happened at the end. I emphasized this idea from Wolf and him.

Saying goodbye is not as difficult as it seems. For example, I always wish everyone a good day or evening. If you do this sincerely, then the person is grateful to you and is pleased that you are thinking about his future fate. If there were unpleasant moments in the dialogue, you can apologize again. For example: for the time spent, for the work of another employee, or simply for the current situation. It is important to demonstrate to the client that the client is dear to you personally and is pleasant as an interlocutor.

How to resist arrogance and rudeness

Unfortunately, the culture of our society is not as high as we would like. Working in the service sector, you will often encounter arrogance, rudeness, inappropriate behavior, and sometimes aggression. First you need to learn to take this for granted and stop being surprised by this behavior. This will give you the opportunity to learn to demonstrate to your interlocutor that you are not affected by his behavior. The roots of rudeness and arrogance go back to a person’s childhood and upbringing; it is impossible to change his behavior pattern. The most correct behavior would be to demonstrate that this behavior does not work with you and that the person himself will reorganize the dialogue with you in a constructive manner. How to do it? There are several options that can be used depending on the situation.

If you are approached in a rude manner, you may not notice or ignore the request. In general, a policy of completely ignoring inappropriate behavior can often help;
You can quickly ask a rhetorical question. The goal is to unsettle the manipulator, make him think and thereby seize the initiative;
Laugh it off. Often a boor does not expect you to laugh, he expects your resentment and anger. Hearing laughter, he is lost;
Astonishment. You can show your disappointment in the person as an interlocutor. Try to shame him by saying a general phrase like “yes, I see the language of Chekhov and Dostoevsky died a long time ago.” I’ll say right away that this tactic will only work if you are being rude not out of malice (this also happens), this trick will not work with boors, manipulators and insolent people.

Tells clinical pharmacologist, candidate of medical sciences Olga Mubarakshina.

A distinctive feature of pharmacy sales is the enormous responsibility for recommending a drug. At the same time, it is very important that pharmacists or pharmacists can provide qualified advice on the use of the medication and its possible effects in the shortest possible time, in 3-4 minutes. It is also important to be able to competently respond to customer objections.

Secret of success No. 1. Greeting and smiling

Greeting the visitor is extremely important for all stages of the sale. Your smile and the intonation of your voice are of great importance. Your actions and phrases should show a friendly attitude.

When welcoming a visitor into the hall, the employee must stand up and turn his entire body towards him. This is a sign of respect and attention on your part, which does not prevent you from using it in everyday communication.

From the first seconds of the meeting, the pharmacy visitor should feel a sense of comfort and feel your friendliness and attention. Use a smile. This is a universal means of establishing contact, a silent invitation to communicate. You need to smile not forcedly, but from the heart, and during any contact, including telephone contact. This gives the voice a certain intonation and is felt by the interlocutor. But remember, a smile is only appropriate at the moment of greeting. When a person begins to share problems and talk about his health problems, there should be an expression of goodwill and sympathy on your face.

Secret of success No. 2. Distance and correctness

When communicating with pharmacy visitors, you should avoid any touching. Do not approach the client closer than arm's length—do not invade his personal space. However, if the customer himself shortens the distance, the employee should not move away or otherwise try to increase the distance between himself and the customer. His actions may be dictated by poor vision or hearing.

Remember that many consumers are embarrassed or do not want to publicly discuss some of their problems, for example, bowel function, menstrual periods, problems with potency, etc. Try to discuss intimate issues so that your conversation is not heard by other visitors. At the same time, do not question the client too persistently. By asking very intimate questions, you can achieve the opposite of the desired effect: instead of trust, the client will begin to experience embarrassment. This can lead to difficulties in perception and, as a result, rejection of the proposed product.

Secret of success No. 3. Voice and gestures

When communicating with visitors, try to speak clearly and distinctly. Your answer should be heard from the place where the question was asked. If the client has difficulty hearing, speak louder, but do not shout and watch the tone of the conversation. Communication with a client in a raised voice is unacceptable even in the event of a conflict situation provoked by the client.

Gestures should not be small, sharp, or excessively frequent. Open, fluid gestures showing palms are recommended.

Secret of success No. 4. Contact according to the situation

When you establish contact with a client, you need to take into account the characteristics of his behavior and movement around the room. If the visitor moves towards the display with a firm step and his behavior can be described as confident, it is necessary to choose a passive type of contact. Most likely, the buyer came for a specific drug. Give the initiative to the potential buyer. If he is in the hall, give him the opportunity to look around, while keeping him in sight in order to immediately respond to his request or help with any difficulty.

If a visitor looks around, hesitates next to a pharmacy employee, or moves around the hall, looking first into one display case, then into another, it is necessary to select an active type of contact and kindly address him with the words: “How can I help you?”

Secret of success No. 5. Identifying customer needs

Some visitors come to the pharmacy with a clear idea of what product they came for. However, many people look to the pharmacy for a solution to their problem, assuming that a specialist knows better what to do. In the latter case, the employee must first identify the problem and then create in the visitor a desire to solve it with the help of a certain product from the pharmacy’s range.

When identifying a need, use open-ended questions that allow you to get as much information as possible. They are the ones who encourage the client to continue the conversation. When offering a solution to a problem, use alternative questions (for example, which drug is better for you: A or B?). Customers like to be offered different options and choices.

When figuring out a customer's problem and pitching a product, don't say too much too quickly. But don’t take long pauses either. Listen carefully to the client. Notice his verbal and nonverbal signals: facial expressions, gestures, words that indicate interest or indicate displeasure and disagreement.

When recommending a product, hand it to the client. When a potential buyer holds a product in his hands, not only the hearing organs are involved, but also visual, tactile, and olfactory receptors. To better understand the visitor and offer the product that he really needs, put yourself in the client’s shoes and don’t forget: your main task is not to sell, but to help.

Remember that negative and threatening sales calls, such as “Buy this medicine while you can still get to the pharmacy,” have been proven to be low in effectiveness.

It is desirable that the appeal reflects motives of personal gain. For example: “Why pay more?” Try to indicate the time when the therapeutic effect should occur. For example, “You take a pill in the evening, and the full effect comes in the morning.” And of course, the chief minister’s recommendations must be accompanied by a reminder: “Consult your doctor.”