How do you know what a customer wants?

With a simple and effective training system, you can develop self-confidence and effective sales skills. This system is based on the principle of role-based training. Anyone can master a certain skill if they periodically hone it through short training sessions.

By assigning roles to the employees of the shopping center during the training process, you can develop self-confidence and the desire to use the acquired skills in everyday work. By involving employees in the discussion process, you can understand what is easier and what is more difficult for them. Existing experience can be combined with new technical developments. Practicing new skills in a team of like-minded people helps you understand how to overcome all difficulties.

The sales stage makes it possible to determine the level of employee development. Each employee must show what they have learned. Using this system, you can note positive changes in the skills of the staff. After making sure that the employee has coped with the beginning of trading, you can move to the next level.

This is finding out what the customer needs. Let's look at how this system is used for this stage. How to guess the customer's wishes?

Study of customer demand

This stage involves identifying the customer's needs. A well-constructed list of questions will help you understand the customer's desires and gain their trust. In addition, correctly performed actions will significantly reduce the time.

Negotiations

This is a great opportunity to start training. To understand the client's wishes, you should ask your colleagues to consider the following questions:

• Can the inquiry be useful in the process of presenting products and concluding a contract?
• What does ineffective investigation lead to?
• Can an incorrect definition of needs lead to undesirable consequences in the sales process?

Employees usually come up with a lot of answers. Each answer should be recorded. This way, you can find out which problems arise most often and identify potential obstacles for the future. This is where employees may have legitimate questions. For example, "How can you communicate with a customer without demonstrating the product?", "What if you don't have what the customer wants to buy?" Answers to such questions arise at the next stage.

Working out

The work is carried out with groups of 3 people. The following are examples of incomplete dialogues for reference. Participants should complete them by adding a few questions, statements, and predictable comments from customers. For example, a customer is looking for a gift for his wife for a holiday. The buyer will be grateful to the salesperson who listens to him, evaluates his idea, and asks a few questions. An employee who limits himself to asking what the visitor wants is less likely to sell his product.

Dialogue 1:

Seller: What do you want to buy?

Visitor: I want to buy a souvenir for my spouse.

Seller: ...

And so on.

Dialogue 2:

Seller: What do you want to buy?

Visitor: I just stopped by to have a look.

Seller: ...

Etc.

Employees can share different versions of the conversation, discussing them and sharing their own opinions. You can ask them if they think these dialogues are suitable for life. If all employees answer yes to this question, you can move on to further actions. If not, then you should work on this stage.

Developing trading skills

This step is the final step in training salespeople. The group members play the role of a seller and a buyer, periodically changing roles. Teams consist of 3 people. One of the participants is assigned the role of a mentor. He or she evaluates the behavior of colleagues and provides communication between them.

The buyer and the mentor jointly select any product on the shelves, and the seller needs to determine what kind of product it is. The seller asks the buyer questions, and the buyer, in turn, gives answers that depend on the clarity of the question.

The mentor defines the following details of the dialog:

• How direct was the question?
• Were the seller's questions logical?
• Did the customer's words cause support?
• Wasn't the process of clarification similar to interrogation?
• How well is the seller able to listen?

It is better to conduct such classes during periods when there are few visitors and plenty of free time. Training should be interesting and challenging at the same time. Employees, once they get involved in the game, will be happy to apply the skills they have learned in real life.