The 3 P's of the Engagement
By Doug Fleener
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One of the
differences between average and GREAT specialty retail associates is the ability
to comfortably and effectively engage the customer.
No, I'm not talking about the person who walks up and asks how they can help
someone. I'm talking about the associate who can create an immediate and
effective relationship with a customer.
These are the
three P's of Customer Engagement that GREAT associates execute so well:
1. They are
Personable
- They're comfortable approaching and addressing customers. It doesn't matter
if the associate's personal style is energetic or laid back; they're
friendly, outgoing, and good conversationalists. I've never forgotten the
time I realized I'd made a mistake in hiring someone. When, after this woman
been with us for about two months, I pulled her aside to discuss her performance
she told me that she hated talking to people. When I asked her why she worked in
retail she said that even though she hated it, it paid well. Needless to say,
she did not remain our employ very long after this conversation. GREAT
associates like talking with people.
One thing I hear from time to time is that associates don't believe
they can "be themselves" when asked to work within a structured approach to
engaging the customer. I don't agree. I see a structured approach as
critical to a specialty retailer's success. To me, such an approach is a
roadmap. It guides the associate through the expected customer experience but
he/she is still at the wheel. Structure should have no bearing on how
personable someone is with a customer.
2. They make it
Personal
- Unlike associates who approach all customers the same way,
GREAT associates relate individually to each customer. They are truly
interested in the person they are engaging. They know that the more personal
the experience, the more productive their time spent with the customer will be.
Even that is not quite enough, though. GREAT associates seem to enjoy that
personal connection as much as the customer does. They create a
relationship. It's no wonder that these are the same employees customers
come back and ask for time and time again.
3. They engage
with Purpose
- Every conversation with a customer should be undertaken with purpose and a
desired result in mind. Consider the initial small talk when a customer
first enters the store. That initial non-sales related conversation helps breaks
down barriers that naturally exist between customers and retail associates. It's
almost like a verbal decompression that needs to happen before the customer and
associate relationship to form. Many retail associates skip this small but
important step and as a result they struggle to initially engage the customer.
GREAT associates
use the initial small talk to begin learning about the customer.
They can discover if it is the first time the person has been in the store, what
they might already own, the occasion that brings them out shopping, their name,
and on and on. If a sale takes one hundred steps, they're ten steps closer
after that initial conversation. (By the way, that's a metaphor and not an
endorsement for 100 steps to a sale.)
Every question is asked for a reason. Every answer from the
customer is used to determine either another question or a comment. It's also
used to determine which product or products to show the customer. It's
almost like a chess game - except both the customer and the employee are on the
same team.
As you work with customers this weekend ask yourself if you are
nailing the three Ps - being Personable, Personal, and Purposeful. If you are,
you're sure to add another two Ps - Productive and Profitable!
