10 Mistakes Floor Sales Representatives Make with Customers

Have you ever gone to a store and come right back out, because you didn’t like the sales representative’s cold stare, lack of emotion, and overall bad attitude? Many sales representatives are trained prior to hitting the sales floor, but for some, you wouldn’t dream that they ever were since they obviously lack professionalism in their demeanors. The following are ten mistakes sales representatives make when dealing with consumers.

One. Choosing or forgetting not to smile.

A smile tells everyone around you that you are approachable, happy, and very interested in listening to one’s concern. Yet, when a sales representative, whose primary duty is to help you find what you want, forgets to smile or consciously does it because they rather be somewhere else other than their job, it makes those around treat them distant or negatively.

Two. Avoiding eye contact.

We may have learned very young that a person who can’t look you in the eye is not trustworthy and may be hiding something. This thought holds true when dealing with a shifty eyed sales representative. If all you can see is the whites of their eyes because they are too busy looking at everyone and everything else but you, then you might want to consider handing your credit card over to him or her.

Three. Failing to know about the store merchandise.

An employee of the store should be aware of the latest products that have entered his or her store. A consumer should not know more than the sales representative. Even if this is the case, because the consumer just happens to be an enthusiast of a certain product line, the sales representative should put his or her best know-it-all attitude forward and direct them to as many of the latest and best products based on their needs.

Four. Taking breaks, conversing or sitting down and relaxing while the customer walks the floor.

The quickest way a sales representative can give a store visitor a false impression about his or her work ethic is to look like he or she is taking a break. Talking with fellow employees, sitting on a couch, or smoking outside while prospects are walking the floor doesn’t build a relationship with the customer rather it makes him or her feel distant. Sales representatives who do this look like they are more concerned about their own needs and those they converse with than the one that is going to put a nice commission in their pocket. Whether you are a sales representative or have some other title, you know that managers and clients don’t like looking at someone who doesn’t seem like they are working on his or her behalf.

Five. Walking away abruptly.

You know how this kind of body language would certainly put you in a bad mood when your partner or relative does this to you while you are talking, so why let a sales representative get away with this kind of behavior? He or she should be immediately reported to the boss if they have done this out of frustration.

Six. Ignoring the needs of the customer.

The customer tells the sales representative that she is looking for a brown couch made of fabric, but the clerk insists on selling her a black couch made of leather. What is the likelihood that her experience with the sales representative will end badly? When a visitor walks in the store, one of two things is going on in his or her own mind either, “I know what I want” or “I need someone to tell me what I want.” For the consumer who already knows what he or she wants, why do some sales representatives waste his or her time or provoke them to get angry, just give them what they want!

Seven. Entertaining instead of educating.

There is nothing wrong with making a joke to break the ice or to put one at ease about spending a lot of money on a purchase, but sometimes some sales representatives go too far. They may be so happy to receive a sale that they joke their way right out of one. Sales representatives should stay away from every kind of joke that may be deemed controversial or offensive especially those that use harsh language.

Eight. Forgetting manners.

It is never excusable to burp, pass gas, make strange noises or do other things that will most likely offend a customer. However, there are some sales clerks who think that “keeping it real” followed by a simple “I’m sorry” will not affect a sale. It’s kind of difficult to forget about the smelly breath sales representative with the flatulence problem

if the prospect decides to make the purchase with him or her, so to quickly avoid such a bad memory, the consumer might just pass on buying from this person for something that has nothing to do with purchasing the item.

Nine. Trying to up-sell when the customer is clearly not interested.

The sales representative may have had his or her work cut out for them just to close one deal, then in the midst of some uncertainty from the customer and the cloud of confusion from his or her relatives on the purchase that may still be lingering, the sales representative makes an all too common error of trying to convince the consumer to buy yet one more thing or a better, more expensive version. If the sales representative has prematurely asked for the sell, he or she will most likely send the buyer back out the door complaining. “He is so pushy…can’t she see we didn’t have the money for that but she kept wanting us to look at it…”

Ten. Favoring one sex over the other when communicating especially to couples.

It may be quite natural for a sales representative to go to the man with the deep pockets first. Yet, the man’s wife may be the ultimate decision maker and to deliberately ignore her would be foolish. Most women, particularly those who are 50 plus, grew up during a time when the man was considered king of the castle and his wife wrote the checks usually from a joint bank account. When history like this isn’t taken into consideration, this too may hurt the sales representative’s chances of closing the deal. The sales representative may communicate better with men than women or vice versa, but the consumer should never be able to determine this from the sales representative’s behavior. Both people should be treated equally.

Whether you are a consumer who just finds a major part of your shopping experience only as good as the sales representatives you encounter or you are someone who is either in the field of sales or considering it as a career, hopefully the tips in this article have provided you with additional insight or reminded some of you about those basic techniques that will help you seal the deal or kill the sale.