Converting a walk-in to a sale through a proper welcome and query

Scenario:- A large department store of with rows and rows of ready to wear women apparel of jeans, kurtis etc.. Priya, a smartly dressed young women is walking into the area… Lakshmi, a CCA at the department is folding and stocking the stocks, when she notices the customer walking in.. As per the training, she walks towards the customer and asks “Madam, how may I help you..”? Priya has just walked in and she is still getting a feel of the place and says, “just looking”. Then, Priya is left to shop for herself and Lakshmi will wait for to ask for any help.  Priya, then walks through and not having seen any thing in particular, go out of the department. If only the training had been changed to the following :- Lakshmi...

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Reliable Rapid Replenishment

Dear All,  I would like to bring to your attention an upcoming workshop that Goldratt India is organizing in partnership with Time n Cash, on the following topic:  Increasing Availability without increasing inventory: TOC WayDate: November 28, 2012Venue: Hotel ITC Windsor Manor, BangaloreWho should attend: Supply Chain Heads, Materials Heads, Production Planning / Production Heads, MDs, CEOs, Decision-makers of organizations Workshop Details: One-day workshop on eliminating stock-outs without increasing inventories through the application of Theory of Constraints (TOC)The workshop would address the following issues: ¦Perennial stock outs of fast moving SKUs¦Inability to meet sales targets ¦High obsolescence or discount sales¦High...

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Up selling skills

As a sales person, the first responsibility is to make the first sale. Then, to make the second sale and so on. The best example that I have come across on Upselling goes like this...( it is an extract from the book Entrepedia by Prof. Nandini Vaidyanathan, a Mentor and Coach to over 500 mentees, including this author). Quote... A week before Christmas, the Wal Mart store in Denver, USA was gearing up for the big Christmas sale. It had hired close to a hundred people in Sales and the HR Manager was exhausted. Just then a  young sardar boy walked in saying he was looking for a job. The HR Manager said that he had just finished hiring and there was no vacancy. But the boy was persistent and would not take no for an answer. That's when...

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Why is after sales service so bad in India ?

3 problems in 3 weeks ! Our washing machine, the fridge and even the water filter and have had problems . In fact two of them are even under an annual maintenance plan costing us 1000's of rupees each year. Yet, the service we have got from each of the companies, the first is a famous MNC, the second an equally famous Indian company, the third is known for its door to door sales people who pioneered water filters. Yet, there are some TV manufacturers like Samsung who are offering 10 years warranty for the first time ! On the other side of the sales cycle, I saw full page advertisements today with gifts and prizes worth Rs. 6 to 10 crores from retailers as part of the Diwali Scheme. Does it make sense for an unhappy consumer point of...

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Whose Diwali Greeting is this anyway ? No name, no identity

The Divine light of Diwali spread happiness n prosperity 2 U & ur family. Did you recognise who sent this greeting ? Neither did I. He would have thought it was a good thing to have wished me, but since I did not recognise his number, and it is not polite to ask him who is the sender, I just deleted the message ! About 10 % of the Diwali Greetings that I received this season had no name at all.  With increasing use of mobile numbers by every one, it is virtually impossible nor is it needed to store the mobile number of every person you meet. And considering that I did not store his number in this case, and he paid about Rs. 1.50 on an average during this season to send out, I presume he must have lost about Rs. 45 if...

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Startup Leadership Program in Bangalore

Apart from writing about Retailing, I would like to add information about opportunities for startups, ( I am one of them ) Here is an opportunity for applying to a program, that is to quote the site " We do everything possible to support our Fellows, as long as they are supporting the community. We take two things very seriously, attendance and contribution to the SLP community". The Startup Leadership Program (SLP) is a highly selective, world-class training program for outstanding founders, leaders and innovators who are or want to be startup CEOs, and be connected to a global network. SLP Fellows have founded over 300 breakthrough startups including Duron Energy, Gharpay, ixigo, Innoz, Momelan, Runkeeper, SideTour, Shareaholic, Solar...

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Control what you can - Inventory is a prime candidate ...

How to increase sales during tough times… When the going gets tough, you begin to wonder, what is it that you can do, apart from hoping to get new customers. Actually, there are quite a few things.. 1. Inventory.. Reduce Fresh supply… Evaluate each and every purchase with an eagle eye. I am often surprised, to find owner/retailer hand over this critical responsibility to a few old and trusted employees. They are no doubt doing what they have been doing for many years now. New Action:- Just ask a few questions when the next order is about to be released and you will surely find orders, which you could avoid placing. 2. Check Inventory.. Check out the age ( less than 30 days, 90 days etc) of the different SKUs that you have, not...

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G.U.E.S.T - How to treat a Customer !

There are many descriptions for the various "steps" that are mentioned in the process of making a sale. GUEST G - Greet the customer, it can be just a nodding your head with pleasant smile, U - Unfold the customers needs with a smooth conversation, E - Explain the customer regarding the product with their unique qualities, S - Selling the product to the customer, make sure selling the product should not be the end of the relationship with the customer, it is infact should be the begining of the relationship with the customer,  T -Thanking the customer after selling, never forget to thank the customer after the transaction is completed).  In an article by Vinod Kumar M, Branch Manager /Regional Manage of Kiah Life Style...

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How a new joinee can add value & seriously learn at the same time ..

A typical company / store/ office ... A typical new joinee's day.... If you have seen how a new joinee is "inducted" into a organisation, it is typically, with introductions to the "internal team", meeting with a set of "busy senior people" who hopefully, will find the time to talk to the new joinee . We are passionate about making the web a better place. No where do we find a "customer Contact "program for a new joinee. If anything, the new joinee is shielded from customers, lest he makes a mistake . I came across this wonderfull way to inducting a new joinee by the company automattic/ Wordpress. We are passionate about making the web a better place. Coming on board · When you make it past the interview stage we’ll do a project together on contract, typically lasting between 3-8...

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Shopping is Fun, Paying is not...

For each of us, Shopping is fun, we spend hours and hours going from one shop to another, and in a mall, from one side of the huge floor to another, un and down the esclators, even spending hours at the food court or the new restaurants that are starting up all the time .. Yet, after all the hours of shopping, trying on, deciding etc etc, we then head to the check out counter and guess what we see ! A long line of shoppers just like you and with loads and loads of shopping ! This is when, you have to decide whether you will wait in the queue for the next 5 or 10 minutes and just leave all the shopping in the bag and just make a quick exit .... Most prefer to wait ( after all you have taken so much time deciding ) and watch what all...

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What should we learn from SRK's and his KKR team?

After his team won the IPL -5 version in Chennai , SRK  praised each and every player. "I am proud of Gautam and the boys. We made a video of families of all our players and saw Manvinder Bisla's parents speaking about their son. They must be very proud and so am I. I want to tell the people of the Bengal, that now this team belongs to you." He added, “This is something the youngsters should believe in – resilience, patience, perseverance – if you believe, you can win.” What are the lessons for us from this :- 1.A simple effort... Like he said, "we made a video of all our families and we saw....... Can you do that for your team ? With mobile phones having cameras, it is so easy to record and play with the rest of the team !! Try...

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Why can't Cricket Commentators be Salesmen too ?

Commentators cannot stop being salesmen As the ball soars high into the night sky, they cry out: “That one's out of here.” Oddly, seconds later the ball is caught or only just clears the boundary, tickling a fielder's fingers on the way. Of course we all get carried away, we're not all perfect at judging trajectory (heck even fielders aren't), but these occurrences aren't rare. Overstatement, especially when twigged to be deliberate, grates. Hyperbole and exaggeration have for long been on page one of the IPL commentator's manual; with a couple of honourable exceptions, it seems that hasn't gone away. Nor has the unabashed plugging of products when play is in progress. “Beautiful car,” they remark as the camera zooms in on the vehicle, mounted...

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Business is down across India.Retailers - What can you do ?

What did you say today ? Across the Indian Retail Market, Industries, Brands, Un Brands, have all started feeling the pinch of the drop in walkins to the stores, in a significant manner. Whether they are consumer durable brands, investment categories like the gold jewellers or the stock markets, every thing is down and going down signficantly. Retailers had seen the bad patch in March, did some recovery in April due to festivals like Akshaya Tritiya. The market seems to be so down, that even my neighbour who is a Doctor is coming home early ! as he sees less patients these days ! And more and more hoardings are blank. That for me a good thumb rule of businesses being down these days... We have been discussing many things retailers...

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Customer or Company Policy .Who is right ?

What do you think ? Who is right and who was wrong. What would you have done as a customer or as a Brand manager in such a situation. ? Is the brand image spoilt because of a 23,000 Rs. one jean with all these articles ? Or Is the brand correct in not refunding ? just because the customer came back after 30 days instead of 10 days as per company policy ? I had a colleaque, Snigdha, who would always ask, when ever a decision was being made in the Corporate office, Was it policy or Purpose behind the decision that we were taking. We always thought the decision , we made "the purpose"  more important, though, she would not always agree !!!! Quote.... Wrong size jeans: Armani to pay Rs 23K by Dev Borah New Delhi:The Indian arm of leading global fashion house, Giorgio Armani, has...

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Customer or Khast se mar ! ? What is your experience

While there are many definitions of Consumer/ Customer , I will share what I found, easy to under stand and remember. Consumer:- A person who "buys / consumes " something . Ex. I could be a consumer of a " dinner" at a particular point of time, say 9 pm, and I might even go to a restaurant along the way, just because it was in the vicinity. Customer :- A custom is something, that we do again and again. Like praying everyday. Similarly, a customer is one, who comes back to the store, after her first visit. While every  one who makes even the first purchase can be called a customer, I prefer those who have decided to come back, because of some "custom" that they found likeable or useful. Ex. They might have liked our service...

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Do you have the time to sharpen your saw ?

Who has the time ? – Every body’s confession ? The popular story, as given in the picture is very descriptive of the life of many of  us and certainly of many owner - retailers. We believe that we have so many things to do at the store, that we have no time, to go out and learn new things. Additionally, most of these seminars are full day or even 2 or 3 day events in Mumbai or Bangalore, it takes away another full day for travelling to and fro. Besides, what is it there to learn, when we have been doing this business for 10,, 20 or even 30 years? Learnings :- Recently, I did attended a seminar . It really opened my eyes to the many things are being introduced...

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Pay more – expect more – get more.

An increasing number of customers are searching for a Rs. 200- Rs.500  difference on a Rs. 20,000 mobile phone and for that they are willing to move from one shop to another, one internet site to another for that " BARGAIN DEAL". Same is the case with many electronics products, where the retailers seems to offer little or no differentiation and price seems to win at the cheapest  internet site . Let us look at this from anothe angle. Some one willing to spend Rs. 20,000 on a phone, would be reasonable to be earning about Rs. 50,000 a month ? . ( Yes, there are exceptions of workers earning 20,000 a month and buying a phone for that price ) At 20 Days a month, it averages to Rs. 2,500 per day of say 10 hours . A hourly wage of Rs. 250 per hour. Now, if...

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Restaurants - Wake up to a new opportunity for week end profits

Today happened to be my daughter's 18th birthday and we all had decided to go out dinner. Since, it was her responsibility to fix the restaurant, she had not "thought through " , (her first responsibility of becoming an adult) , and when we landed up at the restaurant, it was full, and we ended up waiting for more than one hour waiting for the table. Once seated, we saw week end specials were being advertised, we ended  up ordering a number of those items. As can only be expected, the delivery was slow( obviously, the restaurant is not geared for such rush week end business) and we ended up spending more time waiting for food to arrive than in eating it, all the while other customers were waiting to be seated. Even the waiters...

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Train the "last man standing"

Mrs. Kumar had seen a special offer in the morning newspaper for a buy 2 Get 1 free from the large departmental store, where she always wanted to buy from. A Sale was on and she wanted to get the best items before the were all "sold" out. So, she was at the store as soon as the store opened for business. But to her surprise, after she had selected the 2plus 1 offer, when she went to the Retail Sales Associate for a clarification, she found out that the RSA had not even heard about the offer ! We have all experienced service of this kind before, but it has become more and more often these days, especially in large branded stores, often run by employees only... Why is Customer Experience in retail stores so poor ?  As more International...

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Online vs Offline ! What physical retailers can learn from online stores…

Physical stores don’t seem to have picked up one of the fundamental best practices of the online trade. Tracking their walkins . Websites do it all the time ex. click through on their pages, their links and an entire industry has even been built on the pay per click model ! Tracking Walkins in a store. As we have been observing, the number of stores managed only by employees of the Brand  is ever increasing. As customers becoming increasingly more and more knowledgeable than the staff at the store, as investments increase, the challenges of taking on competition increases, the need to improve the returns of these investments is again increasing every time. Walkin tracking :-If the marketing budget of the company is divided by the estimated...

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Customer is smarter than the Retailer

Time was when, during the Licence Raj era, the Retailer had all the aces up his sleeves. He knew the price. the supply sources, when there would a short supply, the customer knew very little, was happy with what he got etc etc. How times have changed, the customer knows when the international product was released, what is the USD price, when is it likely to be officially released in India, how to even get it even before its official release here . Similarly, even for an Indian product, he will know, what is the price of it in a physical retail store, in an online store, in a "factory outlet " store, what discount he can get in a franchisee run store, what he cannot get in a company run store etc etc. What it all means, is the CUSTOMER is now in Control. The "Control"...

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Rules are for whose benefit anyway ! Retailer or Customer ?

I was in South Bombay, and was having lunch at a small restaurant Smoking Lee when I noticed this sign on the door. On enquiring I was told, they were servicing a combo offer of a noodle/ rice dish and a side dish at a very competitive rate of Rs. 150 . It was so popular that on weekends, the store would be so packed with people, that  customers who wanted to order a la carte from the menu had some times no place to sit while it was occupied by the Combo customers ! A la carte menu is single dish, priced separately and hence much more profitable than combo offers. Guess what the store did ! They put up a sign, that the combo offer is not longer available for in house dining and they can only do door delivery orders. Now,...

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