The world of retail has changed dramatically for retailers and their shoppers.. In years gone by, retailers have been famous for having anonymous, transactional relationships with their shoppers, but now both retailers and their consumers are demanding deeper relationships with each other. And if retailers want to win today, they have to empower their consumers, deliver an array of personalized shopping experiences, across all channels, and provide precise product details that encourages purchases. 

During a recent AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, Helbig Enterprises’ Diane Helbig spoke about retail sales, and on what has changed for retailers and shoppers, especially as a result of the pandemic, and how retailers are bidding for customer business via personalized journeys, and more. Here are some highlights from that discussion:

How are people buying in today’s market and how can retailers better target those consumers?

“Because of the pandemic, some buying behaviors have changed. Some have not. And for many consumers, the current trend is like it was in 2008 when the economy turned and people started saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to buy what I need, but the things that I want I can hold off on.’ 

“Buyers are also in an environment where some things are hard to get, so they’re looking for retail locations that are problem-solving. It’s no longer prudent for retailers to be saying, ‘If I have it, I have it, and if I don’t, then it’s not something that I sell.’ 

“What buyers are looking for is the retail location to help them find that product they want or help them find a reasonable replacement for something and to really understand what the consumer is going through and helping them meet those needs.

“Nowadays, retailers have things like curbside pickup or free delivery so that the consumer can decide: ‘Do I want to go in the store, or would I really rather just pull up and have you throw something in my trunk?’ 

“And there are now many retailers that are connecting with their customers in a more visual way, saying things like:  ‘Let’s have a conversation. Let me show you what we have.’ 

“And they are also asking consumers direct questions like: ‘What is it you need – or can I answer any of your questions?’ 

“Retailers have a lot of options, and I really believe that they need to expand their thinking on how they can deliver to the consumer.”

Bottom Line:

• Be a problem solver for customers.
• Connect with your customers/have a conversation with them.
• Offer the “convenience perks”: things like curbside pick up and free delivery.

What advice do you have for retailers to create a better personalized journey for their customers? 

“I think the retailer needs to really think about who their customers are, how they buy, and what their customers want. And as a result of today’s technology offerings, retailers can create a much more personalized experience for their customers. I’ll give you an example of what I’m thinking…

“If I’m a retailer and I’ve got return customers and I know them, I should be reaching out to them and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got some new items in the store. I would love to get on a video call with you so I can show them to you. And if it’s not something we have, I’m happy to go look for it.’ 

“That scenario is more of a one-on-one conversation that the retailer is seeking, not waiting for the customer to say, ‘I have a need,’ but reaching out to the customer and saying, ‘Based on your previous history of buying, we just got these items and I thought you might be interested in them.’ 

“So, between that verbal and/or video conversation, there can be a genuine retailer to customer connectivity.”

Bottom Line:

• Create a personalized experience for your customer.
• Look for innovative and unique ways technology can provide one-on-one conversations with your customers.

How do you advise retail clients what to do on social media?

“Retailers should not be out there selling their products on social media. I think what they should be doing is using social media to do things like Facebook Lives, where you show people how to do something, or you bring in an expert and have them share some sort of a tip where you give information that is valuable to your customers. 

“An example of a Facebook Live could be – if, say you were in the scarf business – showing people how to repurpose their scarves or how to tie their scarves or whatever you choose to talk about. 

“Also, get involved in the community. If you’re already involved in the community, share information about that via social media picture posting. 

“I also don’t think retailers have to be posting a lot; I think that’s a misunderstanding of social media. I believe retailers need to be posting consistently and their content has to be relevant to their audience. They want to think about what information would be valuable to their customers.

Bottom Line:

• Retailers should not be selling their products on social media.
• Use live options such as Facebook Live or Instagram Stories to reach customers
• Make sure the content you are posting to social media is relevant to your customers.

Reach Diane Helbig via the Helbig Enterprizes website.

And if you are looking for a partner to help you drive shoppers down the path to purchase, AdVic is ready to help you starting today. Reach us here, or fill out the short form below.

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The post Consider These Retail Sales Enhancers appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

As the world evolves in the way we buy and sell, now more than ever is the time for sales teams to focus on relationships and genuinely understanding the needs of our customers in order to fulfill their needs, and provide them with solutions to help expand their businesses.

To that end, in a recent AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, Diane Helbig, Chief Improvement Catalyzer at Helbig Enterprises, explained – among other things – the importance of sales teams engaging with prospects to gain accurate insight into their needs, along with the parallels that come with relationship development and business growth. 

What are sales managers getting right and wrong these days?

“What they are getting right is that they understand that sales is about relationships and that it’s important for their salespeople to be out having conversations with people who may or may not be prospects. The ones that are doing it right also understand that continuing to nurture those relationships is really important. It’s just not hunt and kill. It’s hunt, kill, nurture, because more business comes from those relationships.

“I would say the ones who are doing it wrong are the ones who are expecting their salespeople to behave in ways that are unnatural for that salesperson. That they’re saying, ‘Do it my way. It worked for mem so do this,’ and that behavior isn’t right for that salesperson, and so they try. They struggle. They don’t succeed. They leave. And there’s that revolving door thing in the sales department that actually negatively impacts the company on a huge level. I mean, outside of the cost of that, there’s a reputation cost that goes along with it.”

Bottom line:

• Understand the importance of building and maintaining relationships.
• From existing relationships comes opportunity for growth in new relationships.
• Allow flexibility; salespeople should have the flexibility to communicate with prospects in a way that they are comfortable.
• Not allowing individuality can negatively impact business.

What are your top tips for struggling companies to help them increase their sales productivity and bring those deals to a close?

“I think my biggest tip is listen more than you speak, ask really meaningful questions, and make sure you get answers to them. I think a lot of times the reason why salespeople aren’t able to close is because they might ask a somewhat uncomfortable question like about the budget. And when the prospect doesn’t answer it, they move on instead of really going to that topic and understanding that… The salesperson has to know the answers to all of the questions in order to be able to propose accurately, so make sure that you’re asking the questions. And if the prospect is uncomfortable answering it, ask them why. This is about a relationship. You’re allowed to say, ‘Could you help me understand why this is a subject that you don’t feel comfortable talking about or that you don’t feel comfortable sharing with me? Because in order for me to determine whether I can help you or not, I need to know the answer to this.’”

Bottom line:

• Listen to understand.
• Ask necessary and ‘hard’ questions to correctly understand customer needs.

Has the way companies hire salespeople changed in recent years?

“That’s such an interesting question. A lot of companies are looking for those people who understand it’s not one and done. It’s not churn and burn. That their job is not to be slick and eloquent and persuasive. That their job really is to partner with the prospect to problem solve. And that it is about the relationship and that’s what sets the company in the best possible light. They are looking for a different kind of salesperson and thank goodness because it’s more effective.”

Bottom line:

Companies have come to the realization that salespeople should:

• Understand the importance of long-lasting relationships.
• Know that sales is a relationship that has potential to grow and multiply.

What’s the next big thing in the world of sales? What are you talking to your clients about? 

“This may sound a little strange, but from everything I’m seeing, the trend is going toward getting very individually connected with clients, whether you sell B2B or B2C, really getting in there and learning as much as you can about them, about what they need as it relates to what you do, but also what they need as it doesn’t relate to what you do, and being that partner with their client.

“Being a problem solver for the client on a greater scale makes that relationship deeper, more sustainable and longer term, and it opens up a lot more opportunity than the way sales has been in the past with getting the business and then moving on.”

Bottom line:

• Customize client interactions; know who you are selling to. 
• Provide solutions to your clients.

Reach Diane Helbig via the Helbig Enterprizes website.

Related Resource:

Podcast: Turn Sales In Selling Machines, CRMs, AI, and More 

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