The Annoying Sales Person!

Since I have been to the US the one thing that strikes me is the way retail sales people react to you on entering the store. Now coming from a sales background myself and writing a lot on that subject in the past it got me wondering. Are they being pushy, are the hustling or are they simply a being annoying?

I recently wrote about the need for sales people to actually confront the issue that has them stand in front of a prospect. The need to actually “ask” for the business. But retail sales is different and these people are starting to cross over the line into actually annoying the customer. This can actually lead to the customer leaving the store and taking their potential custom elsewhere. They need to rethink their approach and to fully understand their customers needs.

I went to a mall yesterday with my niece looking for a pair of Nike runners. We went into three stores and on each occasion we were accosted by the sales staff within seconds. I did not even have a chance to catch my breath before the magical words were uttered “Can I help you Sir, are you ok for everything”? Now I do understand their need to sell shoes but I just walked out and they lost a sale. It is very annoying and they must readdress this quickly.

I do understand the need to make sales. In fact I do understand the need to be courteous but this is a joke. I don’t like it and I often wonder how much more business they could earn if they changed their approach.

With our world in such a bad state economically and businesses suffering big time maybe sales training should be introduced to staff members.

Good sales people need to adapt!

Ciao…..

T.