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People buy from people. It’s that simple. While, certainly, a great product or service can sell itself, when it comes to maximizing revenue potential, there is nothing like a charismatic and professional retail sales team to get the job done.
Choosing the right retail sales solution can be challenging. If your company is considering supplementing its marketing initiatives by reaching out to customers in the retail space, this guide is for you. Here are 5 questions to consider before deciding on an outsourced sales partner:
The right retail sales representatives will drive revenue for your business, while simultaneously providing a positive, friendly, and personalized experience to the store’s customers. Brick-and-mortar retailers, who face the ongoing challenge and expense of getting people in the door, must be able to trust that their customers will be positively impacted by the presence of a sales team. The right outsourced partner not only understands this, but actively participates in ensuring that every person who enters the retail store has a positive shopping experience that makes them want to come back. Yes! Great.
It’s no easy task to convince someone shopping for the perfect new dog toy to stop and chat about an unrelated product – but the right sales team won’t bat an eye at the challenge. As customers pass by, friendly retail sales representatives should be able to initiate conversation, quickly and effectively, and help the customer switch gears. They should ask the right questions, present customized solutions, address any concerns, and be able to sign sales agreements on the spot. Nice!
There are two things we know about customers who enter a retail store: (1) That they have chosen to shop in person, rather than online; and (2) that they are in a buying mood. Otherwise, people would choose to stay at home or simply shop online. The right retail sales team recognizes these facts as huge opportunities. They know how to make great first impressions and provide the human connection that many people seek when they leave their homes to go shopping. They are able to present a product or service in a personalized way and ensure that an interested party makes an informed decision to buy. Great!
The retail environment is especially delicate because outsourced salespeople are, in effect, representing two companies. To safeguard the reputations of both brands, sales representatives should not only be clean-cut and professionally dressed, but personable, respectful, and above all else, honest. The right retail sales representatives should also be able to operate within the culture and restrictions of the given retail space, easily adjusting to the expectations of the store manager and the retail brand at large.
It’s rarely a good idea to experiment with unproven retail sales strategies or hire a team without a credible history of positive results. Before choosing an outsourced sales partner, do your due diligence by learning about what the team has accomplished in the past and how they’ve gone about doing so. This is why so many Fortune 500 companies have chosen Cydcor, a company with a 24-year history of delivering quality sales with integrity. Fantastic!
If you’d like to learn more about Cydcor’s retail sales solutions, visit https://www.cydcor.com/services.
In this edition of Cydcor Reviews, our VP of Marketing endorses a key guide to sales. Anyone interested in direct sales can benefit from studying the habits of shoppers. Enjoy!
Title: Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
Author: Paco Underhill
Review by: Gail Michalak, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Cydcor
Description of this book: Paco Underhill is a market researcher who has spent his life collecting comprehensive data on our shopping habits. He is the founder and CEO of Envirosell, INC and has done consumer research for Microsoft, McDonald’s and Estee Lauder. Along with his team of trackers, Underhill records everything from how many times products are touched and for how long to how many signs are read. He divides the book by sales techniques and demographics, discussing simple ideas that are often taken for granted (ie: you only have two hands to carry merchandise with). If you think you know your shopping habits, this book will blow your mind!
Why read this?: This book is an essential for anyone in business, especially anyone selling directly to consumers. While most helpful to retailers, Paco can also offer insights on the changing demographic: how busy women are creating a growing market for male consumers, how the aging population should shape marketing and merchandising, and how positioning of your message affects shoppers. As a salesperson, this book will help you think about what customers are looking for (men, women and seniors respectively) and how to build comfortable relationships with your demographic.
My favorite part: My favorite part about this book was all the stories about overheard conversations or observations during Underhill’s work. The first chapter talks about watching an old couple shopping for underwear. The wife mentions wearing her husband’s boxers at one point, providing insight that it is difficult to find comfortable underwear for older women. It is amusing and insightful at the same time!
About the reviewer:
Gail Michalak is the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Cydcor. She is the leading officer for marketing, corporate communications, public relations, and events for Cydcor and its network of nearly 300 independent sales companies. To learn more about Gail and her team, head over to Cydcor's corporate website.
Extending its results-proven excellence in outsourced sales services, Cydcor is expanding services into the retail channel through in-store marketing initiatives designed to improve client customer engagement and sales results.
Growing client interest in Cydcor's retail expertise requires the company to add resources and expand to meet retailer needs. Cydcor offices grow top-line sales results through in-store marketing programs, incorporating innovative strategies and leveraging Cydcor's experience in outsourced face-to-face sales engagements on behalf of market leaders.
"Cydcor delivers sales results, and our capable marketing representatives know how to engage, motivate and win new customers for our clients in a range of environments, including in-store,'' said Jim Majeski , Cydcor President. "The outstanding experience and performance of Cydcor's retail sales teams provide a unique marketing package that is measurable and that efficiently produces results.''
"In a challenging economy, retailers must focus on improving the end-to-end shopping experience and winning customer loyalty,'' said Randy Alleyne, Cydcor Vice President of Retail. "Cydcor provides well-trained, retail-branded representatives to help make that happen through quality, results-oriented in-store customer engagements.''
Cydcor meets full service, seasonal support and niche product needs through store-within-a store models. After engaging with Cydcor, territory management teams and retail product experts collaborate with client staff to identify objectives and expectations, and then create and implement scalable, custom programs that translate customer engagement and service into sales.
"In everything we do, Cydcor is focused on serving customers with excellence, serving our clients with distinction and generating results,'' Majeski said. "Our in-store retail support complements the outsourced face-to-face sales work we do that continues to earn us accolades, and achieve results for our clients.''
Last year, Cydcor earned top honors overall for Sales and Marketing Outsourcing in Brown-Wilson Group/Datamonitor "The Black Book of Outsourcing" 2009 annual survey. Among other elite vendor and performance ranking honors, Cydcor earned the survey's highest overall client satisfaction, ranking at 93 percent. Cydcor placed first in 9 of 18 key performance indicators evaluated as part of the annual survey. In four "vendor function'' categories, Cydcor earned top honors in two categories: 1) sales team outsourcing and 2) sales support service.
Cydcor is recruiting talented salespeople to support new in-store marketing initiatives. Interested candidates should send a resume to retailjobs@cydcor.com.