sales 5.01 RETAIL SELLING

sales Selling as a marketing function Personal selling: A function of marketing that involves personalized, **two-way communication between the salesperson and the customer in the process of exchanging merchandise for money or credit.

sales Customer-oriented selling: meeting and exceeding customer expectations while making customers feel important, identifying their needs, and finding solutions to best fulfill those needs. **example - Nordstrom

sales Types of Salespeople 1. Sales clerk: An “Order-taker”: ***stand behind the counter ***ring up a sale usually employed by stores that sell lower-priced merchandise.

sales 2. Sales associate: Skillful retail employee uses creative selling skills influence customers’ purchasing decisions usually in high-service retail department and specialty stores.

sales 3. Personal shopper: **Assists customers with individualized attention and service beyond what a retail sales associate would offer. **May help customers pull together an entire season’s wardrobe **Usually provides service by appointment

sales The Importance of Salespeople Develop professional relationships with customers. **Primary store contact for most customers. Create higher sales, thus more profit, while ***helping customers solve problems. Create happy, ***repeat customers and whose word-of-mouth endorsements gain the business of new customers.

sales How To Motivate Salespeople 1. **Organizational climate: The feeling that employees have about their opportunities, value, and rewards for good performance within the business.

sales Methods Used To Motivate Salespeople (cont.) 2. Compensation: Payment and benefits for work accomplished.*** –Wage: Payment based on a set rate per hour for the number of hours worked. –Salary: Payment based on a fixed dollar amount for a specified period. –Commission: ***Payment based on a percentage of the dollar amount of sales made by a salesperson. –Hourly wage or salary plus a commission

sales –Sales quota: The projected volume of sales assigned to a department or person for a time period. ***Such as: you must sell $500 each night in December Compensation is often tied to meeting the sales quota. –Incentives: Contests, prizes, rewards, honors, merchandise and cash bonus awards, days off, trips, used to motivate salespeople. ***ex: a make-up company awards the highest sales rep with a beach trip

sales ***Non-Selling Duties and Responsibilities Basic stockkeeping duties/tasks –Stockkeeping –Receiving merchandise –Preparing merchandise for sale Maintaining product information

sales Stockkeeping: Receiving, preparing, and protecting merchandise against damage or theft, and participating in maintaining store or department inventory.

sales Receiving: The actual exchange of goods between the vendor’s transporting agent and the retailer.

sales Receiving Merchandise Inspect for damage. Verify that merchandise received is as ordered. Record goods on the receiving record. Process necessary returns to vendors. –Returns to Vendors: Goods that are shipped back to a supplier by a store. –May be necessary because of mistakes in filling the order, unacceptable substitutions, late delivery, or defective merchandise

sales Preparing merchandise for sale Sort and arrange merchandise by color, size, and/or classification. Ticket and price merchandise if necessary. Transfer merchandise between store branches. Set up and clean merchandise fixtures. More.....

sales Use appropriate hangers or shelf arrangements for displays. Put out goods to maintain stock levels. Straighten merchandise during slow traffic periods.

sales Maintaining product information Product knowledge allows the salesperson to tailor the sales message to meet the specific needs of each customer. **benefits of certain fibers Types of information needed −Product use −Product care

sales Sources Of Product Information Personal use/experience Promotional circulars and flyers Consumer publications Trade publications Store buyers (**how to display seasonal merchandise) Manufacturer’s literature

sales Labels: ***Small pieces of ribbon or cloth that are permanently attached to the insides of garments to provide product information.

sales Labels… (cont.) Must include information required by law –all fibers used in garment and percentage of each fiber used –Identification of producer or distributor –Item’s country of origin –Care requirements

sales Hangtags: Removable cardboard or heavy paper “signs” that are attached to the outsides of garments with strings, plastic bands, pins, staples, or adhesives.

sales Hangtags… (cont.) Information may include –Brand name/trademark –Size –**Suggested price –**Style number –Special features such as fabric finishes, reversibility, etc. –Symbols and logos to identify designers, manufacturers, or sellers

sales Packaging: ***The covering, wrapper, or container in which some items are placed. If information that is required by law on labels cannot be seen through packaging, it must be repeated on the package.