Hey. It’s Bob Negan. And in this episode of Real Retail TV we’re going to talk about that despicable habit of selling out of your own pocket.
I work with hundreds and hundreds of independent retailers. And every retailer I know has an associate, or two, or 10, who sell out of their own pocket. What do I mean by selling out of your own pocket?

Selling out of your own pocket is when a team member imposes what they believe something is worth on a customer. Or they impose what they would pay on a customer. So they can’t afford a $15,000 sewing machine, so they don’t show the $15,000 sewing machine. Certainly don’t sell the $15,000 sewing machine.

They wouldn’t spend $80 on a bag of dog food. So they don’t recommend the $80 bag of dog food. They would never spend $3,000 on a suit, so they don’t show the $3,000 suit. You get the idea.

I heard it once said that you don’t need to wear an expensive Rolex watch to sell an expensive Rolex watch. So let’s recognize it’s all about the perfect purchase. And the perfect purchase is when your customer gets the thing, or the things that are perfect for them.

And so the perfect purchase is not about what your team members think something is worth. It’s not about the features and benefits that your sales associates find valuable. The perfect purchase is about the customer, and what they find valuable. What they want.

Let me tell you a story. Back when I first opened my retail business in the early ’80s, I had a guy come into my store. And his name was Woody Kukuruga. Isn’t that a great name? Woody Kukuruga.

And I ended up becoming great friends with Woody. So Woody was a guy my age, and he came in. And at the time I was poor. I was struggling. The business was slow. And he wanted a kite. He was excited about a kite. So I started showing him this kite that costs $20.

And you could tell– or I could tell that he liked it, but he didn’t love it. And I couldn’t figure it out. I’m trying to get him excited, and he just wasn’t going there. And then all of a sudden, I realized that he wanted something more expensive. Oh!

So I showed him an $80 version of the exact same kite, and his eyes lit up. You see, I was selling out of my own pocket. He bought the $80 kite. If I had a $500 version of that same guy he would have liked it even more. I was selling out of my own pocket. I didn’t have money. I wouldn’t have spent $80.
He had money. He wanted to spend money. And I remember Woody walking out the door and going, Bob, you are the biggest dummy in the world.

Don’t sell what you want to sell. Sell what they want to buy. You sell. They purchase.

Your job, as a company, and the job of your sales associates is to get your customer to the perfect purchase. Not what they want. Not what fits their budget. But what the customer wants. And what fits the customer’s wants, needs, and desires.

So your action item, should you choose to accept it, is to watch what’s going on the floor. Watch your associates. Watch for this, because this happens all the time. Your good, kind, helpful employees, in the spirit of giving your customers a great value, and a great experience, are not working for the perfect purchase. They’re selling out of their own pocket. So catching it, and coaching it, is your action item for the week.

If you liked what you heard here today and you want more great information, I would encourage you to go to whizbangtraining.com and sign up for our free tip of the week. Or if you really want to give your team members the kind of training that will get them to get your customers to a perfect purchase, I would recommend that you check out the Retail Sales Academy. Go to retailsalesacademy.com.