File: Salespeople's techniques to make you buy more (and how to counter them) #1

For this article, we find Yassine who will help you discover the main principles of in-store sales, so you no longer feel helpless when “you get a sale”.

I remind you, however, that if the role of salespeople is... to sell, the fact remains that they generally provide good advice , and that we must see them more as allies than as threats, in order to progress. . However, don't go into a store feeling defensive .

BonneGueule usually teaches you to know as much as the salespeople (or sometimes more), but it is also useful when you are starting out to know the main sales techniques. This is why we invited Yassine to talk to you about it. Yassine, it’s yours!

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After a seller's advice telling me about "spring inspiration" to justify the much too high price of a simple blue chino, I told myself that an article dedicated to their techniques was becoming essential.

Please note that the aim of this article is not to make sellers look like manipulators ready to sell you anything to earn a commission. Some sellers are truly passionate about their work and will not hesitate to tell you about their collection in detail (for Parisians, I invite you to take a look at Elevation Store to really understand what a good seller is).

Note from Geoffrey: Among the best in-store advisors, I also highlight the professionalism of the staff at RoyalCheese, FrenchTrotters or Center Commercial. And I forget many others!

But you have to keep in mind that the sellers' end goal and yours are really different. In stores, salespeople think mainly in terms of size, available stock, and price. At the end of their day, they will think primarily in terms of “revenue, average basket and premium”. These are their goals.

While your objective is mainly to find the piece with the best quality/price ratio, always with the assurance of advancing your style.

It's extremely rare to see a salesperson tell you that " this piece is too precious for your style ", or that " these shoes don't match your personality ". Conversely , he will be mainly concerned with the size with the famous “ how do you feel in it ?” ". Some salespeople, obsessed with their commission or pressured by their manager to make figures, will forget your interest and push you to buy something that doesn't suit you: these are the bad salespeople (rarer, fortunately).

It is mainly about them that we are going to talk. But first, let's put ourselves in the shoes of a salesperson. Nothing better to better understand his motivations. From the way he welcomes you in the store to the moment he lets you leave, there are different essential steps for him...

THE STEPS OF SELLING FOR A SELLER (BY GEOFFREY):

We always find the same steps during the relationship with the seller. Except that not all sellers approach things equally: there are good ones, and sometimes bad ones. Please note that you will rarely come across bad sellers in good stores that distribute the brands we recommend . Very often, everything is linked!

Home

The good salesman: He is present but does not impose himself: he greets you, and that's all. He then remains attentive, and waits for you to ask him. He only intervenes if he sees you looking for something, or with a perplexed look at an item of clothing.

The bad salesman: He comes to you straight away, with: " If you need anything, don't hesitate." Or worse, because it's even more aggressive: " How can I help you ?" A bit as if you don't have the right to just be curious. We often know from the start whether we're going to be bothered, or positively assisted, by a seller.

Linking

The good seller: Once the exchange begins, he listens to you. He speaks little. He is more of an assistant than a giver of advice. It is content to give you information, to leave you faced with a choice, of which only you have the full decision: " this item also exists in blue, it is in the reserve" , " on this garment, there is a cord tightening to protect you from the cold" , " this shirt fits very wide at the shoulders" .

The bad salesman: He immediately positions himself as an expert: he is the one who is right. Implied: if you do not follow his purchase recommendation, you are in the wrong. He doesn't let you go for a single second, drowning you in information. Worse yet, some make you try on the piece directly. You must then make yourself respected, and tell them in a polite manner: " thank you, I'm just curious, I'll call you if I need anything" .

Fitting

The good salesman: It's simple: he leaves you alone. Better: if he sees that it's not the right size, he tells you. He doesn't compliment you: he trusts his guy enough.

The bad salesman: During the fitting, he continues to make you drink from the cup in generalities. Through pseudo-science of clothing and holy fashion, but also through compliments. Yes, it sounds wrong, and that's normal. He will also direct his speech to distract you from what is wrong with the clothing, and try to prove to you that it is normal with big declarations: " it's a style that's a bit large" , " it's perfectly to the right size " before you can place one. And he will try to make you verbalize positive things, so that not buying makes you seem like an inconsistent person.

Closing

The good salesman: He lets you finish, and politely asks you: “ are you taking it?”

The bad salesman: Very quickly, he moves on to the next step, assuming that you have decided to buy the item of clothing: " I'll put it in a bag for you right away." When it's a suit, he'll suit you jump on it to do the alterations He also tells you of a so-called good deal, or that it's the last item And immediately after the purchase, he tries to make you buy something else: sweater,. accessory, pants, shoes, etc.

This commercially aggressive salesman also knows that the more time you spend in the garment listening to his advice, the harder it will be to say no, if you are not too sure about your clothing choices.

Loyalty

The good salesman: He lets you know that you can come back if there is the slightest problem, and wishes you a good day.

The bad salesman: Once he has made you buy everything he has to sell you, he will continue to compliment you on your choices. For what ? So that you don't rationalize too much about returning home, telling yourself that you let yourself go too far, which could lead to the goods being returned.

Pay attention to all these signs: try to distinguish good sellers from bad sellers!

TECHNIQUES OF READY-TO-WEAR SELLERS TO INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION

There will be times when you are hesitant to purchase a part because of the price. Others where you won't be able to have the necessary perspective to assess whether a piece suits you well. It is during these moments of hesitation that the seller will be tempted to push you to buy. It will very often play on emotion and your free will will disappear completely.

We've all come home at least once with a piece that only fit us averagely (or was just too big and too expensive). This type of bad purchase amounts to hundreds, even thousands of euros over a lifetime (and even then, that's only in the area of ​​clothing).

This is not a coincidence: if you had been alone in the store, you would not have taken this piece. You have surely been influenced by a salesperson, and more precisely by one of their techniques. Having visited hundreds of stores, I noticed that these techniques came up very often regardless of the product sold (the shape varies slightly, depending on whether it is a house, a piece of furniture, a car, etc.).

And we will see the most common techniques, most of them inspired by the book “Influence & Manipulation” by Robert Cialdini. I also took some references from the book “The Heart of Sales” by René Moulinier.

SCARCITY

Without doubt the most used and effective technique. You ask if this shirt is still available in your size. The seller pretends to hesitate, arguing that this piece is gone very quickly. He then tells you that he is certain that there are no more in stock but “that he will still take a look, if ever”. Very often, the part is available. In fact, it overflows the reserve.

But know that it is during this period of time that your desire to acquire this piece will increase, even if you were not planning to buy it. We are in fact more motivated by the fear of losing one thing than by the prospect of gaining another! This feeling of potential loss will put you in a hurry and you will do anything to buy it.

Keep in mind that the offer is very substantial, there is no single piece! Often you will find a piece just as good elsewhere.

Geoffrey's Note: Sometimes it's just the truth. Be careful to always take a step back .

SOCIAL PROOF: THERE ALSO, YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE IT

We need shortcuts to function (otherwise it would take way too long to make a decision). In fact, if many people adopt a behavior, or use a product, then we conclude that it offers good results.

“ This shirt is the favorite of our male customers ”: this typical remark from the seller tells you that you can take this piece without risk given the number of people who have chosen it before you. It’s a form of pre-selection and it’s really very effective! Very often, the seller will tell you that he bought this part himself. Another variation is to have several salespeople who, as they walk past you, will spontaneously compliment you on the shirt you are trying on.

After the 3rd seller, you are definitely convinced that it suits you perfectly.

To avoid being influenced, always keep in mind how the piece looks on you. It's the most important and ultimately it doesn't matter if there are 100,000 of you or the only one who bought it.

Note from Geoffrey: Be careful not to overanalyze. Sometimes good salespeople will tell you this, simply because it's true!

THE COMPLEMENTARY SALE

Every seller's objective is to increase the average basket, that is to say, to increase the average spending among customers.

You only want to buy a blazer, but the salesman delicately places a scarf around your neck, telling you that it makes a nice reminder of the color of the blazer. Most often, the scarf in question is difficult to combine, and you can only wear it with this blazer.

Another variation is to have you try on a complete outfit when you only wanted to try on jeans, to “see if the whole thing fits together”. Statistically, you are more likely to leave with a piece when you have tried 6 different ones than just one !

SYMPATHY

We are more receptive and more inclined to follow the advice of someone we find sympathetic. Also, the seller may seek to gain your sympathy by several means.

For example, we grant many more qualities to someone we find beautiful. This is partly why Abercrombie and Fitch sellers are selected on physical criteria!

We also have more sympathy for people who are like us. This is also why stores recruit according to specific codes such as social affiliation or look. A store that sells suits, and whose clientele is executives working in fairly strict sectors, will have salespeople with a fairly austere look.

It's quite the opposite with stores that are stuck to the latest trends like Colette or 66 des Champs-Elysées (these are Parisian stores, but don't hesitate to take a look at their sites). The sellers are very often decked out in improbable outfits from the store's latest capsule collection.

Brands have understood this well: they systematically offer discounts to their sellers to purchase their own products. If you are a regular at The Kooples for example ( nooooooonnnnnn !), you will be more comfortable with a salesperson sporting the brand's latest ultra skinny jeans.

Another variation, the seller will ask you a few questions and force out the common points: he will find similar interests, common studies... If during a moment of hesitation, the seller starts to ask you questions about your studies or about your favorite brands, know that this is not trivial.

Also, sellers are not stingy with compliments. And there is obviously a reason behind all this: a compliment flatters us, we like to believe that we have good taste. And you will have understood, it will very often be a compliment on a piece!

Be careful, do not systematically reject the seller, and do not be distant as soon as he tries to get to know you better. Nice people are not isolated cases.

On the other hand, if you buy the shoes that the seller made you try on, ask yourself if you are buying them to please him (or not to disappoint him), or because you really like them.

This last point is very important: never feel obliged to buy because the seller is nice, or because you have tried half of the collection! You don't owe a store anything except to be polite and well-mannered when you enter.

COMMITMENT

You are in a store and you are hesitant about this coat. You say that you finally prefer to think about it and that you will come back tomorrow. For the seller it is a failure, he did not succeed in instigating the purchasing decision. He will then try his last asset: commitment. He wants you to come back and take him and his efforts will not be in vain...

“Shall we put it aside for you, sir? »: the seller knows that if he puts the coat aside for you, you will feel obliged to buy it. In fact, it's as if you already own it, since it is removed from sale for you.

Again, be prepared to miss an opportunity. The myth of the unique piece is indeed just a myth. It never matters, most of the time you will find the piece in restock, or another one just as versatile.

THE AUTHORITY

The seller has a certain status in his store. It has information that you do not have: sizes and quantities available, composition of materials, etc. He is informed about all the brand's products.

For example, you will know by reading the label that a shirt is 100% cotton, but it takes some experience to differentiate the origin of the fabrics, and the work done on it (if it is poplin, or jersey mercerized, if it is Egyptian cotton, etc.).

This is very common in stores specializing in suits and shirts: the salespeople, to convince you, make authoritative arguments like “it's super 100's” or “it's Egyptian cotton”. These rather technical terms, if not described, are often used to impress and act as a reference. If Egyptian cotton is indeed one of the best qualities, this argument should not make us forget the softness of the collar, or the floating in the armpits.

Note from Geoffrey: F*ck the pharaohs! Always choose clothing that is the right size and has a good cut!

And don’t hesitate to ask the seller about the added value that each fabric brings. If he is vague in his explanations, it will confirm that he is only trying to get you to buy. If, on the contrary, he takes the time to clearly explain the technical characteristics to you, then you will know that he is a competent seller (in addition to having increased your textile culture). Don’t hesitate to take her at her own game by making her develop her arguments! At best, you will learn something new. At worst, you will uncover a seller who is too approximate.