Opening Remarks

When a customer has been greeted properly he feels comfortable, at ease, and almost always opens his next remarks with one of the following statements:

What He Says	What He's Telling You
I need a...	Ready to buy.
I want a...	Needs a gentle push.
I'm looking for a...	Show and sell.
I'm thinking about a...	Sell benefits, then close.
I'm interested in a...	Needs full presentation.
I'm shopping for a...	Ready all your ammunition.

By listening to the customer's opening remarks, you can determine how rapidly to proceed, what steps to skip, and what to emphasize. For example, the fellow who says "I need a fax machine," is ready to buy. You need only qualify and close. In contrast, the customer who says "I'm shopping for a fax machine," first needs you to sell yourself, and your company, before proceeding to determine his needs.

The moral: You'll close better if you attend to the opening.

First, Last and Best

In many stores, the best customers of the day are the first and the last.

First In Buy Fast.
The first customers of the day are almost always buyers who know what they want and, generally, it's a major purchase. These are the folks who decided last night to "get down to the store first thing, before the crowds."

Last In Take Time.
The last customers are also frequently big-ticket purchasers, but these are the procrastinators and the indecisives. The procrastinators put off the foray in part because they don't like shopping. They'll get what they need quickly and leave to put off something else. The indecisives are going to take some time. They've been checking out one store after another all day (or week, or month), unable to find the right deal or the right goods. But they need your product now, and it's come down to the wire. Be patient; they'll buy.

Too Busy Arriving?
But what about you? Are you ready for the first customer of the day? Or are you "running for coffee", making a lavatory stop, changing out of street clothes, or busy regaling coworkers with last night's exploits? Or are you too busy straightening your department, reviewing yesterday's orders, IMing a buddy, or reading the mail, email, newspaper, company bulletins, etc.?

Too Busy Leaving?
What about that last straggler? Are you going to leave him for another associate because (a) you've had more than your fair share today, or (b) you're cleaning up after a long, hard day, or (c) you're doing the paperwork or closing procedures--"so we can get out of here on time", or (d) you're too busy leaving to sell anyone?

Readiness is the Key.
It's really just a question of time management. Want to be first in sales with no great effort? Be ready for the first customer. Be ready for the last.

Selling Can't Wait.
No one else will get in your way as you jump to help these customers. But everyone will be jealous when you get off to a good start, and then again when you close the day with a bang. Nothing is more important than selling. Everything else can wait. Coffee, clothes, bathroom, paperwork, email, IMs all can be done after the customers leave. Selling alone can't.

Make it your business to be "up" for the first customers of the day as well as the last. Your sales will be up too!

Just Looking: Take 2

Many customers say they are just looking. What are they looking for? They are desparately looking for a good salesman to sell them so they won't have to waste any more time looking around!

When a customer says "Just looking," I often say

I'm glad you came in. Look as long as you like. My name is Lou, and if you need anything I'd be glad to help you. (Pause...)  Oh, and by the way, if we don't have exactly what you want I could probably tell you where to find it. Fair enough?

Usually the customer responds to my last question, qualifying himself to our mutual benefit. This approach to the just looking customer pays off over and over again in friendly, consummated transactions.

Breaking the "Just Looking" Ice

Some customers are so defensive that they say "Just looking," even before they've been greeted! But that's just a long way around not a dead end.

One way back to the beaten path is by sharing this shopworn, but serviceable "Just Looking" story.

A blind man walks into a store with his seeing eye dog. Picking it up by its leash, he begins swinging the dog around his head in circles.

Alarmed, a sales clerk calls out: "Can I help, sir?"

"No thanks," says the blind man, "Just looking."

The shared story usually breaks the ice, letting the customer see you as a help not a hindrance.

Greeting the Customer

"Greeting" is a quaint word to be using about a hard-nosed topic like selling. Isn't it? You greet friends when you meet them. You send greeting cards to friends who are away.

Actually it's not so quaint. I think you should greet every customer as you would a friend.

You'll have to choose your own style, but here's the upbeat way I greet customers -- always with a smile.

• "Hi. How are you?"
• "How're you doing?"
• "What's up?" or "What's new?"
• "Where've you been?"
• "Hey, you're looking good (or tan, or sexy)!"
• "Hi! Here for the widget that's on sale?"

I never say "Can I help you?" Never. I never say it to my friends. And if I said it to my customers they'd probably say "Just looking" back.

My notion is to greet customers so they feel warm, comfortable, and welcome. A good greeting says you're available to help -- and not incidentally, tells potential shoplifters that you're paying attention.

It's interesting. Every time I succeed in making a customer feel welcome, he proceeds right off to tell me why he came to visit.

And that's when I start screening or qualifying.

Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

If you have trouble getting things done and this is your first management how-to book, you're in for a treat.  The primary author,  award-winning Larry Bossidy, a Jack Welch disciple, has more than a little know-how to share, having held high-level executive posts at General Electric and Allied Signal, and recently as CEO of Honeywell.  He teamed up with management guru, Ram Charan to produce Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, written by Charles Burck.  (I read this in an audio edition narrated by John Bedford Lloyd, with sections read by Bossidy and Charan, whose accent requires close listening.)

The basic formula is simple.
Execution means getting things done by managing three core processes:  why and what you're doing or strategy, how you plan to get it done or operations, and who's going to do it or people .  The authors' premise is that many business failures occur because one or more of the core processes isn't executed.  Usually, of course, it's a failure to select the right people and train them.

Fun but repetitious.
The writing is competent, if more than a bit formulaic, less so for the sections in Bossidy and Charan's "own words."  It's amply and appropriately illustrated with real-world examples, many of which recent B-school grads and anyone who reads Business Week will recognize.  The authors apparently believe the old proverb -- repetition is the mother of learning -- and take every opportunity to reinforce their precepts by words and examples.

Not the last word.
If this isn't your first foray into management tools, it won't be your last.  There isn't anything new here, just a thoughtful, practical re-packaging of ideas, emphases, and techniques that successful managers have been practicing since Drucker wrote The End of Economic Man, in 1939.