Suggestions For Sale Boosting Activities In Apparel Retail Store

Dear Trainers,
Would request your valuable suggestions on Sale Boosting activites in an apparel retail store.
We are already doing the following:

• Basket size competition
• customer service
• appreciation cards

Please suggest some innovative ideas/contests to increase sale with customer service.
Would request the experts from retail (fashion/fmcg/value formats) to reply.
Thanks
Kanika Kapoor

Dear Kanika,

The basic problem with the retail executive is lack of product knowledge. They are just unable to explain why one product is superior over another, products are made of what material and so on. This lack of knowledge leads to lack of confidence and lack of confidence is seen in body language.

Many soft skills trainers start concentrating only on body language but they do not understand this body language originates from where. It originates from one's knowledge or expertise in any subject.

I recommend you conducting their written exam on product knowledge every month. Start giving them prizes who scores highest marks.

Another thing you can teach to your staffs is FAB Concept in retail sales.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Kanika,
You have received good suggestions from our honorable members. As Mr. Dinesh said, a product training provides good knowledge and it boosts confidence, definitely. Slightly I would like to differ with him in that the soft skills trainers put emphasis more on 'attitude management' than on body language, though body language plays a vital role. It is the attitude that influences the performance of an individual than anything else. And then, I suggest you offer the shop salesmen an internal sales competition after you train them in merchandizing skills and also soft skills for motivation.

Dear Mr KS Rao,

Training on "attitude" sans "product knowledge" carries no meaning. If retail staff were to have right attitude, he/she would learn or gain product knowledge on his/her own and no training is required. After all acquisition of product knowledge is not a rocket science.

Secondly, once you start conducting the test on products, learning attitude of candidate will get reflected in the marks that the employee scores. Candidate who score good marks will require further training on subjects like cross-selling, add-on selling, understanding customer psychology, business etiquettes etc and nothing else.

Another challenge for retail sector is getting right people. They not necessarily get people with average+ IQ. For low IQ people, whatever training, be it on product knowledge or soft skills would fail. Therefore, checking "trainability" of the staffs is also important.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Hi Kanika,

You have received good suggestions from our honorable members. As Mr. Dinesh said, a product training provides good knowledge and it boosts confidence, definitely. Slightly I would like to differ with him in that the soft skills trainers put emphasis more on 'attitude management' than on body language, though body language plays a vital role. It is the attitude that influences the performance of an individual than anything else. And then, I suggest you offer the shop salesmen an internal sales competition after you train them in merchandizing skills and also soft skills for motivation.