How do you Perceive Effective Sales Tools and Resources in Retail?
Selling has existed throughout human existence. Way back in the day, someone was selling something to someone. At first, it was the stuff of life, and it may have been less selling and more bartering for goods. As communities, villages, towns, and cities sprang up, some types of currency developed, and people needed stuff; some created a marketplace for goods and services. Then came expansion, and the goal was to create new trade routes and for some kings or queens to invest in the business adventure. From then till now, the zeitgeist through the ages and all the socio-economic technological changes have impacted how we sell, buy, and use effective sales tools and resources in retail.
Past and present, a salesperson has always needed some type of tool or resource to help a customer with their buying decision. They needed something, somewhere, or some way to get their point across, position the goods or services in a beneficial light, and help make the process as pleasing and seamless as possible for the customer to say “yes.”
Tools and Resources are…
A simple definition would relate to anything that helps salespeople close sales most effectively. Because the possibilities for defining a tool and resource are so widespread, I have always combined them and called them elements in an effective and efficient Retail Ecosystem.
This represents all the things that can impact sales enablement and engagement. These are software applications and other digital platforms that sales teams use to streamline their workflow, affect transactions, manage customer relationships, track sales progress, analyze data, and so on. It is showroom merchandising, inventory management, marketing platforms, sales support systems, and materials. It is everything on hand that can be leveraged to help sales reps sell and make it easy for customers to buy.
The Greatest Tool and Resource is People.
The thing is, you can have the best, most effective and efficient systems, tools and resources in place, but they will only be so when you add people to the equation. None of those things matter until a person interacts with another person.
Which then means a critical element in the systems, tools and resource library is training and development. People are not effective and efficient until they fully know and understand what they do and how they do it. It’s clarifying the “what, why, how and to what extent” they have at their disposal to sell and sell well.
And just knowing and understanding is not enough. They must leverage these systems, tools and resources in every selling opportunity, realizing that every customer and every situation is unique and will require a certain amount of adaptability and flexibility.
This Ultimately Defines the Art and Science of Selling.
Science represents the systems, tools and resources that aid the selling experience, and art represents the way we, the salespeople, use them to create the selling experience.
I have learned over time, in selling, conditions dictate approach and challenge how we make our decisions in an ever-changing sales environment, constantly evolving market and industry, and diverse customer wants, needs, and reality.
It also reminds me of an old saying, “Sell what you have today”. I have come to understand this is more than just product and service availability. It’s also about being truly improvised in our selling mindset and skillset to accomplish our sales goals.
I’m not sure who said this, “Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” This quote emphasizes that salespeople shouldn’t wait for perfect tools to begin selling but should utilize what they have and continuously improve as they learn and adapt. In other words, it is people and their actions that present the most effective and efficient tool and resource.
People Helping People get what they need.
The processes that make up our ecosystem are important. They have meaning and purpose. The people, using what they have at their disposal to provide solutions for the customer, also have meaning and purpose. Just like the sales rep and the customer, in retail, you can’t have one without the other.
For the last time, as an individual or sales team, consider the following questions and how your answers have the possibility to shape all the next steps.
- Define all the types of tools and resources you have on hand…what are they?
- How do the tools and resources benefit you? How do they benefit the customer?
- Think of the selling steps, which tools and resources best apply to each step?
- How do you typically use the tools and resources?
- What is a challenge in leveraging your tools and resources?
- Knowing what you know, which of your tools and resources need some attention?
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