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did you know that how you greet customers in your retail store has a big impact on whether or not they will buy from you whether or not they'll become returned customers it's true keep watching and i'm going to share with you what you should never ever say to them and also what you should say to them to make sure that they're having the best customer experience ever [Music] hey there i'm kathy donovan wagner founder of retail mavens and mom of america's most fun family it's true and i love to share the science of retail and the science of consumer psychology with independent retailers like you so that you can get more profits and better sleep make sure you hit subscribe and click that bell to get notifications to know when i share more retail tips and strategies many retailers i work with either feel awkward greeting a customer when they walk in their door or they fall into a standard response because they think that's what they're supposed to do the problem with this is that you're not setting your customer up for a great experience in your store and i know that's what you want to do i know you're known for your customer service consumer psychology tells us that a customer is more likely to buy when their dopamine is flowing what does that mean when they're feeling good when they're happy and when they're relaxed the problem is is that often when they walk into a store they expect to be jumped on they're programmed to expect a salesperson to walk right up into their face and try and sell them something they don't need or don't want and that they're going to be forced to push the person away so they get all defensive right the truth is people don't like salespeople because there are sales people like that and they give all of us good salespeople a bad name they do walk right up into their face and like hey how are you how can i help you today what are you buying today what can blah blah that whole thing sets the customer up for a bad experience they're already on the defensive ready to deflect people they're tense they're obviously much less likely to buy your job is to help the customer feel instantly welcome to feel relaxed and to feel comfortable so how do you start when a customer first walks in no matter what you're doing if you're behind the counter or unboxing something or talking to another customer the first most important thing to do is to acknowledge the customer maintain eye contact look at them smile say hello welcome glad you're here if you recognize them tell them good to see you again it doesn't matter if you don't remember their name it's so important to acknowledge their presence and to show them that you're genuinely appreciative that they took the time to come into your store today then give them a moment or two to get comfy in your store you don't want to tackle them right away you want to allow them to take it in and revel in this beautiful first impression that you've set up for them then what i recommend doing is going to nearby not close by but in the area where they are start straightening a display or a counter and start sizing something just to be closer to them and more in the presence of them now you're getting ready to first exchange words for them and what i want you to know is that all you have to do is start a conversation that's all it is you don't have to worry about the sale you're just here to build a relationship because your true success is going to count on having relationships with customers not just one-off transactions so that's the reason why when you think about this from a conversation standpoint and from relationship building and not worrying about the sale doesn't that take the pressure off it takes the pressure off you and it takes the pressure off them everything comes across so much more honestly and openly and enjoyable for everybody so start with an icebreaker of some sort compliment them on something they're wearing something that's going to lead to a conversation what always leads to a conversation an open-ended question that's what your goal is is to get to an open-ended question of any sort it's on a monday or tuesday hey do you do something anything fun over the weekend or if it's a thursday or a friday i used to always say hey are you doing anything fun this weekend it's just anything to try and get the conversation going like i said to try and develop a relationship questions you should never say the totally useless questions that will not create relationships and instead will stop them from forming is saying things like uh how can i help you today we're saying hey if you have any questions i'm just gonna be right here or i don't even like have you been in the store before i'm not even crazy about how's the weather you wouldn't say that to a friend if you were really starting a conversation with them now you might in some sort of context like you might say oh my gosh what a beautiful day it was just like this last sunday when we went sailing what did you do last sunday it was so beautiful wasn't it you see how that starts a conversation so you can do that but any of those other useless questions just scream at the person i am a salesperson and they will go running so that's what you want to do is try and get into a conversation and then you'll sense when the conversation naturally slows down and that's when it's time for you to discover how you can best serve their needs you don't do this by interrogation this is the phrase that i have found that works like magic every single time so what brings you into the store today this invites them to share their ideas with you right and shows them that you're available to show them products it's all said in those words what brings you into the store today what's so funny though is that because we're all so programmed to have a sales person in our face in a store we're so programmed to not ask for help in a store what i've discovered people so often say is they'll say things like oh nothing i'm just looking for a baby gift bingo i had a kids store so that's all i needed to know but it's amazing how programmed we are to deflect salespeople so you really have to work on building that relationship and just focusing on a conversation that's what's so critical about this and then as long as they're sharing with you keep asking open-ended questions so that you can learn more and showing them relevant products in your store asking what else do you need to know so for example you could say to that how fun so who had the baby and just getting them to talking now it for sure happens that the person might indicate that they just kind of want to walk around by themselves okay no problem at all give them the space to do so and just stay out there and continue straightening or whatever because the thing is is the second you go behind the counter then there becomes this wall between you and the customer as much as possible stay on the floor keep resizing keep straightening do whatever you need to do and then what i would often do is when they pick up something say hey can i just tell you something about that item and sometimes they'd say oh no it's okay i'm fine totally cool other time they say oh yeah sure and then you can go into whatever it is you want to share about that particular item the point is is that if they look like they have a question about something or they're lost or looking for something it's your job to respond ingly and you want to make sure that you're there for them and that they don't have to come looking for you the other kind of customer that comes into the store is the person who's on a mission that's the person who's just like walks right in really really super fast and i would just flat out come from behind the counter and say hey looks like you're on a mission how can i help you get out of here fast and they would smile like they welcome that that's not something sales people say but it's something that you would say to a friend right to a person at a relationship with that is so powerful often they'll say oh wow that takes them aback oh yeah i have to find a baby gift can you help me i've got like 15 minutes yeah sure let's go and then just start talking to them asking them open questions that's the best way of greeting a customer and setting it up for success in every way teach these tips to your team have them watch this video and then role play play with the scenario over and over again with them so that they get used to it and more comfortable to opening the sale with someone and working to create a relationship with that new raving fan that just walked through your door hey if you found this helpful but you're thinking kathy i need to get more people in my store that's my problem stay tuned because i have a couple videos for you that you're going to love and don't forget to subscribe with the bell for more tips tools and strategies so that i can help you improve your profits sleep better and become a richer retailer happy retailing [Music] you