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what do you look for in a sales person?

gallandof

gallandof

Android Expert
I'm always looking for ways to improve how I do my job so i come to your guys with a question

When you go out to buy something whether its a phone,tv,car, computer, etc... what is most important to you as qualities in the sales person?

Do you look for the most knowledgeable person, or do you go for the nice guy. Do looks factor in at all? if so what do you look for there. Bascially what are any and all of the things you look for or hope for in the sales people you deal with.

please try to take this seriously as I will be trying to adjust how I myself work as a sales associate based off what you guys as well as my customers say.
 
Generally speaking, I have researched what I am about to buy and don't need the sales person to "sell" it to me. I know what I want and will buy it if the salesperson closes the deal. I would rather have a seller be friendly, listen to my wants and needs and be ready to make the deal. I don't need a cocky arrogant know it all (which seems to happen way too often) to tell me I should look at or buy something else just because his managers are pushing that particular product that week.

Being an attractive and intelligent woman also helps. ;)
 
I tend to go for the more knowledgeable person. If my research on the internet provided me with more knowledge than the salesman had, I generally consider that salesman worthless.

I also look for the guy that isn't going to try and push a bunch of worthless extra crap on me. If I came into the store with a good idea of what I want, chances are I have looked into it. I get that it's part of the job to be offered things. That's where the company makes money. But if I say no, I generally mean it no matter how many different angles you come at me.
 
I would have thanked 330D's post, but I hardly want my wife thinking it was because of his statement on the salesman being a salesgirl. ;) Other than that, pretty much the same for me. My favorite salesman is the kind that helps other people and lets me shop.
 
Polite, positive attitude, honesty, knowledge, sense of care, and so forth

I've come across so many sales people that just give an attitude of "I'm only here for the money."

Put a friendly smile on your face, speak in a polite way, and show that you really want to help the customer. If you don't know the answer to something, make an effort to find someone who knows. I don't care for appearance as looks isn't going to help me decide between this product or that product.

Having a good voice never hurts either. I've been told to have a soothing and soft voice. A friend told me that it makes her feel like "everything will be alright." lol I'm going to take advantage of it. :p
 
Honesty, truthfulness, and someone who actually knows about what they're trying to sell. I do NOT want lies, bullshit and hard-upsell. Although in China this can be quite difficult sometimes. A notable exception was the Apple store(real one) in Beijing.
 
I guess I'm a little of everything from above. I used to work specialty retail for small companies so I guess I always view the whole game. Not sure what level you're at or what environment you're working in but it will always come back to the basics.

Listening and understanding. Listening with your ears to not only the words coming out of the customer's mouth but also the tone on them. Listening with your eyes to their body language. Not doing this can be disastrous! If you try to approach each customer the same way, you are guaranteed to fail at some point. (Sometimes in a very big way.)

Realize that some customers know more than you do and some think they do but don't. Honesty really is the best policy all around. Don't over-represent yourself and don't allow your customer over-represent themselves if it could end up costing someone else more or even worse, costing someone's life. (I used to work outdoor retail. The number of "expert" climbers we would see was frightening. Then there were the clueless. Oh boy!)

Lastly, communicate with the other sales people. Nothing makes me want to walk away faster than the feeling of being in the middle of a swarm of sharks. (And it turns out this isn't even a commission related behavior!) Here's an example:

Just today, I was in a store where someone asked me right off the bat if I had any questions. (This is actually a big no no.) I told them no. I doubt that it was even a minute before the next sales person came through and asked the same question! Then, another. In all, I probably had four people in less than five minutes approach me in a store that doesn't even work on commission and ask me if I had any questions! They failed communication, big time. This is a sign of a poorly run store where customer service is more of a buzz word for the management's pep talks.
 
I guess I look for a well rounded person who is nice and knows what they are talking about. I can't stand those so called yes men that will do and say anything just to sell me something and think they know what i want. Also the sales people that hover at the front door like a flock of vultures.

It sounds like you are already a great sales person by the way you want to improve yourself. Just dont he fake and put on a persona that isn't you. Be what you are a great sales person who is there to assist the customer.
 
I don't shop until I have researched what I am buying. I would want somebody who LISTENS to what I am saying and can answer my questions or find somebody who knows the answers to my questions. I hate shopping in stores now (I am thinking electronincs and that kind of thing) because they are usually overpriced and full of dummies who don't know anything other than where things are located.

Thats just my experience. Which is why I do research first. But I usually buy online... sorry retailers. Everything around me is more expensive than doing online shopping, and I have had really bad service when trying to return something, so really its a wash dealing with that in regards to shipping something back, I hate wasting time driving back to the store and the gas. Its the same as paying to ship something back and pay the restocking fee. But less time involved.

I got off track, sorry...

Basically if I go to a store I just want somebody to listen to what I am saying. I used to sell cars, so I know what it is like. And I am a VERY nice person, I never treat anybody badly.
 
There is only one thing that will make me leave a store and not return, and that is sales reps who lie and/or have an agenda to lead you to what they want to sell to you rather than what you want to buy. I've seen that at Office Depot, never went back, a certain car dealership here in town, never went back, and even at one of the huge hardware stores, "Lowes," never went back.

Other than that, most are cool if you'll be cool right away with them.. smile as you ask questions, be friendly, try to be a pleasant non demanding customer and usually the sales person will respond well, I've found.
 
One thing I can't stand in shops is when sales assistant pounce on you before even allowing you to have a look and then seem to hover as if you are going to shop-lift. Yesterday I was in a shop with my daughter and my daughter was umming and ahhing over nail varnish trying to decide what colour she wanted this sales assistant started hovering and sort of followed us to the top of the aisle, I thought to myself that as I turn the aisle if she follows us to the next I am going to put all the stuff down and announce loudly that I am not being treated like a criminal and announce that we will go to BOOTS instead!!

I like an assistant who is polite and helpful and friendly but honest i.e. doesnt bullsh*t me. And what I mean by that is, generally if I like something I like it anyway but sometimes if I am unsure I do want a 2nd opinion, I dont want someone just to tell me it looks good to clinch a sale when really they should tell me it looks way too young for me or something!
 
I think the most essential quality for a salesman is knowing when to shut up. I've had plenty of potential purchases ruined at certain places by salespeople trying to sell me a larger capacity model, dumb software and add ons I don't need, buyers rewards nonsense, and other superfluous things that I have no desire to own.
 
I think we need to make a distinction between salesperson and sales clerk. A clerk is like the blue-shirts in Best Buy who have no interest in the customer beyond pushing whatever the weekly agenda is for that store location. A clerk has limited knowledge and no authority to make deals. They also are there to provide basic information about availability of product and prices. Sales clerks have little influence over the sale and are tolerated as necessary from the store's perspective.

A salesperson is a representative in the supply chain between the manufacturer and consumer. He/she will have an interest in keeping the customer happy while fulfilling the distribution point's requirements, be it an Auto dealership, cell phone retail outlet or lumber yard. In this case I prefer candor over most other qualities. Any salesman who can look me square in the eye and say "I don't know" will most likely go up a few notches in my book, if it's followed by a genuine attempt to find out whatever the issue at hand may be. I also value a sense of humor. Purchases need not be confrontational or deathly serious.

Earlier this year my 12 year-old-SUV finally had passed the threshold of money pit to trade-in fodder so my wife and I went shopping. The first dealership had very impressive and popular models. The first salesman was pleasant and accommodating, informed and totally ineffectual. He had to pass us off to "the manager" to discuss pricing who turned out to be an arrogant S.O.B. the harder he pushed, the more we resisted. We walked out of there with the mutual feeling of not wanting to buy anything from that location.

The salesman at the next dealership was a little clumsy and didn't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the vehicles. He was our sole point of contact and tried hard to work with us. We ended up buying two cars from him.
 
In my opinion, a good sales person knows the product he/she is selling, as well as knowing the competitors products. Learn as much as you can about what your selling. Know what its strengths are, and why someone should by it. Don't get annoyed when someone doesn't buy right away. Sometimes people need time to compare/learn and shop.
 
I tend to agree with most others in this thread, I definitely prefer someone who knows what they are talking about. Especially someone who knows more than i do, when it comes to electronics. It seems like I'm more likely to warm up to a sales person if they can tell me something about the product which I had no clue about before talking to them.

My number one thing is don't be a pushy salesman, if someone is trying way too hard to get me to buy something, or trying to steer me away from what I initially came for, I'll just walk out and go somewhere else. If someone tells you they want something let them know more about the product they came for, try and get them excited. Most people do their research beforehand, it's just a matter of pushing them over the edge.

I'm in the sales business as well, I wish these sales techniques would work for me. But they never do, since my job is selling to sales managers, and CEO's of companies.
 
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