If you are in the business of trading, you surely have heard the saying, “The customer is king.” As long as you interact with customers, this is the motto that most retailers and employees know by heart.
However, retail employees who are not updated on the latest trends in customer engagement or product knowledge are clearly missing it out. Retail training is a must to keep your people up-to-date on anything related to the business.
Parts of a Retail Training Program
Training New People
This covers the basics of your business, from opening to closing a register to using the mobile point-of-sale on a tablet. There might also be a portion where questions are asked of the new hires, such as what their concerns are, and if they have any concerns that need to be looked into.
Customer Journey Map
This should have the first point of contact of your customer to your business, up to the end where the customer gets the product they want. Each point that is included should cover every step of the way, regardless of what the customer may want from your company.
Product Familiarity
The training for this section should cover anything about the product that your business sells, from what is in the box to scenarios where the warranty might be needed. There should be out-of-the-box scenarios that will go through any possible eventuality, so if in case it happens in real life at the store, your people will be ready for it.
Behavioural Sales
This training will cover how your people will interact with the customer, from welcoming them to your business, trying to gauge the customer’s need, and getting to be on the same level as the customer so that they can trust you that you know what you are doing.
Elements of a Sale
This should also be covered in the retail training, as even if you know the ins and outs of the business, it will not be of any use if you do not know how to get your customer to level with you so you can give them what they need.
- Welcome people into your business as if you are letting them in your home.
- Find common ground with the customer.
- Ask them that one question which will prompt them to level with you, letting you know what they really want.
- Inform the customer of not just the features of the product, but as well as the benefits that it will provide them
- Close the sale by being proactive to the customer, taking cues if they will get the product or not.
Last Points to Remember
If your business wants to have long-time and repeat customers, it would be best to have your people trained to have a service attitude. Customer service is the name of the game and will separate you from the rest.
Always have a backup plan to ensure effectiveness in the business. What might have worked before might now be effective now? Look into the reasons why it is so, and find out ways to implement a new plan of action to address the issue.
Make sure as well to know the right platform to deliver the training. Know your business so that you will have an idea of how to best train your people while they are doing their job. Not only are they working for their wages, but they are also keeping up with the trends, thus bringing your business to the next level.
Author Name: Carmel Issac
Author Bio: Carmel Issac is a freelance writer who offers to ghostwrite, copywriting, and blogging services. She works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.