Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM DECEMBER 2018 50 H ow many times have you heard customers say, "Mattress shopping is confusing"? Or, "I don't want to buy the wrong bed"? In a recent conversation with a retailer, we discussed the success they were having at their store — in the last 12 months, they've seen their business increase by 28% . So I asked them the obvious question, "What are you doing to grow your business, when other retailers aren't seeing this type of growth? " I expected to hear "more advertising, more promotions, more giveaways, or even lower prices." The response I got wasn't even close! He said, "We went back to the K.I.S.S rule. Keep It Simple, Silly." But, what did he really mean? This got me thinking, what if all retailers did the same thing? How much growth could we gain as an industry? The consumer is confused, the sales professional is confused, even the manufacturer reps can get confused. When I started in this business years ago, my manager told me, "don't over-think it." At the time, I felt I needed to know absolutely everything there was to know about mattresses. How are they made? What does four-pound density foam really mean? Is coil count that important? Often when a customer comes in the store, they will ask, "What is your favorite bed"? And we immediately take them to our favorite model on the floor. What happens if they don't like that bed? Did you just lose all credibility as a sales person? Now you must convince them that you have other models for them to try, and that they are good beds too! I know you are just trying to help, but the goal is to find them the right bed at the right price for them. Let's not forget, in most cases the customer hasn't purchased a new bed for at least eight years. They don't know what to expect, and often they have gathered misleading information on the Internet that you must overcome. We need to Keep It Simple! One of the best trainers I've worked with, Bob Muenkel, taught me five simple questions we should be asking that will guide us in finding the right mattress for the customer. • Is excessive tossing and turning preventing you (or your partner) from getting a good night's sleep? • Are you (or your partner) experiencing any back pain or stiffness when you wake up? • Are you (or your partner) sleeping too hot or cold? • Does one partner's movement disturb the other? • Are you (or your partner) experiencing a "roll-toward-the- middle" or "roll-off-the-edge" feeling? It's amazing how much information we can learn by asking these questions. The customer wants our help and is willing to answer our questions honestly! Often, we just start throwing out all the information we have on the mattress because we want to be the smartest person in the room. While there is no doubt that knowing everything about the mattress is a good thing, we just need to know when to use it. How many times do we start talking about a feature because we like it? The customer may not even care that the mattress has "cooling" features — what if that person is a cold sleeper? RSAs should start each customer interaction in the store with these five simple questions and then follow the 80/20 rule – listen 80% of the time and talk 20% of the time. Customers will tell us what they want, we just have to listen. Consider the impact on your sales if you were to implement this simplified process at every customer interaction. What do you have to lose by giving it a try? My guess is nothing, and just like the retailer I mentioned before, your close rates will increase allowing you to see greater profitability from the same amount of work and team size. Chad Fischer, Bedding Director Nationwide Marketing Group DON'T FORGET THE K.I.S.S RULE Chad Fischer Furniture Trends RO

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