Hi everyone,
Partly inspired by a thread on the Craft Fair section where someone mentioned about not wanting to appear pushy in front of customers, and partly inspired by a colleagues comments who attend the fair I organised on Sunday, I thought it might be a good idea to share on this thread any hints & tips people have for easily interacting with customers, and how to sell to people without obviously 'selling'.
The comments from my colleague (a shopaholic non crafter!
) were intersting, she attended the fair I ran on Sunday and spent loads, but said that there were a few stalls she wanted to buy from but didn't. Why? because the stallholder didn't speak to her, or was sitting reading a book, or chatting to their next door stallholder and didn't acknowledge her presence. In one case, she said she stood in front of a stall looking for close to a couple of minutes, and not once did the stallholder attempt to engage her in coversation, even though they were just sitting there looking bored.
I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a 'natural' sales person when it comes to my own products - I can stand up at work and pitch a new idea to over 100 people, but I can't 'big up' my jewellery without feeling like I'm being really pushy, and let's face it, there's nothing more off putting as a shopper than to be 'sold to' all the time.
Soooo, here are a couple of things that seem to work for me.
1. Always try to stand up behind your stall, or if you need to sit for a while, look busy by making something, but keep looking up regularly and smile at people, don't just sit & read, or even worse, sit with your arms folded & scowl at people
2. If people stop for more than a few seconds and look at my jewellery, I always let them know to feel free if they want to try anything on, or sometimes ask if they're looking for anything in particular, as I have a few pieces in different colours. Some people just nod and say thanks, but with others it prompts a conversation and they start asking questions, picking things up, trying things on and then BUYING
3. Even if I'm having a really pants day, I always try to stay smiling, the customer doesn't want to know how bad my day has been, or how I got out of my car and stood in a knee deep puddle etc etc
Anyway, that was an essay when I thought it would be a few lines
If anyone else wants to add tips for selling that work for them, all will be wlecomed - personally I need all the help I can get
Claire
Partly inspired by a thread on the Craft Fair section where someone mentioned about not wanting to appear pushy in front of customers, and partly inspired by a colleagues comments who attend the fair I organised on Sunday, I thought it might be a good idea to share on this thread any hints & tips people have for easily interacting with customers, and how to sell to people without obviously 'selling'.
The comments from my colleague (a shopaholic non crafter!

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a 'natural' sales person when it comes to my own products - I can stand up at work and pitch a new idea to over 100 people, but I can't 'big up' my jewellery without feeling like I'm being really pushy, and let's face it, there's nothing more off putting as a shopper than to be 'sold to' all the time.
Soooo, here are a couple of things that seem to work for me.
1. Always try to stand up behind your stall, or if you need to sit for a while, look busy by making something, but keep looking up regularly and smile at people, don't just sit & read, or even worse, sit with your arms folded & scowl at people

2. If people stop for more than a few seconds and look at my jewellery, I always let them know to feel free if they want to try anything on, or sometimes ask if they're looking for anything in particular, as I have a few pieces in different colours. Some people just nod and say thanks, but with others it prompts a conversation and they start asking questions, picking things up, trying things on and then BUYING

3. Even if I'm having a really pants day, I always try to stay smiling, the customer doesn't want to know how bad my day has been, or how I got out of my car and stood in a knee deep puddle etc etc
Anyway, that was an essay when I thought it would be a few lines


Claire
Comment