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Hiring and Training Professionals from The Specialty Shop

The right salespeople must reflect the owner's overall attitude of loving his or her job: always enthusiastic, perhaps even excited by the merchandise, caring, helpful, resourceful, and knowledgeable about stock. In time, such employees become part of a loyal "family" and treat each other with warmth and respect. Your employees, in short, should know that they are caretakers of your business reputation.

As a new employer it may take a little time—and some trial and error—before you recognize good personnel and put together a loyal and caring staff. After all is said and done, hiring good salespeople will involve trusting your own instincts as much as anything else.

I've hired many, many employees and learned some valuable lessons about the who and why of hiring that I developed through the years. I found that salespeople—those who have experience in store and shop selling—are too often not the best help. Some no longer retained the enthusiasm for selling that they may once have possessed. Too often it's just another place to work; it's a "job" where they put in their time. Rather, I began to search for customers who were the most enthusiastic and would remark that they wished they could work in my shop instead of where they were currently working. Or they would say, "I love your merchandise and I'd love a job here, but I'd only have the hours when my children are in school," or they had other limitations such as only on Saturdays when their husbands took care of the children. Or they say, "I've never worked before but I love the shop and wish I could work here." They were marvelous candidates, and who better to hire? I would also be on the lookout for people who could attract their friends as customers: for instance, a young mother who knew several others and, with her enthusiasm, would be a live advertisement for the shop. They were some of the very best saleswomen I hired.

Another avenue I pursued to find the best candidate was to search in places I frequented: a waitress at one of my favorite restaurants turned out to be one of the best people I ever employed; so were a receptionist at a doctor's office and a secretary at a law firm—all of them needed a change from the type of work they were engaged in and change of venue. I recognized their potential and promptly offered them a spot. They all became enthusiastic salespeople when they could merchandise they liked and could indulge in conversations with customers who were different from those they had dealt with in their former jobs.

One young woman I hired was the wife of an FBI agent who always seemed to be away on assignment. She was so grateful to be involved with something other than the charity work she had been volunteering for. Another a recent widow in her early fifties, who had never worked, entranced customers with her Southern accent as I knew she would. Still another, a high school junior with top grades was very energetic, always smiling, and extremely creative—she wanted to be a fashion designer. She was perfect for our juniors' shop—as were other high school student who would later go on to college.

They were all the right people for the right shop—and something more. They were all innovative: Why not create displays throughout the shop that tell a whole story, called a theme—form windows to individual displays? Terrific. I encouraged them to carry out their ideas, and the shop always benefited by their eagerness to be creative.

A star employee can increase the number of customers as well as the number of purchases. And even if that employee leaves, the customer is already hooked and will remain faithful to the shop.

Characteristics to look for during an interview are:

• An enthusiastic nature
• A positive attitude
• A smiling countenance
• A creative bent
• A helpful and alert attitude

A helpful attitude is the foundation, the core, of good salesmanship. Some employees are just order takers: they stand at the checkout counter waiting for the merchandise to be brought to them for payment and wrapping. Salespeople with this attitude are nothing more than "shop sitters," and what owner can afford such a costly indulgence? But then there is the salesperson who approaches a customer and engages in conversation to find out as much as possible about that customer's likes and dislikes. This gives the salesperson an idea of what drew that customer into the shop and what the customer is looking for: A Gift? A collector's item? Something unusual/ It also gives the salesperson a chance to casually show the customer an item or two. A good salesperson also knows when to leave the customer alone to browse after making sure the customer knows he or she is available for any questions or information.

When a customer says, I'll take that, " good salespeople will politely usggest, as they are wrapping the item, that such-and-such would "go so nicely" with the purchased item, or that the item has a coordinating piece to accompany it, in case the customer hasn't noticed it. More often than not, I found customers were grateful for the suggestion and purchased it. This is what I mean by a helpful attitude. Encompassed in that trait of a salesperson is a learned sales technique: the art of suggestion. To some salespeople, the technique: the art of suggestion. To some salespeople, the technique comes instinctively. With others it needs to be taught.

Training

It is incumbent upon you, the owner, to conduct a training session in which you explain in detail about sales techniques as well as what you expect of the employee. Do not take for granted that he or she should know something. If you expect certain things, make those clear. Another aspect of training is the necessity of handling a phone inquiry well. With all phone calls the person answering the phone should convey warmth, enthusiasm, accuracy, and helpfulness.

Recently I had occasion to call an upscale kitchen shop to ask for directions. The place, I knew, was not easy to find. The response went like this:

"You know where the aquarium is, right"
"Yes."
"Well you go up that street."
"What is the name of the street? There are two streets at that intersection."
"Uh, I don't know but you go up. You'll see the shop on the right-hand side and you'll see a small doorway. Go upstairs."

Now, she didn't ask me which direction I was coming from and, because of the shop's location, I needed to know the name of the street. The result of her unhelpful, unknowledgeable, uncaring response was that I never did go to the shop. Instead I went to its competition, and being in an expansive buying mood that day, I bought a couple of items—two sales at least that the first store just lost.

A friend of mine recently called a shop to ask if they still had a red dress she'd seen there and now wanted to purchase. She needed to know if they had it in her size. The answer form the order taker (one can't call her a salesperson) was:

"I don't think so."
"You don't think so? Would you check that for me?"

The order taker went to see if she had the size and was gone for ages. My friend, meanwhile, decided she'd call another store where she hoped they'd be more helpful and knowledgeable about heir inventory.

How many potential customers have had the same experiences at these two shops and at thousands of shops around the country where salespeople simply don't give a damn? And, more important, do the owners of these shops know how their salespeople are handing calls? If not, why not? Why have they not trained their staff?

The best time for a training session, I found, was before the shop opened, when you can offer coffee and a Danish and encourage employees to let down their hair. Surprising ideas and suggestions can emerge from such a session if there is "take" as well as "give." A new and inexperienced owner can often learn from an eager employee.

Training sessions need to include the subject of downtime, when the shop is empty and the salespeople have time on their hands. During downtime, personnel should attend to day-to-day chores such as "sizing in"—that is, putting each category together by size—which is important in apparel shops, as it can mean the difference between a sale and a walk-out. They should also dust shelves, clean glass items—especially important in gift shops to keep a shop looking perky as opposed to tired-looking. Unclean surroundings can be death for a shop.

Other responsibilities can include:

Changing one or two interior displays a day, even though window displays are changed once or twice a month.

Looking through customer requests, the guest book, and/or registries (bridal, baby, shower, engagement, housewarming, etc.) to see what needs to be followed up. For instance, if a customer wants an item but it is not in stock, a note should be made in a "request book." If that item is ordered, a salesperson or the owner can call and let the customer know it is now in stock. Following up on requests is a sure way to make and keep customers.

One training session is an absolute must, to be followed sometime later by a refresher session. When a salesperson is just starting, he/she is sure not to remember everything you say the first day, so plan a follow up. It would behoove you to make notes of everything you want to talk about or teach the person so that you can, hopefully, use it for your next new employee as you expand.

Reprinted from The Specialty Shop: How to Create Your Own Unique and Profitable Retail Business by Dorothy Finell. Copyright © 2007 Dorothy Finell. Published by AMACOM Books, a division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Used with permission. All rights reserved. www.amacombooks.org.