Tuning the sales pitch

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Strategy issues seen through cartoons.

Pravin Kamath and his friends have found a new way to spend their time and pocket money "" the neighbourhood shopping mall. But Kamath and his pals are clear about what they like or do not like about the mall.

The ambience, lighting and merchandise get full marks. But the salesmen get a thumbs down. Because, salespersons don't let customers soak in the ambience of the store.

Instead, they accost customers with that familiar question: "How may I help you?" Familiar questions get predictable answers. "No thanks, I am just looking," is what most customers say.

For a large-format retailer, this simple innocuous reply has deep ramifications. Not because the customer has shut the door on the salesperson's face, but because it's a lost opportunity to increase sales.

For most Indian customers the freedom to touch, feel and help-yourself in a large-format ambience is a welcome change.

In this perfect picture, the salesmen become the spoilers. Alberto Katz, senior consulter, The Friedman Group, a retail training and development company, says, "This happens because the salesman is being intrusive. The important thing is to be able to approach a customer and not be intrusive."

Gladly, retail executives are taking note of this. Vinay Nadkarni, CEO, Globus, a Mumbai-based retail chain, says, "What makes the difference for a large-format retail store is the standard of service. Beyond a point, product and pricing offer little difference. It then depends on the service standards and the rate of conversion you enjoy."

But to offer superior service, the sales force needs adequate training. That too, the right kind of training.

Katz says Indian retail houses do not train their staff in customer interaction. He avers, "Companies only give product training. Most of the focus is on product knowledge, plus a bit of operations. But training on changing the behaviour for salespersons is missing."

He gives an example from Mexico. Lis Minali, a lifestyle retail chain with about 78 stores in Mexico and more than 18 stores in Central America, had a peculiar issue.

This time the salesperson was afraid to approach the customer, because the customer was from the upper strata of society. The sales people shied away from customers as they were afraid of being rejected by them. After they were trained, Katz claims that there has been a 25-30 per cent increase in the average ticket size.

In the Indian context, the issue is not about training, or the lack of it. Attrition, which is estimated to be in excess of 80 per cent in the case of front line sales people, is the larger issue.

What will the retail chain do, if its trained employees quit within months of getting trained? So the question is how much to invest and on whom. Retail chains are apparently getting their act together.

The Friedman Group, claims to be working on six projects on sales behaviour training in India. Retail chains such as Ebony, Globus and ITC's Wills Lifestyle are among their clients.

The next time Kamath and his friends visit an organised retail store, the attitude of sales people may be a surprise. Rather, a pleasant surprise.