Futon Furniture Sales Training -- get the keys that open the doors and close more sales

What vision appears in your mind’s eye when I say the word “sales associate”? Take a look in the mirror and imagine yourself in that role, and remember, what you think about yourself makes a huge difference in how your customer perceives you. I have spent the last few weeks ( and years for that matter) carefully looking at sales training both as a principle and as a process. On the principle side there is an almost unanimous consensus that sales training is a 10 on the importance scale when it relates to product sell through. The reason that is true though, for the individual respondents, can be as different as night and day. On the process side several key elements rise to the top as vitally important, while others are simply good ideas that can to be used or not depending our your retail culture.

The following questions form the basis of my interviews:

1. On a scale of one (1) to ten (10) (ten being a very high level of importance) how important is sales training of the retail sales force in relation to success rates of retail sell through? and why?

2. What would you say are the keys to sales training from your point of view or experience?

3. How do you or have you implemented Sales Training for or at your retail outlet?

4. Do you have a printed or other Sales Training manual or presentation materials?

I received responses from about thirty executives who span the manufacturing, rep, and supplier perspectives. Here is what they said.

“10,” said Debbie Burwell of Elite Products. “As a consumer myself, with a hectic schedule, well informed (not pushy) salespeople are much more apt to make the sale.” Product knowledge was high on everyone’s list of sales training “keys.”

“It’s a ten plus, plus, plus,” said Bob Naboicheck of Gold Bond Futon in Hartford. Naboicheck does 30 or more personal sales training trips per year focusing on his top 50 customers. “Everyone wants a Mercedes or BMW, and a few people even want the Rolls Royce. With the futon mattress (our focus) the difference in price between the mid and highest price point is only about $100. When you show people that they can get the very best, and still spend hundreds less that a comparable traditional sofa bed any price resistance is easy to overcome.”

Gary Cohen, national sales manager for Wolf Corporation agrees. “Training rates a 10 and always has in our industry… if you want to maximize the potential of the category. In order to properly present the product and the appropriate features and benefits, training is absolutely necessary.”

The rest agree, sales training is a must, especially when you attempt to communicate the complexities of our component based product.

“Compared to the rest of the furniture industry,” said Marcus Grimm of United Sleep Products, the Simmons Futon Licensee, “futon sales training needs to be a “10” to retailers and manufacturers. It’s one of the most complicated pieces of furniture to sell, and it’s a product that most consumers have never bought before.” John Christiansen of SIS Covers in Minneapolis added, “It is every salesperson’s responsibility to know the details about the products they’re selling. A futon sofa-bed is a pretty big purchase, so customers generally want to have their questions about everything from quality to operation to style answered by their sales professional.”

Again, product knowledge, both the details attendant to the design and the relation of those details to customer benefits must be made by the sales associate. You simply have to know what you are talking about.

Mitch Wapen of Lofa Sales in Montreal sounded off with another “10.” “The number one rule of sales is, ‘know your product.’ Advertising, location, and attractive displays can bring the customer to your door, but after that it’s the retail salesperson who’s going to determine whether or not a sale is made. In general, the customer is looking for guidance in a furniture environment. A friendly and knowledgeable associate can make all the difference. Although an associate who knows a lot, but is indifferent or uninvolved with the client, will get nowhere fast.” Attitude was another recurrent “key.”

Wapen also added “qualifying the customer” as another “key” to sell through success. “A good associate will ask enough questions to learn either what the customer’s looking for or, even better, what they really need but may not actually be looking for. Then the associate can tailor the presentation to only those products that fit that need. Selection options of way too many products are suddenly boiled down to only one, two, or three,” he said.

Steve Ray, a retailer with The Futon Shop in San Francisco agreed. “Our product is so diverse and offers so many options that if a salesperson is not trained to “qualify” the customer’s needs, many opportunities will just slip away.” Closing the sale is everything, and correctly or creatively qualifying the customer is a sure track to closing more often.

Karen Day from Otis Bed added, “The more informed the salesperson is, the more trusted he or she will become, and the higher his or her success rate will be. One important factor here is that the salesperson has to understand and believe in what he is selling. Once this happens, the associate tends to not be intimidated when selling higher quality goods. The average ticket tends to rise after training.”

JC Gholston of Lifestyle Solutions by Elite commented, “It’s a 10. We know that providing clear product information that each sales person can translate and use in his own words is key. Making sure each sales person demonstrates (convertibility) and has clear responses to possible objections customers may bring up should also be stressed.”

Another theme, which may end up at the top of our list of keys, is sales associate competence translating into consumer confidence as they mull over your well articulated value propositions. This concept is a bit complex but mastering it may make the difference between closing a sale or not closing one.

“If the salesperson is very knowledgeable of the product,” says Bob Sanfillipo of Big Tree, “he or she will exude a competence, which will inspire confidence in the customer. Consumers need to feel they are making an intelligent decision when making a purchase.”

“Sales training is one of the most important variables a manufacturer or retailer can control,” said Shawn Whatley, new National Sales Manager at August Lotz. “A sales staff that is not properly trained will make and lose sales by accident. It’s a big responsibility when you think about it,” he said.

“The well informed salesperson must be confident and enthusiastic,” said Bob Naboicheck, “and this is the key. These sales people are selling to a consumer who needs to feel comfortable, confident and enthusiastic about their purchase. They want to leave feeling like they made a smart choice for their home. This confidence and enthusiasm must transfer from the salesperson to the consumer during the sales process. If the salesperson believes they are selling the best product in the industry then so will the consumer.”

Other executives sounded off, adding their common sense themes to the mix. “I don’t believe that you can give enough training and knowledge to retailers about your products, and their features, benefits, and style,” said Matt Jung of Comfort Research in Grand Rapids. “The key is repetition, repetition, repetition. You can’t just tell sales people the features and benefits of your product once. You need to constantly re-inform as people cycle in and out of an organization.”

Steve Byer of King Koil Northeast got down to basics. “It’s becoming very competitive,” he said, “to sell upper end price points. Understanding and communicating the features and benefits of the product category is critical.”

The Key Building Blocks of a Successful Plan

All these pearls of wisdom are great, but how do you make them work for you? The first step in any successful endeavor is a plan, and planning for sales success through a sales training program is no different. By looking at these “keys” and putting them into your own plan for training your sales associates you will be creating an environment or culture where selling through and closing sales is common, not unusual, and selling higher priced merchandise becomes a success story for both you and your customer. The keys are listed in no particular order.

Key One- Start with choices, lots of choices

“Americans grew up with choices. You can buy $9 sneakers or $199 sneakers, the mattress is the same thing, only with an enhanced level of features and benefits. The same thing goes for the frame. Sell up by selling down. Start at the highest price point and show the customer the awesome value they get at the top of the line.”

Bob Naboicheck, Gold Bond

“The retail salesperson has to give the impression of “caring” about the customer’s needs and present the right product for fulfillment. Knowledge of the product will help the retail salesperson make the customer feel he or she is making the right choice. It is all about choices.” Bob Sanfillipo, Big Tree

Key Two- Know and believe

“You, as a salesperson, must become the expert on whatever it is that you’re selling. I would take my reps to the factory to see the product actually being made. I might take a trip to the mill, to get an idea of what the raw material looks like when it first arrives. Have new reps “shop” the competition so that they know what they’re talking about when customers ask why your products are better. And make sure to make the rounds of “big box,” department stores, and discount stores so you can show your employees, first hand, what we mean by service, or lack thereof.”

Mitch Wapen, Lofa Sales

“I think the key is to get the salesperson excited about the product, to believe in the product, and optimally to use the product themselves. If you personally believe the futon is a better mousetrap, and you really believe your store’s brands are the best in the business, it’s going to be easy to convince your customer they need to own this futon.” John Christiansen, SIS Covers

Key Three- Systematize

“When you’re selling anything, you need to develop a systematic approach so that each customer is approached in a similar manner, with similar questions. It’s no different than a doctor giving a check-up - they ask each patient the same questions, with the common goal of making them healthy.”

Marcus Grimm, United Sleep/Simmons

“Follow a step program. First is greeting. No clichés allowed! Second, engage the customer and ask at least four questions to get started. Third, listen to the answers. Fourth, begin a presentation only after you have some information as to how the customer is intending to use our product. Fifth, listen for and respond to objections. Sixth, ask for the order. Seventh, follow up with a thank you note or phone call. Welcome them to the futon family.” Steve Ray, The Futon Shop

“Make whatever concepts you are teaching a clear step by step process. Apply them and review them, and if a sales associate misses a sale don’t be afraid to ask why. When the opportunity comes again that associate will not forget the missed step, and will want to use it again and again.” Shawn Whatley, August Lotz.

Key Four- A. Qualify; Listen twice as much as you speak

“Listen to the customer, understand the customer’s needs, and present the product in a manner that fulfills those needs. In a futon mattress, comfort in conjunction with resilience and durability are key ingredients.” Gary Cohen, Wolf Corp.

“Some of the keys to sales training are to teach the salesperson to just “listen” to the customer, being mindful of their needs. The salesperson must give knowledgeable information about the product and honest feedback. Today’s consumers are more intelligent than ever.” Bob Sanfillipo, Big Tree

“Qualify your customer- If you have a customer who is looking for a quick fix for a dorm room or floor mat don’t try to sell them high end. But with 80% of the customers you typically have looking at futon furniture they are shopping for their home.” Bob Naboicheck, Gold Bond

Key Four-B. Qualify; Ask questions to target the right product

“Allow plenty of time for questions (if they don’t have any I suggest you start over). I always like the questions and comments that surfaced during these training sessions because we both ended up learning more about each other and their store’s issues.” Karen Day, Otis Bed

“The key ingredient in closing sales is making a qualified presentation. If your sales people say “May I help you?” the customer will respond “Just looking” 90% of the time. The customer will look at a few price tags and walk out, never understanding what they were looking at. By qualifying customers, asking them questions and understanding what their expectations are, you can then show them products that fit their needs or expand their understanding without talking over or under their level of understanding. Now you are being helpful without ever saying “May I help you?” Steve Ray, The Futon Shop

Key Five- Sell benefits of value and versatility, not price

“Show comfort, sell comfort. Make the customer FEEL the plushness of the different mattresses. Don’t forget to talk about the incredible value you get with a premium futon mattress when compared to a traditional sofa-bed.” Bob Naboicheck, Gold Bond

“We, in the futon furniture business, can compete effectively with the mass-merchandisers as long as we understand that we’re probably never going to win if we base our marketing on price.” Mitch Wapen, Lofa Sales

Key Six- POP that educates

“The one type of sale that we can count on to take place without help from the store’s employees is cheap stuff. Things like POP, especially product hang tags, can help back up retail store employees. Customers love to read about what a wise purchase they are about to make and what it is that makes the product so good.” Pete Dodge, Strata Furniture

“We have the best and most sophisticated POP and sales training materials in the industry.” Bob Naboicheck, Gold Bond

Doers, Not Hearers Only

Does all this really work? The top sellers in this and every other category not only say yes, but they take it to the bank every payday. The six keys, worked out and tailored to your store’s culture, product mix, and personal style, will put you ahead of the curve in turning store traffic into closed sales more often than ever before.

“It’s important in this industry to have “serious” sales people. The futon is a complicated product that needs to be sold by demonstration and explanation (...more comfortable than a traditional hide-a-bed, the cover can be changed when you want a style change, etc., etc.),” said John Christiansen. “It doesn’t just sit there and sell itself, it’s not like working at the Dairy Queen.”

Marcus Grimm gave us this anecdote, “The best analogy I can give is that of a volunteer fireman. They spend a lot of time sitting in the firehouse, with nothing to do: waiting for a fire. But when that bell rings, they don’t “wing it.” They have a systematic check-list and approach to dealing with the crisis. Salespeople must do the same thing. Don’t be lulled into complacency. It’s fine to relax when no one’s in your store. But when that customer comes in, you should immediately know what your questions are going to be, and how you’ll respond to their questions.”

“The key is to stay focused on what you do best. We should never forget why people got into this business and why they bought futons in the first place. Value, versatility, and comfort. This is a value oriented, highly versatile sofa bed. We can’t forget what got us here,” added Bob Naboicheck.

Some companies offer sales training, others don’t. If your suppliers don’t offer some kind of sales training then use this article as a starting point to develop your own. Give us a call (401-351-0787) or e-mail me (jtatulli@ertp.com) and if we can help you we will.

FL