lara
Well-known member
Sales Bootcamp: everything you've always wanted to know about selling but were too afraid to ask.
This is the ultimate one-stop question and answer shop for you to ask every question you've ever had about selling, demoing, handling customer complaints, handling staff issues, juggling clients, dealing with holiday pressure, and anything else you can possibly think of.
So how are we going to do this thing?
Easy-peasy - just write out your question below and I'll endeavor to have a solution or idea to you as soon as possible. Please use some common sense and avoid naming your employer (and co-workers!) unless it's absolutely relevant to your question. If you say 'an American multi-brand cosmetics retailer', trust me, I'll know what you're referring to.
I can answer someone's question! Can I do that?
Of course, the more input the better. Please, please give a moment to think about whether your input is going to be useful and correct, this isn't the place for deliberately dumb answers.
Go ahead and ask away!
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A quick background to explain why I'm more than qualified to answer these questions: cosmetics retail was my first job where I wasn't self-employed, and I fast-tracked from a baby 5 hours-per-week casual to management of the premier flagship counter in an ultra-busy CBD department store location (average foot traffic across the door per day during quiet times was 7,000 people, peaking at 25-35,000 during Christmas crush and higher during key sales) in just over a year, and was promoted to manager not long after that. I have been understaffed, overstaffed, weathered total store renovations, unfortunate sales spaces, the worst Christmas sales period in nearly 20 years, you name it.
I cultivated customer relationships where the average first experience spend was $140, and my ultra-special customers dropped an average of between $400 and $1,250 per docket. I also had the quiet privilege of having one of the lowest return rates in the company, a very hard goal to achieve in cosmetics retail.
I've managed and worked at locations ranging from boutique stand-alone stores to a department store counter where were thought it was an amazing Monday if we cleared $500 in sales. I know the glories of having a five figure day, and I also know the gut-wrenching worry of a day where we made exactly zero dollars.
I have on-paper sales education as well through sales education and training groups, with particular focus on customer care and sales development, and the holy grail of management-focused staff training and skill development that is both empathetic and results-driven.
This isn't me writing a partial resume to show off, but rather to demonstrate that whatever your question or experience is, I've been there too and I've either resolved it myself, or been there when someone with more experience has resolved it. As those of you who have been reading this subforum for a while would know, I've written a lot of guides about hard and soft closes, dealing with difficult customers, handling conflict resolution between clients and staff, value-adding sales, how to handle complaints gracefully, minimizing returns, product presentation... you name it, I've answered it!
Whatever your question or issue is, please type it out and I will do my best to answer it or consult with someone to get the best answer to you. There is a wealth of experience here, and I want to share it with everyone instead of keeping it locked away.
This is the ultimate one-stop question and answer shop for you to ask every question you've ever had about selling, demoing, handling customer complaints, handling staff issues, juggling clients, dealing with holiday pressure, and anything else you can possibly think of.
So how are we going to do this thing?
Easy-peasy - just write out your question below and I'll endeavor to have a solution or idea to you as soon as possible. Please use some common sense and avoid naming your employer (and co-workers!) unless it's absolutely relevant to your question. If you say 'an American multi-brand cosmetics retailer', trust me, I'll know what you're referring to.
I can answer someone's question! Can I do that?
Of course, the more input the better. Please, please give a moment to think about whether your input is going to be useful and correct, this isn't the place for deliberately dumb answers.
Go ahead and ask away!
----------
A quick background to explain why I'm more than qualified to answer these questions: cosmetics retail was my first job where I wasn't self-employed, and I fast-tracked from a baby 5 hours-per-week casual to management of the premier flagship counter in an ultra-busy CBD department store location (average foot traffic across the door per day during quiet times was 7,000 people, peaking at 25-35,000 during Christmas crush and higher during key sales) in just over a year, and was promoted to manager not long after that. I have been understaffed, overstaffed, weathered total store renovations, unfortunate sales spaces, the worst Christmas sales period in nearly 20 years, you name it.
I cultivated customer relationships where the average first experience spend was $140, and my ultra-special customers dropped an average of between $400 and $1,250 per docket. I also had the quiet privilege of having one of the lowest return rates in the company, a very hard goal to achieve in cosmetics retail.
I've managed and worked at locations ranging from boutique stand-alone stores to a department store counter where were thought it was an amazing Monday if we cleared $500 in sales. I know the glories of having a five figure day, and I also know the gut-wrenching worry of a day where we made exactly zero dollars.
I have on-paper sales education as well through sales education and training groups, with particular focus on customer care and sales development, and the holy grail of management-focused staff training and skill development that is both empathetic and results-driven.
This isn't me writing a partial resume to show off, but rather to demonstrate that whatever your question or experience is, I've been there too and I've either resolved it myself, or been there when someone with more experience has resolved it. As those of you who have been reading this subforum for a while would know, I've written a lot of guides about hard and soft closes, dealing with difficult customers, handling conflict resolution between clients and staff, value-adding sales, how to handle complaints gracefully, minimizing returns, product presentation... you name it, I've answered it!
Whatever your question or issue is, please type it out and I will do my best to answer it or consult with someone to get the best answer to you. There is a wealth of experience here, and I want to share it with everyone instead of keeping it locked away.
