It's not about the sale!!! It's never about the sale. It's all about relationship building. When people enter your shop they do not want to feel like all you want to do is sell them something. Don't be that place. A woman wants to feel as if she's greeted by a trusted adviser, a person who's going to tell them the truth regardless of if they buy, and also a person who'll keep in touch even if they just came in and had a great chat. To me, you have to really just love being around clothing, enjoy sharing your product knowledge, and genuinely like meeting new people. In retail, you either love it or hate it. There's no in-between. There should be times set aside for letter writing (I'm old-school), a handwritten thank you note goes a long way, there should be calculated times of the day that a client is contacted if something that's her style comes in (no one wants to be called/texted at 11 at night or 5 in the morning), there's an etiquette involved! And finally, during the dance of the sale, one should be looking to discover pertinent things about the client; when her anniversary is, what she's doing in your town, what shows or restaurants she's been to. These will all give you talking points next time you meet! A most important note would be never to judge a potential client. Just yesterday I had a gentleman enter the boutique, I'm assuming he was a plumber or in flooring, looking for some gifts for his girlfriend. He mentioned that he'd been judged by his appearance at other places. A few items in his shopping bag later, he was thankful of how comfortable he was made to feel and I'm 100% sure he and his girlfriend are both new customers.
Until Next Time!
Mariah