No Thanks, I'm Just Looking

Secrets of the trade from the master of retail selling and sales training

No Thanks, I'm Just Looking gives anyone the inside scoop on how to skyrocket their selling career with a system of easy-to-learn practical money-making steps. By saving countless hours of trial-and-error experience, readers will be able to focus on the things that really work. Considered to be retail guru Harry J. Friedman's personal collection of proven selling techniques, No Thanks, I'm Just Looking includes all the tips and humorous anecdotes that have made him retail's most sought-after consultant.

No Thanks, I'm Just Looking delivers the tricks of the trade from an international retail authority.

• Author is the most heavily attended speaker on retail selling and operational management in the world
• These groundbreaking high-performance training systems have been used by more than 500,000 retailers, from small independents to the likes of Neiman Marcus, Cartier, Billabong, La-Z-Boy and Godiva, to routinely deliver more sales
• Friedman created the number one retail sales and management system used by more retailers than any other system of its kind in the world

Get proven techniques that will increase sales and elevate your staff to a high-performance sales team.

Foreword Richard Erhart x

Acknowledgments xii

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 Getting Your Act Together before You Take It to the Selling Floor 1

The Not-So-Fun Stuff 4

Customer Service Points 5

The Four Occupations of the Professional Retail Salesperson 19

The Daily Precheck 24

Hot Tips and Key Insights 31

Chapter 2 Opening the Sale 33

People Behave Reactively 35

Causing a Negative Reaction from the Beginning 36

The Primary Goal of Opening the Sale Is to Get Past Resistance 37

Opening Lines 37

Opening Moves 41

Getting into Business: The Transition 44

Working Two Customers at Once 52

How Have You Been Opening? 54

Hot Tips and Key Insights 54

Chapter 3 Probing 59

Opening as Many Doors as Possible 61

Knowledge Is Power 62

Probing Questions 66

QAS 73

Logical Sequence 74

Logical Sequence Guide Chart 78

Switching—Or Selling What You Have First! 78

Hot Tips and Key Insights 82

Chapter 4 The Demonstration 85

The Demonstration Follows What You Learned in Probing 87

Selling the Value That the Customer Wants 90

Creating the Desire for Ownership 94

Covering All the Bases 97

The Ultimate Demonstration Tool 101

Avoiding the Comparison Trap 109

The Expert Kills the Deal 112

Hot Tips and Key Insights 115

Chapter 5 The Trial Close (Otherwise Known as the Assumptive Add-On Close) 119

The Dreaded Close 121

Adding On 125

Constructing a Trial Close 131

Hot Tips and Key Insights 136

Chapter 6 Handling Objections 139

The Trial of Trial and Error 141

Why Objections Occur 143

Work with the Customer 146

The Smoke-Out 150

Handling the Price Objection 153

Hot Tips and Key Insights 159

Chapter 7 Closing the Sale 161

Intent Is Everything 163

Getting Started 164

Basic Closing Techniques 166

Handling Requests for Discounts 175

Turning Over the Sale 178

Buying Signals 182

Hot Tips and Key Insights 184

Chapter 8 Confirmations and Invitations 187

Buyer’s Remorse 189

The Confirmation: Cementing the Sale 192

The Invitation: Requesting Another Visit 194

Building Personal Trade 200

Hot Tips and Key Insights 206

Final Thoughts 209

Appendix: Retail Training Resources 211

About the Author 217

Index 219

HARRY J. FRIEDMAN, founder and CEO of The Friedman Group, is an international retail authority, consultant, and the most heavily attended speaker on retail selling and operational management in the world today. More than 500,000 retailers have used his groundbreaking high-performance sales and management training systems, including Neiman Marcus, Cartier, Hallmark, La-Z-Boy, Billabong, and Godiva. One of retail’s true thought leaders, his vision and unique ability to see what’s right and wrong on a retail floor—and how to fix it—have made him a sometimes controversial but always passionate friend to the world of retail. You just can’t get enough of Harry!

No matter what you sell in your store, the real key to moving your product is you, the salesperson. When customers face the same product choices in your store as they do down the street, the connection you build with them can create a powerful—and profitable—difference. Your ability to communicate with customers, get them to open up, and satisfy their needs determines your success.

No Thanks, I’m Just Looking gives you the inside scoop on how to skyrocket your selling career with a system of easy-to-learn, practical moneymaking steps. Retail guru Harry J. Friedman has compiled his personal collection of proven selling techniques and tips, along with many of the often humorous real-life stories that have made him retail’s most sought-after consultant. By saving countless hours of trial-and-error experience, you’ll be able to focus on the things that really work, especially in this highly competitive market where Internet savvy customers are better informed than ever before.

Develop non-pushy people skills that will boost your income and make your job more fun with Harry’s tricks of the trade:

• How to get past “I’m just looking” and other defensive shields to engage your customers in comfortable conversation that opens the door to more sales
• Must-ask questions that develop trust and expose hidden sales opportunities
• How to present merchandise with the eloquence and emotion that results in “I’ll take it!”
• The unique step that many salespeople miss that can easily increase add-on sales
• How to handle stalls and objections and comfortably close the sale—today!
• Mastering the fine art of building referrals, repeat business, and customers for life

The difference between clerks who just process sales and sales professionals who create sales can be worth millions. Whether you’re an individual salesperson, manager, or owner of hundreds of stores, Harry’s insights will make this book your “retail bible” and make your sales soar.