In my recent travels, I’ve really noticed a distinct difference between what makes a good salesperson versus what makes a great salesperson. In my opinion, there is one key element that comes into play – defining someone as a leader or a follower in the sales world – and that tool is confidence.
During my product training sessions at salons, we do a lot of role-playing, which I believe is an important part of testing and training your staff. We pretend to be different types of customers who walk through the door and try to catch the salesperson off guard to see how they react in these random situations. We may pretend to be a first-time tanner, a regular who just refuses to buy lotion, or maybe, a diehard tingle product devotee. Usually, it goes one way or the other: the staff member in the spotlight either rises to the occasion or falls back, becoming very nervous and shy – forgetting all of their training.
The leader is the salesperson who exudes the most confidence. He or she has an aura about them that allows them to adapt and feel comfortable in any situation. This might come from an abundance of knowledge, a lot of experience in their field, or it may just be a personality trait.
The followers are the staff members who, when thrown in front of the group and asked to sell, get very shy. They tend to forget the knowledge that they were given, and lack the confidence they need to just go off the cuff. This could be because they were never given the proper tools and education to confidently talk about the products and services of their salon, or they are just shy people who need a little more practice and encouragement to really show their confidence.
When hiring and training our staff members, it is vital to the success of our salons that our salespeople have confidence in what they are selling, confidence in the products and equipment, and that they believe in themselves. Sometimes this comes from extra training and knowledge or just from general encouragement. Pretty much every salon has that one rock star salesperson, who we say “could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.” These leaders tend to be very outgoing, knowledgeable and most importantly – confident.
So this month I ask you to focus on building up your staff members – making sure every member of your team has the proper tools to efficiently and confidently do their job. If some of your staff members lack this key confidence, find out what they need in order to be stronger salespeople, and help mold them into those confident rock stars.
“Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” — Coco Chanel
If you believe in yourself, others will believe too. Confidence is the key.
