ARE YOUR
STAFF UP TO SPEED?
I am
constantly amazed at the number of businesses where staff do not have
the basic product knowledge necessary to sell their products. Never mind
being able to
create a great experience that delights their customers, these people
can’t
answer even simple questions correctly.
At the recent Boat Show held in Auckland I visited a large stand filled with
an impressive amount of electronic equipment. There was only one chap manning
the stand but fortunately for me, there were no other people wanting to talk
to him.
I soon found out why.
He hadn’t a clue about what the company was selling.
I asked for some pretty basic information about a particular gauge they had
on display. He reached for a company brochure, turned to the right page and
read out what it had to say about the gauge. Now, he probably thought I couldn’t
read and therefore figured he was helping me. That was nice of him but unfortunately
what he read didn’t answer my question. He couldn’t tell me any more than what
was written in the brochure so I asked about another gauge. He turned to another
page. This time I read along with him which surprised him because not only
was I reading, but I was reading upside-down!
By the time we got to the third gauge he just gave me the brochure saying, “Unfortunately
the guy who owns the business has gone home. I’m just filling in.” I was tempted
to tell him he was taking up space, not filling in. But of course, it’s not
his fault. It’s the business owner’s. Why would you go to all the time, effort
and expense of having a stand at the show and then staff it with someone who
knows nothing about what you are selling?
This is not a unique situation. At the On-The-Water Boat Show held in Auckland
earlier this year I talked to a salesman who didn’t know the price of the boat
he was showing. In this case, he didn’t know what he didn’t know and he quoted
me a price that was $8000 less than the actual price. Again, why would his
manager put him on the boat for 5 days without making sure he knew the correct
price?
Yesterday, I went to my local hardware store to buy some AAA batteries for
my torch. I noticed they sold two brands of Alkaline AAA batteries. One was
priced at $10 and the other at $14.50. I could see no difference between the
two. I asked two staff members why one was nearly 50% more expensive than the
other and neither had any idea. The closest they could get was to assure me
that there must be some reason! I bought the cheaper set, of course. If other
customers did what I did and bought the cheaper set, both the store and the
manufacturer would conclude that price is the main issue because the cheaper
ones sell better. Of course, it isn’t. The real issue is that no one in the
store could sell the value contained in the more expensive set.
On the other hand, there is a large American-based global company called
Tyco Healthcare. One of its divisions sells the bits and pieces surgeons use
in the operating theatre. Tyco does not allow its staff anywhere near the surgeons
or the hospital until they have mastered the language, concepts and understand
the procedures used in surgery. They have to complete a computer-based self-study
programme and if they pass every unit (the pass mark is very high) they are
sent to a live-in course in North America or Europe where they perform basic
surgical techniques on dead animals. Again, at the end they have to pass an
exam and they have to re-sit the exam annually.
Now there is a company who wants its people to have excellent product knowledge!
How much do your people know about what you are selling? How formal is your
product training? How do you test their knowledge at the end?
If you are not making sure your people have the knowledge they need to help
a customer and to make a sale, then you are wasting your time and money. Worse
still, you are giving your customers a reason to shop elsewhere.
Can you afford to do that?
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