Happy Monday! Hopefully you all had a fun and safe holiday weekend. It was definitely entertaining in my neighborhood…people really love Halloween in Miami. I thought I would start the week with another step from Mike Tidmore’s 5 step series on successful selling and once again by reading through it, I learned a lot!  He really knows his stuff!! One thing he says about how you can sell to people sometimes simply by being nice is soooo true and I actually can speak to that personally. Yesterday I decided to take up a booth at a local flea market in an effort to eliminate some of my massive wardrobe I use for shows and styling. I was amazing that just by being nice to people they would end up staying at my booth, looking around longer and buying more. It was a great learning experience for me and a lot of fun. 

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Step 3 - The Presentation

The 5 Steps to Successful Retail Selling

People, Product, Presentation and Price!

In Lesson 2, “The Approach”, I tried to make the point that if your aspirations are to be a successful, professional retail salesperson then you are just going to have to be a little different. That’s why “People” is listed number 1 in my version of the 4 P’s of professional selling. Not always, but sometimes, people will buy from you just because they like you.

When I was young single man, I discovered that the best “first” dates I ever had happened when I remembered to not talk so much and just be an attentive listener.

All I needed to do was just ask a few questions such as “Tell me about where you’re from” or “Tell me about your family”. That would pretty much fill the entire dinner with plenty of conversation to make it all the way through dessert. After all; what is almost anyone’s favorite subject to talk about? That’s right…themselves! I don’t mean to sound demeaning when I say that, but it’s just human nature. The best part of being a good listener is that the one doing all the talking will give you much more information on their own compared to what you would get by asking them a lot of specific questions.

If a customer can tell that you are listening to them attentively, they will just naturally like and trust you more. A good way to confirm to them that you are listening is to even paraphrase back to them what they just said so they know that you understand.

When speaking about the other 3 “P’s” we can pretty much group them together into one subject. Knowing your product is key to success during the “Presentation”. Salespeople that have considerable amounts of product knowledge are just more confident. That confidence is exuded to the customer during the “Presentation” process. It is also a determining factor in whether the third “P” (Price) becomes an important issue or not.

B. Product Knowledge

If you think about it, the only reason you really need any product knowledge, is for the situation where a customer says “A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS!!!! Why is this shoe so expensive???”

In order to answer that question, you should know that in footwear and in many other clothing and textile products for that matter, there are 2 main categories of attributes that we must educate our customer about:

-Constructions

-Materials

 First… Again, let’s talk about how you should never answer the question above.

NEVER, ever, say “Oh, just because of the brand name”. I actually hear salespeople say this to customers… unbelievable. Trust me, this not the answer the customer wants to here.

Ok… Get ready.

Coming up next is going to be a lot of information that you really need in order to perfect your craft as professional salesperson.

However; it is entirely possible that it might not be necessary to use much of it. When a customer asks the question; “Why is this shoe so expensive?” Your standard answer should be “It’s the high quality of the materials in this shoe”. Or; you can use the exact same sentence; just replace the word “materials” with the word “construction”. Sometimes, that will be all of the explanation the customer needs and they will be perfectly satisfied.

What if the customer asks; “What do you mean, the quality of the materials?”

Uh, oh…That’s when you better sound like you know what you’re talking about, right?

The product dictates which one of the attributes you are going talk about when it comes to materials or constructions and sometimes you will even talk about both.

Disclaimer: The following information is just a general outline of product knowledge and should not be taken as “all encompassing” by any means. I could write 50 pages of detailed information about this subject, but I’ve probably already tested your patience enough in this setting. It’s just a place to start and there will always be exceptions to the information below.

Basic Construction Types

Cement: If you work in a store that carries Women’s dress pumps, it’s a good bet that most of them, if not all, are made with a cement construction. When you look at the bottom of a dress shoe, you will notice that the sole is usually completely smooth all the way out to the edges. Very seldom will you see stitching on the sole that is attaching the sole to the “upper” of the shoe. If you see no stitching, you can usually assume that the sole is attached using cement (or in other words, glue). This particular method of construction is very common because it is one of the least expensive methods of shoe construction. That’s not to say that cement construction shoes are bad, it’s just that it’s not one you should brag about. You actually should not even mention it to the customer; you should just know how to recognize it.

Stitched: The opposite of what I just described above. When you look at the bottom of a shoe and notice that there is row of stitching that travels around the outer edge of the sole, this obviously shows you that the sole is stitched on. This is a construction that you might boast about to the customer. Shoes with stitched on soles are generally going to be more flexible than shoes made with cement constructions. Normally, but not always, shoes with stitched-on soles will generally have a leather sole. Leather soles are more comfortable because they actually breathe (Leather is skin. Skin has pores. Pores breathe). Leather soles will also, to a certain extent, actually mold to your foot. Cement construction shoes with man made soles will not do this. Do you know how to tell if a shoe has genuine leather sole?

There is a universal symbol that shoe manufactures use to signify a leather sole. It’s a symbol that is engraved into the sole that looks like a cowhide. Notice I said “engraved” into the sole. That is how you know for sure; you can see and feel that the symbol is actually an engraved stamp in the sole. Be careful though and don’t be fooled because some manufacturers will put a little adhesive sticker on the sole of the shoe that just looks like the little cowhide symbol to try make the customer think it is leather sole when it is not. For many people; hand sewn, “moccasin” construction, stitched shoes, such as the famous old Penny loafers are the most comfortable type of shoe to wear. In fact, the very first shoes ever made in our country were stitched moccasins made by Native Americans.

Injection Molded: This is one of the most durable and popular constructions in footwear today. There are many variations of this construction. This construction was originally designed for athletic shoes but now has expanded and spawned many variations that are used in comfort footwear of all types. It is a very complicated construction process but here is a summary. Construction starts with the sole. Hot liquid rubber, EVA, latex, Polyurethane, or even a combination of these materials are poured into a mold and shaped into sole or even a sole/midsole combination. The upper of the shoe, under a combination of heat and pressure, is then dropped into this molded sole and attached. In some cases the sole is even stitched on in addition to being attached with heat and pressure. The equipment and process for this type of construction is very expensive but makes an extremely supportive and durable shoe. Most of the better comfort shoes are made in new variations of this type of construction and have different names depending on the manufacturer such as “Opanka” which combines hand sewing and molded soles.

Old school versions of this construction we called “Vulcanized” where the sole of the shoe was actually melted to the upper under extreme heat. Canvas oxfords such as the traditional Keds were and still are made this way.

Welted: The “Cadillac” of all shoe constructions. Most of the time you will hear of this referred to as a Goodyear Welted construction. Goodyear Tire Company originally designed the machines used to make shoes in this manner. The welted shoe is a strip of leather, rubber, or plastic that is stitched to the upper and insole of a shoe, as an attach-point for the sole. The space enclosed by the welt is then filled with cork or some other filler material (usually either porous or perforated, for breathability), and the outsole is both cemented and stitched to the welt. The easiest way to recognize this construction is to look for a row of stiching around the top edge of the sole of a shoe. The best example is to think of a Dr. Marten boot. The bright yellow stitiching is a signature look for that company and the reason they use it is to bring attention to the fact that they use the finest of shoe constructions in their footwear. Welted constructions are the most expensive type of construction, but it lends itself to being just about the most durable as well. Welted shoes are really the only type of construction that can be re-soled.

 Materials

If you are reading this, you are probably affiliated with a retail store that carries moderate to better quality footwear. This means that most of the shoes in your assortment will most likely be made of leather, so there is no reason to say much about man-made materials.

Leather has always been and will most likely continue to be most people’s material of choice for footwear. This is not to say that there is no such thing as good man-made materials, because they definitely have their place, especially in athletic shoes. Even though leather may not have the durability of man-made materials, people will probably choose it for these reasons: It molds to your feet, it breathes and is just overall healthier for your feet. There are now newer “vegan” materials that are becoming popular that are actually very good products and have the same attributes of genuine leather. Many of these “Vegan” materials are even up to 80% biodegradable.

Leather is a by-product of the beef industry; therefore it is “graded” similar to the way meat is graded. Just as in when you buy steaks at the grocery store, tanneries like butchers can produce “Prime” leathers, Grade A leathers etc. The grade of the leather refers to the thickness and the specific part of the hide that it is cut from. Most types of leather can have different grades within them. The most common leathers are:

Cowhide: The most common type of leather, therefore in general, the least expensive. Cowhides are very thick and are very easily recognizable because of their thickness. They also have inconsistencies in the grain and tend to have visible flaws and imperfections. These imperfections are not necessarily undesirable; most would say that they add character to the material. Most of the leather shoes in your assortment will be made of cowhide. The United States provides quite a large percentage of the hides used to produce footwear because we are such large consumers of beef. Not so in other types of leathers.

Kidskin: The hide of a young goat. A very thin, but very perfect leather with an extremely high tensile strength. This is the leather of choice for many manufacturers that produce women’s dress pumps. The thin leather with small pores holds a glossy finish better than most leathers and has very few flaws. Flaws in leathers occur frequently in cowhides due to scratches from barbed wire fences, insect bites and other natural elements. Goat hides are much less likely to have as many flaws.

Calfskin: One of the most sought after leathers. Because the hides are from young animals, they are softer. Cattle spend almost 100% of their lives outdoors in the sun. Even though they are covered with thick hair, the sun still weathers the skin underneath and dries out the natural oils contained in the skin much like what happens to human skin when we get sunburned. Calfskin obviously harbors much less of these effects compared to full grown animals. Calfskin has much more elasticity than other leathers so it is much better at molding to your feet. Like kidskin there are many less imperfections in calfskin.

Exotics: Snake, eel, ostrich, alligator, lizard etc. are all examples of exotic skins. These are obviously the most expensive leathers because of a limited supply. In some cases these types of leathers are actually more durable than traditional cowhides and calfskins but in some instances it is just the opposite. Generally shoes made of these materials are purchased as a fashion forward luxury item and not so much for function.

Leather Finishes: All of the leather types listed above can have different kinds of finishes and treatments for visual or functional impact. Many people think that “suede” is a type of leather but actually it is a finish. You can have a suede cowhide, a suede kidskin, a suede calfskin etc. Suede is the underside of the leather that is put through a machine that evens out and buffs the nap. Thin leathers like kidskin make the most luxurious suede because the pores in the leather are smaller, thus creating deeper colors and a more even nap. “Patent” is a shiny finish that can be applied to any type of leather. Metallic finishes are also very popular. “Nubuck” is an interesting finish. It is somewhat similar to suede except it is the topside of the leather that is buffed by a machine that has metal sandpaper in it. This brings up a little bit of nap on the topside of the leather for a soft finish.

Product Knowledge Summary: Ok…. You just got a ton of information. So let’s put it into practical application. It’s quite obvious that you couldn’t possibly use all of it with one customer. Whichever shoe you happen to be discussing with the customer will dictate the necessary product knowledge.

Example: A customer has a pump in her hand that is a typical cement construction. A cement construction is nothing special, so you are not going to boast about that at all. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t even bring it up. What you can talk about though is the high grade of calfskin the shoe is made from.

Example 2: You have a welted oxford on your customer. The shoe is made of a typical cowhide but there is still plenty to talk about because the shoe is made with a Goodyear welt construction that is stitched together in 4 different places. It also can be re-soled and has an extra layer of extruded cork for cushioning in the midsole and could very well be one of the most durable constructions the customer has ever owned.

I think you see my point. You will usually pick one of the two. You will either talk about the construction of the shoe or the materials. In a few cases, maybe even both. You might think it would be overwhelming to try to learn this information about every single shoe in your assortment but you really don’t have to. After just a little experience you will learn to recognize these attributes pretty easily.

Today, people want to know that they are getting value in whatever they buy. It is definitely worth using some product knowledge whether the customer asks or not. Validating a customer’s decision to buy is extremely important and helps to close a sale.

-Mike

www.successfulstore.com