8/12/20
Here are five tips to help increase your effectiveness as a sales manager and elevate your team’s overall success.
In retail sales, being honest with customers goes a long way. People shopping in your store want honest communication about products and services.
When considering various solutions to offer customers to meet their needs, your sales associates should be forthright in their recommendations. The best approach focuses on their needs and not those of the associate or the store. Honesty keeps the primary focus where it should be, on meeting the exact needs of customers.
Honesty is one of the strongest types of marketing tools available. The payoff is your store or brand develops a reputation as a reliable resource for products and information. When you and your associates become a trusted and knowledgeable resource for customers, repeat business increases, as do sales revenue and employee compensation.
The old adage, “You can’t expect someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself” is alive and well today and is as pertinent as ever. Leading by example is a vital trait of any manager or leader regardless of industry.
To be an effective manager in an environment as dynamic as retail sales, leading by example provides employees with a clear picture of what’s expected.
Leading by example provides a way to:
Never doubt that others are paying attention. When your team observes you practicing what you preach, they will work harder to meet expectations and help you achieve your goals.
Challenging your sales associates to be successful without providing mentoring and coaching opportunities leaves them (and your customers) at a distinct disadvantage. Mentoring and coaching are important ways to set your associates up for success from day one.
Incorporating mentoring and coaching can:
Managers aren’t the only ones who can mentor employees. Allowing more seasoned, successful associates to become mentors and coaches to newer associates is a great method for teambuilding and a proven way to increase teamwork.
A vital part of mentoring is imparting knowledge. Not only must sales associates understand store policies and procedures, but they must also know about the products they recommend to their customers. Shoppers expect sales associates to be experts on products offered in their stores.
In the retail sales world, time is severely condensed when it comes to handling problems and closing sales. The business-to-customer sales cycle for tech devices is short and sales associates may only have a few minutes to close their sales. This is why effective time management is so important.
Learning how to effectively manage your time allows you to:
In a retail sales environment, managing time is just as important as managing your staff.
The tech retail sector is fast-paced and ever-changing. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of it all; however, an effective manager never loses sight of the human element.
Managing a department, a store, or multiple store locations entails many responsibilities, but few are more important than those of interacting with and directing others. How you manage your staff impacts everything from sales revenues to customer loyalty. As you strive to improve your own capabilities, incorporate elements that elevate not only your level of success, but those under your direction as well.
The Intel® Retail Edge Program was created to provide retail managers and sales professionals with training opportunities and relevant information about Intel® products and technologies. Additionally, there are instructional materials on improving sales skills, interacting with customers, and more. Participation in the Program provides opportunities to earn rewards, win prizes, and give back to your community through charitable donations.
Learn more about the Intel® Retail Edge Program by clicking here!
This article has been updated. The original article can be viewed here.
Notices & Disclaimers
© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
