Blog

Results

Asking Confirming Questions

This step leads back to the first blog on this topic…assessing versus assuming.

Confirming questions solidify what was discussed and even decided, by asking a question that removed any doubt. As an example, a salesperson is working with a customer and asks them if there is anyone else who wants to participate in the project…as a way of identifying the decision-maker. The customer says, “I make the decisions about furniture.”

We all know that there are several elements to consider in making…

Read more…

Who should Summarize?

In the same way that sketching the room is a multi-purpose tool and skill, I assert that summarizing will be, too. And they both need to be practiced into second nature by everyone on the sales team.

The sales professional.
In the earlier posts, I itemized the situations that would benefit from summarizing. For the salesperson, this will be a skill to be practiced and to keep front of mind. It may need to be mentioned in the daily huddle – with some successes from the previous day and some v…

Read more…

It’s not my job….Resist being resistant

In the showroom world, it’s understandable that sales associates will rely on incoming traffic for their business. After all, if they wanted to do outreach, they would be outside salespeople, right?!
Maybe.

Whether inside or outside, the role of a salesperson is to generate sales for the showroom and for themselves. The more flexible and innovative the salesperson is with HOW that achievement is executed, the more consistently their goal will be achieved. This is because they are not tethered t…

Read more…

Intended Outcomes

My program, “Sell it or Schedule it”™, is called that because the ONLY outcomes of a selling interaction is to close the sale or to arrange another contact time…in order to close the sale. To either write it up today because the customer is far enough along in their buying process to be able to confidently decide…or they aren’t! In the case of the latter, an appointment will ‘forward’ or ‘advance’ the sale so that you can close it at the next contact.

Anything else isn’t an outcome, but a step …

Read more…

Everything Old is New Again

I am often asked by showroom owners to ‘focus on fundamentals of selling’….as if there was anything else. ☺

Selling home furnishings has been a consultative selling approach for as long as I have been involved in it. The archaic ‘borax’ sales approach died out with short-sleeved salesmen with even shorter neckties… and was replaced, with people (often women) who are interested in learning about the problem or the vision and helping solve those with engagement, understanding, and knowledge. Ap…

Read more…

High Point Furniture Market

In the spirit of Spring and the transition and blossoming nature of the season, High Point Market was a welcome respite from the isolation of the pandemic.

It ‘felt’ well attended, both in the buildings and on the streets, and had an old and new quality to it.

Old in the sense of seeing lots of people I have missed in the last couple of years, and the chance to sit and talk about how they and their business have changed.

Old and new in revisiting shared experiences (I got a lot of “You once t…

Read more…

Priorities…plus….

As we did in the first blog of this series (Problems….), we will focus on one element. One element that when added to the others creates something magical. 

Priorities are those things that matter most. And there aren’t a lot of them, which is what makes them priorities. 

When working with a designer or with a retail customer, ask what the priorities of the project/product are…and limit them to THREE. 

Ask: “What are the three most important elements to you?” Then listen and take no…

Read more…

Problem…plus….

In this series, I am going to share a perspective with you that will have a lasting impact. These three initial points added together create something…something worth sticking around for. 

When people have a home furnishings problem, they seek a solution with a designer or with a retail showroom. They come with a problem to be solved or a vision to be realized – or both. It is up to the professional service provider to find out what that is and to satisfy it. 

To put this into place,…

Read more…

Conscious Consistency

Conscious Consistency. I love the way this sounds. It came up in a coaching call (as so many things do!) and I had to write it down.

Conscious. Consistency. Two related but separate qualities that contribute to making new habits. Cool, huh?

Conscious. Present. Mindful. In the moment. Paying attention. Being focused on the action now. Noticing my thinking and how it impacts my actions. 

Consistency. Repeating things that work. And again. Noticing how the action starts to become second na…

Read more…

Something Bigger 

Small changes are easier to make when there is a bigger outcome in mind… one that is sparkly and burning and so much better than the current reality. 

If the outcome isn’t big enough, the effort isn’t worth it, is it? Does losing 3 pounds really inspire as much as losing 10? Or WHAT will losing 10 pounds bring to your life (lower blood pressure, knees that are less cranky, pants that aren’t as tight...or the jeans that look fabulous at that magic number) that really matters to you?  The goal …

Read more…

Categories