Among the two dozen or so magazines that my family subscribes to is Men's Journal. I would guess that the age demographic of Men's Journal subscribers is probably a range of 30 to 50 years old. For the record, my age is somewhere near the upper region of that span.
You know how they put those cologne advertisements in magazines? The ones where you have to open a fold in the paper to get a whiff of the scent that's being advertised? In several recent issues of Men's Journal, there has been an ad for a Chanel men's cologne that I've liked. I asked my wife if she liked it, and she awarded it a two thumbs up. If you're going to purchase a cologne, it makes sense to get one that your wife likes, right? I made a mental note of my discovery.
So when I was training out of town last week and had a couple hours of free time, I decided to stop at a department store and visit the men's fragrance counter to see if I could identify the eau de toilette that piqued my interest.
"Do you have Chanel cologne?" I asked the salesperson. "I saw one in a magazine recently that I like but I can't remember the name."
"Sure, right over here," said my thirty-ish salesperson, who I'll call Ginger. "Here are our Chanel scents."
Ginger led me to a tray upon which four Chanel men's fragrances resided. I recognized "Allure" as being the cologne I whiffed in my magazine.
"Ah, here's Allure...that's what I'm looking for," I announced to Ginger.
"They have Allure or Allure Sport. Which one did you see in the magazine?" she inquired.
"Hmm...good question," I muttered. "Could I try them and see if I can tell which one I liked?"
"Oh, sure!" smiled Ginger. As she sprayed paper strips with the two scents, Ginger informed me that "Allure is very old school - I think you should get an updated scent like Antidote by Viktor & Rolf instead of Allure."
As a sales trainer who does retail sales training and consulting, my jaw dropped in utter bewilderment upon hearing Ginger's statement. What would possess a salesperson to tell a customer looking for a particular item that it is "old school," especially when the customer has clearly arrived at that blessed station in life known as "middle age?" Have you no mercy, Ginger?
I wish all salespeople, regardless of what kind of selling they do, would understand that selling is all about getting the prospect what he needs or desires, whether it's obvious, as in my cologne scenario, or hidden, as is often the case. It's one thing to offer advice if your prospect wants advice. But it's quite another thing to potentially insult a prospect by putting your personal opinions above the opinions and desires of the customer. This is an issue for salespeople who sell in all venues: retail or showroom settings, in-home selling environments, direct to consumer, or business-to-business.
I bought Chanel Allure Sport cologne that day, but not from Ginger. I bought it from Ashley at the department store at the other end of the mall. She's the one that said, "Oh Allure Sport! I love that scent!"
Old School: How Not to Sell