Opening Questions

I sell mobile phones in a retailer here in Australia.
Our KPI's are basically an amount of phones say 30 per month and GP per month. GP depends on the phone that i sell.

Anyways i am the best salesman at our kiosk but i am not a top salesman, the others are more order takers and trying to implement a little of sales.

My sales could be so much better which helps out my bonus, promotion etc.

So anyways i work in a kiosk the phones are around the edge of the kiosk.

I am wondering what are some good opening questions to ask customers.

My usual approach is

Hi how are you
" good thanks"
How can i help you out
" just looking"
Looking for anything in particular
" yes / no"

I know i should be asking What are you looking for but i am trying to think of something else to say instead of how can i help you out or anything in relevance to opening.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by myers1984 I sell mobile phones in a retailer here in Australia. Our KPI's are basically an amount of phones say 30 per month and GP per month. GP depends on the phone that i sell. Anyways i am the best salesman at our kiosk but i am not a top salesman, the others are more order takers and trying to implement a little of sales. My sales could be so much better which helps out my bonus, promotion etc. So anyways i work in a kiosk the phones are around the edge of the kiosk. I am wondering what are some good opening questions to ask customers. My usual approach is Hi how are you " good thanks" How can i help you out " just looking" Looking for anything in particular " yes / no" I know i should be asking What are you looking for but i am trying to think of something else to say instead of how can i help you out or anything in relevance to opening. Thanks.

First of all, kudos to you for trying to become a sales professional in the midst of a group of order-takers!

In general, I would suggest you avoid closed questions that can be answered with a yes or a no. It's too easy for the prospect to say "no." That would rule out your question "looking for anything in particular?".

My all-time retail opening question is "what brings you to our store today?" (in your case, "what brings you to our kiosk today?"). In my tests, this question elicited the most number of active responses, and the least number of "I'm just looking" responses.

But before that question, it is very helpful if you can open with some rapport-building chit-chat; in other words, relating to your prospect as a human being rather than just a prospect. You can talk about the weather, the big game last night, the shopping bag they have in their hand, their kids, or whatever. In sales, as in making friends, you reach out to others in a way that says "I'm a nice person" and "I'd like to get to know you better." Of course, don't try so hard that you appear disingenuous or cheesy, but be natural. Likable salespeople sell more than those who aren't likable. Smile and be likable, then make some conversation.

Other good opening questions:

- what kind of phone do you have now?
- I like to ask people who stop by our kiosk which ads they've seen for our services, and which ones they like or don't like...what do you think?
- It really helps me to know what people most dislike about their current phone. What do you think?
- How's your phone working these days?
- Who's considering a new phone?
- How often do you access the internet from your phone? (or email).
- etc.

The best to you...

Skip Anderson

Your first objective should be to make the customer feel warm, comfortable and welcome. Greet them like you would a friend.

* "Hi. How are you?"
* "How are you doing?"
* "What's up?" or "What's new?"
* "Hey, you're looking good!"
* "Hi! Here for the phone that's on sale?"

Never say "Can I help you?" Never. You wouldn't say it to your friends. And if you say it to your customers they'd probably say "Just looking".

Once you make them feel warm, welcome and comfortable, talking to them like you would a friend, then it's time to start screening and qualifying.

thx guys.
i will try them today at work.
anyone else have some other tips in regards to opening or closing ?
cheers

so what are some good books you recommend on retail selling ?

Selling Retail by John Lawhon and No Thanks, I'm Just Looking by Friedman. Both may be out of print.

Skip Anderson

thanks.
fyi - i got 200% of my target this month with about $800 us bonus, before that my highest bonus was $430 us so i am wanting to improve even better.
what would you suggest with the above issues.
thanks to those who have replied so far

Don't be a noisy promoter.

Be ready for someone to step toward your display and ask: "Do you want to by a new phone today?"

If the answer is NO say "Okay." As skip says, you treated that person with respect and not a prospect to sell (though Skip and I disagree on method of selling.) That way you've kept the door open which increases your chance of selling to that person another time if not at that time.

If the person says "Yes." sell.

Read "High Probability Selling" by Jacques Werth for some of the best selling advice around today. In high probability prospecting YES and NO questions are important if you want to be highly successful. Once you hear a YES you continue to clarify with YES/NO questions BUT you also ask for conditions of satisfaction - what that person wants and what your phone features.

I also extend kudos to you, myers1984.

MitchM

You could start by asking, 'What can I help you with today'? The majority of my selling was on the phone and this always worked well to get people to start talking.

Susan

nice thats a great opener.
what other openers could i use after i greet the customer.