How do I fixie this sales problem?
Dear Aunty B,
I own a shop that sells fixie bikes. I’m passionate about my product and love selling bikes, so the shop has been a success to the extent that I decided to hire my first staff member.
I searched for quite a while to find a person who was equally as passionate about fixies as me and finally found a guy I will call “Dave”. Dave knows everything there is to know about fixies. If you show him a fixie he can tell you what sort of brakes are on it, the attributes of those brakes and even the factory in China they are made in. He has a wealth of knowledge and could spend an hour or so talking to customers about the intricacies of the bike they wanted to buy.
I was looking forward to taking the odd day or weekend off and not having to be in the shop all the time but the problem is on the days that Dave is in the shop by himself nothing gets sold. At first I just thought he was having a bad day or it was bad luck but despite everything he knows about fixies and his passion for the product it just doesn’t seem to translate into sales. What should I do?
Graham,
Northcote
Dear Graham,
I’ve quickly looked up what a fixie is (I’m clearly not your target demographic!) and think I understand the problem. It seems these fixed wheels bikes are very popular right now so sales should be easy. But your new employee Dave is seriously lacking sales nous.
Yes, he might have enthusiasm for the product and perhaps he is a walking, talking fixie encyclopedia but it sounds like he is boring your customers to death by talking to them for an hour about brakes.
This might work for some customers but for most a sales spiel needs to be short and sweet. The best way to learn how to sell is by watching others who are good at it. By the sounds of things you are, so get Dave to shadow you for a day so he can see how it’s done. His long and lengthy explanations are killing your deals.
Be smart,
Your Aunty B
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