Retail has always been a place of nightmares.
I’ve seen everything from a homeless man trying to buy an imaginary item at the counter; yelling at the cashiers to hurry up; to a lady walking in naked.
That’s right, naked.
You see, I worked at a retail store in Sherman Oaks. For those who are not familiar with Los Angeles, Sherman oaks, more specifically, has been a homeless haven for years.
Despite the crazy things I’ve witnessed working in retail, it has been a pretty smooth ride, I’ve met a lot of great people and formed a lot of great relationships.
I worked for two corporate giants in the retail market sector and have led many sales training across Los Angeles. However, what I’ve taught is nothing compared to what I've learned.
There is a lot that I plan to use for the rest of my life, but for the sake of this article and to be clear, concise and to the point; I want to teach you guys my favorite sales method.
The method is called W.U.S.A.
W — Welcome
U — Understand
S — Sale
A — Appreciate
It’s straightforward, and I’m sure you understand the concept just by reading it, but the best way to fully grasp the idea is by going through sales role play. (I know, I know, all my sales people out there hate role playing, but luckily you wont be the one role playing this time)
Let’s Begin.
The first part of the W.U.S.A. is the “W” for Welcome.
(A woman walks into the store)
Employee: “Hello Ma’am welcome to Bobs Buckets
Customer: “Thank you so much. I love buckets.”
Next, we have the “U” for Understand.
Employee: “So what brings you in today.”
Customer: “I broke my last bucket; it was great, but now it’s broken.”
—
So here’s the deal throughout this whole scene you should be exhibiting the 80/20 rule.
80% of the time, they are talking
20% of the time, you are talking
The U in W.U.S.A. is not a quick run by; this is the art of selling where you ask the open-ended questions and collect information. A REAL sales master won’t jump to every reason to buy when they see their product fit a need, but instead, you will keep receiving info and asking more questions
LIKE SO,
Employee: “So what brings you in today.”
Customer: “I broke my last bucket; it was great, but now it’s broken.”
Employee: “Awh I’m sorry to hear that, what broke it?”
Customer: My dog and little son were running around and spilled water on it.
MOST NEWBIES WILL JUMP TO THE SOUND OF THIS AND OFFER THE PROTECTION PLAN!
DON'T DO THAT!!
What should happen is, you take that information “oh she has a dog and a little son that broke her last bucket so protection plan might benefit her and create a bigger sale” AND PUT IT IN YOUR BACK POCKET YOU WILL BRING IT UP LATER DURING THE "S" IN W.U.S.A
Now back to business,
Customer: My dog and little son were running around and spilled water on it.
Employee: Awh doesn’t that suck, but things break all the time luckily I’m here to help. Did you like your last bucket, or would you like to upgrade?
Keep asking questions and understanding
The "U" in W.U.S.A. is the most crucial part.
You will learn things about your customer. Things like why then want to upgrade, why they want to improve, or even what color they like best and where they want to keep it. So if you do this correctly, when it comes to the "S" in W.U.S.A. for Sell it should go something like this...
Assuming you’ve learned a lot about your customer.
Employee: “So after what you’ve told me this bucket right here is the best option for you. It comes in the color you like which is awesome and it has a great design that fits perfectly in your kitchen just how YOU ( always talk benefits to the customers) wanted. Also, it comes with a very rugged design and I know you mentioned you had a little kid and dog that broke the last one, even though this one is more rugged we should put a protection plan on it so we know its set for at least 4 years, What do you think? Let’s pull the trigger?”
BOOM, you have just taken everything the customer told you, and you learned than all at once formulated a sales pitch that covered all the needs they were talking about
The power is in listening and understanding
So now comes the “A” for Appreciate.
Honestly, this one is just as crucial, but unfortunately, many people forget about it or straight up feel awkward about it, but don’t! As long as you don’t say “Hey thanks for making me commission” or “Hey congrats on spending thousands” you should be in the clear
Instead when it comes to "A" for appreciate it should go something like this..
Employee: Would you like me to bag this item for you?
Customer: No it’s okay ill just take it to the car
TIME FOR THE A
After handing the final receipt
Employee:” My names Anthony and its been great helping you out, if you have any questions, my colleagues or I can answer. So call or stop by anytime, hope to see you again and have a great day!
Mic drop, exit, sale complete.
W.U.S.A
WELCOME YOUR CUSTOMER
UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER
SELL TO YOUR CUSTOMER
APPRECIATE YOUR CUSTOMER