You've selected the right items, merchandised, and created perfect product assortments. Now, how do you ensure high and consistent sell-through?
It’s crucial to sell your students and customers the right products to suit their specific needs so they keep coming back for more! So, how do you sell your customer their next favorite item? Here are a few tips.
- Ask Questions
Let your customer do the talking - the best way to find out what they like, need, and want is to ask them. Ask them why they like certain products, what they like about it, and what they feel they are missing in their current mat. What you sell them is a solution to a problem they have or a chance to enhance their practice in new ways.
- Are they having issues slipping in their practice?
- Sell a towel for closed cell mats (PRO, eKO, Begin, X) or an open cell mat (GRP series).
- Have they noticed their mat is getting slippery and they never clean it?
- Sell mat wash.
- Do they love their mat because of the fun colors?
- Sell them a new bright item.
- Read Your Customer
Asking questions is great, but there is a lot of information you can gather through observation. Notice what your customer wears, the items they bring in, what they gravitate towards in the retail section. Figure out what excites them, what they ask questions about, what makes something an automatic “YES” for them. Notice what they don’t like and say no to immediately as well - the better you can tailor your recommendations to their preferences, the more they will feel you understand them and trust your expertise.
- Take a Chance
You never know when someone will surprise you. Just when you thought they wouldn’t spend $120 on a legging, they find the pair they can’t live without. Retail is a complex game – sometimes an item you think is a sure thing tanks and something you thought was hideous goes immediately. We all have biases and all patterns can be broken. Go ahead and take a chance – offer someone something you think they’d never go for, show them the crazy print, or maybe even the high price item.
Want more Retail content? Read Retail 101: 5 Tips on How to Start.
Want help selecting the right items to enhance your retail or studio experience? Reach out to your Manduka rep!
Written by: Annabelle van Schravendijk.
Manduka Account Executive - East Coast
