27 May 3 Learnings with My Recent Experience with Promoters
Shopping, a refreshing leisure activity loved by Malaysians of all ages. Especially during the weekends where we get to spend our precious time with our friends, family, and partners or even by ourselves! Imagine having an amazing mood, looking forward to purchasing something you’ve been wanting for a long time only to come face to face with a mediocre promoter =/.
There are tons of amazing promoters during my personal shopping experience and I believe some of you would begin thinking of that one time when a promoter “wow-ed” you so hard you bought the item mainly because of them (and yourself of course). However, the same applies to the opposite where I believe you can recall unpleasant experiences as well.
So for aspiring promoters, retailers and readers out there, here are some of my learnings from my recent experiences with promoters:
3 Learnings From Recent Experience With Promoters
- The Golden 3P’s
- Handling questions and objections
- Basic customer service
1. THE GOLDEN 3P’S
The lifeline of a promoter and the foundation to whether the promoter can sell an item lies in the 3P’s. These 3P’s are Product knowledge, Promotions and Price. As a promoter, it is a MUST to know these 3P’s as it provides us, the customer, the confidence that you know the product you are trying to sell and that we can believe in you. This knowledge not only encompasses your own products but it also encompasses competitor products or even products of different brands.
I recently visited a store in Setia City Mall to look for a formal blazer for myself (to finally change that old tight blazer and possibly to get more than one to look more fashionable, yay) when the promoter approached me. I was eager to carefully pick out the “Ultimate” Blazer for myself. My excitement was brief as the promoter only mentioned brief differences between the blazers such as color, size and design. I thought to myself maybe he wanted to know more about my preferences and questions before going in-depth to explain the product. So I decided to ask more questions such as “What type of body would the center and side vent blazers fit?”, “What are the differences between the materials?”, “What setting would be suitable for the double-breasted and single-breasted blazer?” etc. The promoter however only gave me brief answers such as “like this lo”, “this one not sure oh” and “depend on people one wor, see what you like”. As you can imagine, I was immensely disappointed with the experience and the first thought process that came to mind was “Why does the promoter not know how to sell this item to me?”
Fortunately, a senior promoter (I assume) stepped in as he noticed my disappointment and took over from there. He was eager to explain to me each and every purpose for the designs of blazers. I went from having little to no knowledge of blazers to understanding how I can tell if my body is more suited for the single breasted or double breasted suit. He even explained how the side vent and center vent could highlight my figure more either sitting or standing. I was thoroughly impressed and found my love of blazers again. Not only did I learn about the product more, the promoter decided to upsell and pair slacks and slacks together with the blazer. But wait! That’s not all! On top of that he introduced the promotions currently ongoing to me as well. Although they currently do not have the color I was hoping for (wine red), I left the store with the promoter’s name card and the excitement of waiting for their message. This experience really cemented the importance of the 3P’s to me.
2. HANDLING QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS
As a promoter you’re bound to meet with tons of questions and objections. I can recall in my previous job as a promoter, the countless times I had customers coming in asking repetitive questions like “What’s your best product?”, “What’s your newest product?”, “What are the differences in specs?” as well as interesting questions such as “Why does Product A have a higher price but a lower specs?”. Although there are tons of questions being asked, it falls ultimately on how we answer these questions that impact whether a customer is willing to buy or not.
Similar to the promoter I had experience with during the formal coat incident. I realized the way they handled my questions was to avoid answering them as they may not have sufficient knowledge to answer them. However, despite not knowing completely, the answers given could be different. Take my experience going to VIVA Home for example. I was looking for a solid wood dining table since the flood partially ruined my table. So the promoter introduced some of the products to me and as such I asked a few technical and difficult questions. Although he did not have the answer to my question, the answer he gave was very professional:
“Based on my understanding, the usual standard for this would be … However let me check real quick and get back to you, in the meantime, feel free to take a look at these dining tables”
I was amazed by how he handled the question and how he kept me occupied while he searched for accurate answers. Furthermore, he was adept at handling my objections towards going for this product so he tackled my objections by providing clear explanations and by upselling as well. In the end I got the promoter’s name card because of how well he managed to tackle my questions. So questions and objections are opportunities in disguise like the quote by Brian Tracy “Treat questions and objections as requests for more information”.
3.BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE
Thirdly, one thing I learnt from my recent experience would be how important basic customer service is to a customer. Both my friend and I went to check out some used cars for him. We went to a total of 7 car dealerships, and these are some dishonorable mentions for the promoters that made us feel uncomfortable:
· Overcharging
· Overly focused on upselling
· No patience for questions
We were thoroughly disappointed because some of the promoters had incentives in their mind rather than us. Especially in this day of age where 86% of people put emphasis on customer service. One of them even tried to sell us at a higher price than what was advertised on the web. However, I also managed to identify some of the golden customer service skills for the promoter that did seal the deal for my friend.
· Confidence
· Customer-focused mindset (Respect)
· Tailor suggestion to customers
The promoter that sealed the deal, Promoter A, was very confident with not only his selling skills but also the product. Furthermore, he was very focused on providing the most suitable car for my friend by understanding his habits, his preferences and his issues to create a more customer-focused mindset and image for himself. From then onwards, we realized we went with his suggestions and his options because we felt he was a promoter that looked out for our needs. So we trusted him completely and my friend was very satisfied with his purchase.
As a promoter, constantly developing our knowledge and skills is essential in achieving our work target as well as life targets as well. Interested to learn more about the skills and knowledge to become the A+ Promoter? Stay tuned for our Promoter Program coming to you this April 2022! In the meantime, feel free to drop by our website to look at other programs that can help you to excel both in work and in life!
Written by Bryan Law Chu Zheng,
SHRA Corporate Trainer
Bryan is a member of the SHRA trainer team. He is a major in Psychology with a retail background. He has a deep passion for human interaction and personal development.
You can catch him dancing or playing the uke on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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