The only thing that separates your store from other stores is you. Yep, you. Very few things separate you from anyone else in retail. Your knowledge of your products and people, your desire to go the extra mile for your customers and the wonderful words you use to show that knowledge and express yourself are a few of the things you can do to differentiate yourself from every other retail salesperson.

Just as a painter uses a brush and canvas to create an exhilarating work of art, salespeople use words to create excitement and desire for their products. Whether you are describing the brilliance of a gemstone, the singular advantage of a camera's zoom lens or the style and flair of a particular garment, the words in your vocabulary need to paint a picture that will put a buying twinkle in your customer's eye.

This means that you have to make an accurate assessment of your customers so you can communicate with them in a manner that will make them feel comfortable with you. Customers whose style is Van Gogh may not feel relaxed with a salesperson who is fixated on Picasso.

Painting a word picture of your product requires thorough knowledge of your products and services. How will you be able to say that your merchandise is durable enough to last a lifetime or that it's the latest Paris fashion, unless you have taken the time to learn what you need to know about it?

Equally important to your assessment of your customers and your knowledge of your merchandise is your ability to express yourself articulately. Your skill with words will enable you to adapt the product to your client's unique needs and perform your demonstration in a way that is dynamic, engrossing and exciting to the customer.

Here's an example of how you can add some spark and excitement to a simple demonstration statement. Which statement do you think would prompt a customer to buy?

" These shoes are all leather, which is flexible, making them very comfortable.

" You know, when you wear these shoes, you're going to have a smile on your face because one of the great things about these shoes is that they're made of soft calfskin leather. As you wear them, they will mold to the shape of your feet, giving you a custom-made feel. It would be kind of fun to walk around in custom-made shoes, don't you think? Certainly, both sentences give the customer a reason why they should buy these shoes. But the second sentence gives the customer a much more compelling reason to buy. Is there anyone out there who wouldn't rather have a pair of shoes that would mold to the shape of your feet than a pair which was just flexible?

Use your creativity when you're painting pictures of your products in your customer's mind. If you're unsure about which words to use, grab a dictionary or buy a thesaurus. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easily you'll be able to find words and paint those pictures that will make your customers want to buy.