If you read my article last month, you had the opportunity to come up with some solutions to situations you run into all of the time. I had some wonderful responses from readers who really enjoyed this problem-solving game.

If you found yourself pleased with the way your judgment matched mine last time, here is your chance to do it again. Or, if you were surprised with the information I brought to your attention on how to handle the various situations, read on and learn more ways to sharpen your professional selling skills. Good luck!

1) You are alone in the store and currently working with a customer who is buying a bedroom set (Customer A). Another customer comes in (B) and shows obvious signs of needing help, but you don't want to louse up the current sale by helping both at once. How do you handle it?

2) A customer who has never shopped for a complete bedroom set before comes into the store, randomly walks up to one and asks immediately, "How much is this?" They have inquired about a fairly expensive one. How would you handle this situation without scaring them out the door?

3) You are making a presentation on a fabulous bedroom set to your customer, and although you are sure this is the perfect set for his daughter, the situation is going from bad to worse. How might you turn the sale over to another salesperson before blowing any chance of making the sale at all?

Scenario #1

Even though you may be working on a potentially large sale, any new customer deserves, at a minimum, to be acknowledged. Let ALL of your customers know that they are important to you. The key to successfully handling this situation is asking permission to excuse yourself from the original customer and waiting for the customer to respond. Then let the second customer know that you will be helping them as soon as you can and ask them if that will be all right.

Getting permission from each customer is, in essence, making a verbal contract. They can't leave now because they said they would wait. Your large sale can continue, and Customer B respects your acknowledgment and knows that they will be taken care of shortly. Take a look at how the verbal contract is laid out for you in the following dialogue:

S: (To Customer A) "Could you excuse me for just a minute? I want to let this customer know that I will be with them shortly. Is that all right?" C: "Sure, go ahead." S: "Thanks." (Approaches Customer B) "Hi! Could you do me a favor? I'm just finishing up with that gentleman over there, and I'll be with you in just a few moments. Is that all right with you?" C: "That's fine."

Scenario #2

Before scaring him away with the price (which has no meaning to him if he hasn't shopped for one before), do some probing to find out what his needs are. The first probing question to use that would be a logical follow-up to the customer's inquiry into the price would be, "How long has it been since you have shopped for a bedroom set?" This gives you the opportunity to find out if he has been shopping recently and is aware of the price ranges available.

Next, saying "it has become complicated based on the different options available" helps you to avoid giving a price without explaining the benefits. If, indeed, the bedroom set he first inquired about suits his needs, then explaining all of the features and benefits as they relate to his needs will help establish value in the price. If his needs would be better met by a different set, switch to the most appropriate one and demonstrate its benefits. If you decided to quote the price of the expensive bedroom set, and demonstrate its features and benefits to justify the price, chances are you would lose the opportunity to show another bedroom set if this one didn't suit his needs.

Take a look at the following dialogue:

S: "It really is a beautiful bedroom set, isn't it?" C: "It sure looks like it, but I bet it's expensive." S: "That depends. Tell me, when was the last time you shopped for a bedroom set?" C: "Well, I never really have. I've just been thinking about one for awhile and decided to find out more." S: "Well, the pricing has become complicated today. There are so many different options available that the price really depends on which special options you want to suit your individual needs. What made you decide you'd like to buy a new bedroom set?" C: "Well, I decided it's time to get a coordinated set. I've always had mix and match pieces and would really like a matching set." S: "Yeah, it is really nice having a bedroom set that is completely coordinated. What style do you think you may be interested in?"

Scenario #3

If you are going nowhere fast during a sales presentation, and yet you know you have the merchandise the customer is looking for, chances are that the customer is not connecting with you. That doesn't mean you are any less of a salesperson.

Look at it this way, have you ever met someone you didn't like right away? If you think about it, it really wasn't that person's fault you didn't like them. After all, you didn't even really know them! They probably reminded you of someone you didn't like or of a bad experience you had. Our customers are only human. They may not feel comfortable with you. When you can sense this is happening, it is your responsibility to turn over the sale to another salesperson.

The key in a successful turnover is building credibility in the person you will turn the sale over to. Introducing him/her as the expert in that particular area will give the customer confidence in the other salesperson. You certainly would not refer to the other person as the expert if he/she were not able to handle that sale, (the customer will know if he/she is bluffing). Sometimes a personality difference or personal prejudice that the customer may have (i.e., doesn't like young people, beards, blue eyes, striped shirts), may be just enough to lose the sale unless you turn it over to someone else.

C: "I just don't know if this is really the right bedroom set for our daughter's needs. I think I'll just keep looking." S: "You know, I've been here for quite awhile, but I really am not the expert on this line of bedroom sets. I'd like to bring Jim over to speak with you. Jim is our in-house expert on this line. I'm sure he will be better able to find the perfect solution for your daughter's needs. May I bring him over?"

I hope that these examples have given you even more practice for judging all those tough plays that develop in your stores. Similar to a professional athlete, the more you practice, the better you'll be and the better chance you'll have at winning the game.