Sales Tips

The following antique mall, craft mall and design center sales tips
are from articles we've previously written and published. This,
however, is the first that they have all been published together.
Software Gallery hopes that you'll find the information useful and timely.
Here are the titles of the marketing tips that are published below:

Make Buying Easy	Customer Focus
Develop Off-Site Sales	Sales Training
"80-20" Selling to Your Best Customers	The Effective Use of Seminars
Coop Advertising with Your Dealers	Your Sales People -- Professionals or Conscripts?
Selling on the Internet	The Web Store Front
The Key to More Sales

Make Buying Easy

Some customers like to be "told and sold"; some don't. Almost all
customers, however, like to buy as easily as possible. That is,
there are things you can do, usually at little or no cost, which
will facilitate sales. Some of these things are: comfort; clean
environment; clear, easy to read price tags; readily available
staff to open cases and answer questions; convenient payment
methods -- cash, check, credit cards, layaways, split pay; help
with handling and loading bulky purchases; easy check out for
regular customers; and yes, clean restrooms.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Customer Focus

Your focus should always be on your customers. Of course, you have
at least two different groups of customers to be concerned about.
There are the dealers who rent space from you and the customers
who walk through the door. Keeping both sets of customers happy is
quite a task and sometimes requires exceptional juggling skills.

Your goal, once you have identified your market and have attracted
customers to your mall is to sell to them. The market demographics
you have obtained from local, state and federal sources as well as
customer questionnaires will point the way. If your customers want
"smalls" you will have a tough time selling them furniture. If
they want top quality pottery, pattern glass just won't make it.
Start to develop the 'personality" of your antique mall. Find the
dealers, even if you have to offer initial incentives, who will
provide what your customers want and what you want sold.

Your initial idea of what you want to offer in your antique mall
may well be "general line". It will, however, develop its own
"personality". You might as well guide it the way you want it to
go. Keep track of your sales. Observe what sells. Find out what
your customers are buying and work very hard at developing your
mailing list. Contact them regularly and treat them like the gold
bullion they represent. A mall management software program such as
Antiques SOS (tm) can help you do this.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Develop Off-Site Sales

For those malls whose revenue and earnings depends at least
partially upon dealer sales, the development of off-premise sales
has never been more important. Your "bricks and mortar"
facility will only attract so many customers. Only a portion of
them will really "see" what your dealers are offering. It is to
your considerable advantage to help your customers find what
they are looking for. Obviously, because you make the sale,
that's an advantage. However, you also get to enjoy the
advantage of creating a long term customer, who, if you do
things right, will bring you long term revenue.

There are two major ways of approaching the issue of off-site
sales. First is using your extraordinarily valuable mailing list.
You do have one don't you ? And, it is clean and up to date
isn't it ? Direct mail with carefully focused offerings can be a
very successful way of approaching off-premise customers, if not
to sell then, at least to get them to come back. Second is setting
up to offer selected merchandise through on-line auctions such
as eBay or web site which offers a "store" for dealer use. Antiques
SOS (tm) will soon be offering a very easy and efficient way of
doing this and accounting for the results. This will be a topic
for upcoming issues of the Antiques SOS e-Journal. Either way
it isn't too early to begin thinking about and preparing for
off-site sales. The benefits can be significant and the target
market is huge and world wide.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sales Training

Considered from either an economic or a service perspective,
clerk sales training makes sense. For an antique mall
which operates based upon a commission only or a hybrid
commission revenue basis, sales training makes great sense from
both an economic and a service standpoint. For an antique mall
which operates based upon a space rental only model, sales
training makes sense from a service to the customer
standpoint.

Whether you have a paid sales staff or conscripted dealers on
the sales floor it makes eminent sense to train them to sell. The
training you provide can come from a local community college,
video tapes, attendance at seminars, a local chamber of
commerce or a lead clerk you have trained. Just make sure
that the training is modern and clearly reflects the way you want
to do business ! Absolutely avoid the "slap 'em on the back and
pick their pockets" type that pervades so many retail stores.

Monitor your clerks' sales performance and reward, retrain or
remove them according to what they have accomplished.
Encourage sales professionalism and product knowledge to
stimulate sales and customer satisfaction. Use your best and
your brightest clerks to train and monitor the rest, saving your
time for important non-delegatable business matters. Never let
your clerks fall into the unethical habit of favoring the sales of
their own merchandise.

Yes, it involves work and a commitment of time and financial
resources. But the commitment is quite moderate for the
anticipated short and long term financial gain. If done properly,
sales training will lead to less dealer turnover, better long term
customer satisfaction and more quality customers.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"80/20" -- Selling to Your Best Customers

As stated in the previous article, its an old saw that 80% of your
sales are to 20% of your customers. Perhaps your specific
ratio is different. The point, however, remains the same.

A relatively small percentage of your customers account for a
relatively large percentage of your sales. The cost of customer
acquisition is high and increasing. The amount of time and
effort required to establish and nurture a profitable relationship
with a premium customer is considerable. Given the
extraordinary lifetime value of a premium customer to you, it
only makes sense to cultivate them.

Take some of that advertising budget and add to it. Use the
resulting dollars to fund premium customer development and
retention. It will pay very significant dividends. Because each
situation is different, how you use these funds is up to you.
However, here are some brief suggestions.

Create "memberships" of varying grades in a mall buyer's
club with privileges assigned to each grade. Offer "points"
for purchases, which are good for moving up to higher grade
levels. Issue membership cards with the buyer's name and
membership number to facilitate assigning "points" and making
checkout faster and easier.

Offer special access to sales, seminars and to preopening coffee
and doughnuts. Send your premium customers, preferably via
email, notice of the arrival in your mall of things on their wants
list. Offer preferred motel discounts in conjunction with local
motels and bed and breakfast establishments. Offer preferred
meal discounts in conjunction with local restaurants.

And, where available locally, offer discount coupon books
which are often printed and sold as fund raisers. Provide
discounted show or event tickets. Often these perks can be
provided at little or no cost by trading advertising space in
your mall newsletter.

Regularly keep in contact through your mall newsletter. Your
mall newsletter is a very valuable tool for serving all of your
customers. Valuable information related to specific areas of
collecting, local or regional events and news of interest to your
customers can be included. And news and information specific
to your mall as well as local and specialized advertising can also
be included.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Effective Use of Seminars

Work within the personality you have established for your mall.
If your mall's orientation is toward "smalls" avoid seminars on
furniture. If your mall's orientation is toward fine porcelains
then you certainly don't want to sponsor seminars concerning
rough antiques. You get the picture, I'm sure.

If you select your seminar provider carefully and he or she is
knowledgeable and worth listening to be prepared to pay a
reasonable fee for the services provided. You certainly don't
want to present someone who doesn't reflect well upon the
quality of your mall.

Offer attendance at your seminar to your best and potential best
qualified customers. We've previously talked about qualified
customers. Qualified customers are those customers who
(a) have an interest in what you are selling (b) know enough
about what you are selling to make a decision to buy and
(c) have the financial resources to purchase what you are
offering.

Seminars are a great way to promote both an interest in what
you are selling and develop the knowledge required to make a
decision to buy. And, your knowledge about the financial
resources of those you have invited is available from many
sources including your customer history records.

Plan a series of related seminars. The potential subjects are
virtually limitless. Choose the general topic based upon your
mall's personality, the availability of qualified speakers and
presenters and the potential attendees' interests. Three
seminars in the series, spaced approximately one month apart,
is just about right. Ideally, the series should end just prior to a
major buying season. Let your dealers know about the seminar
series so they can suggest customers to invite and can stock
appropriate merchandise.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Co-op Advertising With Your Dealers

Whether on a regular or occasional basis coop advertising with
your dealers can make terrific sense. Make no mistake about
it, advertising pays. Properly designed and executed, it attracts
qualified buyers to your mall and increases sales.

The net effect to you depends to an extent upon your business
model. If you simply rent floor space and take no further
advantage of your position, it may be that the greatest benefit
you gain is to retain dealers and/or justify the rent you charge.
In today's business climate that may be sufficient. On the
other hand, if you operate on a commission basis, bringing
qualified new or existing customers into your mall and selling to
them can be a financial benefit to you as well as to your dealers.
The option of charging a commission as opposed to rent only
may be something you wish to consider. In any event bringing
more qualified customers through the door can pay off
handsomely.

One way to do this is to target your advertising to a particular
geographic area, a special holiday, an event which brings large
numbers of people to your area, or to collectors of particular
categories of material. You can extend the effectiveness of
your advertising by buying more of it --strategically placed and
targeted.

It really isn't fair to your dealers who actively advertise and
contribute to your traffic flow to have other dealers who don't.
Your choices include an assessment of all dealers to pay the
freight or including only those dealers who actively advertise in
your joint advertising.

Print ads are the norm. However, for specific events don't
forget to consider radio ads, fliers, billboards and TV ads.
Depending upon your local market, highly targeted TV
advertising , especially in hotels and convention centers, can be
very effective and surprisingly inexpensive. Billboards ads are
expensive but they are also very effective at bringing traffic to
you from surrounding highways.

Don't forget the frequently under appreciated effectiveness of
direct mail. The mailing list that you have worked so hard to
build and maintain holds the key to making this work. Targeted
to an individual's interests, personalized direct mail, properly
designed, can produce excellent results. However, always
make sure that you and your dealers can carry out your end of
the implied bargain, always -- or you won't get many to
respond again. Keep all of your promises either implied or
otherwise.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Your Sales People -- Professionals or Conscripts ?

As you well know, the antique mall business is intensely
competitive. Additionally, a myriad of operating business models
exist. All antique mall businesses operate using a business
model, whether the business model is consciously chosen or not.

At one point or another you will face the issue of how to optimally
staff your antique mall to facilitate and encourage sales and fit
your budget. How you staff your sales floor really depends to a
great extent upon your business model and the "personality" you
have adopted for your store. Only you can decide whether you
will use a professional sales staff, force your dealers to do
"duty time" each month or find another appropriate method.

What antique mall owner hasn't asked the question "How should
I staff the sales function for my antique mall ?" In the past, most
antique malls took their sales staff from dealer conscripts, if they
had a sales staff at all. This is especially true of antique malls
who have adopted a "space rental only" business model.

The early antique malls were relatively small, as many still are
today, and customers were expected to find what they wanted to
buy without sales help. Times have changed, however, and the
antique mall business has evolved and changed as well so there
is no predetermined business model. It is either chosen with
some deliberation or it simply evolves.

Many malls continue to use conscripted dealers as floor sales
personnel. Others use professional sales personnel. Each has
there own reasons for doing so and the method they use may be
perfectly adequate for their individual needs.

Which is really correct ? Most likely both because each antique
mall's circumstances differ. However, it is an area to think
seriously about because sales of merchandise has such a
profound impact upon your mall business. We'll talk more about
this in future editions.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Selling on the Internet

Many antique malls have added selling on the internet to their
bag of selling tricks. Selling on the internet can be financially
rewarding and help to move locally stagnant merchandise. Just
because merchandise is locally stagnant doesn't mean it's
undesirable or that there is anything wrong with it. It's just that
the right buyer hasn't been exposed to it.

Selling on the internet can take many forms. Selling can be
through web site stores such as those found on TIAS, Collector
on Line or Amazon Z-shops. Auctions such as eBay, Amazon or
Yahoo are very active players or you can have your own unique
web site. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

There is also a remarkable level of work involved. You either have
to do the work yourself or designate or hire someone to do it for
you. In any case, the daily chores involved must be carried out
quickly, efficiently and accurately if the venture is going to work.
And, there are times when a relatively low percentage of the stuff
posted sells.

You or your designee must determine what merchandise is to be
included, select it, adjust prices as necessary, photograph it,
generate descriptions, prepare the detailed listing information,
select the selling venue, monitor the selling venue, determine a
payment policy, determine a returns policy, pack and ship the
merchandise, process returns and especially, be alert for fraud.

Certainly, selling on the internet can be a positive addition to your
sales bag of tricks. You do, however, need to be very well
organized and methodical to make it worthwhile. We will talk more
about the details of selling on the net in future articles.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Web Site Store Front

Have you considered establishing a web site store front to
compliment your bricks and mortar operation ? If you haven't,
perhaps you should.

A "bricks and mortar" antique or craft mall has significant
advantages, if they are properly exploited. And, like it or not, an
internet store has some advantages of its own. And, some of the
disadvantages associated with internet store fronts can be
substantially overcome.

One major advantage enjoyed by an internet store front is the
virtually instantaneous world wide exposure of the merchandise
you place on it. With excellent photographs, anyone looking for
the merchandise you are offering can very quickly tell whether
they have an interest in it. They can then contact you by email
or telephone to establish their level of interest and perhaps
purchase the object.

What we're talking about here is supplementing the sales at your
antique mall, not supplanting it. All antique malls have lost at
least some dealers to the lure of the internet. Many of those
dealers (literally your customers) have discovered that tending
their internet store fronts and auctions is work -- lots of work.
Frequently it doesn't leave a lot of time for doing what dealers
really like to do -- buy, kabitz and socialize. So they are
interested in having the work done for them.

The internet store business is changing and becoming much
more sophisticated -- and easier to use. Three notable examples
of this are TIAS.com (http://www.tias.com), Collector on Line
(http://www.collectoronline.com) and Ruby Lane. With the positive
changes they are implementing, it is becoming vastly easier to
add an internet capability to your bricks and mortar antique mall.

The net result is that you can serve your dealers better, reattract
those dealers who went solo online, create more traffic for your
bricks and mortar mall, find new high quality customers and
increase your revenue.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Key to More Sales

So, just what is the key to more sales ? As is true of so many
things, there is no one answer to this question. It may be quite
instructive, however, to look at why sales do not occur. Then,
perhaps, we can draw some conclusions about what to do to
overcome the issues which inhibit or prevent sales.

The first four issues I have included are part of a list proposed
some time ago by master sales trainer Zig Ziglar. The last four I
added based upon my long term knowledge of the antiques
business. The issues are:
• No need
• No money
• No hurry
• No trust
• No knowledge
• No availability
• Non-competitive pricing
• Competing choices

The following reasons are the most significant reasons why sales
do not occur.

No need

No one really "needs" antiques. For the most part, they don't feed
or shelter us. They don't keep us clothed or warm. Antiques
fulfill other, mainly psychological, needs and are, therefore,
something we want rather than need. Advertise and sell antiques,
and crafts too, where the people who want them congregate,
either literally or figuratively.

No money

In today's market, it can be difficult to find qualified buyers for
less than the very best premium merchandise. When you do, it
may be necessary to make buying easy. That is, you may have
to accept checks, provide for layaways, and accept various credit
cards.

No hurry

For the most part, if the merchandise you are offering is of
sufficient quality, rarity and desirability there will be little tendency
to dither. Lesser merchandise will invite "shopping" and the
customer may not return for it so you need to make the sale NOW.
Limited time only deals or similar ploys may help here.

No trust

This is a major issue. Your strong reputation and extensive
knowledge of the merchandise you carry will help you here.
Guarantees are essential if the merchandise is expensive and
reproductions in the field are known to exist.

No knowledge

You might well argue that a customer shouldn't be purchasing
merchandise he knows nothing about. You would be correct but
somewhat unrealistic. Some effective antidotes are to maintain
copies of articles by known experts, maintain an in house library
and provide seminars by experts.

No availability

Its really hard to sell anything to even the most financially capable,
knowledgeable customer if you don't have it available. This points
up the critical importance of having great dealers in your mall. It
also highlights the importance of having an excellent business model
and business plan as well as a superb implementation strategy.

Non-competitive pricing

Even the most fanatic collector won't purchase merchandise
which is grossly overpriced. Once again, the critical importance
of having great dealers in your mall becomes apparent. They
are inevitably skilled at both buying and pricing exceptional quality
merchandise. And, they have access to collections and merchandise
ordinary dealers cannot obtain.

Competing choices

If there are other things which attract the attention and interest
of a customer, they will, of course, compete with what you are
trying to sell. Your job is to demonstrate why the choice you have
to offer is the better one. Your knowledge about rarity, condition,
desirability and value then become very important in the decision
making process.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Sales Tips published on this page are all copyright by
David P. Cunningham, P.E. and may not be reproduced in any form
or media without the express written permission of David P. Cunningham, P.E.

[Home] [Mailing List] [Publications] [About Us] [Contact Us] [Product Info] [Value] [Site Map]
[Site Purpose] [Support Policy] [Feedback] [What's New] [Privacy Policy] [Order Form]

Send mail to sos@carbonpower.net with questions or comments about this web site
Copyright (c) 2007 Software Gallery, LLC
Last modified November 2007