This morning I took my daughter into a computer store (click here) near to where I live. Our objective was to buy a PayStation 2 game suitable for a 5 year old. It was the first time I’d been in this particular store, and was really impressed with the layout and merchandising. It also had one of the biggest collection of PlayStation games I’d seen. (also keep in mind that PSP was launched in South Africa this weekend)
When I asked the company rep standing next to the games if he was the PlayStation Game Guru? He said it was his department. I then asked him for a game for my 5 year old daughter, and he confessed that he didn’t play PlayStation games. All his games where PC games, and that I’d be hard pressed finding someone in the store who could help with info on PlayStation games for 5 yearl olds.
So we ended up buying a game with the little bit of wisdom and intellegence available between the 3 of us. Turns out it’s a pretty shoddy game and neither I nor my 5 year old daughter are impressed.
Nothing left to add. It’s pretty self evident what my next paragraph might say….
Looking for Incredible Intelligence
Sound as if incredible it wasn’t…
I’m just wondering why you don’t mention Incredible Connection by name? Can I put their logo on this post?
Why do you ask that question Graeme? What is the rule on the internet on using a corporate logo? The old style way would be for the company mentioned to threaten you. Hopefully the company in a Connection Economy will be grateful for this type of feedback?
Hopefully companies in the Connection Economy know how to find this feedback!
This is interesting. We usually expect people to be overly friendly when we want to buy something from them, but if a stranger in the street doesn’t greet us we’re not too worried about it. Do we thus request friendliness and helpfulness only from those we want to do business with and not from everyone in every situation?
Well, I do admit it makes sense to be friendly towards customers (we are entering a Connection Economy after all Gerrit!), but a salesperson must be cautions of putting up a fake smile and overcompensated greeting. I want credibility from the person I ask a question of (refer to Barrie’s PSP-buying experience) and I need honesty. How wonderful isn’t it when a salesman WARN you against a product on his shelf (and give an alternative)! I also don’t mind if sales-people at least show interest in what I’m buying and make me feel “at home”.
For instance, your best guesthouses, country estates and similiar accommodation facilities are those where the staff make you feel like a friend and not just like another “valued customer”. They show honest interest and remember your interests.
It is interesting. A few years ago, I used to work for Microsoft and we had a major problem in getting the Inredible COnnection staff to sell our products effectively. As a result we actually trained students to do demos in store and made them highly knowledgeable on the MS products. As a result, we sold plenty of stock. The problem often is how these guys are incentivised. So, case in point last week the PSP launched so all the incentives were probably on that and not on 5 year olds games.
Also, i agree with Graeme, it is about passion. These guys in the store need to eat, sleep, breathe etc etc the PC/Playstation experience, but probably get paid so poorly that they could never afford to own a PS2.
There are so many areas in personal selling that need to be looked at, too much to comment here suffice to say that, it is often about the wrong people in the wrong job, we often look at salespeople as the lowest rung on the ladder when, in any organisation, they can be the very essence of your business. Why do the customer facing jobs often get paid the worst i.e. receptionists, police men, firemen, sales people etc etc
We’re giving these poor salespeople such a hard time! When I believe the problem starts at the top. If management were absolutely passionate about their business, THEY would eat, sleep and breathe it. And this would result in them either attracting people who also ate, slept and breathed the same passion or specifically looking for people who were the same.
So to say that salespeople don’t have the passion because they’re paid poorly has nothing to do with it.
Get the culture right at the highest level and it seeps its way through the entire organisation until even the receptionist could sell you a pc, printer and related gizmos with one hand tied behind her back.
Find the real source of the problem. And start there.