For this part in the assignment I have to interview three to four individuals and ask them how sales people influence purchases? As I work in sales this question really interests me as I want to see if the answers reflect what I am taught to do in a day to day basis at work. I want to find out if our environment has any impact on what we buy from the interiors of how a shop is laid out to how people are approached by customers. I firstly did a mind map to think of what questions to ask. As the interview has to be in a semi-structured format I'm planning some of the questions and areas I want to explore but keeping my questions quite general. Using the service prototype tool I will then observe and interact in a shopping situation and observe how people interact with sales people.
Brainstorming questions to ask (above)
ACTIVITY 4C
Recently I have been interviewing people asking them how sales people influence purchases? Over all of the interviews one thing cropped up every time- the sales people need to be knowledgeable about what they are selling to the consumer and also take an interest in what the customer is wanting if not the customer might not take what they are saying into consideration. Many are often put off buying when they feel pressured into a product by the sales person. One interviewee said "some sales people are just trying to reach their sales target for the day and really don't care for what the customer is wanting, they prefer to sell more expensive items which they might not want." This may be true in some companies as pressure to make sales is high but sales people need to act in a approachable and friendly manner or they may not get the sale as customers are put off with feeling forced into a sale. Two of the interviewee's work in sales and both are aware when someone is just trying to get money in the till which puts them off as they know how the sales business works.
When asked "what influences you when out shopping?" The majority are influenced by price, advertisement and special promotions. This maybe because it is what everyone else is into such as a fashion so many may want to fit in with society. When looking at the price of something most people look for a good deal or bargain as they may feel that they have spent their money wisely as it could have cost them much more a couple of weeks back so there is a feeling of achievement.
When researching this further I found an interesting website that found that designing a website into categories influences people to impulse buy when shopping online so maybe this works in shops as well to sell more as people are aware of different things to buy such as if you were looking to buy a bikini for their holiday, you go into a shop to buy that but then beside it are sun glasses- you need those too (even though that isn't what you originally went for) so you may as well get them too. Sales people could also use this to get more sales by asking customers if they have certain items which relates to what they are buying.
Sales people need to be enthusiastic and believable about what they are selling to show the customer that they have a common interest in what they are selling to you. One interviewee described it as someone who is " on the same wave length as them." This is so that the customer can relate to the seller therefore feels more at ease to what they are buying.
As I work in sales I was able to watch some of the people without them assuming that I was analysing what they were doing, how they were interacting with the customers, etc. This is a research technique called prototyping which is used to observe a service by watching the interaction between the user of the service in the place, situation and condition of where the service actually exist. When analysing the situation I became aware that one person who specialises in customer service would approach certain customers but not others. When I interviewed her afterwards I asked her what her duties where when on customer service? She replied "to approach customers and either say hello or can I help you with anything?" I asked her why she didn't approach everyone and her reasons were that there are 3 different types of customers ones who are browsing but not buying, one who is looking for something in particular and one who is unsure of what they are wanting to buy. I feel that she may not have approached everyone as some people looked as if they were just browsing or their body language showed that they don't want to be approached. I feel that as a sales person you can usually sense if the customer wants to be approached or wants to be left alone to shop. One customer approached the employee and asked for a shoe in a different size which wasn't displayed, the employee then went up to the stock room to look for a different size, as there were no more in that style the employee offered an alternative shoe which she described as being " very fashionable and new to the summer collection" This makes the customer feel as if the shoes are very now in the fashion world and will be in trend for the summer months. This shows that the colleague is very knowledgeable and knows what fashions are on trend. The customer then bought these shoes- this shows that sales assistants can influence purchases as they have more knowledgeable in the products.
Overall I feel that sales people can influence customers quite a lot but the sales person must be knowledgeable about what they are selling, friendly and relatable to their target market.
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