Recently I went shopping for a pair of dress shoes for my wedding. In part 1 I discussed a very poor experience at the first store I visited where the salesperson’s lack of attunement ended up driving me away and losing the sale. I was discouraged at this point because it seemed like I was going to have a really hard time finding a pair of shoes that I liked in my price range. After a quick look at the map, I found another shoe store close by. In fact, It was a store that the first salesman had mentioned were low quality cheap shoes. Being a college student with a limited budget, I decided to at least give it a shot.
I walked in and a friendly woman greeted me and asked me what I needed. Immediately I relaxed a little bit. She asked me a few questions about what I was looking for, what the occasion was, and if I had a specific shoe in mind. When I mentioned that I was looking for dress shoes but budget was a concern, she walked me to a clearance section and gave me some time to look around. I was put at ease because she seemed to really listen to the responses I was giving and she gave me time to look at the product without hovering.
I ended up finding a pair that I liked in the regular priced section, when I went up to the counter, instead of immediately ringing me up she asked if my groomsmen had their shoes yet. This was a good move because one of my groomsmen did need shoes and she was able to supply us with a discount if we bought both pair together. Because of my positive experience, I was happy to pick up a pair for my friend. This saleswoman was able to win my business by being personable, helpful, and by asking insightful questions.
In the end I recommended all my other groomsmen to check out their store and would be happy giving them a recommendation to others in the future. Even though these two shoe stores could both have excellent products, management, and physical stores, the salespeople are the point of contact with customers and they have a lot of power to influence buying decisions.
BoweryJE22