AGENT PROVOCATEUR


The Jean Genie D


uring my formative years I spent many hours training. This was organised mainly through the DITB (Distributive Industries Training Board – now defunct) and I remember a set of films (no not silent black and white I’m not that old!)


called “The Meeting of the Minds”. The films were fronted by non other than John Cleese as the shop keeper. He was dressed in a brown overall and he had to get inside the minds of different and difficult customers such as “Mrs Rabbit”, “Mr Timid” and of course Mr “Grumpy”. These short films would enable a salesman to understand the customers needs, and above all listen to what they really wanted so they would be happy with their purchase and shop with them again. ‘But that’s obvious’, I hear you cry. ‘We want brilliant designs, in quality materials, at rock bottom prices with high margins’….yes well we all want the impossible, (I would like a new Audi, holiday home in the Seychelles and Charleze Theron to come home to – ouch, should not have let my wife see this) so there goes another pink pig flying past your shop front. Nowadays supermarkets still rely on


psychological tactics, but smaller retailers are often oblivious of the tactics employed to lure consumers and are guilty of neglecting salesmanship and training in the assumption that it comes naturally and is obvious. Well it doesn’t and it isn’t, for most people it has to be taught. But it does take one into dangerous waters, often honing in on an employees, bad habits, their looks, their inadequacies – possibly even their smell! An employee is the most important selling tool above window dressing, instore décor and even stock…yes really. If staff are presentable, polite, eager to serve, long suffering, knowledgeable and generally appreciated they will put on a happy front and make the shopping experience memorable. If they are able to talk the talk, then they will be less inclined to let consumers walk the walk…usually out of the door! Those films are as relevant today as they have always been and therefore my plea this month is for retailers to start thinking about their staff and their assets and shortcomings. What sort of reception the public receives when they first walk instore? Do you bother to give any staff training? Do you discuss the stock you have purchased and what you have on the shelf? Do you ask your staff what customers are generally asking for and why they didn’t sell certain lines? They need to understand and help people and you need to understand and help them. This is the key to selling.


14 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • JUNE/JULY 2012


Not all questions are easily resolved however, and you cannot


please all of the people all of the time. Even professional training cannot answer every question and this was borne out at the weekend. I was fortunate enough to attend the wedding of some very good friends in Sussex and on the morning of the wedding had a nice stroll on the beach at Selsey Bill with Dan the groom. As we walked along the shoreline he stumbled across a very strange looking bottle that was all misted up by the salt in the water and had probably been bobbing around in the ocean for years. Giving it a bit of a rub to see what was inside the cork popped open and low and behold a Genie appeared and said to Dan, “I am the Genie of the shoe industry and I grant you one wish”


I was fortunate enough to attend the wedding of some very good friends in Sussex and on the morning of the wedding had a nice stroll on the beach at Selsey Bill with Dan the groom. As we walked along the shoreline he stumbled across a very strange looking bottle that was all misted up by the salt in the water and had probably been bobbing around in the ocean for years.


(most Genies offer three wishes, but I suppose because he was the Genie of the shoe trade, one would have to do), so Dan thought hard and asked, “As I am getting married today and my wife is really scared of flying I would love to take her to the Maldives for our honeymoon. Could you build me a road that goes from Selsey Bill to our hotel in the Maldives so Sian wont have to get on a plane? But the Genie said “I told you that I am the Genie of the shoe trade and this is just too hard for me, I just won’t be able to do it, it’s impossible’. The genie said, ‘I will give you another chance as I am lacking, please have another wish’. So thinking again Dan said, “Well as I am getting married today I would like to understand what goes on in a women’s mind”. I immediately thought back to all those training courses and had never seen a film that answered this question. The Genie looked pensive for a minute or two, scratched his chin and gave his little beard a tug then said to Dan, “That road you wanted, do you want single carriageway or dual carriageway?


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