TALKING POINTS
For example, if they have told you they are looking for a bike as part of a weight-loss plan, then start your sentences “Once you are cycling regularly...” or “As soon as you achieve that fitness level...” This shows you understand them, you believe in them, you buy into their dream. If they show interest in the prints of touring bikes on your walls, reveal that these photos were taken by customers who cycled the very same model of bike around the world last year. Even if your customer is buying the bike for commuting, they now feel they are buying into the dream of being able to cycle it around the world – who knows, maybe they will!
Don’t fall at the last hurdle Finally, don’t lose the sale at the last minute by making the customer do all the work. Don’t leave an awkward silence, which forces the customer to say “I can’t decide now, I might come back,” and definitely don’t jump in and say anything as blunt as “so, do you want it?” Make it easy for them to say yes, smooth the way. At the right time, say something like “I’m so glad you like it” or “from what you’ve told me it’s just perfect for you, what do you think?”
A three-step consultation
1. Have a few opening questions ready. For example: “Where do you work?” and “Where do you live?” These are great questions to get to know the customer
better, and pick up clues about their personality, their life, their likes and dislikes.
2. Create a simple consultation process. Be open with the customer about this. For example: “I’d like to ask a few more questions, this will help us to narrow down the options and show you exactly the right bikes. Is that okay with you?” Then ask questions like: “What will you use your new bike for? Anything else? And what else? What do you dislike about your current bike?”
3. Once you have learnt about the customer and worked out roughly their requirements, you will need a simple menu, or a palette of options, so that you can deliver your recommendations. In Bicycleworks stores, we walk the customer through the relevant options and accessories in our online bike builder, having first chosen broadly the model which best suits their needs.
After implementing this system, we have seen our average sale value jump from £650 to £800, simply because we are asking the right questions and offering genuinely useful, worthwhile upgrades and upsells.
Jake Voelcker set up a small bike repair workshop in Bristol in 2008. The business grew, and in 2015 he launched his own bike brand, Bristol Bicycles, designed and built right here in the UK. Voelcker is now franchising this model to other cities in the UK, and currently has shops in Brighton and Bath. He is now actively seeking partner shops in other UK cities. n
www.bikebiz.com
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