No Thanks, I'm Just Looking

something extra you might like, too. May I show it to you?

I have something that you will absolutely love. May I show it to you?

This will convey a helpful, caring feeling to the customer, rather than a pushy, “I want to sell you something else”–type feeling. As you are asking permission, you want to explain why you don't have the item requested and why you feel you have an alternative the customer might like. I like to blame it on the buyers:

this point, ask the customer's permission to show an alternative.

When a customer suggests that he wants a particular brand that you do not carry, ask the question, “Which model (style, etc.)?” You can discover whether the customer has been looking and is committed to finding the best possible price or if he is open to other possibilities.

In the event that you do not carry the brand, in order to successfully switch the customer without seeming pushy, there are several steps that you should follow:
1. After finding out what the customer wants, ask why he wants the particular item. Remember, if he mentions a brand or item you don't carry, ask which model and style anyway. Knowing the answer to this question is the key to switching. After the customer answers your question, you must give a supportive response to confirm to the customer that you were listening and that you care. Remember, support builds trust.

little, if any, need for salespeople on the floor if all they had to do was show the items requested. If that were the case, you'd be working in a grocery store. Think about it. No shopper in a grocery store ever walked up to some stock person and asked if she could get bigger peas or carrots that were a little more orange! The only reason salespeople are needed to begin with is that stores generally carry merchandise that not everyone wants!

You want to discover what your customer wants, then why he wants it, and then more specifically which item he wants.

store? And I will ask that question. Yes, I actually will ask, “Why didn't you buy it?” It's not too aggressive if you ask with a lot of concern. But I want to know why the customer didn't go for it in the other store, so I make sure it doesn't happen in mine. It's essential. In number 2, you continue the probing process with a question like, “What do you think your husband would like best?” This wording is better than asking what she wants to get him. Put the burden on the recipient, who usually wants a better gift than the giver would have thought of.

Your customer will give you one of two possible answers:
1. I saw a down the street (or something similar).
OR
2. I haven't looked (or I just started shopping).
In number 1, my question is, why didn't the customer buy at the other