Yes, You Do Sell Hope as a Retailer | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

You know when I do sales training, I'll often ask individuals, "So, tell me what you sell?" And people will go through, and they'll tell me the specifics of "Oh, we sell electronics, or we sell speakers, or we sell apparel" et cetera. And I keep going through until invariably somebody realizes, "Well, no, what I really sell is hope." And that's exactly right. You know whoever is coming in your doors is coming in in a hopeful way. It's rare for somebody to go into a retail store and say, "Oh, I just got fired, and I'm having incredible losses. I want to come in and spend money." They don't.

So if you're just curious why today did she walk in the door? Why today did that guy come in here? And you think, "Oh, well, maybe he lost 50 pounds because he got on a diet or maybe he got a divorce, and he's going through and living a new life. He wants to get a new wardrobe," or a million things. But if you're just curious about them, you understand that people who are hopeful, who meet hopeful associates spend more. It's that simple. You sell hope whoever is coming in your doors. And as long as you keep that in your head you know what? You realize the party's in the aisles, it's not behind the counter.

If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!