Cathy Totten
Lead Sales Advisor
Smile (at your customers), invite (them over) and have fun—that’s Lead Sales Advisor Cathy Totten’s winning approach to running in-store events. This month, we asked her to share some of the best strategies she’s developed over her 12 years as a Sales Advisor with Interactions.
“First, it’s so very important for Sales Advisors to pay attention to safety rules: allergy awareness, glove changing, cleaning your station and so on,” Totten says. “Being aware of safety and having a clean work station is noticed by customers and earns their trust. They don’t hesitate to stop at your cart for a sample and will pass the word to other friends and family to stop and sample, too.
“Second, I always greet each customer with a big inviting smile,” she continues. “Many times you draw people over to sample with just a smile. It helps them feel like they matter. When they grow comfortable with us, then they will always stop, sample, listen and ask questions—and usually purchase.
“Third, Sales Advisors should have fun with their demonstration. Sharing recipes and meal suggestions shows your desire to interact with customers and draws people to your cart,” she says.
As for dealing with customer concerns about ingredients and nutrition information during an in-store event, Totten advises, “The more information we can give them, the more we win their trust. But we have to be honest about the products’ ingredients and share the nutrition information with customers before they sample the product, especially if the product contains known food allergen. [Food allergies] are too serious for us to play doctor with customers’ concerns. Respect that and they will return to your cart another time for another product and buy!”