This year’s winners of the ERT Weekly/Black Horse Take a Town competition were awarded their prizes at a special lunch event in Mayfair recently.

Take a Town is featured every month in ERT Weekly. The annual Take a Town awards are presented to the best independent and multiple outlet salespeople, plus the person who gives the best demonstration, discovered by our mystery shopper, every month.

Winners' names go forward for an annual presentation of national awards for the best outlets visited during the year.

After the winners of this year’s Take a Town had received their prizes and enjoyed their ‘victory lunch’, they conducted a round table discussion on successful selling in the electrical retail industry.

The Independent category was won by Gavin Sykes from Bang & Olufsen in Lincoln, while Bristol Sony Centre’s Vicky Brice was named runner up.

Third prize was awarded to Ian Wilson from Youngs Cameras in Peterborough.

Meanwhile, in the Multiples division, Karen Berry from Telford’s House of Fraser walked away with first prize.

Nigel Crouch of Comet, Ashford came second and Sahuja Siddiqui, who works in the white goods electrical department at Milton Keynes’s John Lewis, was in third place.

All six winners received framed certificates and vouchers entitling them to a ‘red letter day’.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Michael Clark from B & O, said: “It’s great to be recognised nationally for good practice and it’s pleasing that we’re obviously doing the right things and creating the right environment for our customers.

“Our customers are very discerning and expect the very best in customer service.  They face mediocrity every day with general retailing.  That is a sweeping generalisation, but there is a great deal of truth in it.

“We have to be five times better that anyone else, as we’re selling a product that’s five times more expensive. 

“If someone says ‘we’re just looking’, we see it as a failure.  We try to engage in small talk – schmoozing as we call it in Denmark - and develop a rapport to make people feel at ease. 

“Then they will raise the questions of why they’re in our shop - but only if we managed to communicate with the individual, because at the end of the day we’re all human. 

“We all buy from people.  If they don’t like us, it doesn’t matter how great the store looks or how great the product is, they’ll go elsewhere or buy a different brand.”

Sahuja Siddiqui of John Lewis, Milton Keynes, said: “I was elated at being runner up in the national award, though I must admit it took a while to sink in.

”To anyone who works in a sales environment I would just like to say to be the best, you have to really enjoy and take pride in what you do.

“It's also important to be focused and to know your goals. Let your customers know you enjoy your job and try to make their shopping experience a memorable one.

“Finally, perhaps the most important thing is to have a strong grasp of the basics, because if you have the basics right then everything else will usually fall into place. Look after your customers and they will keep coming back to you.”

Bristol Sony Centre’s Vicky Brice, added:  “I was very pleased to come second. It was totally unexpected.  I felt very proud and satisfied that I have been doing a good job and that it has been recognised. 

“In my opinion the best sales people are the people who listen to the customer.  It is about asking the right questions and guiding the customer to the products that would suit them best.

“I don’t believe in pushing the customer towards products, even if they come in not knowing much about the products they always have an idea about what they want them to be able to do. 
“Dedicate as much time as you can to a customer and don’t rush them. Never dismiss a customer because of the way they look they will surprise you.”

This year’s round table participants were:-

Karen Berry: House of Fraser, Telford
Michael Clark: (representing winner Gavin Sykes), Bang & Olufsen, Lincoln
Vicky Brice: Sony Centre, Bristol
Sahuja Siddiqui: John Lewis white goods electrical department, Milton Keynes
Nigel Crouch: Comet, Ashford
Ian Wilson: Youngs Cameras, Peterborough
Kevin Hughes: Black Horse, national business manager
Gary Mitchell: Black Horse, marketing manager
Daniel Fay: ERT Weekly, senior sales executive
Sean Hannam: ERT Weekly online editor
ERT Weekly Mystery Shopper

Here are some of the highlights of the Round Table:-

Mystery Shopper: Some of the multiples such as Currys and PC World seem to have lost the plot in selling and they blame it on not being paid commission, but Comet isn’t paid commission and I’ve noticed how good their service has become recently - the staff are much more attentive. There has been a real seachange since the beginning of the year. Would you agree Nigel?

Nigel: Yes, this is to do with the ‘deliberate customer journey’, which is now part of our training. After a certain amount of time we are supposed to approach customers and ask “have you found what you’re looking for? Are you being attended to?” and then go from there. We help them find what they’re looking for and make sure the product meets their needs and requirements.

Mystery Shopper: I went to Canterbury recently and noticed the same thing with the Comet there, including how smart the salespeople looked. Is this part of the policy too – to look good?

Nigel: Yes we have to wear the same shirt, same tie, it’s all part of the company image.

Sean: I think Comet has approached it from an Independent’s point of view. They invest a lot in training so they are like a multiple but with all the product knowledge of an independent.
They combine the best of both worlds and I don’t think any of the other multiples have followed suit yet.

Karen: A large emphasis of our (House of Fraser’s) policy is on customer service and we go through an awful lot of training. We like to approach customers within a certain amount of time, but I don’t jump on people straight away as I don’t like that happening to me. If it’s too quick it can put them off and ruin everything. You have to get your timing right. I often just acknowledge them, say good morning and then, when you feel you’ve left them long enough, ask them if they would like any help. Alternately, if you leave it too long, they’ll have enough and leave.

Mystery Shopper: So how important is the appearance of a store? I went to an electrical shop in Watford recently and in the white goods section it looked like merchandise had been deliberately distressed. There were marks on the appliances, labels ripped or hanging off and so on.

Dan: That’s terrible. As a consumer, even if you’re just looking for a £300 fridge, you still want it to look nice. You stand in front of an appliance and think “Do I want this in my kitchen?”, and if it looks beaten up or messy the answer will be no.

Kevin: I agree. People will definitely buy presentation like they buy a brand. If you dress it up in a way that is attractive to the consumer you’re much more likely to make sale. It’s like staff, if they look untidy or scruffy, your confidence as a consumer drops immediately.

Mystery Shopper: Exactly, you really do get a huge lift as a consumer when everything looks neat and the staff look smart and comfortable in their attire. 

Michael: Ultimately it’s all about people as that’s what we’re dealing with all day. If anyone responds to my sales staff with “I’m just looking”, then they’ve failed.
I know it’s the immediate response from most people in any store, but usually they’re not just looking and they have come in for a reason. So our aim is to evoke some kind of conversation. Sales staff need to try and connect with their customers on a personal level. Even if you just ask them whether they managed to get a park OK and take it from there.

Dan: Some people want to be approached and some don’t, but it’s just about realising this and breaking down any barriers.

Ian: You’re right, a lot of customers put up barriers but you have to try and break them down. Making a joke is often a quick way to break down a barrier, although some people you can joke with and some you can’t. You quickly work out which one a consumer is.

Karen: I find you can look at somebody and straight away tell what you can get away with.

Sahuja: We have a policy in John Lewis that we must acknowledge every customer after two minutes of them walking into the store. Then we leave them for a bit and come back. As individuals we try our best to make the customer at ease and make their shopping experience as good as possible. To me, about 80 percent listening and 20 percent talking usually works best.

Vicky: I agree, we have a number of customers that come in and say: “We’ve been told we need this and that, but the sales staff have just spoken at us rather than listening to our needs.”
Too many salespeople make the mistake of telling consumers what they need rather than actually listening to them and suggesting an alternative, more suitable option.

Sahuja: We have had people come to us and say “we come here because the staff listen and they know what they’re talking about. We don’t want to go to a store where the staff just waffle on.
“Another thing is that too many sales staff start looking at their clocks at 7.55pm (five mins before closing) and are mentally preparing to go home. They don’t want to push a sale in case it takes longer than five minutes to close. But if a customer comes in at this time, they have probably come in for a reason, so it is worth spending time with them.

 To see more pictures from the Take a Town Awards lunch, please visit our gallery at:  http://www.ertweekly.com/take-a-town-gallery.html