In life, valuable lessons don’t come from textbooks or schools; but from life itself. This tiny story which is a small part of my life has not only taught me so much; but also has helped me figure out how much better I can be as a person; and how much better our business can be if we were to give this a careful thought.
I’m going to talk about a rep in Krishna Jewellers in Commercial Street, About a rep specifically by name Sumer. Why am I being so specific? That’s the whole bloody point! That’s the entire point as to why I’m writing this.
Sumer (2nd From right – sitting)
The Typical Tough Customer
My (Business)Partner Vathsala is one Gold Addict. She can’t resist new designs; she can’t resist gold discounts, and she can’t resist extra cash in hand when she knows that gold can be bought with it. That is the reason why she keeps visiting gold shops at least twice a month to keep herself ‘updated‘ with the newer designs and trends (Gawddd I thought one only needs to be updated with the smartphone features and releases). And unfortunately; I become the driver for this cruel and senseless trip.
This is how one fine day we entered Krishna Jewellers at Commercial Street in Bangalore. Since Vathsala was looking for Gold necklaces she was sent to second floor and we were attended by Sumer. What caught me off guard was his smile. It wasn’t that plastic smile that someone puts on with force to get his job done; it was this mild happy feel smile which didn’t involve his teeth.
Profiling the Customer with a Smile!
He got us to sit; got us comfortable and asked Vathsala what she wanted. (I wonder if she ever knew what she wanted every time she walked into a shop). These are the times when you are given the glimpse of immeasurable depth of materialistic desires girls have and unexplain-able expectations which goes beyond the capacity of a man’s capacity of understanding. Sumer went on pulling necklaces one by one till racks in multiples became empty; and Vathsala was in search of racks that still had jewelry left. In fact there were customers who were waiting for Vathsala to reject some so they could see the same.
During all this; I didn’t see Sumer break a sweat. He kept his calm; he really- really understood way this girl worked and most probably he could recognize a prospective client and not a customer. Throughout his effort of pulling and putting the jewelry back; he continued offering suggestions which might not have helped her in choosing the right one; but at least rejecting the wrong ones.
Not only did he pay attention to the faces she made after seeing the designs; he learnt from it and improved the selections that he brought down to show her. In between, he was also able to pay attention to the conversations we both were having and he figured we were hungry and haven’t had lunch, so he called in a boy and got us a sandwich without our consent. I told myself ‘You’re feeding the dragon thats gonna eat you next?‘
After a long ‘nah, aha, wow, yuck and awesome’s’ she finalized on a set and purchased it. The sale was made. That entire time I was only focused on the ‘Buying Experience‘ Vathsala was having.
After this purchase; Vathsala hasn’t been to any other shop. She walks into this shop and asks for Sumer. Sumer not only helps her to get right design; but is able to sell her 1.5 times her budget in less than 1/4th of the time he took during our first visit with which she walked into the store; and she is happy when she is making that purchase. He also makes sure to keep me entertained as I usually encourage Vathsala to walk out. In return Vathsala passed on the references of the shop to handful of her friends; and I’m sure they went in asking for the same rep. There was one time when we walked into shop and found that he was off on a leave; so Vathsala decided to come back again; so profound is his presence for a sale to be done.
All of this makes me wonder! Wonder how a simple behavior could alter an entire business. How a true smile could keep bringing a customer back again and again just so that they can have that experience. It makes me wonder if these traits are the ones that people are born with; or if it could be taught?
Do you have a Sumer in your business? if not; its time to search for one. This is the guy who will make a difference of heaven and earth for your customer.
[ A re-post from my blog iamsameer ]
