Creating showrooms to enhance sales

Office World News, Jun 2000 by Wallace, Bill

One of the first (and perhaps the most valuable) lessons I learned in more than 20 ears of selling office equipment is that you seldom get a second chance 1to make a good first impression.

Most customers will look long and hard at the office equipment they are considering purchasing. They will compare prices and quality. They will want assurance that its performance will meet their needs.

But ultimately, one factor will impact the buying decision more than any other, namely, that first impression. If the customer comes away from that initial meeting saying, "This company understands and genuinely cares about my needs, and will be there for me in the future," you are well on your way toward making the sale.

Obviously, the level of trust and comfort created in that first meeting depends, in large part, on the skill of the sales representative in inspiring a sense of confidence in the prospective customer. Tha certainly argues for carefully choosing your sales team and then making certain those executives possess both a thorough knowledge of the equipment they are selling, and the necessary "people skills" that will make the sale happen.

The company can also provide immeasurable support by setting up a showroom that fully complements the groundwork being laid by the sales team. Like the best traits exhibited by sales professionals, a good showroom should convey integrity and trust, a sense that this is a solid company that the customer can count on year in and year out to provide effective solutions to his or her office equipment needs.

Some office equipment companies will argue that the investment needed to create a first-rate showroom translates into pure overhead that can never be made back and that does little to advance the sale. There's no two ways about it. They are wrong.

Remember, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. And a showroom that says to the customer, "You're in the right place. This is a company with whom you should be doing business," can spell the difference between successful sale and a missed opportunity.

At my own company, Action Business Systems, the success rate for sales when the prospective customer comes into the showroom for a product demo stration is better than 90 percent. Other companies I have spoken to regarding this issue report similarly high levels of success.

Let's face facts. When a potential customer agrees to come into the showroom, you already have passed the first, and perhaps most difficult, hurdle. You have made that positive first impression.

Now, the customer wants to take this budding relationship to the next level. He or she wants to know if the positive impression created by the sales representative is consistent with the image of the company as a whole (or if, perhaps, the sales exec is working for the wrong office equipment dealer).

This is the "touchy, feely" part of building the customer relationship. The prospective customer wants to see what this company is all about. He or she wants to be confident that the dealership will be there to offer solutions to their office equipment needs. The potential customer also wants the opportunity to "kick the tires," so to speak, and make sure this dealer really does what it promises to do.

The bottom Line here is comfort. Does the prospective customer feel comfortable that he or she has made the right decision, not just in terms of equipment, but also in terms of the company that will be there to back-up that purchase.

So clearly, the showroom can, and should, play a major role in creating that level of comfort and ultimately in influencing the buying decision. What can you do to make certain your showroom is fully functioning as a tool that can drive sales, while imbuing current customers, prospects, and even your staff with a feeling that this is a great dealership that is dependable and worthy of their investment?

While every showroom is different and rightfully should reflect the personality of the company, here are a number of suggestions that will prove helpful in maximizing the selling ability of your showroom.

LOCATION

In real estate, the maxim is always location, location, location. The same is true in the office equipment industry. It makes a huge difference to the going-in perception that a prospect will have of your company if it is located in a high profile site, versus a nondescript or out-of-the-way office park. A high visibility site offers the added benefit of creating top-of-mind awareness of the company to all passers-by. Thus, a site adjacent to a major thoroughfare may be preferable to a site tucked away in the woods (unless your customer base is heavily dependent on environmentalists).

Ease of accessibility is also extremely important. No one will want to drive out of the way just to look at office equipment. There are simply too many other companies out there that offer equipment that, at least to the prospective buyer, is comparable. Don't put impediments in the way which make it difficult for customers to get to you, resulting in an unintended negative impact on sales.