Monthly Issue
From Home Furnishing Business
December 4,
2015 by in Business Strategy, Industry 
By Tom Zollar
In each of the Coach’s Corner columns, I have touched on many of the things a sales team coach must do and why they should be done. Game planning, goal setting and training—each is critical to the coaching process.
This month I am addressing one of the most important tools a sales manager has to determine what needs to be done on the floor with the sales people to drive sales performance improvement. Unfortunately, much like the goal setting process, this is also one of the most underused aspects of the coaching process.
I say this because of my experience in hundreds of furniture stores where, invariably, the sales manager spends more time in his or her office than on the selling floor where all the action is. The reason given for this is always the same: “I don’t have time.” As stated in previous articles, in order to maximize performance, a sales manager should have time for little else than those things related to high-quality leadership of the sales team. To do that, they must know what is happening when each team member interacts with customers, and there is only one truly reliable way to do that—observation.
The term coaching and the practice of observation go hand-in-hand in any discipline where skills are definable and teachable. The sports analogies are limitless; using them can provide insight into the kind of coaching needed for furniture stores. Imagine a gymnastics or golf coach trying to improve or teach the basic skills to an athlete without watching them perform. How would they know where to start or what to cover without knowing where the person is at in the learning and development process? It simply is not possible.
Yet that is often what happens in furniture stores. The coaches are usually somewhere else doing other “important” things instead of watching the most important action of all. Business is dependent upon the individual skills of salespeople in the process of personal selling. Much of this activity takes place totally outside the view or direct area of influence of a coach. Few ever get to see players in action. This is why the kinds of performance variances exist in stores and tend to surprise us.
When a coach watches an athlete perform, there is usually a game plan in place. Everyone knows their job and the role of the other players. Perhaps one reason that observation for coaching purposes has been so little used in the furniture industry is that there isn’t a game plan in place. That missing game plan could outline how to observe and things to look for.
I have discussed the need to create a game plan and what it should include in previous issues. The plan begins with measurements and understanding the use of them to establish standards of performance in areas like close ratio and average sale. Revenue per up should be used to measure overall effectiveness and efficiency. This information demonstrates who to look at and in many cases what to look for—things like poor opening or closing skills or weak needs analysis.
These numbers are the result of how staff interacts with customers on the floor. In order to improve performance, the part of the game plan that really needs to be focused on when we observe, are the steps sales people are trained to use in the selling process. These behaviors will help them succeed. Are they playing the game by established rules or making up their own with each customer? Observing their actions allows us to provide the coaching, advice, counseling and additional training each person needs to be more effective at helping our customers create the rooms they want to live in.
Here are a few recommendations as starting points in establishing observation strategies:
How to Observe—Two Main Methods
1. Scheduled Time Observation—This gives the manager and the salesperson scheduled one-on-one time and should be used by managers whenever possible, especially with new hires. The salesperson should introduce the manager as an observer who will tag along. Be sure to ask the customer’s permission. If the customer knows who the manager is, all questions will be directed to manager, putting the salesperson in the observer’s role. Ensure the sales person remains the leader of selling process.
2. Ad Hoc Observation for Specific Skills—This method allows the manager to listen for specific things, like greetings, from one or more salespeople. It is a good idea to limit the scope to one or two behaviors at a time, concentrating on a key area of the selling process. This is useful when sales managers are already on the floor doing other things. This method allows managers to observe a lot of people, who are supposed to be doing the same thing in a prescribed manner, in different situations.
Additional Recommendations
· Other than with new hires, the sales manager’s role is to observe, not participate. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do during an observation is to remain silent. Sales people are totally on their own, as they would be if the sales manager weren’t present. This is an opportunity to view the world as it really is. A sales person will likely change some of their behavior with the presence of a sales manager. That’s OK. It helps them learn.
· Never use observation to punish or criticize a salesperson. This should be viewed as a learning exercise during which both the sales manager and salesperson can measure the results against all of the principles and standards of performance you have agreed to in the performance agreement.
· To motivate people, catch them doing something right and let them know it. Positive reinforcement of the right behaviors is extremely effective. If possible, try to have two positive comments for every negative one.
· Schedule at least one observation with each salesperson once per month. People consistently performing below expectations must be scheduled weekly, and new hires require daily observation.
· Provide feedback. Record observations and provide each person with feedback immediately after his or her customer contact ends. Begin the session by asking the sales person for their assessment on what went well and where improvement can be made. Then offer your observations. Always base comments on things that have been taught and are mutually understood. Do not ask for behaviors that have not yet been taught or that are not part of the retailer’s selling process.
· Get out on the floor. Customers like seeing managers and owners on the sales floor showing an interest in what is going on and offering friendly greetings and assistance. On busy days, managers should act as the greeter, meeting as many overflow customers as possible and determining where to send the next available salesperson.
Some managers will walk the floor, meeting as many customers as possible and providing support for salespeople. Simply stopping by and sitting with a salesperson who is working with a customer and being casually introduced by the salesperson can have a tremendous effect on customers. Offering a few supportive words can be a great topper for the salesperson.
This is also a great way to observe what is going on and to be a closer part of the action on the floor. When sales people are accustomed to having a sales manager on the floor a larger portion of the time observing standards of performance set forth in selling strategies, improvement will come.
What to Look For
To know what to observe, simply look for the steps in your store’s selling process. It is all there. Here is a checklist:
Attitude What does the salesperson bring to the door with them? How is their body language? Did they smile? Are they enthusiastic?
Greeting Did they use a proper greeting?
Social Was the salesperson more a person than a salesperson?
Lookers Did the salesperson handle “I’m just looking” properly?
Offer of Assistance Did the salesperson use the proper dialog at the right time?
Establish Trust What dialog was used? Does the salesperson get it?
Sketching Yes, or no?
Presentation Did the salesperson use the sketch? Did he understand product?
Objections Did they use positive reinforcement?
Close Did the salesperson ask of the sale then remain silent?
Client Development Did they forecast follow-up?
June 6,
2014 by in Business Strategy, Industry
Mattresses Have Distinct Training Issues From Other Furniture Categories.
Imagine you’re a customer walking into your bedding department. No matter how well it’s lit, or relaxing the atmosphere, you’re looking at a selection of products with little visual difference. Getting customers to understand why there is a difference is a key to training staff for selling mattresses, whether you have dedicated associates for the department or not. Morris Furniture Co. in Fairborn, Ohio, has been busy opening Better Sleep locations dedicated to the mattress category. Vice President Rob Klaben said the retailer is fortunate to have the one of the best mattress manufacturer reps in the industry who makes sure Morris staff knows current sleep technology and represents its showrooms and their products well. “Since mattress customers make purchase decisions faster than furniture buyers, sales associates need to make sure prospects receive all the right information to buy on their first visit to our showrooms,” he said.
THE CITY WAY
At Florida retailer City Furniture, selling mattresses is all about comfort, support, value and brand. “If someone likes a dining room set, it’s because they like the style,” said President Keith Koenig. “With mattresses, it’s first about comfort, then value, not so much how it looks.” Art Hunt, product specialist at the Tamarac, Fla.-based retailer, handles advanced training for sales associates in all categories, including mattresses. He creates manuals and processes for City’s proprietary training programs. He said stores specializing in mattresses are at a distinct advantage when it comes to training: “That’s all they have to know.”
Many salespeople, Hunt believes, have an ingrained reluctance to get involved in the process of selling a bed. “There’s so much information, and it creates a natural barrier,” he said. “You have a gallery with 50 or 60 beds, and there’s a lot of information to remember, and that’s a mental challenge.” That’s one reason City, which expects all salespeople to sell the entire floor, is moving away from selling on product specifications to concentrating on highlighting support, comfort and better health. It’s a good match with so much of the bedding industry’s marketing the past couple of years, which touts the benefits of a good night’s sleep. “We’re trying to sell someone on the idea of how to improve their health,” Hunt said, adding that product knowledge is still important—just not a starting point for the conversation. “When a customer comes in and asks how many coils a bed has, you still need to know since it’s a relevant fact when building a mattress.” Still, the comfort approach toward selling mattresses has eliminated the challenge a lot of City’s salespeople faced with the category. The training certifies each salesperson on a proprietary two-pronged approach that combines product knowledge with a seven-step sales process. Even though a customer might not sit still for all seven steps, the salesperson has to be certified on each one so he or she can fit the process to individual customers. “We do the sale very conversationally,” Hunt said.
“Are they an all-foam customer, a hybrid coil shopper, etc.” City utilizes a bed-testing area where customers can check the feel, say, of a foam bed vs. a coil mattress. Customers also can check out which pillow they prefer. When it comes to product information, City recognizes that it’s hard to keep specs for 50 or 60 mattresses in one’s head. “We supply a tone of information in our online learning management system on our Intranet,” Hunt said. “Some customers want that information—say an engineer comes in and asks for the indentation load defection of the foam in a bed. The salespeople don’t memorize things like that, but they can access it via the computer in seconds.” While City Furniture sales staff are expected to sell mattresses, each store has a mattress specialist responsible for the overall department, as well as additional training at the store level. In recent months, City Furniture has taken its staff at all stores through off-site training blitzes for vendors including Serta, Sherwood Bedding, Simmons and Tempur Sealy.
“It puts the category front-and-center in everyone’s mind,” Hunt said.
DEDICATED OR NOT
One debate for training in bedding: Should a retailer have dedicated sales staff for the category or not? “It’s a touchy subject,” said Michael Kua, senior consultant for Impact Consulting Services. “It’s an employee-retention and happiness issue. You have people who’ve been with you for many years that might resent losing out on those sales.” sure anyone you have slated to sell mattresses has the ability and drive to do so. “A lot of salespeople at high-end stores don’t like to sell mattresses—it’s not ‘sexy,’” Kua said. Going with a dedicated staff also risks what he called a “sense of betrayal” from lost potential commissions; and dilution of sales in other categories, especially in small to medium-size stores. “If you have 10 people and put two of them selling mattresses, you’ve reduced your sales staff for everything else by 20 percent,” Kua said. “And when you move two of those 10 into bedding, they might be used to getting three or four ups a day, and now they’re down to one or two.
Their opportunity has been reduced financially, and calls for additional training, maybe even more advertising.” The other problem is with training. It’s not as costproductive for the rep to train a couple of dedicated sales people in a full-service store versus the entire sales staff.
“That’s different at a Mattress Firm, where they might sell hundreds of thousands a month with three people,” Kua said. Jerry Epperson, managing director, Mann Armistead & Epperson, Richmond, Va., said dedicated sales staff vs. generalists depends on the store. “If you look at Jordan’s, they have people in lab coats they call ‘sleep technicians’ that the other salespeople send customers to,” he said. “That’s not possible in a smaller store, though.” While City Furniture has “sleep specialists” in each store, the retailer’s business model relies upon salespeople having the knowledge to sell the entire floor. “We, like most furniture stores and good mattress specialists, have an ‘interview’ process,” said President Keith Koenig. “Most people are buying a mattress for themselves, and they’re concerned about getting a good night’s sleep. “People have a lot of sleep issues. The wrong pillow will exacerbate some problems; budge; brand preference; sleep surface preferences—always try several. The mattress customer is self-selecting, but the sales associate is critical to getting them to that point.” (For more on dedicated sales vs. generalists, see the accompanying sidebar, “Dedicated Mattress Staff: Yes or No?”)
IN-STORE DIAGNOSTICS
Bedding vendors such as Kingsdown have developed instore diagnostic systems to help consumers narrow down their mattress choices according to body size, sleep habits (back or side, for example) and other personal preferences. Kingsdown’s retail partners using its program include Art Van, Sleep Fit, Sit n Sleep, Baers Furniture and Mattress Warehouse. The key with such programs is to make sure your staff, first, knows how to use them; and second, can “process” customers on the floor. “Sometimes I think they don’t have enough machines available,” said Kua at Impact. “If you have three customers shopping for a bed, do you want them to be standing in line waiting to be tested? “It’s either part of your process or not. The old fashioned way still works if you don’t have the machine. It does work though, and retailers do need to hold salespeople accountable to use the machine. People do trust what a machine says more, sometimes, than what people are telling them.” City’s Koenig is more confident in the sales process the retailer developed over the years.
“My experience with diagnostic programs over the years is mixed,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything better than trying out a number of mattresses.” If you do choose to use diagnostics, hold your salespeople accountable for putting them to work—and the reps from vendors with such programs. “If you have the diagnostics, reps need to know those stats and tell your sales staff,” Kua said. “What are different comfort levels they’re selling? Make sure they’re running reports on what’s selling in terms of firmness and price points. “Look at bad performers, and see how they can do better.”
WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?
Mattress sales training might demand more qualification than any other category. After all, the customer will be spending a third of her time on this product as long as she owns it. “If someone wanders into the sleep section, you know they’re qualified at the get go,” Kua said. “Ask qualifying questions. Incentivize with (compensation) for hand-holders who bring customers to the mattress department. “If they look at anything in the bedroom category, they’re more qualified.” Are you selling a bed, or are you selling the mystery of sleep? If either, make sure your associates are trained to keep tabs on the mattress department’s appearance. “Watch your floor,” Kua noted. “The most popular mattress might be the dingiest, footprints on the base protector. Change out the cover. Is it really clean compared with the rest of the bed?” Good training helps build tickets because salespeople are better equipped to help customers understand the difference between a $500 mattress and a $2,000 unit that might not look very different on the sales floor. “Anything you lie on in the store is going to feel better than your mattress at home,” Hunt said. “The question is what will it feel like six months
from now.”
June 2,
2014 by in Business Strategy, Industry
Furniture and bedding are both members of the family of home furnishings, but the categories are as different as that second cousin you recently met at the family reunion—not different “weird”, but different “interesting.” If we start at the manufacturing sector, we find bedding companies focused on marketing. That doesn’t mean just the perfunctory catalogs, but also marketing messages aimed at establishing the brand’s unique selling proposition. Before the recent explosion of the new materials that launched the premium bedding sector with price points unheard of prior, there was always the bedding technology with pocketed coils and other innovations from the three “S companies” and others. In comparison, the furniture sector often lacks an emphasis on marketing, speaking not to its consumer, but to its partner, the retailer in the distribution channel. Focusing on magic price points rather than product innovation often leads to a continued reduction in quality, features and other key components of product promotion. For decades we have concentrated on $399 to $499 sofas while other industries, like the automotive sector, have focused on innovation. As a result, the car industry has quadrupled its basic price points. In 1964, my new Mustang was $5,000. Today, I could not buy the equivalent of that car for five times that amount. Not only is innovation important; so is the selling and marketing of the innovation—first to the retailer and then to the consumer. Back to the automotive industry as a case in point—did we really need power windows?
There are flashes of progress; take as an example power in motion furniture. However, this requires that manufacturers and retailers work together as partners. It is a no-brainer to floor all motion slots as powered. We know consumers buy what they see. After trying that nifty power button, all but the most frugal of consumers will opt for the $100 upgrade. Yet manufacturers and retailers must make it happen by putting electricity to the display, flooring a more expensive product, and follow up by training the sales associate on the product’s features and benefits. The results? An increased average ticket. The question becomes, “What is the bottom line for retailers?” Bedding, as a percentage of total sales, can range from 2 percent to 20 percent. What makes the difference?
It is the emphasis placed on the product category. Treating bedding as a separate business with its own advertising budget, merchandise strategy, and product training can produce results. And it should not be forgotten that an important ingredient is the bedding manufacturer who aggressively supports the effort. Furniture manufacturers should take note that for every $1 invested in marketing there is a return of $20 to $25 in sales. To net better results, perhaps we should emulate our distant cousins rather than merely saying that we are different. Siblings or Distant Cousins?
June 2,
2014 by in Business Strategy, Industry
Whether we care to admit it or not, mattress shopping is unbelievably confusing and challenging for consumers. An unlimited number of choices exist; the rectangular cubes look the same; the endless ads can be overwhelming; the different construction options are mind-boggling; and typically, the mattresses are all lined up like little soldiers on parade. No wonder normal, everyday folks become so overwhelmed when shopping for the perfect night’s sleep. Add to that list that most consumers are sleep deprived, and we’ve got some serious issues. Statistics say the average adult needs between seven and nine hours a night of sleep. Of course, that can vary slightly depending on the person. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, more than a third of U.S. adults sleep less than seven hours a night, and many report problems concentrating, remembering and yes, driving. Let’s face it folks, we’re tired, and we crave sleep! Americans filled about 60 million prescriptions for sleep pills last year—all in the endless quest for that elusive night’s sleep. That’s up from 47 million prescriptions in 2006, according to IMS Health, a health care services company that tracks such things. Everybody loves to get their fill of a good night’s sleep, but apparently from the stats, too few people are managing it. I’m not sure meds are the correct way to go about it. How about we as an industry get engaged in a comprehensive campaign to educate consumers about sleep, what it means to get a solid night’s rest and how to go about capturing that through the RIGHT sleep surface for each individual? Oh sure, we’ve talked about it, and some companies have even tried it. But the industry in total—as one combined entity—hasn’t pulled together to undertake a major collaborative marketing effort promoting the need for sleep and the importance of uncovering the perfect bed for each person. It’s the mattress category’s version of the dairy industry’s “Got Milk “campaign. Or, comparing apples to apples—the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing initiative to promote sleep through medication. Apparently, that approach is working seeing as they sold 60 million prescriptions for those sleep aids and the number continues to climb. Speaking of sleep woes.
Have you looked down the street from your furniture store lately? Chances are there’s a dedicated mattress store within a stone’s throw. Chances are it just may be your target consumer’s first choice when she ventures out in search of a new place to rest her head. This month’s issue delves into the bedding category and where consumers tend to gravitate when they’re looking for a new mattress. The proliferation of bedding-only stores tells us there’s money to be made in the specialty shops, and those retailers are taking business away from the traditional furniture stores, who also happen to sell beds. Inside, you can explore a number of strategies from retailers when it comes to selling our industry’s most profitable category. Some are headed into dedicated stores; others have a store-within-a-store approach; while others are sticking to the tried and true. We’ve captured an abundance of information to help you rest a bit easier when it comes to selling mattresses. Read on and enjoy a good long nap upon completion.