I wrote the following, and posted to BowlTech in January, 2012. - TopicsExpress

I wrote the following, and posted to BowlTech in January, 2012. Its about salesmanship; and its aimed at all bowling center owners and operators. Yup, this is the right spot for selling; because, what youre doing is selling an intangible. An intangible is something that you cant hold in your hand; but, its an important part of selling your center. Basically its selling your services. So, how do you do that? Basically, selling an intangible can be broken down into four parts: greeting, listening, informing and closing. 1. No matter who you are or what department you work in, when a customer enters a friendly greeting will make the customer feel at home, even if theyre steady customers that have been in your center many times before. A simple Hi, how are you does the trick. If you know the customers name makes it better. (Hi, John, how are you?) 2. Ask questions to determine what the customer wants. This involves listening to their response. If a customer asks you where the snack bar is located, guide them to it. Dont tell them where it is; take them to it. This should take less than 30 seconds out of your busy day. One thing that I used to do (as a mechanic) on my way to the front desk, was to ask the customers bowling on the end lanes, Hi. Having fun? Is there anything I can do for you? If the customer wanted food or drinks, I would flag down a lane attendant and send them to the bowlers circle to get a food or drink order. One of the other things that I used to do with returning customers was to ask, How did you do in league the other night? If asked in a sincere manner, the customer will be happy to mention that he/she did good or bad. As a high average bowler, I would listen to them and give helpful hints to try and improve their game. So what, if youre a mechanic. Customer service is an important part of your job description; just the same as if youre running the front desk. 3. Informing the customer can be as simple as letting them know about something youre doing or selling. (We have a beginners teaching league every Monday night at 7:30. Its only $15 a night with personalized lessons. Or: Monday night is football night in the lounge. Buy a pitcher and get a free pizza. Bring three friends and share the goodies.) Youll get the ideas. 4. Closing is as simple as asking. No matter if youre the manager, food service employee, mechanic or janitor, a simple How many would you like? is the question to ask. For desk people selling gift cards, this question works wonders. It also works wonders in other areas. The question Would you like fries with that? is a good question; but, dont make it sound like youre reading it from a cue card. Ask in a friendly manner will make the question sound that much better. I mentioned this to a friend that ran a vacuum cleaner shop. He had plenty of customers, but his sales were a little slow. I suggested that he close a sale by asking the customer, Can I gift wrap it for you? By asking this simple question, his sales increased by 40%. (How do you gift wrap a vacuum cleaner seems a little silly, but its effective and it works to sell a product, even a service.) Heres an idea. When a customer finishes bowling, ask the customer if they would like to join a league, even if its mid-season. There are teams always looking for new members; and, who knows, you may have made a new customer for life, if you have customer service better than anyone else. And, when a customer is leaving your center, mention that you were glad to see them and hope that they will return in the future. If youre sincere in your questions and comments, you have made a friend. Closing a sale, even an intangible, can increase your business. Remember that a bowling center takes a lot of real estate; which, in some cases, would be a better business for something else if you cant increase your business. Remember too, that, as a bowling business, youre selling your customer service. If your customer service is top notch, your business will increase, even in these tough economic times. (In these tough economic times, you must keep a positive attitude, even if it feels like everything is falling apart. BE FRIENDLY: If you have a poor attitude, go out and find a position that suits your attitude. You dont belong in a bowling center.) You have my permission to copy this message. Im posting this here because not everyone has access to BowlTech dot com.