It’s the well-known rule of selling: Give before you get. Sales representatives, who stand by the store owners and managers in sales for the retail sector, also initiate a more qualified sales process
Field marketing enables product suppliers to establish direct and personal connections with shoppers and corporations. The most important target group of sales representatives in the field is retailers. Therefore, an essential part of sales operations in the field consists of marketing at the store level, distributing promotions, measuring promotions and sales on a shop basis, and disseminating successful sales examples.
Personal skills are essential in field marketing for the retail industry. That’s because field marketers interact with shoppers one-on-one. Messages from those who provide products to the retail industry are essential because marketers often use product commitments in sales negotiations. If you have chosen the right people for sale, you can ensure that the messages reach their destination. Thanks to the strong communication skills of the sales representatives, you can reach clear ideas about the thoughts and opinions of the customer.
Of course, you must give before you get. It is a known rule of sale. Therefore, you should listen carefully to your potential customers and help them. Field marketing offers you various opportunities to sell more to the retail sector at this stage. It allows you to interact with customers, understand who they are, and discover what drives them.
You can have enough data about your customer potential, and you can better direct your sales teams. Your sales reps can use some tactics to close store sales faster.
Get started by helping
The average field marketer is like a juggler. It draws attention with its many skills on the way to sales. For example, they can immediately notice the standards when they enter a store, and problems arise. At the same time, all sales representatives working in the retail sector have knowledge and experience about what can be done to raise store standards. For example, they can increase store sales by providing advice on incorrect placement of products on the shelves, incorrect sales methods, and stock management.
Shelf layouts drive sales
Today, many stores apply various methods of shelf placement of products. A representative view of the store and product layout compatibility is provided through tools such as planograms. But even these tools don’t explain why some products are piled high on shelves in many stores or why a brand has taken over an aisle. Because in such arrangements, the subjective preferences of the store owner or the salesperson can play a role. But selling is math. By checking and correcting product placement, you enable shoppers to find your products quickly. The relationality and visual messages between the product groups positively affect the purchase decision of the customer.
However, fixing any product placement errors alone will not increase sales. Products need to be marketed correctly. In this respect, sales representatives should not hesitate to correct any merchandising mistakes they find. Sometimes not enough space in the store for a bestseller to grow is a severe problem. Salespeople can make various suggestions to store managers about such problems.
Pay attention to in-store promotions
The various POP (point of purchase) stands in stores are attractions for customers who have not encountered a new product. POPs provide an excellent opportunity for shoppers to test products risk-free. Free product samples offered through POPs and the sales representative who is there according to the product’s feature can be the first step for the consumer to have a good experience with the product.
By assigning your field representatives to deliver in-store presentations, you create a memorable moment where you can connect with shoppers. People prefer to buy from people they love. This positive perception in the sales process can be the starting point of a long-term experience with the product.
Do not overlook your target market. For example, trying to market a high-end product to a neighborhood retail store that sells inferior products is a waste of time and money. Except for a few examples, you will not get results that will provide you with sales continuity.
Be meticulous in your promotions
It’s getting harder and harder to promote in stores today because the stores are organized like a festive space due to the abundance of products. In addition to your banners that draw attention to a stand, or a new product, brochures and leaflets placed next to the cash register or available from the appropriate POPs will attract the customer’s attention. A salesperson can inform the customer and make suggestions at a specially arranged shelf or the POP point within the scope of a campaign. It can remove the question marks in the purchasing process by sharing more information that the customer may need.
Meanwhile, with field sales applications such as Fieldscope, you can control your POP arrangements and the store’s planogram (visual arrangement) compliance.
Promotions should ideally be in a high-traffic area. If you plan to place a POP stand or in-store advertisement in such an area of the store, you should pay attention to this issue. Placing your POP point or banner so that shoppers block the aisle can make the customer unhappy. People tend to change their ways when they see something hindering them.
Stand out with your ability to manage data
Sales reps who visit stores frequently, monitor store compliance, and find solutions to store managers’ problems are rewarded for their efforts. The best return on this performance is data collection. With the information you will gain, you can better understand your target market and customer demands. Understanding the pros and cons of the products you sell can allow you to offer better products and correct erroneous customer perceptions. Accessing information at its source makes it easier for you to make corrections that will increase sales performance.
Are your promotions performing adequately? You may use the data to monitor the effectiveness of any in-store promotions and to monitor the success of new promotions. Evaluating sales data for products for which there is cross-selling helps brands better determine where to sell complementary products. Again, the cycle of the product you sell in the store stocks also provides valuable information. In short, evaluating sales data is the most critical way to build new sales strategies.
