2009-02-12
5 Reasons to Have Continuing Education

Any professional salesperson will agree that it's a lot easier to close a sale if you really believe in your product, believe in its advantages and its ability to deliver real and important benefits for the prospective customer. Companies who understand this know that is important to conduct training sessions to impart product knowledge to all associates so they are confident when dealing with customers and can close that sale. Here are 5 reasons to have continuing product education for store employees.

1. Things change frequently, training needs to be ongoing
It is common to overlook the importance of continually training employee. However, training needs to introduce changing sales techniques and tactics as your market, your employees or your product changes. Consider short weekly training sessions or newsletters with your employees. 30 minutes of training a week can add up to a ton of new sales. Consider "on the spot"� training. If you see an opportunity your employee missed, mention it then not at their review and see if they can improve with the next sale. A great strategy is to offer financial incentives for sales or provide informational DVD's to show in stores so customers can learn as well as the sales force.

2. It sustains extraordinary customer service.
Increasing your business begins with customer loyalty. Selling is about solutions - your customers want more than competitive prices, they want solutions for their everyday problems. A properly trained employee should be able to quickly engage customers and discover their needs, and then create solutions with your product regiments. This provides and an enhanced in-store experience that leaves customers feeling satisfied and valued. Drug stores are a prime venue for trained employees to interact with your target market.

3. Your company's reputation depends on your most important representative: salespeople.
According to the 2008 Wharton School's Retail customer Dissatisfaction Study, Americans deem front-line sales staff the single biggest detriment to their shopping experiences. 33% cited salespeople as the reason they didn't buy something. It's damaging for a retailer's and product's reputation when an employee leads a customer astray. The salesperson is truly your representation to the customer. That's why companies need to take an active approach when it comes to training employees to know and understand their products.

4. Skilled and knowledgeable employees drive sales
Retail employees are on the front lines of the battle; their abilities to take care of customers often make the difference between success and failure. Training those employees to exceed customer's expectations is one of the most important things you can do. Plus, an added bonus is job satisfaction. Recent employee satisfaction and engagement studies, have noted that development opportunities are a key factor in employees' overall job satisfaction and a top reason they stay at a company.

5. Bring in a professional trainer to round out the education
A brochure may be able to give a lot of information, but a professional trainer can teach employees how to communicate that information so the product sells. In a product training class, trainers can transform every floor employee into a resource that customers will value and return to for solutions to their needs. Cosmetic Promotions has a staff of professional trainers who not only train on product knowledge but also on HOW TO SELL. Contact Joann at Cosmetic Promotions (888-644-9916) to learn more on our professional training programs.