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Stop selling and start helping

Business10-Nov-2021

Maria Musgrove-Wethey from Get Savvy Academy discusses the way selling has changed, and how you need to change your approach with a renewed focus on helping, when it comes to the Millennial bride.

The question I get asked most often is “How can my team and I get better at closing the sale?” My response is to quote Zig Ziglar and reply “Stop Selling. Start Helping”.

Before COVID-19 when I started a training course with this statement the boutique owner choked on her coffee whilst checking her contract for a money back guarantee. Her expectation was that the content would be hard hitting about overcoming objections, creating urgency and closing techniques worthy of any used car salesman.

I would continue by stating that what we need to understand is that for today’s bride the selling model that revolved around the traditional ABCs of sales (always be closing) has now become the modern ABCs (always be collaborating). The biggest paradigm shift that has occurred when it comes to selling to Millennials is the transition from closing a deal to helping the customer. As most of our brides are Millennials and are both “young” (born 1986 to 1995) and “old” (1980 to 1987) I strongly urge that you look at your selling styles.

What both “young” and “old” Millennials have in common is that they hate to be sold to. Emil Kristensen co-founder of Sleeknote advises that you shouldn’t become too sales-oriented with Millennials – it’s a huge “off button” for them. He continues saying “Gone are the days when a simple ‘Buy Now’ sales pitch worked for the market”. Some of his other “Don’ts” when selling to Millennials support where I came in with Zig Ziglar’s “Stop Selling, Start Helping”.

Don’t try to dupe them

Our Millennial Bride has a great tendency to fact-check, whether we want her to or not, meaning that she is more in control than ever before. She’ll have scoured the internet and Pinterest and will often know as much (if not more) about a particular designer than we do. This has led to a fundamental shift in the role of a bridal stylist from gatekeeper of information to that of an advisor/coach/mentor who helps to find her dream dress.

Don’t try too hard to relate

This might sound counter intuitive as you would think that playing the role of advisor you should relate and connect. What I’m saying is that you need to avoid being that stereotypical salesperson who goes way over the top to suck up and be charming, which fools no one. Millennials want real, down to earth people who can truly connect with them and give them the truth.

In short today’s bride wants authenticity so be consistent and transparent with whatever you tell her about your gowns and services. If her fact-checking reveals that you were right she will be more likely to buy. If she finds that you’ve been a little “economic with the truth” such as exaggerating lead times, then you’re heading for a rant, a request for a refund and possibly a one-star review.

How to Stop Selling and Start Helping

It’s easier said than done to stop being Little Miss Hardsell and start being Little Miss Helpful if you’ve been conditioned to thinking targets, commission and closing techniques. For the more seasoned (and ever so slightly cynical) stylists we’d just love to just ask four questions - Budget? Buying today? Brought the credit card? Been anywhere before? As much as we would love to ask these questions, they’re more likely to result in a one-star review than a relaxed and ready-to-buy bride.

If you think back to when you were new to bridal, I bet you didn’t even need to think about being helpful because you were all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. You may well have just got married or were about to be married so it was very easy to connect with the bride. I often wonder why a new, inexperienced consultant would, for the first few months, manage to sell with very little knowledge and sales technique. What she lacks in experience she more than makes up for in enthusiasm, excitement, genuine interest, and a desire to be helpful. The bride buys because the stylist is connecting with her on an emotional level and is building a relationship. Our rookie stylist is doing this at an unconscious level.

What we seasoned stylists need to do is consciously remind ourselves of the emotional state our bride and her entourage are in when they come for the bridal appointment.

As I go into an appointment, I think of the acronym CREEM to get me become Little Miss Helpful and to enter my bride’s world.

Celebratory – she’s celebrating her transition from single to married; a huge ritual in any culture.
Relational – she wants to share her dress shopping experience with her nearest and dearest, and why not? Millennials see shopping as a social activity.
Excited – she’s like a kid in a candy store so I remind myself to not get annoyed if she wants to try on the biggest ballgown “just for fun” despite having told me that her vision is slim, sleek and sexy.
Emotional – she’s experiencing all sorts of emotions from fear and confusion, joy or even sadness (particularly if a close relative isn’t around to share this moment).
Making Memories – she isn’t coming in to just find her dress, so be patient with the fully charged I-phones poised to capture every moment.

I’ll confess to not always feeling celebratory. Maybe a couple of no-shows, a second visit who didn’t buy and then my 3pm bride rocks up with an extremely demanding bride tribe and being Little Miss Helpful is a lot more difficult.

It’s easy to see that I’m coming from a very different place to my celebratory, relational, excited, emotional bride. She has a different outcome to me. She wants to make memories and I want to make a sale and make money as quickly as possible!

So, what’s the answer? My bride isn’t going to change so I need to adjust my mood to match hers to have any chance of selling.

If you recognise that you or any of your team have a tendency to be more Hardsell than Helpful then Get Savvy’s online sales training course Selling Secrets is for you. You can find out more and sign up here.

For the first five Bridal Buyer readers to sign up there’s a free sales audit with a month’s support over Zoom or WhatsApp. Check out our website getsavvycoaching.com for other ways we can help you have the successful business you deserve.