“Oh, I see you like Paper Pizazz™—aren’t these patterns pretty? Did you see our latest idea book? It shows lots of great ways to use those papers you’re buying.”

That one comment was all it took to turn Nancy’s $15.90 purchase into a $35.89 purchase at the recent Great Lakes Mega Meet convention. Imagine—doubling a sale with a single comment!

Just a Suggestion
We’ve all experienced suggestion selling: McDonald’s asks if you want fries, The Gap suggests socks and your waiter wheels the dessert cart right up to your table. What’s the common denominator? Using face-to-face verbal communication to suggest a product that has value for your customer.

Suggestion selling is one of the best ways to implement excellent customer service. Scrapbookers want product options, but they also want expert recommendations on the best option for them. With so many products on the market, consumers rely upon retailers and friends to help them choose the right product. And customers today don’t have a lot of time to browse, so suggestion selling serves those time-pressed shoppers.

Does This Mean You’re PUSHY?
Oh, the dreaded “P” word: pushy! No employee wants to come across like a used car salesman, and no customer wants to feel pressured. How to suggest without scaring the customer away?

Where to Start: Assessing the Situation
Remember, it IS possible to be low-key and offer service while suggestion-selling, but the trick is in interacting with your customer. It’s tough (and awkward) to suggest product without first having established a repoire. That’s why the introductory, “Hi, how are you today?” greeting is vital. From there, the employee can ask what type of project the customer is working on or shopping for.

The key to successful suggestion selling starts with assessing your customers’ intended purchase and knowing your product well enough to suggest complementary merchandise. Selling by theme is probably the easiest and most effective tactic: Is your customer buying Heritage Collage Papers? If so, she’ll want to see the Jacie’s Vintage Papers and Mixing Heritage Papers. And Hot Off The Press is currently titling new books as sequels (Tag Art #2 and Alphabet Tiles #2 are examples) so your customers will naturally ask about the first release as well.

Fans of licensed characters love to see all the merchandise you carry depicting their favorite characters. If she’s looking at Disney stickers, show her Paper Pizazz™ 12”x12” Disney Princesses, Magic Kingdom Papers or Mickey Mouse Simple Backgrounds.

An Expert’s Advice
Follow the advice of retail guru Rick Segal: Ask the customer, “Did you see this?” The question is simple, effective and easy—and puts the emphasis on helping and serving, not on selling. It allows the customer to say, “I’m not really interested,” or “No, I didn’t see it—what is it?” The latter reply gives the salesperson the chance to share more information with the customer: “These stickers match the paper you’re looking at—I thought you might like to see.” From there, your customer can decide whether to buy.

Steps to Successful Suggestion Selling
Do initiate suggestion selling after the customer has made a commitment to buy but before she’s paid. How can you tell whether she’s “committed”? If the product is in her hands or in her shopping basket, you can be confident she plans to purchase the item. Now is the time to assess her intended purchase and make a recommendation. Most of the time, a simple glance at the customer’s purchases reveals a lot about her: Is she buying pastel papers and “It’s a Boy” stickers? Perhaps she’d like to see the Baby Collage paper collection.

Make your recommendation by putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. What else does she need to have in order to successfully complete her project? What would you like to have, if you were working on her project?

Present the customer with the suggested item and offer a reason for her to buy it. Does it coordinate with her intended purchase? Will it help her complete her project? What’s the value to the customer? Don’t forget to offer additional ideas for using the product: For example, Tag Art Cut-Outs™ are wonderful on scrapbook pages, but can also be used to make charming cards.

Selling Services
Suggestion selling isn’t only about moving product. Is your customer buying tags? Tell her about your upcoming tag art class! Keep customers apprised of all your services, including classes, demos, upcoming sales, special events and any other benefits you offer the customer. While your store newsletter is the primary vehicle for informing customers, the personal touch of face-to-face communication is much more effective.

Start Selling!
Try this: prep your employees on effective suggestion selling. Then for one week, have them focus on recommending products to customers. Suggestion selling becomes much easier once everyone gets into the habit of asking customers, “Have you seen this?”

After one week, evaluate your sales. Did you see an increase? Your success at suggestion selling comes from two sources: Part of it is showing your customer the options available to her, and part of it is taking the time to show her these options.