Furniture Stores

Retail Sales Training for Harveys

The retail furniture sector is a highly competitive environment. In July 2017 it became evident to that a well know furniture store were not performing to the level they required and as a result, wanted to review how their sales teams were selling in stores.  We were engaged to deliver the following three elements:

i) A review of the current sales techniques

ii) Deliver one-to-one coaching with a view to developing more effective sales techniques

iii) Increase sales in the selected stores and deliver the required ROI

A group of six stores were selected in the South East of England for this bespoke sales training and coaching programme.

Stage 1:

To kickstart the sales coaching programme Steve Dudley hosted a one-day Workshop with the Store Managers. The objectives for this were to explain the rationale behind the coaching programme, to introduce them to our sales approach and techniques, and to gain their ideas / buy in on the best way to approach the programme.

Stage 2:

Our retail sales experts then spent one day in each of the selected stores. With each member of the team, they conducted the following:

i)            Observed sales using current techniques
ii)           Provided instant feedback
iii)          Took them through our approach
iv)         Observed them again
v)            Provided further feedback and coaching

Following each one-to-one, team members were given a Personal Development Plan which highlighted key areas for improvement, support required to reach the standard and also how and who would provide this support.

Stage 3:

This follow up stage helped to embed the learnings. We spent a follow up day in each store, reviewing progress, conducting further observations/feedback and giving support as required.

Results

The conversion rates, footfall and ATV for results for the 6 stores that participated in the sales coaching and training programme were compared using data from the 4 weeks preceding the start of the programme, with data from the 4 weeks after the programme was completed.

The results showed that for the 6 stores, there was an increase of £95,000 across the 6 stores.

Conclusion

Our review highlighted significant opportunities to develop the selling techniques being used in stores.  Through observations, feedback and coaching, we were able to give the teams new sales skills (around introductions, building rapport, developing trust, open questions and really understanding the customer’s needs). And with the application of these new learned skills, a significant increase in sales was realised.