UNIT E SELLING FASHION

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UNIT ESELLING FASHION

• 5.01 Explain selling in the retail environment.

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Selling as a marketing function

• Personal selling A function of marketing that
  involves personalized, two-way communication
  between the salesperson and the customer in the
  process of exchanging merchandise for money or
  credit.

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• Customer-oriented selling An approach to
  selling that involves meeting and exceeding
  customer expectations while making customers feel
  important, identifying their needs, and finding
  solutions to best fulfill those needs.
• Stores using customer-oriented selling are
  applying the marketing concept instead of using
  sales-oriented, high pressure selling.
• Stores distinguish themselves from each other by
  the quality and quantity of personal services
  they offer the customer.

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Roles of Salespeople

• Sales clerk An Order-taker who may stand
  behind the counter to ring up a sale and who is
  usually employed by stores that sell lower-priced
  merchandise.

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Roles of Salespeople (cont.)

• Sales associate A skillful retail employee who
  uses creative selling skills to influence
  customers purchasing decisions and who usually
  works in high-service retail department and
  specialty stores.

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Roles of Salespeople (cont.)

• Personal shopper An employee who assists
  customers with a level of individualized
  attention and service beyond what a retail sales
  associate would offer.
• May help customers pull together an entire
  seasons wardrobe
• Usually provides service by appointment

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The Importance of Salespeople

• Successful salespeople develop professional
  relationships with customers.
• Salespeople are the only store contact for most
  customers.
• Successful salespeople create higher sales, thus
  more profit, while helping customers solve
  problems.
• Successful salespeople create happy customers who
  become repeat customers and whose word-of-mouth
  endorsements gain the business of new customers.

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Methods Used To Motivate Salespeople

• Organizational climate The feeling that
  employees have about their opportunities, value,
  and rewards for good performance within the
  business.
• High esteem results in low employee turnover
  which increases company profits because less time
  and money are spent on training new employees.
• Low esteem results in high employee turnover and
  reduces company profits due to the high cost of
  training new employees.

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Methods Used To Motivate Salespeople (cont.)

• Compensation Payment and benefits for work
  accomplished.
• Wage Payment based on a set rate per hour for
  the number of hours worked.
• Salary Payment based on a fixed dollar amount
  for a specified period.
• Commission Payment based on a percentage of the
  dollar amount of sales made by a salesperson.
• Hourly wage or salary plus a commission

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Methods Used ToMotivate Salespeople(cont.)

• Sales quota The projected volume of sales
  (units or dollars) assigned to a department or
  person for a time period.
• Compensation is often tied to meeting the sales
  quota.
• Incentives Contests, prizes, rewards, honors,
  merchandise and cash bonus awards, days off,
  trips, and profit-sharing opportunities used to
  motivate salespeople.

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Non-Selling Duties and Responsibilities of the
Salesperson

• Basic stockkeeping duties/tasks
• Stockkeeping
• Receiving merchandise
• Preparing merchandise for sale
• Maintaining product information

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Stockkeeping Receiving, preparing, and
protecting merchandise against damage or theft,
and participating in maintaining store or
department inventory.
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Receiving merchandise The actual exchange of
goods between the vendors transporting agent and
the retailer.
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Receiving Merchandise

• Inspect for damage.
• Verify that merchandise received is as ordered.
• Record goods on the receiving record.
• Process necessary returns to vendors.
• Returns to Vendors Goods that are shipped back
  to a supplier by a store.
• May be necessary because of mistakes in filling
  the order, unacceptable substitutions, late
  delivery, or defective merchandise

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Preparing merchandise for sale

• Sort and arrange merchandise by color, size,
  and/or classification.
• Ticket and price merchandise if necessary.
• Transfer merchandise between store branches.
• Set up and clean merchandise fixtures.

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Preparing merchandise for sale (cont.)

• Use appropriate hangers or shelf arrangements for
  displays.
• Put out goods to maintain stock levels.
• Straighten merchandise during slow traffic
  periods.

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Maintaining product information

• Product knowledge allows the salesperson to
  tailor the sales message to meet the specific
  needs of each customer.
• Types of information needed
• Product use
• Product care

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Sources Of Product Information

• Personal use/experience
• Promotional circulars and flyers
• Consumer publications
• Trade publications
• Sales representatives and store buyers
• Manufacturers literature
• Labels
• Hangtags
• Packaging

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• Labels Small pieces of ribbon or cloth that are
  permanently attached to the insides of garments
  to provide product information.
• May be any color or style as long as they do not
  ravel
• May be printed on front and back if the label is
  attached so that
  both sides can be seen
• May include information
  such as brand name,
  special finishes, size, etc.

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Labels (cont.)

• Must include information required by law
• Generic name of all fibers used in
  garment and percentage of each fiber
  used
• Identification of the producer or distributor
• Identification of the items country of origin
• Care requirements

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• Hangtags Removable cardboard or heavy paper
  signs that are attached to the outsides of
  garments with strings, plastic bands, pins,
  staples, or adhesives.

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Hangtags (cont.)

• Hang from buttons, buttonholes, zippers, belt
  loops, etc.
• Information may include
• Brand name/trademark
• Size
• Suggested retail price
• Style number
• Special features such as fabric
  finishes, reversibility, etc.
• Symbols and logos to identify designers,
  manufacturers, or sellers
• A certification or seal of approval
• Guarantees

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• Packaging The covering, wrapper, or container
  in which some items are placed.
• If information that is required by law on labels
  cannot be seen through packaging, it must be
  repeated on the package.