When we talk about Point of Sale Management we always think of hypermarkets and supermarkets, perhaps because it is the maximum exponent of this type of sale. However, there are other points of sale for other products that also require specific management. Because, what is ultimately a Point of Sale Management? Well it's nothing more than a sales methodologyThat is, a concrete and structured way on how to deal with a sale. And for this methodology to be successful it requires that it be based on how the sales process develops and how the purchase decision is made. Points of sale as different as a car dealer, a furniture store or a clothing store must have their own management of the point of sale; In other words, they must have an efficient management model to achieve their sales.
The first thing to analyze was how the sale took place at the point of sale. To do this, we carried out an investigation through Mystery Shopping, with which we reached the following conclusions:
· The majority of buyers are couples where she takes the initiative and he has to approve of the entire economic issue.
· In the exhibition, after ten minutes of seeing tile display panels, the consumer is "lost" and requires the advice of professional store staff.
· The tiles on which the sale will revolve, in principle, will be those that the consumer has seen on his visit (what is not seen, is not bought).
· The client comes with a certain idea of what he wants, but he lets himself be advised and highly appreciates that advice at the time of the final decision.
· The client has "difficulty" in getting an idea of how the tile will look in his house.
· An exhibition has too many display panels for the establishment's “ room vendor ” to master all of them.
· A room vendor can master about 40-50 different panels with which he can satisfy all kinds of needs that clients may have.
· That a certain tile is among those 40-50 that the room seller has in his head, depends on the security that he has to sell that product, in other words, that dominates the sales arguments.
Apart from these conclusions, the mystery shopping revealed that the degree of knowledge of the company's product among room sellers was low, and that they offered us the product spontaneously or suggested was almost nil.
With all this we define what should be the key variables to work in the purchase decision:
Adequate exposure of the product.
Get to “position” the product within the 40-50 that the room vendor has in his head.
Facilitate the client the "visualization" of the product at home.
Let's see what we did, considering that all this had to be explained and negotiated with the point of sale, making him understand that it was a solution so that they could manage to close more operations:
1. Adequate exposure of the product.
Management that corresponded to the commercial delegates and that the most appropriate product location had to be found. They are generally organized by categories (kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, rustic, etc.). It is preferable to be at the beginning of the display unit (the first panels are the ones that are most seen) and that our panels are followed so that after one you see another.
2. Get to “position” the product within the 40-50 that the room vendor has in his head.
This was the most important challenge. To achieve this, it was necessary to provide the room seller, above all, security in our product. To do this, "product sheets" were prepared containing:
· Technical information about the product
· Commercial arguments to wield with the client, both in terms of uses, benefits, and aesthetic issues
· Infographics on different product applications that allow them to show the customer the final result
Training sessions were organized for the team of room vendors at each point of sale, providing them with the information on the product concerned. On the other hand, the product sheets were supplied both physically and electronically, so that they could use them even in front of the customer.
3. Facilitate the client the "visualization" of the product at home.
On the one hand, the supplied infographics provided the client with a visualization of the final result. But also, some points of sale dared to work with a certain software that allows in a few minutes to make a sketch with the customer's room and its dimensions and apply the selected tiles to have a virtual image of their specific room. This image, along with the corresponding budget, was delivered to the client to mature at home.
The implementation of this point of sale management was carried out by both the marketing department and the commercial delegates, and it gradually became successful. Every time a new product is launched, the corresponding product sheet is sent to the room sellers. The commercial delegates ensure the most suitable location of the display panels, and constantly support the room vendors working with the proposed methodology.
The final result was that the drop in sales for this particular industry stood at around 24%, while the sector suffered an average drop of 54%, which considering the crisis situation can be considered a success.
In conclusion, as we mentioned at the beginning, point of sale management is nothing more than a standardized process that efficiently resolves the variables by which a customer decides to buy. If you want to sell more, analyze the buying process of your customers, you will surely find a way to get those sales that are now beyond you.
