Retail Shoe Salesmanship

by George F. Hamilton; Frank Butterworth; H. T. Conner; A. H. Geuting

The following is the experience of a Boston business man as told by him to show the importance of a knowledge of the stock, on the part of the salesman:

After having looked around in several of the shop windows I finally saw a shoe that seemed to be just what I wanted. Entering the store I was met by a young man to whom I pointed out the shoe in which I was especially interested. Within a short time he brought a shoe of the same style in my size and placed it on my foot.

For some reason or other, however, the shoe did not seem to look as well on my foot as it did in the window, and I asked to see some other shape. The young man produced another and after lacing it up explained that the price was twelve dollars, which was two dollars more than the one first shown.

On a point of information I then inquired, “Why should this pair be worth twelve dollars as compared with the other at ten?” And the answer I received was:

“Oh, these are better shoes than those.”

Although the customer knew practically nothing about shoes and values and may not have been able to distinguish a calfskin from an alligator hide, and although he knew nothing of footwear styles and make, it was an insult to his intelligence to tell him that he was paying two dollars more because the twelve-dollar shoe was better than the ten-dollar one. He might just as well have been told that he was paying two dollars more because twelve was that much greater than ten. The salesman owes it to himself and to his success in selling to acquire a knowledge of his stock. On any other basis he can do nothing more than hand out shoes at the customer’s direction and hope that no questions will be asked. But it is not on this basis that success is measured out either in selling or any other work calling for the use of brains.

STUDY OF THE STOCK

An investigation has recently been made among retail stores to determine the causes accountable for the loss of customers. As a result of this the fact has been brought out that among the chief reasons for the customer’s dissatisfaction, and as a result of which he transfers his business to some other store, is the salesman’s ignorance of the goods being sold. Business to the extent of millions of dollars is lost every year among retail shoe stores, due to this one cause. Satisfaction in the way a customer is served depends upon his confidence in the salesman who serves him. This cannot result unless the salesman shows an understanding of his goods.

To know the stock does not mean simply to know the prices. It means among other things that the salesman must know what he has in stock to sell and where to lay his hands on the goods when he needs them. The man who is a success at selling realizes that the better knowledge he has of his stock, the greater will be the satisfaction of his trade. He knows every line in the house thoroughly—even the odd pairs he knows by size and width so that when he gets the foot that may be fitted with one of these he can convert the dead or odd pair into cash.

To study the stock means actually to take the time to examine the different qualities and styles, to know the materials of which they are made and to understand why the one shoe sells for twelve dollars as compared with the other at ten. In most stores there are times in the morning while business is quiet when the salesman has the opportunity to get into the stock, to examine it carefully and to learn the “feel” of the goods. This is something that will come to him only by getting the goods in his hands. A few minutes each day spent in a close study of the stock will pay dividends in the way of increased business and satisfied customers.