HOW TO OVERCOME PRICE OBJECTIONS
Except in rare instances price will always be a factor in the sale of bedding. Retail advertising in too many communities is daily educating housewives to expect quality at low prices. Your best argument is to prove through your conversation about the importance of sleep and through an actual demonstration of cut-out samples that the customer will receive in bedding, as in everything else, exactly what she pays for. Sell comfort and rest, and show how the equipment you are recommending will provide both comfort and rest. There is no better way to anticipate the objection of price.
In the opinion of the best merchandising experts in the country the average consumer is not looking for cheap bedding as such. Because of the constant price promotion of all types of sleeping equipment—mattresses, springs, pillows, studio couches, and sofa beds—comparative prices, however, are an important factor. You will make more sales, sell better merchandise, and build a permanent clientele quicker if you constantly keep in mind that you are selling sleep and rest, and not merely so many pounds of upholstery and steel to be bought only because the figure on the price tag has been "slashed 50 percent this week only."
Show that the first cost is relatively unimportant—that when measured in years of comfortable service even the best equipment costs but a few cents per night. Impress upon her the tangible benefits of receiving good sleep from proper equipment over a reasonable number of years' service. Whenever possible, use tactfully the experience of customers who are pleased with the quality items selected with your assistance. In no other merchandise or department will customer satisfaction bring you so much additional business.
As a result of conflicting comparative price advertising, women frequently shop in several stores for bedding. Recent studies show that 60 percent of specialty store customers seem to switch from one store to another each time they purchase. Regardless of your enthusiasm for quality equipment—regardless of your sincere desire to recommend only the right equipment—you will still hear that "Blank's have one just as good and $10 cheaper." Your best defense for this is to know what Blank's actually are offering. If it is a promotional item with cheap padding and fancy ticking, show the customer that you, too, have a mattress of similar quality but that the one you are recommending is superior and explain why it is a better value.
If, in spite of your best efforts, the customer walks out to shop in the bedding departments of your competitors, let her go gracefully. She is going to do it anyway in spite of what you say and if you impress upon her the strongest arguments for your goods as she leaves, a surprisingly large percentage will return—particularly if you have shown her you were recommending the equipment that satisfied her particular needs.
MATTRESSES AND SPRINGS
MATTRESSES
The bedding salesman is concerned principally with those articles of bedroom equipment which most directly determine the sleeping comfort of the user. These are mattresses, bedsprings, and pillows. In addition, the bedding department generally includes studio couches and sofa beds into which mattresses and springs have been built.