4 Musts for Showroom Tours

Customer face time is precious. The teams who are prepared for the customer visit to their showroom prevail. Here are 4 priority areas to develop when competing early in the buyer process for a large opportunity.

1. Drive a Decision

   Said or unsaid, the customer is at your showroom to make decisions. Not final decisions when the visit is early in the process, but they are getting impressions that will influence the next steps with you and your team. Begin strong with a purpose statement that clarifies the customer reason for joining you. Clearly share how you’re there to help them learn, narrow, visualize and decide.

2. Choose Conversation Over Presentation

   According to John Coleman in his HBR article on presentations, “Communication between groups of people is most effective when participants are engaged, and the discussion is both inclusive and collaborative.” Does this quote describe a typical showroom experience? Create an agenda that allows for conversation, exploration, and discovery throughout.

3. Lead To, Not With

   This is challenging for most sellers because it requires more time to prepare. It’s far easier tell the showroom story and tell it over and over to every customer. If feels good too because a salesperson can get really good at the story. But the customer lives in their own story and will have little patience for a rehearsed “museum style” showroom experience. “Lead to” means you start with the customer issue, problem, or concern, then link to your services and solutions.

4. Create Powerful Moments

   The most memorable experiences in our lives are ones that had meaning, value and sometimes surprise. Develop at least one powerful moment for every customer visit. You might reveal something unexpected, share a unique perspective, or have the customer consider a situation they would never have thought about on their own. Because the customer will find it hard to remember products, the powerful moment you orchestrate will help you stand apart from the others.

Place yourself in the customer shoes with empathy and insight. Create an experience that encourages a decision, is conversational, walks from problem to solution, and is remembered. When you do, you’ll be selected!

Want help? AlwaysStrategic recently launched AlwaysShow, a learning experience that is completely customized to your team and showroom. AlwaysShow is highly interactive and promises innovative ways to engage your customers. Contact us to explore how this program might help you get more from every customer visit to your showroom!