Do You Feel Your Best Salesperson Should be Waiting on Your Best Customers?
So—I’ve talked about floor time versus batter-up many times before—but while at the HOF forum (now remember I can only discuss general issues) the topic about batter-up came up and someone from HOF felt it is very stupid for us to be using that system.
In my store, each employee is given equal floor time and on Saturdays we do batter-up so that we can shake things up a little. Saturdays, usually, we have a huge number of walk-ins and this way everyone gets to help someone and it keeps things moving. The day goes by fast because between 2-5pm we are all busy and each one of us has waited on a few people. Weekdays we use floor time and I really like floor time—because this allows my staff who are not on the floor to clientele (call customers who purchased items previously, call repairs, email people for their anniversary and birthdays, etc).
Some feel—why would you give the same amount of floor time to your best salesperson as you would to new people. After I heard this, the first thought that came to mind was—well how will my other full and part-timers ever improve if they are on the floor so little. Going back to the train of thought in my last blog—these mediocre salespeople will never be your best salespeople: they do their job, can improve with training, but most of the time they lack energy and passion that your greatest assets have.
Some at the forum said—Well, we’ve been in busy so long and have done this system forever—how can I sit down and now tell them, “Well your sales aren’t as great as so and so—so you’ll be on the floor less time.” The answer to this question was, “Go back and reevaluate your compensation packages. This kind of information should be discussed as soon as the new salesperson comes on board. Your best salesperson should be given the most time because they are creating the most clientele and money for your business.”
What do you think about that????????????????
Michel Gutman commented:
Sorry, but I have to respond to Ford Sunderland's comment, "Why
would you want a less motivated salesperson waiting on your
customers?" Ummm....Why would you have a less motivated salesperson
working for you?
J. Ford Sunderland commented:
I really don't like the batter up system. Life isn't fair; why
would you want a less motivated salesperson waiting on your
customers. Train the new salespeople, and have your sales manager
work with them when they are waiting on customers. As you learned
at HOF, some people are in the wrong business; the batter up system
helps keep these people in the wrong place.
Leonard Zell commented:
After 25 years of training jewelry salespeople I find that the
salesperson with the big smile and enthusiasm usually outsell all
mothers, reardless of their experience or product knowledge. The
reason is that customers who don't know who is the best, will
naturally gravitate to salespeople who have that smile and
enthusiasm. I see it happen all the time and frustrates some
veterans. Why have a batter up system and force a customer on
someone who has not got that zip and penalize the salesperson who
has? It doesn't make good sense. My advice is to let each
salesperson's personality sell themselves. About your best
salespeople waiting on your best customers, how do you know who
they are without prejudging them? If they are past customers then
they should be asking for that salesperson who has been selling
them. If they do not ask for that saleperson, then that is an
opportunity for another salesperson to create a personal customer
which the othger salesperson did not do. Your best customers should
go to the person they want to be sold by. If a new salespeson needs
assitance with one of your best customers then the manager should
be here to assist them.
Franck Saragossi commented:
Hi Shanu; We operate large and small format stores. The "batter up"
system is used in a small format stores at the manager's discretion
and only if a customer doesn't ask for a specific sales
professional. Analysis of sales professional performance doesn't
show any significant change between the "batter up" or another
system. The critical issue is consistently coaching and training
under performing sales professionals.
