What The Second Greatest Salesman In The World Taught Me.(I'm too modest to say who's First)

In previous newsletters, I’ve talked about some of the excellent salespeople I’ve met. One was a waiter and another was a clothing salesman. I learned a lot from both.

But in neither case did I set out to talk to the best salesperson, it just happened that way.

We recently went to Levin’s Furniture store in Akron Ohio. Cheryl & I were going to buy a couple of end tables for our living room in our new home.

As we walked in, I said something about $200-$400 as how much we were going to spend. That’s before I met Dan.

The furniture store is large. There was only one other couple in the store. There were perhaps 10 or 12 salespeople standing around, most of them talking to each other. We went to the office area where the orders were submitted. I asked a lady there “Who’s your very best salesperson?” She said “That would be Dan Fisher”.

I asked” He’s the best in the store?” She said “He’s the best there is.” I said “We want to talk to Dan”

Now before I go any further, why would I want to talk to the best salesperson? Well…There was only one other couple there. I could literally have my pick of salesperson. I wanted to talk to a person that wouldn’t waste my time. I assumed that the best salesperson would also be the most informed salesperson. And frankly, I was hoping I could learn a thing or two.

So she pages Dan. We have to wait a few minutes because the only other couple there is talking to…Dan!

Dan is about 60 years old & walks with a slight limp. Most of the other salespeople were younger, better looking, and walked faster. Nothing special about Dan.

I told him that we were looking at end tables for some new living room furniture we bought for our new home.

We had looked at a couple tables there in a previous trip. He asked about the furniture we already bought, and recommended some better end tables “that were made from real wood that would last your lifetime”. Of course, we needed a matching coffee table. So far the total was about $1,600. A good sale for Dan. I thought we were done.

Then he started using his Magic. He said “Did you know, that you are entitled to get 20% more furniture for free today?” Think about this….

He didn’t say “You get a 20% discount”. We get “free furniture”. This means we have to buy more to get the savings. He then tells us that we can get this free furniture if we sign up for their Store Credit Card and they will give us a credit limit. We fill out the form, a minute later we are told by our friend Dan, that we qualify for a lot of furniture.

Dan says “You have about $350 in free furniture coming to you. Which other rooms are you going to need to furnish?” I’m starting to understand how Dan makes so many high end sales. At no time did Dan think we were done. We bought a new entertainment center to match our new leather furniture. He then took us to…..the bedroom!

They had several bedroom suites to show us. When he walked by the “Genuine Hickory Bedroom For Claude”, he slowed down a little. “Feel the finish” Dan said. “Feel how the drawers pull out so easily”. He pointed out the ball bearing tracks, the fact that it was real Hickory & not a veneer. “It’s the heaviest furniture there is. Our delivery people will kill me. But I can tell that this is for you”

How could he tell? Was it my slobber dripping on the Hickory? Was it the shaking in my knees? The fact that I grabbed onto Cheryl for dear life, and whispered “Save me from this man. He’s got my number!” ? (these are slight exaggerations)

We then furnished our basement. And our Sun Room.

We walked out with a $24,000 order for furniture.

The entire time we were there, Dan must have been paged (for a call) about 6 or 8 times. Nobody else was paged. Dan was the Man. And I was a Fan of Dan! (Like that?)

Here’s why we bought so much from Dan:

He constantly talked about what we wanted and how everything would be the “Last” time we would need to buy it.

He kept adding the 20% free furniture to our total.

“You now qualify for $5,000 (!) in free furniture Mr. & Mrs. Whitacre”. I was fascinated to see how far Dan could take us until we screamed “Stop!”

He offered interest-free financing for 24 months and said these magic words “If you’re going to get it in the next 2 years anyway, you may as well take advantage of the savings now. Right?”

He kept asking us “What would be the next thing on your list?” and “Have you furnished the Dining room yet?” Oh yeah….a $6,000 Solid Hickory Dining room table. I almost forgot.

The truth is, we really were going to need to buy this furniture. Dan just made it “Brain Dead Simple” for us to get it all delivered at one time.

He told me “The Hickory Bedroom Suite is for you. Now what are you going to get for Cheryl?” I laughed out loud. “Whatever she wants, Lead on!”

After we were finished and were writing everything up, I told him what I did, & asked him a few questions. He was very forthright.

I asked why he wanted us to get a store credit card to qualify for the savings. He said, matter of factly “Store credit card buyers will spend 3 times as much the first time here.”

I asked how important the 24 months interest free financing was to selling. He said “Very. Because now I can ask what they are going to need for the next two years, and they can get it now.”

Are you listening?!

I asked how many of the Hickory bedroom suites that sell.

“About one every six months. The price stops most people. It’s simply the best thing we have. Six happy hickory trees gave their lives for your comfort” ……. Wow.

I asked if my purchase was a big one (I also wanted to see how he answered that question) he said “Claude, we have a name for people who come in, know what they want, and get the best quality available. We call them “Whales”. Claude, you’re a Whale.” I’m a Whale.

Of course, none of that was true. We just came in for the end tables. But he credited me with the selection & good taste to see the quality. I didn’t see the quality …..until it was explained to me….by Dan.

As we left, I shook his hand and said “Dan, it was a pleasure to watch you work.” He said “Claude, you and Cheryl made my day”.

When we got to or car, I wrote everything that happened in a notebook I keep, to write bright ideas I come across. It took me more than 15 minutes to get it all. Cheryl sat patiently as always, waiting for her little “Marketing Guru” to finish. I’m a lucky man.

Did Dan offer me a big discount because I bought so much? No. He gave me free delivery and $4,000 in “free” furniture. I know the savings was built in. I know better than most. But the idea of “shopping” anywhere else, with anyone else, simply never occurred to me.

Here’s a few things I learned;

1. “20% off” is not the same as “20%” more free. “20% more free” means a 20% bigger sale, automatically.

2. Financing interest-free….helps get the bigger sales.

3. Some people (me & Cheryl) like to buy better quality stuff, if you can justify the price. (at our store we depend on those customers for most of our profit)

4. When people are in the “Buying mood” keep going! The “interest free financing” is just an excuse to buy more now.

5. He offered free delivery and a small, token discount on the bedroom suite. He could see me wince at the price, and softened the blow with a “freebie” to keep the whole thing going. Smart.

6. His “What are you going to get for her?” comment effectively doubled the sales total. It was mildly risky, but Dan knew his man. He sized me up as a specific type of buyer pretty fast.

7. He kept comparing what we were looking at to what we already bought. “This should really compliment the (whatever) nicely, don’t you think?”

8. He acted as if everyone bought a ton of furniture from him. We kept feeling like buying was the normal thing to do…again..and again..and again…

The question I have for you is this: How can you apply what happened here to your store? What principles of selling can you spot? I wish I recorded the whole thing. I would have paid through the nose to hear the whole thing again.

The amazing thing is this; The rest of the retail salespeople in the store are probably thinking “There are no customers here. The owner needs to do better advertising. It’s dead in here. Our prices are too high. Woe is me.”

But not Dan.