A Workin’ Woman
Something I don’t say in my bio is that I have worked in specialty retail for a long time; most of my professional life, in fact. Beginning in high school, I worked for a local gift shop that was basically a Hallmark store on steroids, then I sold fine jewelry for JC Penney and Gordon’s Jewelers, and when I moved to San Marcos, TX after grad school, I worked in my most favorite job to date: the Calphalon Kitchen Outlet.
There were so many things about that job that made it special- the product (super high quality), the parent company (amazing), my coworkers (hard-working and fantastic), and my amazing boss (#ladyboss forever <3), to name a few. It was one of those jobs that mostly didn’t feel like work. It was just a place you went to do something you believed in and cared about. I know it sounds silly to say that I woke up every morning excited to sell cookware to people, but boy, I sure did.
Being a “Good Salesperson”
Even though most of my job experience to that point had been sales related, the Calphalon Kitchen Outlet had something that none of my other jobs did. Their onboarding process for a new employee was extremely thorough, and while they obviously had great product training, the missing piece from my previous jobs was the sales training portion. The Calphalon Kitchen Outlet had very specific, step-by-step, intentional, and incredibly effective sales training. Looking back, that training shaped how I have engaged with customers ever since. It not only gave a framework for selling, but that framework was built on providing the best product for the customer, not just selling the highest priced thing and squeezing as much money out of each interaction as possible.
I’ve been told that I’m a “good salesperson,” but that’s not entirely true. To me, being a “good salesperson” that can “sell anything” isn’t really a good thing. I also don’t think that it is what a business actually needs or wants. Obviously, businesses want employees who can sell, but selling just to make money without concern for your customers isn’t good business. During hiring at Calphalon, I remember passing over candidates who seemed like they were just out to sell the most expensive item they could because that wasn’t what we were about. For my money, it is a much better long-term strategy to find solutions for your customers; even if that means selling the least expensive product you carry or even recommending that they shop at a competitor. When customers can tell that you truly have their best interest in mind, they become repeat customers.
They can also smell dishonesty a mile away. If you are genuinely confident in your product and have learned enough about your customer to be able to sincerely say, “Yes, this item is going to meet your needs because…”, customers will buy from you. That is why I am a good salesperson: because I listen to customers, learn about their needs, and find them solutions based on those needs.
The Business of Listening
So, friends, I’m sure you can see how this makes sense for Biller Designs’ web and graphic design clients. I faithfully apply these same selling principles in my business now as I always have. When you tell me that you need a website, I want to learn all I can about what your goals are, who your customer is, why you started your business, what is important to you, and everything in between so that when I put together a plan for your website, it’s going to do the things that make sense for your business and do them well. That just seems like good business practice to me, but then again, I cut my teeth in retail and have seen firsthand what happens when pushy salespeople convince customers to buy garbage they don’t need: customers get mad because their needs aren’t met and they return their purchases! Not a good situation when what you purchased was a website that potentially cost thousands of dollars. Usually, you’re stuck with that website until you find someone who is willing to listen to you and work with you to build something that works for you and represents your business.
Maybe Biller Designs is that person for you, and maybe not. Above all, I want customers to find solutions that work best for them. All I’m saying is that I’d love to hear every detail about your business and create something you and I can both be proud of.
-CB
