The Practice of Luxury Selling

In most years, today would be World Piano Day (the 88^th day of the year), but because this year is a leap year, yesterday was World Piano Day. Why am I talking about pianos in a blog about luxury selling? Because it’s about practice.

I’ve recently returned to playing the piano and have begun to really appreciate the importance and value of practice. What I’m learning through this experience is that just because you know something, doesn’t mean you are comfortable doing it, or that you can do it with grace and elegance. I may be able to play an etude or sonata, but performing it with ease and confidence in front of a group of people is an entirely different matter.

I started taking piano lessons again last year. Each week I meet with my piano coach, and each week he evaluates my playing, gives encouragement, and offers suggestions for improvement. But how far would I get if I just went to my lesson every week without doing anything in between? How much progress would I make without practice?

That’s the point of practice – to do something enough times so that we feel comfortable doing it in all circumstances. Then we keep doing it until we can do it with grace and elegance. Can I play Chopin’s Nocturne in C# minor now? Soft of. Can I do it with the grace and elegance it deserves? Not yet. I need more practice.

When you come down to it, selling skills are not exactly rocket science. They may not even be as difficult as learning to play the piano. Most of selling simply comes down to common sense; some of the skills may even seem natural to you. You may have attended luxury selling skills training or have a sales manager who provides regular feedback. But what are you doing to continually practice the skills you’ve learned or to act on the feedback you received?

There are two critical components to practice. The first is self-reflection – honestly evaluating your own performance. I’m not talking about being self-critical. Self-reflection involves looking at how you did something, and then asking yourself how you can do it better. The second component is how you receive feedback. Regular feedback from your sales manager is fantastic, but who else are you requesting feedback from? Are you asking your peers, or even your clients, how you can improve your service? What are you doing with the feedback you receive? Are you being defensive and discounting the feedback, or are you thinking about what you need to change, and then creating an action plan for improvement? Practice will not be valuable if you only do it before your next performance review, or even every week. Practice is something that should be done every day.

Will I ever reach a point where I won’t have to practice the Chopin Nocturne? No, because I can always play it better. As they say, “There’s always room for improvement.”

So here’s your action plan to reach a level of grace and elegance in all your customer interactions:

Starting tomorrow, take a few minutes after your customer or client has left to think about what you could have done differently, how could you have said it better, and what can you improve for next time? Then do it again the next day. Repeat.  

The January Return Blues: Turning Returns into Opportunities

The word ‘return’ can make even the most seasoned sales associate quiver with fear. Yet the returning customer presents a golden opportunity for luxury associates to foster the customer relationship. Your mindset can play an important role in cultivating customer relationships. If you view “returns” as a hassle or something that causes you stress, then customers will sense your aggravation. But if you treat the return as an occasion to build and strengthen the connection you have to your customers, you will have laid the path for them to return again and again. Below are some tips to help you avoid the “January Return Blues.”

• There’s a customer in front of you!
  Here’s your chance to distinguish yourself through your grace and elegance, and ensure the customer remembers you above all the other sales associates they’ve seen today. Being warm and welcoming when handing returns shows how much you value your customers. That in turn, will keep them coming back.
• You now know what the customer doesn’t like!
  What a great opportunity you have to explore what your customer didn’t like about the gift and what they might fancy even more. Offer some suggestions on items that might they might find more appealing.
• Suggest ways to make sure it doesn’t happen again!
  Offer options for sharing their “wish list” with a friend or loved one to ensure they receive the perfect gift next time.

Remember, it takes about nine times as much as to make a new customer, as it does to retain an old customer.  So to help you develop on positive perspective of the word ‘RETURN’, consider this acronym:

Readiness – Expertise – Trustworthiness – Understanding – Responsibility – Nurturing

Readiness – Be ready for your customers by preparing open-ended questions in advance to help you establish an emotional connection. Be prepared to take note of important dates, celebrations, preferences, and personal details. Ensure you are practiced on how to present your contact information to the customer gracefully.

Expertise – Be an expert on your product and services. Share what new items or features may be debuting that might be of interest your customer. Offer to be available to answer any questions or concerns they may have in the future.

Trustworthiness – How many times has a sales associate asked to you provide a phone number or email address without first establishing a level of trust? If you take the time to create an emotional connection, customers will be more likely to share their personal information. In addition, if you explain why you’re asking for contact information – for example, to keep them informed of new products, upcoming events, sales, etc. – you will provide an incentive for customers to share their data.

Understanding –  It’s not the number of questions you ask, but rather the kind of questions you ask that will help you build trust in your customer relationships. Asking open-ended and strategic questions will not only increase your warmth factor, you’ll also learn what your customers like and what features are most important to them. This earlier post will help you learn what questions to ask: “Good Salespeople Have Great Answers, but Great Salespeople Have Great Questions.”

Responsibility – As a luxury associate, you are responsible for cultivating the client relationship. Consider all the reasons you may have to reconnect with a customer once you’ve made the sale: a handwritten thank you note, a follow-up call to make sure everything is working, a check-in to ensure the gift was delivered, a service reminder, or an invitation to an event.  Additionally, clienteling software can help remind you of upcoming service appointments, special dates, and what’s on customers’ wish lists.

Nurturing – Any relationship requires nurturing and attention in order to grow. Luxury associates need to demonstrate genuine care and concern for their customers. Care needs to inform everything a luxury associate does: caring about the customer, caring about the customer’s needs, caring about the luxury experience, and caring about the presentation. Recently a Gartner Group study found 80 percent of your sales will come from just 20 percent of your existing customers. This is why it’s so important to continually nurture the customer relationship.

If you keep in mind that every return presents an opportunity for you to connect with a customer, you can turn January into your favorite time of year.

Choice Words: How to Speak to the Luxury Customer

It’s been said that women fall in love with their ears and men with their eyes. I studied music and have an ear for languages. So perhaps this is why I’m particularly attuned to the words I hear, especially when those words are delivered as part of a luxury customer experience.

 Everything about the luxury  experience—the colors, aromas, sounds, and language—must work together to create the complete luxury aesthetic. If any element does not align, the messaging becomes muddled. Luxury brands spend large sums to ensure the boutique lighting is just right, the appointments are lavish, and the marketing images tell the brand story; yet they sometimes fail to make sure their sales associates’ language consistently conveys the tone of the brand.

To understand the powerful relationship between vocabulary and brand, I perused several well-known luxury websites and selected some choice words. Read through the following lists and listen to how each word resonates with the brand message:

CHANEL: couturier, glorifies, exhilarating, precious, extravagant, richness, exalts, accentuates, mysterious, magical, eternal. spell, elegance, trumps, illuminates,  decoration, classic, elegance, shines, triumphs, signature, surprising, unexpected, fresh, impeccable, flawless, conjures, whimsical, fearless, sexy and timeless

PATEK PHILLIPE: unfaltering, rare, expertise, elegant, savoir faire, rich, timeless, stylish, pride, enduring, unparalleled, prestige, connoisseurs, perfection, undisputed supremacy, excellence, trustworthiness, ingenuity, passion, noble, pioneering, finest, investment, reputation, sentimental, treasured,  discretion, aristocratic, tradition

ROLLS-ROYCE: best in the world, illustrious, powerful, pedigreed, commanding, unforgettable, authority, striking, unrivalled, supple, graceful, ultimate, palatial, exquisite, bespoke, precise, refinement, embrace, sleek, grand, sublime

If I had separated the brand names from their respective vocabularies, would you have been able to guess which brand name corresponded to which wording?

Language can be evocative and seductive. The perfect word can conjure an image, arouse an emotion or spark a memory.  By taking the time to polish and refine your luxury vocabulary, you can complete the luxury brand experience for your customer. Click on the Luxury Lexicon link here or on the menu above to access a list of words to get you started. Be sure to read your brand’s marketing materials, advertisements, and social media posts. Capture those words you feel exemplify your brand and incorporate them into your customer dialogues. Open your ears to the words you, yourself, hear as a customer and adopt those that please you. I invite you to share your own favorite luxury words in the Comments section below. Selected entries will be added to the Luxury Lexicon.

The January Return Blues: Turning Returns into Opportunities

The word ‘return’ can make even the most seasoned sales associate quiver with fear. Yet the returning customer presents a golden opportunity for luxury associates to foster the customer relationship. Your mindset can play an important role in cultivating customer relationships. If you view “returns” as a hassle or something that causes you stress, then customers will sense your aggravation. But if you treat the return as an occasion to build and strengthen the connection you have to your customers, you will have laid the path for them to return again and again. Below are some tips to help you avoid the “January Return Blues.”

Goldilocks and the 9 oz. pour

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I have recently rejoined the ranks of business travelers. Of course, many things have changed since the onset of COVID-19—from needing to wear face masks in the air to experiencing hotel life without room service (and without your room being serviced). These minor inconveniences aside, I was pleased to discover a change that is not in any way related to the pandemic, but is certainly something I had wished for time and time again.

Before I go any further, I’d like to digress a bit to talk about Goldilocks, since she is an integral character in my story. As you may know, Goldilocks was the young girl who stumbled upon the house of the three bears and, uninvited, went inside (breaking and entering might be a more apt description). Once inside, Goldilocks found Papa Bear’s porridge too hot and his bed too hard. At the other end of the spectrum, Mama Bear’s porridge was too cold and her bed too soft. Baby Bear’s porridge and bed, however, were “just right” for Goldilocks—an “impudent, rude little girl” according to the fairy tale. Though I try never to be impudent or rude, I do sometimes wish for an in-between option when presented with two choices. I want that “just right” choice afforded little Ms. Goldilocks.

“What does all this have to do with luxury service?” and “What is the 9 oz. pour?” you may ask. When ordering wine at a restaurant, the standard pour is 6 oz., and the wine is customarily served before the meal. This means I’ve usually enjoyed a few sips of wine before my dinner arrives, but then I run out of wine before I’ve finished eating. I must then decide either to order another glass of wine or to drink the water, which by now is warm. A second full glass is often more than I want at this point. I have, on occasion, asked whether I could purchase a 1/2 glass of wine and am usually told “no.” But I now see a few restaurants are offering the choice of a 6 oz. or a 9 oz. glass of wine, priced accordingly. This is my Goldilocks moment—9 oz. is “just right!”

This has led me to think about other ways the service industry might offer Goldilocks moments. One that immediately comes to mind is the idea of the late checkout. Most hotels require you to checkout before noon. Of course, you may still have a day of sightseeing planned or perhaps have a late flight, and it would be wonderful if you could have just a few extra hours in the room. Now several hotels make that option available at an additional cost, or offer it as a perk to their premier level guests. Either way, guests can opt for the checkout that’s “just right” for them.

Think about other ways you might be more accommodating to your customers. If you offer only one option, is there a way customers can extend or add to it, or a way they can reduce it to better meet their needs? If you currently offer two options, is it possible to present a middle choice? How can you add some flexibility in the choices you offer? Remember, the luxury customer always appreciates the opportunity to customize or personalize their selections.

And while you’re pondering that, Goldilocks is going to go enjoy her nice, perfectly-sized glass of wine.

When “No problem” is a Problem

One of the perks of working in the luxury industry is that you sometimes get to stay in lovely places and dine in very nice restaurants. One of the drawbacks is that you can become hypercritical of the service you receive. I write this blog with the intent of providing insight and guidance on what luxury customer service should look like. If I call out a particular phrase or behavior, it’s not from arrogance, but from a strong belief that when customers are willing to spend more, they should receive a commensurate level of service. That means every action, word, gesture, and expression on the part of the luxury sales and customer service professional should echo the premier experience. The luxury professional should always be thinking of ways to improve the customer experience. When I was at Tiffany & Co., the mantra was “always say it better.” That translated to taking a moment after each customer interaction to reflect upon how you could have improved the experience for the customer and how you might have phrased something better. Which brings me to my latest pet peeve.

During a recent business trip to Miami, I was looking forward to a lovely dinner at a highly recommended restaurant. Everything was perfect—the linens were white and crisp, the silverware gleamed, the menu presented tantalizing suggestions, and the lighting and music were appropriately subdued. I made my selection and after a few minutes the waitperson returned with the glass of wine I had ordered. As she set it down before me, I said, “Thank you very much.” She smiled and replied, “No problem.”

The response, “No problem,” is something I expect to hear when I thank the roadside assistance person for changing my tire, when I thank Siri for telling me what film won Best Picture, or when I extend my gratitude to the clerk who bagged my groceries. The phrase is fine in an informal context, but I cringe a bit when I hear it in a luxury setting. It may be a little thing, but when it comes to delivering exceptional service, it’s all about the little things. “No problem” also contains two negative words: ‘no’ and ‘problem’. If I’m thanking you, why should the first word out of your mouth be “no” and what exactly was the “problem” we managed to avoid?

There are a few other phrases I would group with “no problem” as being too casual for a luxury experience:

“No worries.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Of course.”
“Anytime.”

So how can we say it better? A simple, “You’re welcome,” is always a welcomed response. Other more appropriate replies include:

“You’re very welcome.”
“You’re so welcome.”
“You’re most welcome.”
“With pleasure.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“It’s my sincere pleasure.”
“It was very much my pleasure.”
“Certainly. I’m happy to be of service (or assistance).”
“Thank you for your patronage.”

Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to create a memorable and enjoyable experience. Consider how you can create a warm and engaging greeting and how your parting words might encourage a customer to return. But also think about how you might improve all the small exchanges in between the greeting and farewell to enhance the luxury experience. How can you say it better?

I’ve only offered a few ideas here and I’m certain my readers have more to share. How do you respond to “thank you?” I invite you to contribute your own suggestions below.

Those Little Things Really Do Count

When you travel as much as I do (over 100,000 miles last year) AND you write a blog about customer service (four years running), you can start to overlook the little things, feel jaded, and think you’ve written just about everything you can about luxury customer service. Then the littlest thing can happen and you’re reminded again how important good customer service is and to appreciate those who go out of their way to provide it.

We’ve all read the stories of luxury hotel staff who have flown across the country to deliver a laptop inadvertently left behind, or the department store that allowed a customer to “return” four tires even though they don’t sell tires. All grand gestures indeed and worthy of acknowledgement. But this post is dedicated to those who serve in the smallest of ways. Those  who take the time to notice what’s going on and then make that small, extra effort to make your day.

Frontline associates need to become fluent in brand language

Nice article in Luxury Daily about my recent LuxeCX talk on training customer-facing teams for transformational luxury customer experiences: https://www.luxurydaily.com/frontline-associates-need-to-become-fluent-in-brand-language/

 

LuxeCX Roundtable: Transforming the Customer Experience Means Transforming the Sales and Support Teams

I recently had the honor of presenting at the LuxeCX Customer Experience in Luxury Roundtable in New York City hosted by Luxury Daily. The conference featured eighteen speakers focused on the critical role of customer experience in the luxury sector. My own presentation centered on the need to train sales and support teams whenever you are in the process of transforming your customer experience.

Brand and marketing teams often drive new customer experience transformation initiatives. But, in my years of leading the training function of some well-recognized luxury brands, I found they frequently forget to include the front-line customer ambassadors: sales and customer service teams. The sales and customer service associates are the “bookends” of the customer journey. Sales associates are usually the first point of contact your customer has with the brand and customer service associates support the end stage of the customer experience. More often than not, I had to chase down the directors of the marketing, product and brand teams to find out what new customer initiatives were in play.  My goal was to ensure that the transformed customer experience cycle included our customer-facing teams.

Are You a Luxury Customer?

One of the most difficult challenges in training luxury sales associates, is that they feel disconnected to the customer. They don’t live the “high class” lifestyle they believe their customers revel in. They could never imagine themselves paying so much money for a “frivolous” item. They may even decide a certain customer would never be interested in a high-end brand based simply on how that customer is dressed or what car he or she is driving.

Many of us don’t see ourselves as a luxury customer. Indeed, in a rather humorous piece for the New York Times called “So You’ve Wandered Into a Too Expensive Store,” the comedy writer, Monica Heisey explains the sense of panic that can ensue when you walk into an upscale store:

The air smelled too good; there were too few items on the shelves. By the time you’d touched the first wafer-thin turtleneck, you knew: This is a too-expensive shop.

Heisey then shares some tips on how deal with this embarrassing situation, including asking the salesperson to find another size as a diversionary tactic so she can make a quick exit.