15 May Tell me your story….
I was at a craft fair this weekend and I can’t help myself from sussing out which people are selling the most and why.
Sometimes it can be down to a great product of course but if you look around you’ll see that there are lots of stalls selling similiar things – jewellery, knitted goods, vintage cutesy things, retro stuff, items carved from wood and so on.
What I noticed was that some stall holders were standing there waiting for a sale and some were chatting and interacting with the people browsing their wares. Which ones were making the most sales?
Of course, the ones who were having a chat. And I don’t mean a chat in salesy, pushy, uncomfortable type of way – I mean just having a chat.
I like to call it ‘connecting with your customers’. People buy from people and they want to know a little bit more about you. If they like you then they’re much more likely to buy from you.
People also love to hear a good story – particularly why you’re selling whatever it is you’re selling.
When they listen to this and hear how passionate you are about your business they are likely to want to buy something from you if they need it or not.
It’s not selling – it’s just letting people know more about you and why you are doing this.
Let me give you a little example:
Person A and person B are both selling handknitted cardigans. I wander over to both of them and ask a price.
Person A says £12.
Person B says ‘That one’s a favourite of mine, it’s £12.50. I started knitting these when my grandson was born as I just couldn’t find any quality knitted clothes in the shops. Once I started I remembered how much I used to love to knit with my own Granny and now I can’t stop. I knit in the evenings mainly as I find it more relaxing than watching the tv. Now my grandson’s older I decided to start selling them to friends and family and recently I’ve begun taking a stall here. Who are you looking to buy for?’
Which one are you more likely to buy from?
What’s your story? What made you set up your own business? What makes you care so much about it? How does it fit into the rest of your life?
Be ready to share it with your customers and please let me know yours by leaving a comment below.
Alison Bradford
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