Outdoor retailers say humor can help make the sale – Casual News Now

Did you hear the one about the customer who walked into the patio store?

The salesperson who greeted her made her laugh – AND sold her a new set of furniture for her patio.

While it’s true that you don’t have to be Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel to empty out your showroom and your warehouse, many outdoor retailers have taken a serious look at a serious world — and concluded that what we all need is a laugh first — and better yet, a high-end, high-profit-margin set of patio furniture to go along with it.

Eli Hymer of Gasper Home & Garden Showplace in Richboro, Pennsylvania, is dead-serious when it comes to bringing the funny to his customers, even in the face of divisive politics, economic upheaval and Covid-19.

“I personally like to jump into a lot of sales and make people laugh,” says Hymer. “It’s easier to laugh than it is to do anything else. If a retailer can make them laugh, that’s half the battle because everything in the world is based on relationships.”

Hymer says he has made friends in the business for the past 38 years. Building those relationships has taken time and effort to nurture.

“Every success that I have had, I have earned it,” says Hymer. “A lot of my friends were my customers. I think that you have to show that you care for someone and that goes a long way — being compassionate and showing that you care.”

Those relationships begin with the initial approach in the store. Hymer says that he approaches them as a friend would when they are visiting in their home. Customers are welcomed — and if it appears that they need help, a salesman helps them.

“You have to be observant,” says Hymer. “If we see them lingering at one product, we will ask them if they have questions. We will introduce ourselves and back off and say ‘thank you,’ and ask them to contact you if they have a question.” 

If they are just there to look, the customer is thanked, because the store recognizes that without customers, there would not be a business to worry about.

“We don’t hover over them,” says Hymer. “By the end of the sale, we have a new customer and a new friend, also.”

Susan Kiley, owner of Bay Breeze Patio in Miramar Beach, Florida, says that people purposefully come to her store for fun and furniture.

“Here is where I believe we shine,” says Kiley. “People come to our store to have a good time — to talk, laugh and eventually buy. We are involved a lot in our community and so pretty much everybody knows us. People come to get recommendations on all kinds of other businesses. Engaging the customer is not a challenge for us.”

Kiley said that it’s easy to ride the fine line between helping customers and not overwhelming them.

“When your showroom is only 2,500 square feet, you can pretty much read their lips,” she says. “We greet everyone and let them know we are around for questions. We don’t hover — we are too busy to hover.”

Does she have any suggestions on sales tactics or conversation starters?

“We treat people the way we would like to be treated,” she says. “Pretty simple.”

Rob Decker, sales manager for Outdoor Elegance Patio Design Center in La Verne, California, says that visitors to his store will be greeted at the front door as soon as they come in.

“We will ask them if this is their first time in the store and what brought them in,” he says. “We will give a brief overview of our store and all the options that are available to them. We will then provide them with a chance to browse. Once you are able to break the ice, things flow a lot better, and the interaction becomes a lot more fluid for both parties.”

Once the customer has had a chance to look around, sales associates make it a point to get a clear understanding of what they are looking for, so they can be guided accordingly.

The key is to move in and back off, as needed.
  
“We will check in again with them a short time later to see if they have any questions at that time,” says Decker. “We do not hover over them as they look. We feel that creates an uncomfortable shopping environment.”