Exact Sales Tip #1: Are You Selling Furniture, or Helping Customers Buy It?

For much of my career, I’ve believed that the best salespeople are expert diagnosticians. Selling should be a form of proactive service, measured not simply by sales volume but by the trust created along the way. Average salespeople determine what product or service the customer wants to buy. High-earning salespeople, however, understand what customers are trying to accomplish and, just as importantly, make sure every purchase feels like they made the right decision long after the sale is over.

I learned this years ago while working in the banking industry overseeing hundreds of branches, frontline teams, product development, training, and customer service. Our customers often told us about their banking needs, frustrations and wish lists, but more often they didn’t.

Eventually, banks learned to pay attention to what they were “telling” us. For example, they wanted access to cash when branches were closed, so we created ATMs. People used checking accounts and credit cards not simply to make payments, but to manage their financial lives. Today, tools that categorize and analyze spending are routinely built into the everyday banking experience.

Furniture Retail Is No different.



Watching what customers do around a product, or what they would like to do but can’t, can reveal opportunities to improve the experience. Imagine a customer admiring a beautiful teak kitchen table. The obvious sales conversation might address dimensions, finish, construction, delivery, and price, but what if the salesperson asks, “Tell me how this table is actually going to be used?”

• Now we learn there is a three-year-old at home.
• The family will use the table for meals, homework, crayons, pens and weekend craft projects.
• The customer wants it to look nearly new five years from now and doesn’t want to worry about every spill or mark.

Suddenly, the question isn’t whether the table is beautiful. It is whether it is the right table for this customer. That is the power of consultative selling.

A salesperson willing to say, “I love this table, but based on what you’ve told me, I’m not sure it’s your best choice,” may steer the customer away from that particular table. But they may also build confidence that leads the customer to make a better purchase and their store to gain something even more valuable: trust.

That is where diagnostic selling becomes more than a sales technique. It can become part of a retailer’s brand.

Customers can buy furniture from many places. Competitive retailers can match price and promotions. Many stores sell the same brands. But imagine becoming known as the retailer customers trust to help them make the right decision.

The goal is for a consumer to think, “If I go to XYZ Furniture, I know they’ll help me choose the right furniture for me.” That reputation is built one conversation at a time by asking better questions before recommending a product. The sale matters. So does what happens afterward.

The best furniture retailers are known not simply for what they sell, but for how well they match the furniture to the people who will actually live with it.

In my next article, I’ll share a practical set of diagnostic questions salespeople can use to better understand that future ownership experience before the customer buys.

About The Author: Ken Olan is the founder of ExactMade®, a Houston-based company that develops precision-made solutions for the surfaces people live and work with. Through the ExactMade® Applied Ergonomics Initiative™, the company studies how people interact with those surfaces, what they want from them, and how to translate those insights into better everyday experiences.  The company’s products include EXACTMATS custom-sized clear furniture protectors sold by furniture retailers nationwide. Learn more at www.exactmats.com or contact Ken at[email protected].