Am I only a techie? No. If you scroll down and check my resume, you will realize that I have several graduate certifications in accounting, finance, supply chain management, and marketing.
Do I have business work experience? Of course, I do. Today I would like to share one of my experiences as a Salesperson.
I used to be a beauty advisor at Walgreens, meaning selling skincare and cosmetics, in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. There was one big problem with the location I worked for back then. Cosmetic sales were the lowest compared to the other four stores in the same region. The associate manager asked me if I had any ideas to improve the sales. I asked her if I could visit the other four stores. She gave the addresses to me. When I was off work, I drove to the other four locations to see if I could learn something from them to improve the sales.
I remember the No. 1 sales Walgreens is a rural store. The first impression was when you were in nature without pressure, you felt happier. When I parked at the parking lot, I could see a big pond surrounded by trees. That means when a colleague was taking a break, he or she could always go outside walking around the pond relaxing. After I entered, I realized the whole design was quite different from the other locations.
For example, (1) the shelves are lower than average Walgreens: that means I can grab anything I want easily. That means children can get stuff easily too. (2) at the pharmacy, instead of the chairs, there were two big sofas for the patients (3) through the window, the pharmacists could view the outside, the pond, the trees, ducks, and the birds. After the pharmacists have a tough time with the customers (if you know what I mean, pharmacists have to deal with medical insurance problems all the time), they can look outside with natural healing. (3) Do you know that Kylie Jenner once launched affordable nail polish at Walgreens? I was surprised to see her products in that specific location which I didn't see in other locations. Probably this could attract to the young generation.
Then I talked to the manager in the No. 1 sales location. I introduced myself as a beauty advisor in the Ann Arbor location. I shared my observation about the whole difference from the other locations in the city with the manager. He laughed and he added more. He said, "we know all the customers, we're friends and neighbors". For example, my friend stopped by and grabbed a box of beer for the barbecue tonight. In the evening, all the neighbors would be together enjoying the party.
I enjoyed the whole exploring process comparing the different locations. What I have learned from the No 1 Sales was
- good geography: nature, trees, plants, pond, ducks
- relationship: everybody knows each other, the customers and workers are like a big family
- reachable and comfortable design: lower shelves and sofa
- follow the trend: the only location selling Kylie Jenner Nail Polish
When I came back to my location, I reported to the associate manager. What we could do was to order Kylie Jenner Nail Posh, the list 4. What could we do to change lists 1 to 3?
I realize that we need to observe the needs of our regular customers coming to our location. What do they need? After talking to many customers buying skincare and cosmetics, I realized that the majority of our location customers came to shop dermatologist recommended skin products. There is a popular dermatologist around my location, so usually, the customers could stop by with that dermatologist prescription looking for the specific products. Once realizing this, I started to explore the ingredients of different skin products for different skin problems. For example, the sunscreen with Oxybenzone has the risk of entering the bloodstream extend beyond just the sunscreen wearer. One time, I even started a discussion with a professor from the University of Michigan because he was looking for sunscreen without Oxybenzone.
After several months, the Sales in my location came to No. 2. The associate manager and manager were quite happy about this. They asked me how I achieved this. I believe the keys are:
- Observe more
- Know what your customers needs
- Learn from others who have already done well in that field
- Care more about the details
- Applying the best solution to suit your situation