George Hines, owner of George's Music Stores, Inc., provides valuable tips and insights through these sales training materials, videos and course.  Website: http://www.georgesmusic.com/  The course is structured to allow you to start and stop as needed, and to easily get back to the area of interest. The course index below shows the topics in each chapter.

The use of a selling system gives the retailer an advantage over competitors who do not employ such a process, and allows for a means of measuring improvement in customer relations and sales.

We will be reviewing one such system, step-by-step, in an effort to increase your success as a music retailer by increasing the quality of your customer interactions and improving your competitiveness and profitability.

Target Audience

The course is primarily for music retail Sales Associates and Managers who directly interact on the sales floor with walk-in customers.  It focuses on building relationships with customers and increasing sales by building trust, understanding needs, and leading customers through a question-based approach to make a “buying decision, rather than trying to talk customers into a purchase.

By completing the course and practicing the skills you learn, you should be able to:

• Properly Greet Customers and Build Rapport
• Ask Questions That Uncover the Customer's Needs
• Provide the Customer with Possible Solutions
• Ask Them to Purchase and Handle Basic Objections
• Increase Sales and Build Lasting Relationships

Index

The following Participative Selling for Music Retailers course outline should be helpful to walk you through the complete selling process.

1. Introduction & Overview

1.1. Chapters
1.2. Journal  

2. Why Have a Selling Method?

3. Three Concepts of the Participative Selling Method

3.1 The Three “P’s” of Retail
3.2 Physical Needs vs. Emotional Needs
3.3 “Participative Selling” Overview  

4. Greet Your Customers

4.1 The 10-second rule
4.2 The 2-minute rule 

5. Build Rapport

5.1 Your Best Friend
5.2 Power of Rapport 

6. Establish Purpose

6.1 Why Are They Here? 

7. Qualify Needs

7.1 Ask General, then Specific Questions
7.2 Budget Question 

8. Suggest Product

8.1  Asking Permission
8.2  Affirming the Needs
8.3  Meeting the Budget
8.4  Asking for Feedback 

9. Ask for the Sale

9.1 Respect for the Customer
9.2 Customer Decision Making
9.3 Closing Methods
9.4 Simple Close
9.5  Assumptive Close
9.6  Alternate Close
9.7  Policy Close
9.8  Other Closing Methods 

10. Handle Objections

10.1 "No" Means "Not Enough Info"

10.2 Uncovering the Obstacle
10.3 Simple “NO” Objection
10.4 Product Objections
10.5  Price Objections
10.6 “Have To Think About It”
10.7 Other Common Objections
10.8 Learning From Objections
10.9 Asking Again for the Sale  

11. Seek Referrals

11.1 Value of a Happy Customer
11.2 New Business Opportunities
11.3 Example of Asking for Referral 

12. The Sale After the Sale

12.1 Contact After the Sale
12.2 Customers For Life 

13. Telephone Tactics

13.1 Answering the Phone
13.2 Putting Them On Hold
13.3 Remember the Three “P’s”