The holidays are almost here, as hard as it is to believe, and many people have already started their shopping. It should be a very productive time of year for salespeople, but there are differences between selling at this time of the year compared to the others.

The first is the simple fact that your customer base is different from those who come to see you during the other times of the year. A good deal of them only shop during the holidays, and would rather be doing anything else.

As a salesperson, the best thing you can do for those customers is to make the process as painless as possible. It’s vital that you listen to what they want and don’t waste their time. They really don’t want to be there in the first place, so don’t give them a reason to leave.

Their goal is to get in, buy what they need to and get out. A professional salesperson understands that and caters to their needs. It’s probably a good idea to stay away from non-business conversations up front, and get right into the business part of the sale.

One of two things are likely to happen in cases like this and it is up to you to quickly dissect which of the two it is. The customer may know exactly what they want and your job is to deliver it to them. Don’t waste their time showing them things that they obviously have no use for.

The second is the fact that the customer may have no idea what they want to buy for their family or friends. Then it’s your job to ask the right questions and lead them to the right decisions. Ask questions like, what have you seen before that he/she would love to have, what do they like to do for fun, what are their hobbies and so on.

Once you get the answers to the questions, give them a list of possible options and let them decide what would be the best gift for whomever they are buying for.

It’s always the job of a salesperson to help their customers get exactly what they need, but that job is even more important during the holidays.

FINAO - Brad Huisken