Ask Pete – Time Management

Ask Pete – Time Management

Question: Sometimes I seem so overwhelmed. There are many tasks that I need to do everyday. Do you have any tips for time management in a retail store? -Patty Answer: I do. You cannot manage time! Only God can do that! But you can manage yourself! I learned this from the great Henry Habeeb many years ago [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Engage…Do Not Run!

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Engage…Do Not Run!

An owner recently shrieked in horror as he listened to one of his RSAs miss a great opportunity to engage a retail customer looking at a particular mattress. Instead of taking the time to ask meaningful questions to discover the customer’s needs, the RSA simply switched the customer to another product. Here is the rest [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Do This To Increase Your Mattress Sales!

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Do This To Increase Your Mattress Sales!

Here is one thing you can do to increase your sales dramatically. Boost your sales with a comfort test! A well designed comfort test helps you engage the customer while you fully discover their needs and gain valuable feedback from them. Here are some components of a successful comfort test. Tell Them Why- Explain to your [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – I’m Hired, Now What?

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – I’m Hired, Now What?

In the past day I received two emails from two different new salespeople thanking me for their initial mattress training. They then asked me what they could do to be as productive as fast as possible. My answers included both short term and long term strategies and tactics. Here they are! Mentor- Model yourself after [...]

Retail Furniture & Mattress Stores – How To Structure A Comfort Guarantee

Retail Furniture & Mattress Stores – How To Structure A Comfort Guarantee

Originally this article was going to be named “Should You Offer A Comfort Guarantee?”  But after interviewing the top ten mattress dealers I know, they all laughed at the question. In their minds any dealer who sells mattresses should offer a comfort guarantee. While they acknowledged the importance of the comfort guarantee they warned that [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – What Does Buying Tires Have To Do With Buying Mattresses?

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – What Does Buying Tires Have To Do With Buying Mattresses?

When my old boss from Serta Jeff Allen would train retail salespeople he would compare shopping for tires to mattress shopping. His reasons for doing so were because of the similarities between the two products. They were both need driven purchases which were highly promoted and both had high levels of customer confusion. Sadly enough [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Autumn the Season of Change!

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – Autumn the Season of Change!

This past weekend I went home to upstate New York to pick apples, which is a tradition in our family. The leaves were starting to change color and the mountains were beautiful featuring shades of red and yellow leaves. Autumn is my favorite time of year. After returning home I began to think about autumn [...]

Furniture & Mattress Stores – How I Saved My Business!

Furniture & Mattress Stores – How I Saved My Business!

I was losing my business. I could no longer pay my bills on time. I have always had great relationships with my vendors. I never chose a confrontational negotiating style. I have been transparent with my vendors, allowing their hunger for increased volume to drive their prices down which gave me the margin I thought [...]

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – The Power of You!

Selling Furniture & Mattresses – The Power of You!

The furniture and mattress industries are ripe with knockoffs. Knockoffs are generally lower quality and lower priced merchandise that is inspired by a high quality runaway bestseller. After spending 29 years in this industry, I do get a chuckle when a manufacturer tries to knockoff an item that is not really a bestseller. Some executives [...]

Ask Pete – Increasing Protect-A-Bed Sales

Ask Pete – Increasing Protect-A-Bed Sales

Question: I know you have trained me on how to sell Protect A Bed and I am selling a lot of them. I do want to sell more. We have a beautiful display and I use the swatches of premium in all my demos. Is there anything else I can do to increase my Protect A [...]