Let’s turn back the hands of time to the fall of 1987. As you might recall, the National Football League was on strike. It meant my beloved Chicago Bears, who at that time, were the “Monsters of the Midway,” a perennial powerhouse in the NFL, wouldn’t take to the gridiron on Sunday afternoon.

So on a “silent” Sunday, with no desire to watch the “Replacement Players” play, my wife and I decided to hop into the car and head to a local mall — to shop for a dress. (The dress was for her!)

The name of the first store we entered is unimportant. However, these two owners had apparently done quite well! One of them came from aristocracy, he was a “lord” and his buddy was a “tailor!”

Sheryl quickly found a dress. Tried it on. Loved it. Decided to buy it. We then stood in line bBehind one customer for almost 15 minutes. Sheryl finally said, “I’m tired of waiting. Let’s go.”

We then headed to a nearby cosmetics store. After 10 minutes, Sheryl emerged with that tiny little bag, filled with important stuff that I’m never quite sure what it does, nor how it works.

While Sheryl was ready to head home, I said, “Dear, you really liked that dress, didn’t you?” She nodded.

I then added, “So let’s head back.” We did.

The dress was in the same place Sheryl had left it 15 minutes earlier, (on the sales counter, as suggested by the sales person).

Sheryl picked it up and we proceeded to wait behind another customer for another 10 minutes!

My wife was once again frustrated. She turned to me and said, “Jeffery, if they don’t want our business, then they won’t get it.”

While she was disappointed. I was delighted because in my business, this is called “research.”

As we prepared to leave, we had a choice … head to the right, for the parking lot or, to the left and one more store.

I asked, “Honey, are you willing to try another store?” She replied, “Well … if you don’t mind, I’d really like to find a dress.”

I didn’t mind, because it would be the opportunity to do more research!

As we entered a young, energetic sales woman cheerfully greeted us with a big smile and asked, “Hi, how can I help you?”

Sheryl quickly answered, “Just take care of us!”

The sales woman wondered, “Why, what happened?”

Sheryl waxed rhapsodic about her “dress disappointment.” The sales woman listened intently. Never interrupted. She waited for Sheryl to finish and then inquired with a series of questions. “Tell me about the dress you saw. What did you like about it? When do you intend to wear it? How do you feel about the style, the color, the material?”

As Sheryl gave a detailed explanation, the sales woman exclaimed, “I’ll be right back. Think we’ve got something like it that you’ll love even more!”

She re-emerged, in about 10 seconds and asked, “Sheryl, what do you think of this?”

Sheryl said excitedly, “Let me try it on!”

When she exited the dressing room, she looked beautiful and exclaimed, “I’ll take it!”

While many salespeople would have been thrilled with the sale, this sales woman, initially, said nothing. Finally, she declared, “Sheryl, you look fabulous in that dress and wouldn’t this scarf be a perfect accessory?”

Sheryl said, “You’re right, I’ll take that too!”

Now, what follows? You guessed it, earrings, a purse and shoes.

I figured, at this point, enough research!

I bolted out of that store to let my wife continue her commitment to the local economy!

And to take cover, quickly decided to conduct more research in a few more stores.

Was just curious, about the level of professionalism I was likely to encounter. Wondered if I’d meet a talented pro or someone who would reinforce the monotony, mediocrity and complacency of selling and serving others, that we experienced earlier.

As I entered the next store, a salesman slowly shuffled toward me and asked the typical closed-ended question, “Can I help you?” I replied, “No, just looking.” He shrugged, turned and left.

I exited and entered the next store. A saleswoman glanced out from the backroom and yelled, “can I help you?” Once again, I said, “No, just looking.” She screamed back, “No problem. If you need me, I’ll be back here doing inventory.” Apparently, she wanted me to help her count!

I entered the third store. A young fellow approached me with a brisk pace and a big smile. There was hope in my heart and belief in my brain, he’d be different. He was. Because he asked me a question, to this day I’ll never forget.

He said, “Hi, just looking?”

I panicked. He had my line!

Lessons for any sales culture:

n Quickly acknowledge your customers.

n Keep waiting time to a minimum

n Ask open-ended questions that engage others.

n Use your customer’s name.

n Listen intently and empathetically.

n Take decisive, helpful action, fast.

n Politely upgrade the sale with value.

n Talk to people, don’t yell at ‘em from a distance.

n Don’t draw false assumptions about what your customer wants to accomplish.

n Hope the NFL never goes on strike again, it makes for a rather expensive Sunday.

Jeff Blackman is a speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer who lives part-time on Marco Island. His clients call him a “business-growth specialist.” Send an e-mail to jeff@jeffblackman.com or go to jeffblackman.com to subscribe to his free e-letter.

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