Why do you think LDS should change their sales approach!

[NC Air Hog]

One of the things that helped our shop out in a lot of ways was to simply not have a sales tactic at all. Everyone here is just as honest as we can be and people can form their own opinions of us from there. We are just a bunch of old military guys and tend to act that way. Pressuring people into purchasing a certain type of gear is just not needed. If someone is going to do a type of diving, public safety for instance, then we will absolutely give them our best advice. The final decision must come from them though. I qualify it as bad business to sell an unsealed first stage reg to a public safety diver. The same could be said to sell a titanium reg to a tech diver that uses high O2 all of the time. Pushing people into sales is the best way to push them out the door.

Why is it such a bad thing to just tell someone that you do not know the answer to a question and then find the answer together? Maybe some Dive Pros should just get off of their high horse for a while and get back down to the "normal diver" level. No one is perfect and pressuring someone to make a decision that they may later regret coudl possibly push them out of the sport all together.

 

[Asteve]

My wife was in sales and took a lot of classes. One night we were watching the movie "The Music Man" and she said she did not know why she had spent all that time in class when all she had to do was watch the movie. Everything you need to know about selling is there.Sale boils down to finding what the customer problem is ( and if they don't know they have a problem point it out) and then you sell the fix.

Selling is a lot of hard work.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

How is the local dive shop going to save scuba diving? I think you are giving them too much influence. People aren't getting into diving because it is an expensive hobby and real incomes are down. People have better things to spend their money on. Also there are no underwater shows like Jacques Cousteau who showed the beauty of the ocean. Instead we have Discovery Channel's crap Shark Week and River Monsters which sensationalize and over dramatize the viciousness of sea life. People think if they jump in the water they are going to be attacked by a great white or a giant squid.

I can't do this anymore.
I gotta take a break from SB.
See ya.

 

[victorzamora]

How is the local dive shop going to save scuba diving?

The local dive shop is going to save scuba diving by not being incompetent. Dive shops think they're going to get a steady stream of customers because of how great scuba diving is. There's very little positive advertisement, and a lot of people have been turned off by dive shops and the dive industry. Other industries are reaching out and grabbing people. This one seems complacent with letting things just happen.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It's going to be tough for the LDS to save diving when so many are doing a bang up job trying to kill it. Divers and conscientious instructors will save scuba. In spite of some LDS's, resorts, DEMA, and shady operators.

 

[Z Gear]

How is the local dive shop going to save scuba diving? I think you are giving them too much influence. People aren't getting into diving because it is an expensive hobby and real incomes are down. People have better things to spend their money on. Also there are no underwater shows like Jacques Cousteau who showed the beauty of the ocean. Instead we have Discovery Channel's crap Shark Week and River Monsters which sensationalize and over dramatize the viciousness of sea life. People think if they jump in the water they are going to be attacked by a great white or a giant squid.

There are times where curiosity draws a non diver in a store. Sometimes they can come with a friend other times alone. The thing is the reception a new person(non diver) gets in this case is very important. You see they are trying to get a feel for this activity. They don't know what to expect so they are taking a step in the door to see someone can give that to them.

I believe the emphasis on proper sales approach is a vital component for the future of scuba diving. It will probably lead to different ways we reach out to the out public. We can find better ways to connect though this process and ultimately achieve more growth in this industry.

Spending money on certain hobbies can be debated when you compare other more visible ones such as Golf, or skiing in my opinion.

Frank G
www.zgearinc.com

 

[Doomnova]

Honestly of the 4 dive shops in my local area 1 I haves wore I will never do any business with beyond getting a charter from (after their training and selling of my first drysuit to me...which they miss measured my neck for the custom suit and wanted to charge me $700 for their mistake) One I have done 0 business with (too far away but I hear they are pretty good there) ad two others I have done business with(including the one I do my current business with). The one thing that the two businesses I do not go to have in common is the up selling of gear. I sit there and get to listen to how x is better then y and when I ask them why they do not use y they say its crap when I know from seeing them they use y. The difference is the fact x is worth 30-40% more and when you dig around you find out its a worse product. One thing I do these days is read before i buy anything. Every item I even think of is methodically search for and user reviews (not the paid companies) to find the pro's and con's of each. So I walk in I have a pretty good idea of what I want and i get the x vs y upsell every time I open the door. The shop I do my current business with sits down and discusses he pros and cons of each choice without the upselling rigmarole saying this is what you are looking for this is what I have/can get in these are the prices and these are the features. From there the decision is yours. If he has not used that particular piece of equipment he won't just say well its better because x. He say I honestly have not used that piece of gear and cannot say as to its pros and cons and if he has stuff in rentals he willing to let you try before you buy. What does he do that the others don't he listens to what you have to say and makes suggestions off that while not trying to guilt trip you into buying.

Conversely while I do not run a business I could in terms of building computers. When my friends or friends of friends of friends are considering building computers I usually get mails or FB invites. Why because I ask what they want. how much money they have and if I see a good deal on a part if they are willing to wiggle a bit. And what it is going to be used for and how long before they want to upgrade their comps. From those queries I can pretty much tell them the best laptops, desktops/custom desktop parts that they need for what they are after at a reasonable price. Which is not what Dell and co sell their glorified calculators at...alienware gaming comps I cry every time I see someone with one....soo bloody overpriced for what you get (those comps on a bad day are worth about ~3000 for their top end models).

The long and short. Too many salesmen talk about something they do not know because they do not use or hide what they use to upsell while few actually listen to give you honest feedback on your choice and not try to guilt you into buying x. They forget the adage my first store boss worked on"a happy and satisfied customer will return and gladly buy again. An upset customer will tell are their friends about your store and you'll lose them and 10 more possible customers". Of the 4 shops in town the shop I do business with is very busy even during off season and has a very good retention rate of customers.

 

[ajduplessis]

If a man asks for an apple, give him an apple!

 

[Z Gear]

The local dive shop is going to save scuba diving by not being incompetent. Dive shops think they're going to get a steady stream of customers because of how great scuba diving is. There's very little positive advertisement, and a lot of people have been turned off by dive shops and the dive industry. Other industries are reaching out and grabbing people. This one seems complacent with letting things just happen.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

---------- Post added January 18th, 2015 at 11:01 PM ----------

It's going to be tough for the LDS to save diving when so many are doing a bang up job trying to kill it. Divers and conscientious instructors will save scuba. In spite of some LDS's, resorts, DEMA, and shady operators.

Keeping it a float or surviving is just that, surviving! It will not help in making it more affordable for others and it is not the future of diving. There are lot of untouched people whom might have the desire to try Diving. Our industry has to find ways to reach them.

Eric, I and a few others have mentioned the importance a trained sales person has in effectively approaching this scenario. It has to be refined a bit if we want to have better results. To better understand the what I am referring to read the following quote from Erics post, he nails it pretty good.

" A good salesperson has the ability to be a great presenter without any direct appearance of an alterior motive or hidden agenda... but let's face it, it takes money to exists. The money needs to be thought of almost as a by product of something bigger, and that is the important needs and happiness/satisfaction of the customer. The client wants to be made whole somehow, they came in for a reason, they have a need and the void that they came in to fill needs to be satisfied, if that makes sense. You need to tune in their emotions like a radio station and be able to know where they're coming from and what they want, then communicate on that level.

Helping people fullfill themselves is your number one priority, and the money you get paid for those services is simply a by-product. That's how you have to think of it, and people pick up on that."

The goal here is to present a good tool for LDS to look at. To use what they have around them to make the connection with non divers better. The sales training focused in this area was the heart of the topic. Making our industry grow is the goal. These positive steps are important and most of all they can be done.

The question is , are there any LDS owners or staff seriously considering or already implementing something in this area?

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear