To many people, a trip to the high street shops is a weekly or if not a regular event. Many people enjoy the hustle and bustle of a busy store, crammed with fellow shoppers and staff.

I for one don’t enjoy the experience at all. I have my reasons for this, I spent a lot of my early career working in retail sales and always associate shopping with a work situation. I’m sure many of you also do this. I also find it difficult to switch off from my working thoughts when I am shopping.

Having spent over twenty years in the sales industry I find it hard to ignore and to overlook what sales techniques are being used.

For example, if I am browsing in a shop and here the sales staff asks me if “I’m ok” or if “I need any help”, I shudder. Why? Because it’s a prime example of how not to approach somebody if your working in sales!

The retail sector is huge, with companies making extraordinary amounts of money each year. I find it very hard to believe that they wouldn’t have invested in a program to train their staff and find it hard to believe why the staff in turn don’t use what they have been taught.

After all, it’s what they are paid to do! If you work in sales and haven’t had much in the way of training, here is some advice: don’t ask questions that can prompt a simple one word answer as a response. These are called closed ended questions, which you should always look to avoid.

If possible, a customer will look to end any contact with a sales person, as we as people, do not like to feel pressurised at all. Even if we are going to make a purchase and the question is of what instead of if at all!

A better way of building rapport with a customer is to ask an open ended question, or in other words a question that will allow the customer to respond thoroughly. For example, asking what types of products they may be interested in will usually spark a conversation.

This will put the customer more at ease with the potential sales situation and you will also be able to recommend products based on the information they are providing for you.

Give it a try, there is no doubt that you will find yourself spending more time with customers and that your conversation to sales ratio will improve dramatically.