Selling Furniture. World's Greatest Furniture Salesman. Selling Technique

Claude’s Books;
One Call Closing: The Ultimate Guide To Closing Any Sale In Just One Sales Call amzn.to/3Ack5f4
Sales Prospecting: The Ultimate Guide To Referral Prospecting, Social Contact Marketing, Telephone Prospecting, And Cold Calling To Find Highly Likely Prospects You Can Close In One Call amzn.to/3u21EpO
Selling Essentials: Your First 90 Days In Selling amzn.to/3OqKxpK
Selling Local Advertising: The Best Kept Insider Secrets To Create Local Advertising Sales, FAST! amzn.to/3NnAUa7
Instant Sales Boost Podcast Website www.instantsalesboost.com/
Claude Whitacre has over 40 years of direct sales experience. In that time, he has trained hundreds of salespeople He is the author of six books on the subject of selling, as well as hundreds of articles. He has spoken to over 200 audiences across the US on how to how to find highly likely prospects and closing in one sales call.
Retiring in 2022 from actively selling, Claude wanted to give back to the sales and marketing fields by teaching the strategies and techniques that have proven so effective in his own selling.
One of the many strategies and practices Claude implemented over the decades is working with over 200 top salespeople on real sales appointments, in 71 different industries. He would work with them for a day, prospecting and going on sales appointments, with them. Then they would work with him in the field for a day. Eventually, Claude determined that about 98% of everything he used in his own selling was actually learned from top salespeople outside of his own core industry.
To pay forward what Claude has learned, he wanted to give salespeople the opportunity to benefit from what he did....learn from the best salespeople, experts, sales authors, and trainers from all over the country.
This podcast is that effort.
Claude has videos and articles on the following subjects.
Sales prospecting, cold calling, referral prospecting, social selling, referral selling, sales prospecting training, referral prospecting training, sales prospecting techniques, how to get the best referrals, how to cold call strategically, best cold calling techniques, sales training, best closing techniques, answering sales objections, and one call closing.
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/pdfcoffee.com-webinar-pitch-secrets-20.pdf

[@EstefanieSanz]

I think the important thing here is that Steve was genuinely interested in his customers, he was asking about the house, he asked about their preferences, he put himself in their shoes and felt the excitement of a their new house an the love they had for it, so he took their emotions out!language I am so exited I am about to start my new job at a furniture store. Olivia Furniture, for those in Houston, come and buy.

[@jayoliver7153]

How's that job going?

[@joelpolanco731]

“How long do you want that end table to last?” Excellent question. I’m using that, thanks Caude!

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

You're quite welcome.

[@RyanKlamer]

Love your passion for sales. I watched my dad hard sale people growing up and grew a distaste for the business as my dad was very much the stereotypical sleazy salesperson who had no interest in the customer whatsoever. Years later I found myself in real estate. This year I started my career as a real estate agent and struggled a ton! I then realized it’s because I had a fear of being a “salesperson” the way I viewed my dad. Then I get to see people like you, Steve, and many other great salespeople do an amazing job helping their customers and making a ton while doing it. Thats what I’m striving for and I am beginning to obsess over the power of question based selling. I still have a long way to go but feel like I have grown so much since I started real estate sales this past year. Thanks for an amazing video!

[@Chriostopherbergs]

That was very thoughtful of you Sir. I'm going into furniture sales. Here's the thing, it wasn't a dirty trick. Just damn good sales perception. Raised poor, us folks often miss the big picture because of lack. Thanks again. Christopher

[@Weeble_Wobble]

I know it's a hard time for furniture retailers right now! I sure hope you're still sellong sir. It's all just talking and being truthful to the customer.

[@ou_9268]

Claude. Youve got a great memory man. Thank you for the story!

[@A.Dotin4K]

I sell furniture for Ashley. And this video help me out completely. Thank you

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

That's very kind of you to say.

[@ryanmcilvain9066]

Where you located at? And how's your stock doing right now?

[@A.Dotin4K]

@@ryanmcilvain9066 Ashley New Jersey. Stock is much better. Some beds are out but 88% is in stock.

[@TruthOverFact]

Hey I might dive into an M.I.T. position at an Ashley in Jersey... any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

[@mariaioanna1975]

I also sell custom made furniture in Greece 🇬🇷

[@DiegoBrigante]

Awesome video. Thank you. I'm about to start a job in furniture sales. I appreciate it.

[@TheHurricanePrint]

Some great nuggets there Claude. Thanks. Steve sounds like an excellent salesperson for sure. No hype, just a focus on delivering the best solution for his customers.

[@michaelkennedy4646]

The key to good furniture sales is in the presentation. I have studied the greats. From D.L. Hickey to Ward Hughes. Yoy must embody yourself as an accessory to the furniture. Touch, feel, smell. Let the customer know what it will be like for guests to be enjoying their new sofa. Bring them into a new world. A world where mahogany, fabric and leather embody all that they desire from their living space.

[@Zorg1776]

This the first video I've watched after deciding to pursue this line of work.

[@Nobody1mportant999]

I work at Mathis Brothers and I've always been decent at sales but now I'm obsessing over the process

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

That's what the great ones do. Good luck.

[@Allen-nh8rn]

Great video! I learned a different technique for sales that really applies to anything you buy.

[@kaleelparsons9839]

Enjoyed listening to this one. Thanks for sharing

[@tinloeco]

I was inspired by your story, helps me a better sales professional

[@arshiamurshid915]

Great story, thanks for sharing!

[@divannaviton5488]

I have just found you on KZbin and instantly subscribed. I'm gonna watch all your videos. Thank you

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Thank you. I hope you get a lot out of it.

[@maximthefox]

Dude goes into a shop prepared to purchase a lot of stuff and spend a good amount of money. Salesmen suggests a lot of stuff that he could buy that would suit his needs and he willingly accepts. This doesn't sound like a story in which you were a hard sell or where the salesmen had to do much work to get you to buy more, you were perfectly agreeable to everything the whole time.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

No. As I said in the story.... I went in to buy an ottoman. I imagined I'd spend between $100 and $200. He didn't hard sell, because hard selling is stupid, and rarely works. He asked intelligent questions and opened my mind to the reasons I should buy more now. I wasn't a hard sell because he asked me the right questions and knew how to sell. To an onlooker, master salesmen are just lucky. In my store, when someone watches me sell, they usually say "You were lucky they came in to buy". But they may have come in to spend $5. And the right questions changed that to an $800 sale. Great selling is invisible to the uninitiated. My $100 purchase ended up being about $30,000. And I'm very happy that it did.

[@johnathanstandley2148]

Very rarely is there a hard sell if you as a salesman ask the right questions. All you're doing is putting the pieces of the puzzle for the customer. Paint the picture for them that makes sense to them. If you ask the right open ended questions the customer will tell you how to sell them and if you do that correctly like Steve did closing the sell is as simple as ringing the customer up. I absolutely love the video and story Claude. Sales is an art form and something I am passionate about.

[@drdex6880]

I thought it was an end table.thats why you bought 2,, then the coffee table?? Hmmm

[@jagerhefeweizen]

Thank you for that!

[@peterjewels]

Good story but this is an ideal sell for a motivated salesperson because you honestly laid right down and were a qualified buyer.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I was qualified in that I had money. I wasn't a lay down. he asked the right questions. A lesser salesman would have sold me a cheap ottoman, maybe a couple of end tables. I love buying from great salespeople. And this one was great.

[@craigdutton6072]

My first lesson in selling was by my father ,he had a antique shop that was very well known ,I restored a rare oak ice chest I found at a yard sale and was about to wheel it into the shop ,when a lady saw me and said I want that ice chest mate ❤so I sold it to her in the car park ,she took off all happy as was I 😂then dad said best be giving me my commission son 😂I said dad I didn’t even get into the shop mate 😂he said I’m the hub of sales son you now pay me for that privilege ❤I was young 😂

[@nopillzplease2830]

I learned a lot, it's just nice to know that I am the 'steve' at my place 😅

[@gmanmoney3151]

Upsale , upsale, upsale .... I hate that ! I won't upsale but I will genuinely want them to come back with the idea of buying something they really like when they have the money.

[@reddraiza7742]

Right. I've always found myself returning to certain stores when the sales person wasn't pushy and really was trying to help me find what I liked and needed rather than the most expensive things.

[@PerfectLeeAdventures]

2 years later.. how is your income without upsales?

[@johnny96888]

thanks for the tip, I think it will help my used appliance business to focus on the quality.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Lambdamale.]

Brilliant.

[@marcusmaxwell9487]

Million Dollar Writer in Furniture

[@bigdru2440]

Same here wrote 2.4M last year! Made the club 4 years straight

[@marcusmaxwell9487]

@@bigdru2440 where u at?

[@Chrisadamslifts]

@@bigdru2440 wowwwwww

[@will9683]

Always maximize the ticket👌

[@edwardanca69]

I am a sales consultant for the brick. Thank you for your tips and help

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

You're very kind.

[@michaelgraves8640]

I sell furniture pretty good damn video not to brag Steve sells the way I do Thank you!

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Thank you Sir.

[@codyblackburn2762]

I’m glad I stumbled onto this video. I just started at Levin’s a couple weeks ago, lol.

[@Ezerathicus]

How is it? I was looking into there myself

[@codyblackburn2762]

@@Ezerathicus I really enjoy it. My bosses are relaxed and they are offering 120 days of training pay now. The community where I live all have good rep-or with Levin and the loyalty really helps sells.

[@Ezerathicus]

@@codyblackburn2762 awesome! Thanks for the quick response! I’m gonna put in an application soon!

[@ryangatien6615]

Is Steve still there?

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I have no idea. But I'm sure wherever he is, he's doing well.

[@sincitylegends]

Great storie

[@GUNSHIPFLEX]

Steve sounds great. Sadly for me, he’s my competition if he’s still selling at Levin. Great story

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

This was maybe 15 years ago now. He was in his early 60s, I think. Probably retired now. But once a customer walks in your store, and you greet them, you shouldn't have any competition. The best sales tools for a competent salesperson are the incompetent salespeople the customer had to see before they came to you. And if you are the first store they go to, make sure the is no reason for them to shop around.

[@GUNSHIPFLEX]

@@claudes.whitacre1241 are you from the canton area? Would love to talk to you sometime. I’m in sales but have no formal sales experience. My wife is very successful in her sales position, the #1 person in her company nationwide. I just started last month, have a lot to learn.

[@clydeb7713]

Hate to disillusion you but, the best furniture salesman is Murray Goldberg from TV show, The Goldbergs!

[@WSrambo187]

Barry kills It at the furniture game, that's why Murray let him go!

[@noxsinfox1222]

Useful knowledge thank you.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

You are quite welcome.

[@michaelschneider9305]

Really appreciate the videos reading all the books that you wrote. Selling rainsoft in a great market.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Very kind of you to say so. Could you leave a review on Amazon after you read the books? I'd consider it a huge favor.

[@michaelschneider9305]

@@claudes.whitacre1241 I got the books from my dad Steven Schneider.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

@@michaelschneider9305 Out of hundreds of salespeople that I've trained and had work for me, your father was one of only two that I would have called great. I bet he has plenty of stories about when we worked together. I hope he's in good health and happy. I haven't heard from him in a while.

[@BrowsbyTati]

what an amazing story!

[@Bellaexe5091]

I love lay down sales

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

And the better you are at selling, the more your sales look like lay downs.

[@solutionsatob8092]

Snap a video of that hickory stuff!

[@conservativecrusader80]

What I learned is that the vacuum cleaner business is good!

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

It is for me. One thing I really enjoy is talking to other outstanding salespeople. They possess skills that nobody outside of sales would ever notice or understand. But you are right, you can infer from the story that I'm doing well. Nice observation most wouldn't see.

[@jasonbrown2605]

Thanks for sharing! I just have a couple of questions. #1 If Steve didn't have that 20% bullet, would you have spent $30,000? #2 Did Steve ever have to handle ANY objection?

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Two highly intelligent questions. The 20% free furniture bullet?" I don't really know if it was needed. Adding after every sale "Well, you now have $.... in free furniture coming, what would you like next?" kept the conversation going..... but Steve was great at that without a discount. Him saying "What rooms are you going to furnish in the next few years?" was a real mind opener. Steve didn't need to handle any objections. A masterful salesperson can pre-empt just about any objection by asking questions and framing the offer. Truthfully, We were going to furnish the entire home with new furniture in the next few years anyway. Steve just skillfully led us from one sale to another. It wasn't one big $30,000 sale. It was several much smaller sales. It really did help Steve that I was thoroughly enjoying the process though. My wife was there too. And if she ever said "That's enough for now", that would have been it.

[@jasonbrown2605]

"Thoroughly enjoying the process" My next sales meeting will focus on the transfer of enthusiasm. Thanks again!

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I actually asked my wife yesterday about the "20% free furniture offer" and if it was needed for us to buy all the furniture. She said "No. It wasn't needed.". Maybe that discount got us in the door, but it wasn't needed to sell us. And yeah, buying from a master salesperson is like getting a massage. It's a thoroughly pleasant experience.

[@brianoleson9224]

@@claudes.whitacre1241 2022 recession 30k in furniture like your story oh my the prices today

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

@@brianoleson9224 When we bought this furniture it was i about 2008. Thankfully, we haven't had the need to replace the furniture yet, so I haven't checked prices lately. But I remember that in 2008, we furnished much of a nice home with quality furniture for about $30,000.

[@wbwills2]

Thanks for sharing. Really.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

You're quite welcome.

[@rkooscar6866]

Where is Steve. Can I buy from him

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

No idea where he is. The store he worked at closed several years ago. We bought this furniture maybe 15 years ago, and he was about 60 years old then. I assume he's retired. The store was Lavin's in Fairlawn Ohio.

[@sorayasosa7048]

I wonder why you stopped uploading

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Thanks for noticing. I was in semi-retirement the last few years. I still have the store, but stopped speaking to groups of salespeople. I recently decided to go back into it for a few more years. You'll be seeing plenty of videos on this channel soon.

[@Stormybandit]

Considering I find all my furniture free off the internet and repair it, it is so alarming to hear numbers like $6000. Even 20% off.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

All that furniture you find for free? Somebody originally paid retail for it.

[@thomasreed7687]

@@claudes.whitacre1241 right? Lol it was never free.

[@appletherapy]

Its worth it, the quality is fine as heck. Compare good furnature to walmart furnature, then try to make your own home made furnature and you’ll at the very least, deeply respect the expensive furnature.

[@mrperfect2745]

Sir i am Indian I want furniture business in your country I want open furniture mall and industry

[@sergioontiveros4984]

My car isnt even worth $30,000.

[@098dizzle]

Normal customers don’t have 1000s to spend, and especially not enough to just keep stacking on 1000s

[@edwynhernandez5710]

You'll be surprised

[@alliearrigo1961]

Don Don yea true

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I don't know what you mean by "Normal".... But spending thousands of dollars on new furniture isn't abnormal. Just as buying a new home isn't abnormal.

[@geneisaac4145]

The point is, sell until the customer says STOP. Too often, we are satisfied with a smaller deal than the customer would have settled for.

[@isaaccavazos7311]

Furniture is not cheap. If you don't spend in the $1000 dont bother visiting anywhere but ikea

[@doomking6668]

wiked

[@revenge9618]

This is very much not a good example even remotely. Your example of what made Steve a good salesman is just by looking and talking to you he realized you have money and are very interested in spending it. You have no pushback about needing just an end table. And just one. If you want an example of how piss poor this is, look at the other salesman there for a reality of furniture sales. Some guy walks in, refuses to talk to or acknowledge any of you and requests Steve by recommendation of the office people. And in case it wasn’t that obvious to you, do you know why Steve is their #1? Because he’s 60 years old. He’s probably been with that company for a majority of his lifetime. He has the most return customers, and has positioned himself to be a generational furniture supplier at this point. You completely handed him a sale and are apparently oblivious to it. You didn’t need convincing, you didn’t push back. Nothing. And your idea that hard selling sucks and doesn’t work is completely ass backwards. If you let your customers walk out the door of the competitive industry as selling furniture you’re nuts. Even if they come back, you’re relying on building enough rapport on the first interaction that they request you but let’s be honest that’s about 1/15 people through the door who even let you in to talk to you. And if you don’t believe me you’re a prime example of it. You need to be alleviate any concerns they have and convince them that your products are superior compared to the hundreds of other companies they can go to. You have to get them to a point that not buying that day and from you is just an outright mistake.

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I think Steve used to own a candle shop. He had been selling furniture for a couple of years. I didn't push back because he gave me nothing to push against. A trait of a competent salesperson. He didn't know I had money until I we started buying lots of furniture. And even then, at the end, I could have asked "Do you have a payment plan?"...a question that usually means they have no money, and no high limit credit cards. I wish you continued success in your selling.

[@paulkirkendoll2083]

Sooooo basically you’re a lay down 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

I know you're joking...but I was someone who was highly likely to buy a house full of furniture, and had no intention of doing it. It shows how a talented salesperson can bring out needs and wants that the prospect never knew existed. I did ask the salesman, after we were done, if he had many people buy as much as I did on one visit. He told me that it wasn't an average sale, but not unusual. he called me a "Whale", meaning I bought a lot at one time. I have to admit, it's so unusual to meet a really sharp salesperson, that I do tend to want to buy from them, as a sort of tribute to their skill....one salesman to another.

[@Vdonald09]

Order taker lol jk

[@nkechiokafor6181]

Nah

[@claudes.whitacre1241]

Yeah.