“Reservation form (n) – A one- or two-sided form for recording all of the information pertinent for a sale.”
When we first introduced these, I hated them. I thought they slowed down the sales process, many times they were incomplete, and as much as I hated them, the sales people hated them more; particularly when we introduced the idea that they needed to have them signed off before they could be keyed into the computer.
In the end, I still partly hate them; however, I use them because they serve several really important functions and as a tool they are extremely useful and should be something that everyone who sells should consider.
WHY?
- Our sales team dealt with their customers from the time they entered the building until the time they left. We found that this relationship selling approach worked extremely well and was much more customer friendly than handing off customers to have their sales bills entered by office associates.
To make this work our sales team needed the skills to be able to key bills, do financing, and take care of the logistics of their orders; however, there was a lot of information to remember, so using RES FORMS provided an extremely useful took to make sure we didn’t forget anything, which in turn gave us a major competitive advantage over our competition.
- RES FORM‘s gave our people a common form to use and replaced everything from not recording anything to the scraps of paper some associates used to keep track of all of the small details that are easy to forget during the “heat of a sale”
- A RES FORM makes it easy to collect all the customers information BEFORE coming to the sales counter and especially in a furniture store, it can be done on the sales floor away from the busy and public front counter.
- Having all of the information on one piece of paper or on a computer form makes it easy to check stock and easy to keep track of customer and sales information.
- Done properly, it added an entirely new level of professionalism to our team.
WHAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR RES FORM?
It really depends on your industry; however, for the sake of an example I will use some of things that a Home Furnishing Store uses.
- Customer name; contact information such as cell phone, email, address (for delivery and marketing);
- Product sku, description, quantity, regular price, sale price, and location of stock. If the product has to be ordered then, mark as TBO (to be ordered) with an appropriate ETA.
- Extension of sub totals and taxes.
- CHECKLISTS that are easy to tick off for the sales associate:
- What brought the customer in today? (Radio, face book, Instagram, newspaper, etc.)
- Delivery or pickup
- Cross street (really helps the delivery team)
- ETA time given to customer
- No foundation or bed frame required
- Level of setup promised: Curb side drop off, placed in house but in boxes, full unpacking and setup
- Method of payment or financing
- Amount of deposit if not paid in full
- A place for customer’s to initial that they want us send them promotional material.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
- The sales associate completes the sale and finishes the RES FORM, when they approach the front counter to enter the sales bill, they excuse themselves for a moment and say, “I’m just going to have this reviewed just to make sure we have gotten everything, I will be right back”
- The Sales Manager reviews the RES FORM and they are looking to double check:
- Completeness
- Value added products like fabric/leather/wood care; mattress pads
- Additional items to complete the sale – hoses for washing machines etc.
- Explain more
- Method of payment, we preferred paid in full or a minimum deposit
- The Sales Manager may sign off or they may send the sales associate back to correct anything that might be missing; in some cases the Sales Manager may accompany the sales associate to assist in closing the VAPS.
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
- On the reverse side of the RES FORM we added reminders to help the sales associate complete their bill; for example:
- WASHING MACHINES – Remember hoses, remind customers about shipping bolts, using HE soap
- GAS RANGES – Does the customer require a PROPANE CONVERSION KIT
- MATTRESS SETS – Does the customer require a foundation, bed frame, etc.
- DELIVERY NOTES – Measure the doorways, stairs, and hallways, clear the delivery path, have the snow shoveled in the winter.
SUMMARY
When the RES FORM is signed off then the sales associate will enter the sales bill.
Does using a RES FORM slow down the process? Is it a pain in the #@$!? Does it eliminate mistakes? Is it worth doing?
YES, YES, YES, and YES. With word documents you can create a simple form for your organization and the benefits far outweigh the cost of time and effort by eliminating mistakes and omissions that can happen very easily.