Hello Everyone!!

At my counter we're challenging ourselves to ask customers more open-ended questions without the word 'help' in it. I usually start with a smiley greeting, "Hello, how are you?" and am sometimes met with, "I'm just looking" from the customer. I respond with, "Ok, we have a huge range/lot of colours to look at, I'll check back with you in a few minutes if you'd like (me) to try something on (you)." I find the first icebreaker question a struggle, how do you make it sound genuine without sounding 'sales-y'?

Sofar I have asked;

What can I show you today?
What colour are you would you like to try on?
What colours are you wearing?
How may I assist you?
What do you need a hand with?

Customers act surprised and smile, like they are so used to giving yes or no answers; some don't like it and still say they are only looking. Oh well.
If they are just looking I'll usually talk about the features of the product they are hovering around (eg.nailpolish) very long wearing, highly pigmented, great colours, dries quickly, additional nail treatments, offer tape or polish remover to try on their nails, etc.

So my Seasoned Specktrites... please confess to your best open-ended questions that you have asked or have been asked yourselves... thanks!

"Do you have a particular look in mind?" seems to me like a question that will open a floodgate and garner potential sales. Honestly, I think a lot of women are looking to piggyback on looks they've seen on celebrities and so forth. I don't know if/how many artists hear this, but I constantly see women in the salon where I work drooling over pictures in magazines.

Being in front of MAC's shadow displays is truly overwhelming to a newbie, but I think a question like that may help.

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I'd have to say that if you work at a MAC counter, I need to find your store, LOL!!! I've only had those kind of questions asked of me maybe 3 times out of all the times I've been to MAC!! Thanks for being so helpful and polite to your customers!!!

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If thinking was easy, everyone would do it...
NW20/green eyes/sun kissed honey brown

I really like it when an artist approaches me and just starts talking about whatever I'm looking at. Then after we've chatted a bit, they'll start asking questions. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable, because it doesn't feel like they're just going for a sale.

At my job we are all about the open-ended questions...probably the best one that I would ask is the "What kind of look are you going for?" It is not only very open-ended but it allows you to build the look with eyes and lips and such.

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How about:

What brings you to MAC today?
What kinda look are you hoping to achieve?
What kinda colours do you normally wear?
What colours are grabbing your attention?
How do you like your makeup to look?
What kind of skin do you have?
What occasion are you shopping for?
When do you normally wear makeup?
How comfortable are you with bright colours / pinks / applying MU / using creme blushers?
Which colours do you currently have at home?
Why are you considering a new foundation/ what dont you like about your current foundation??

The take-away technique is so hard and sometimes feels totally unnatural but I like your response...

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M A C - a lifestyle...

well i dont work in teh make up industry but i am store manager for an electronics store where it's all about sales!

I make my staff use 5 non negotiables to make a sale. which is pretty much greet in a non business mannor (such as making a comment about the weather, they're shopping bags or whatever - like 'wow you've been treating yourself alot today!' if they have plenty of bags. then i ask them what equpiment they have at home to see what they want, ask what screen size they are after, anything they must have in the product they are looking to purchase. Then we top-down sell within the customers needs. menaing start at the most expencive item and move down to teh cheapest within a certain range. then demo the product so customer can see what it looks like and what it can do. and then add on's which is making sure customer buys all cables, cleaning stuff they need for teh new item and the close teh sale.

and if people say to me after i've given them a demo and they say thanks and walk off i usually ask them was it the right product for them. if they say yes then i ask why aren't they buying as i have so many left. then they have to give a valid reason. i convert so many people just by asking them why they're not buying!!

but yeah the best thing is just ask questions and questions about what the custojmer wants and what they already have and what they want the product to do. be it make up or a big sony tv!

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"You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry. Was that an offensive term? Should I say undead American?" - Buffy

I'm one of those customers that actually really hate open-ended questions... I think I'd much rather appreciate an MA that approaches me first and asks if I need help, and if I say no, then to back off. Sometimes I do have questions and I appreciate when they approach me first so I can ask those questions instead of me having to flag them down.

I like this line because none of the MAs ever offer to put things on me. I think with trying things on, more people are in tune to make a purchase:
"I'll check back with you in a few minutes if you'd like (me) to try something on (you)."

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http://lilylovesmac.blogspot.com/

Id Have to Agree in a way! Im Really Shy so the less Questions the better haha when im asked for help i tell them brefily what im looking for and thats that im out haha I hate being soo dam Shy lol

I think you have the right idea, but I also think its about reading your customers. I'm not the type who likes someone hovering around me and telling me about everything I look at because it makes me feel like they are trying to rush me or it just gets annoying because I may already know, and I don't want to be rude or seem like I don't appreciate your help, which I do, but I am not shy and will come to you. You don't know how many people have lost big sales from me just by bothering me so much.

I've also been in sales before, and I found the best way to make yourself available, offer help, and up the sale, is to say something small, or do something small. Like if you see a girl looking at eye shadows and she picks up a particular one, smile and say "Wow, that would look gorgeous on you" or, simply walk by, point to an eye shadow and say "This one was calling your name before you even came over to the counter" and by saying something like that that also includes a slight compliment towards them, it automatically makes them ease up towards you and feel like they have the upper hand so they wont mind asking you for help, or discussing what they are really interested in. I also liked to find a way to be near my customers, but I was careful so I wouldn't seem like I am following them. Like in your case, if she is by the lipsticks, keep some distance and stay by the foundations and do something trivial like wiping off the testers so you dont seem too busy, but you dont seem like a wallet stalker either (thats what we used to say at work when someone would scare off a customer for being too "in your face" lol) Also, one thing that I notice is if I walk into a store and someone tells me all of the new products right off the bat, it seems more like something the manager made them say, so instead, you could try to say it more casually. Like if they walk by a new display, you could say "Ohh I see you noticed the new products" and smile in a knowing way, and just briefly go over everything in a way that makes it seem more appealing like "Everyone is dying over *blank*(a color that would suit them well, or a specific product that is the same kind they were interested in)"

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Well I usually go up to them with a compliment ...or question about the weather, as long as it is genuine. Then have a bit of personal chatter. Then I ask "What brings you to MAC today?" Most of the time they have a response, but if they say that they are just "looking" then I ask "What are you looking for?" If they still just want to look then I tell them my name and let them know what I'll be doing like cleaning the counters etc. and ask them if that is ok. Then just check in to see if they need help

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Mac Woo!!