Reality in the Sales Process
The sales department in a high end luxury brand can be seen as a breeze; especially when the throughout the showroom the latest hits are playing a little too loudly and everyone on the floor is drinking an iced cappuccino. The sale seems easy enough: the buyer walks in, small talk is exchanged, models walk out in the latest styles, the buyer makes their selection, an order is written up, and the appointment is finished and just in time as the next buyer walks in. But what I’ve learned being a sales intern is that there is much more to the sales process then meets the eye. The sales director has to know how each client works, have enough familiarity with the collection that they push the right styles, and maintain the right amount of persistence when a client seems hesitant. What I have grown to admire is how well the sales directors on my floor understand each of their clients whether the buyer might be coming in from a major department store or a small specialty boutique they know exactly how to handle the client and what their preferences are. A perfect example is one of the boutiques that comes in is more conservative than most and the sales director immediately knows before the appointment begins to pull anything with hemlines that fall above the knees and open with pant suits and long sleeve knit sweaters. They also understand that not every buyer will put in an order right on the spot and that in order to keep this client they must be prepared with a follow-up as soon as that client leaves the building.
Another interesting aspect of the sales process that I’m sure most people don’t think about is what happens after the sale. Once the market closes an inventory is taken of “Who Bought What” and “Who Bought What Styles”. A huge excel spreadsheet is made (which I was given the opportunity to work on) with every style in the collection including it’s picture and information of what fabrics and colors the style may come in. Then next to that information is what departments stores and boutiques ordered that style, what color/fabric they ordered it in, and how many they ordered. Then after that collection is delivered to those stores and they begin selling a “selling report” is sent to the showroom of how many styles they sold that week. Once the report is sent in the excel spreadsheet is updated and we are able to view which stores and styles are selling the best. When that season is over the excel spreadsheet allows for the sales director to view which styles and stores were the most successful. The sales director will then write a report that is sent to the main headquarters and provide a final analysis on that collection and also suggestion on styles that should be repeated again if successful and which should be cut if they weren’t.
So while working in the Alberta Ferretti showroom in midtown Manhattan may have its perks you also have to remember even the most glamorous of careers has its responsibilities and that it takes hard work to make something look easy.