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Today I would like to talk about two different trade models I saw in action. The first one regards a bad use, or at least, a partial use of the NVC; the other one is a system I have seen recently while I was walking in a communal market, where I have been to study NVC in the camp.
I saw the first model in action inside a clothing shop in the center of Milan, in which the owner was at the doorway, and she was pleasantly smiling to everyone who was stopping to look at her nice shop windows. Seeing a retailer overlooking all the way to the doorstep, intrigued me and I came to peek the scene. I observed that the kind and sincerely way of doing of the lady, combined with the gorgeous clothes in the shop window, attracted different people but which punctually didn’t get inside the shop. The explanation came some minutes later.
Our retail was effectively very good to communicate with verbal and paraverbal communication, using kind words and a nice smile, but she didn’t use any positive non-verbal element. Actually, observing better I realize that while she came on the strict doorstep she blocked the entrance of the shop for eventual buyer, that in their unconscious people should have go through the obstacle to buy the clothes. Actually the lady was defending the shop’s door rather than inviting to get in, blocking so those customers that could lift up the destiny of a shop that it was not going very well.
As I was saying, the second model, regards a good retailer of the communal market. Back to the counter with a lot of baskets of different clothes, there was a streaked man that had roughly 60 years old. I started to observed him. I was attracted by his particular behavior: when a lady came to comb in the various baskets, he didn’t come there, and rather he left her to looking for the clothes peaceful while he was pretending to talk with a friend. The lady then was flanked by one lady and other more ladies and so it created a group of ladies that started to talk about what clothes was better for the nephew or for the daughter. Just after an animation has been created in the shop, our retailer wandered among the ladies giving some suggestions and some tips. He didn’t stop to any lady, but he turned around them like a vulture. He knew that at the end every lady would be his swag and they would have allow him to make the cash of the day.
In the second case, the astute retailer pretended to be uninterested to leave space to the lady for sift through his clothes, and just at the last minute he intervened introducing himself as a simple helper and trust friend to suggest for instance that “her daughter would look good with both clothes chosen and not just with one”, so obviously he increased his sales. Then these stories show that as well in the sale the choice of the words, the use of the spaces and of gestures have to be corrected and also used at the right moment. Otherwise, as in the first case, you smile much and you wind up to cry observing the sales volume.
Luca Brambilla