Spar wholesaler James Hall has reported that its training courses in active selling have yielded some spectacular sales results.

All company-owned stores have undertaken the training, in addition to 40 independents. One area of 10 stores increased sales of Spar muffins from 130 items to 1,927, equating to more than £500-worth of extra sales. “One store in that area went from sales of 15 packs to 409 packs,” said

James Hall training manager Linda Johnson. “These results have been repeated each time an active selling promotion has taken place.”

She said the two-hour programme focuses on selling the benefits of a product rather than its features looking for natural cross-selling opportunities identifying unique selling points and encouraging staff to talk to customers about Spar products and offers.
 
Retailer Ian Procter, who enrolled all his staff on the training day, said his staff practised their upselling on Spar Apple Pie Cookies. “The staff really went for it, and are now keeping the initiative going. They felt really motivated after the training day,” Ian added.