The Language of the Customer

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, and the Wales v Scotland rugby international was playing on the shop radio. Business was quiet with all the staff focused on the ebb and flow of the game.

Wales were doing well; I was the only one who noticed when an attractive dark-haired girl walked into the shop.

John Hall Tools was a small South Wales chain of tool shops specialising in the sale of tools for the trade and DIY workshop owner. They had also expanded their range of kitchen tools for chefs and cooks. I worked there on Saturdays as a sales assistant for income and to take advantage of the staff discount.

Making an assumption.

I immediately assumed that the attractive young woman was looking for cooking utensils. Approaching her I asked if I could be of assistance, her response told me I was in for a problematic engagement with this customer.

Her Spanish was excellent, her English not so. On the other hand, my English was excellent, but my Spanish was not. I had picked up a few pleasantries from Manuel of Fawlty Towers fame and a few trips my parents had made to Spain in previous summers.

Trying to guide her to the first floor, where we kept the kitchen utensils and cutlery, I was met with a confused look and some Spanish I never learned the meaning of. I did however pick up one word, “Electrico”.

Changing our direction at the stairs, we headed to the basement to the DIY tools department and the large display of all things electrical.

Hand gestures and repeats.

The next part of the conversation was fraught with many hand gestures, multiple attempts of rearranging words and demonstrations of the different tools involved in the world of electricals.

Eventually, her eyes brightened up and she declared “Si, Si, destornillador electrico” Electrical screwdriver. It was just a matter of which one was needed as there were many varieties and sizes.

At the time, my usual approach with customers, was to ask the purpose of the screwdriver? As a tester, to fit a three-pin plug or an electrically insulated one for working on live connectors. Without an interpreter this would have been impossible with the young lady. Drawing on previous experience and learning, I first went to the plug fitting electrical screwdrivers. Showing the screwdriver and a three-pin plug. Bingo! she smiled and said “costa?”.

The sale.

It was a small sale, nevertheless, I learned a great deal about language in sales, and the need to speak in the customer’s language. In today's anonymised, self-service, internet environment, our ability to speak to the customer is limited. We rely on the customer to do their own research to find the product they seek. Often, in the early stages of their buying journey, many are unfamiliar with the jargon of the industry, let alone the multiple international languages that proliferate on social media.

Your turn.

Have you adjusted your customer copy to remove the industry jargon that is used by your peers? If you haven’t, are you only selling to your competitors?

Loose ends.

I worked in John Hall Tools in 1977, I learned so much about the customer and selling each Saturday. I also built a large collection of hand tools, which I still use today. As for the young Spanish girl, she returned to the shop a few more times in that year and her English improved considerably over the period. As for my Spanish… well, let’s just say, I have a tourist level of the language.

What next?

Have you had similar enlightening experiences that have helped you? Please share them.

Contact me.

If you would like more customers and make it easier for them to buy from you, please contact me.

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