While visiting the Legends Furniture showroom during the recent High Point Market, Marty Melcher, vice president of bedding sales, mentioned that keeping a customer on a mattress for longer during the sales process increases their likelihood of purchasing that mattress.
The example he used for how Legends helps retailers do this is by drawing the customer in with a unique bed — in this case, the company has partnered with the viral side-sleeper mattress brand Sleep Cube — and then keeping them engaged with things like an adjustable base presentation.
“Finding the right bed is an age-old challenge, and the worst thing that can happen is that a customer is bouncing from one bed to the next while the RSA follows them around like a puppy dog trying to keep up,” Melcher says. “With Pillow Cube, we feel like we’ve created a visual cue, with bright colors on the headboard and foot protector, that works as a primer to get them to lay down. Having something unique to show them helps get the RSA started.”
We spoke to a few other industry members to confirm that the idea of keeping a consumer on a mattress for longer helps make the sale, and everyone we spoke with generally accepts this. However, you can’t just do it to do it — it has to make sense for the customer.
Craig Wilson, vice president of sales training and education at Kingsdown, says that while this idea checks out, you can’t simply lay customers down on any bed for a certain amount of time and expect them to buy it.
“You have to investigate and find the right type of bed for them based on comfort and feel,” he says. “But when they do find a bed that they linger on for more than a few seconds, it’s important for the RSA to control the pace of the sale. Sometimes they have to make an excuse just to leave the customer alone for a few minutes. Slow things down and give them time to experience it, but also try to explain to them what they should be experiencing.”
It’s also important to get them into their preferred sleep position. Wilson says he would start them on their back and gradually move them to their side, explaining that because we spend eight hours a night in our beds, a customer will need a few minutes to see what kind of pressure relief they’re going to feel.
“These are all tactics for keeping the customer on the bed for longer and also actually helping them find the right mattress for them,” Wilson adds. “But it all goes back to controlling the pace of the sale and maintaining the control of the sale. Customers will come in and bounce around from bed to bed, but RSAs can help them slow down the process.”
Charlie Torrez, director of sales at Spring Air, says that when you look at sales industrywide right now, power bases are presented every day and they are higher attachment items because they keep the consumer on the mattress for longer. That makes them a great tool for keeping the customer on the bed.
“I spent 18 years on the retail side of the business, and it was always a challenge to figure out how to keep a customer captive in that space,” he says.
At Spring Air, the company’s Cruise adjustable base, which slowly rocks back and forth, is a great example of a product that invites customers to stay on the bed for a little longer and try the demo.
But when you look at it from the standpoint of purely keeping somebody in a bed, regardless of what you have as a product underneath it, Torrez says you are inherently going to do a better job if they understand why you are bringing them to a particular mattress.
“As a salesperson, depending on what your level of professionalism is, the hope would be is that you’re taking the time to revisit what you learned through qualification with your guest and what their needs are,” he says. “And you’re tying it into things that they’re experiencing and feeling on that particular bed and sharing that relevancy of why you brought them there. Why does it matter?”
He explains that if an RSA takes the time to educate the customer they’re going to reduce buyer’s remorse and do a better job fitting them for comfort, which will in turn reduce returns.
“I’m a firm believer that if you can take the time with them, they’ll allow you to spend the time with them,” he says. “If you’re offering better add-ons, you’re going to sell a better product, they’re going to feel better about purchasing. It’s a win-win all the way around.
Bob Naboicheck, CEO of Gold Bond Mattress, says there are certain things retailers can do to keep the customer on the mattress longer, but the most critical is helping them relax so they can experience the feel.
“Most people are uncomfortable when they come into a mattress store, especially if there’s a lot of traffic,” he explains. “They need to be focused on what they’re doing. People who don’t take their time are much more likely to call the salesperson back in a few weeks and complain about their purchase. Jordan’s Furniture in Boston has an ad now where there is a guy sleeping on a mattress in the store, and when the salesman tries to wake him up, CEO Eliot Tatelman tells the salesperson to let him sleep. The whole idea is that he wants them on the mattresses for as long as they can be.”
Communication between the customer and the RSA is crucial because you have to know where to start. Plus, knowing more about the customer is always better.
“I was doing sales training in Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago and one of the salesmen said he remembered his parents had this latex mattress that he loved sleeping in when he was little. Well, why aren’t you showing the customer this bed, which guarantees a premium sale and gives you a connection?”
While the general idea of keeping a customer on a mattress for longer may be more likely to lead to a sale, the personal factors that play into it are the real key to finding the best mattress for each individual person.
