The way you approach a customer, especially when in person is critical. Do it badly and the customer will see you as intrusive rather than welcoming, but do it well and you lay the groundwork for a positive customer experience. In this step by step guide, you’ll learn all the strategies and tools I use when approaching a customer in person, so that you too can easily navigate the initial moments of your interactions with confidence and finesse.
1. Prepare for Your Approach Before They Arrive
Being prepared from before the customer even steps through the doors will give you a massive head start when it comes to approaching a customer successfully. After all, once you’ve engaged the customer it’s harder to find any necessary information quickly and you’ll now be under pressure to provide immediate assistance.
That’s why you should prepare for your approach by knowing the specifics of the products or services you’re offering, inside out. Make sure you’re well-versed in all their features and benefits, and how they cater to the needs of the customer. Anticipate the common questions customers are likely to ask and equip yourself with all the necessary information to address them fully.
That way you’ll be able to approach the customer with a confidence that comes from having all the information at your fingertips, and a finesse that comes from being able to therefore demonstrate your expertise when you provide the customer with what they need promptly and effectively.
2. Acknowledge the Customer As Soon As You See Them
Acknowledge the customer as soon as you see them. Now you may be tempted to skip this step, because why bother acknowledging someone when you’re about to approach them, but it’s actually quite an important thing to do.
That’s because really you should approach a customer as soon as they enter the store – it’s not polite to ignore a customer for any length of time and since the whole point of the store is to serve them, it makes sense to approach them immediately. However, not all customers like to be approached as soon they enter the store. Some like to take their time to explore the products or services on offer and browse for themselves, and would find your approach intrusive and annoying.
Which leaves you with a bit a problem. If you approach a customer as soon as they enter the store, you risk being intrusive and annoying, but if you leave a customer for too long you risk them feeling ignored and neglected.
An acknowledgment is an elegant compromise that balances the two issues perfectly. With a simple and polite nod and a warm smile carried out while maintaining eye contact, you establish an immediate connection with the customer that lets them know you’re aware of their presence and are available to assist them should they need, without putting any pressure on them to engage immediately.
This creates a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere, where a customer has the space to browse or gather their thoughts before you initiate a full interaction, but doesn’t feel neglected by your failure to approach them immediately.
3. Wait for the Right Moment to Approach Them
You’ve acknowledged the customer so they don’t feel either neglected or under pressure to engage, but unless they ask for immediate assistance, you now have another (similar) problem – when exactly to approach them. The customer may be comfortably browsing the store at the moment, but you still don’t want your approach to be too soon so that they’re not ready or too late that the customer starts to feel neglected.
That’s why you need to be flexible and attentive to cues, patiently observing the customer’s body language and pace to discern the right time to approach them. The key is to leave the customer to themselves when they seem to want to do things on their own, but to be ready to approach them when it becomes clear that they’re ready for assistance.
If you’re still not sure about when to approach a customer, check out the following table which lists common body language cues you should watch out for in your customer, their potential meaning and the actions you should take when you see them.
| Body Language Cue | Potential Meaning | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| Wandering without focus | Customer is exploring | Do not approach |
| Hurried pace | Customer is in a rush | Do not approach |
| Focused browsing | Customer is engrossed in products. | Do not approach |
| Avoiding eye contact | Customer prefers browsing alone. | Do not approach |
| Closed body language | Customer may not be interested | Do not approach |
| Holding a shopping list | Indicates purposeful shopping | Do not approach |
| Uncertain glances | Customer is seeking assistance. | Approach |
| Making eye contact and lingering | Customer is looking for help | Approach |
4. Approach the Customer With a Friendly Demeanor
Once you’ve determined that a customer is ready for assistance, approach them as soon as you can, but make sure that you do so with a friendly demeanor. The last thing a customer wants to see is a disinterested or unfriendly looking representative bearing down on them, even if that’s not how you feel at all. Your approach needs to convey genuine interest and warmth from the very first moment. Here’s exactly how to do that.
Use Open Body Language
Approach the customer with open body language as it communicates warmth and friendliness. It also signals that you’re genuine and authentic which makes it much easier to build trust and a meaningful connection with the customer. Closed body language communicates the exact opposite and it can come off as aggressive or intimidating which you want to avoid at all costs.
So as you approach the customer look directly at them, make sure you have an open and relaxed posture and keep your arms and legs uncrossed.
Establish Eye Contact
As you approach the customer, establish eye contact with them. Like using open body language, eye contact also communicates warmth and friendliness, and a genuineness that helps foster a sense of trust. It also signals to the customer that they have your full attention.
Having said that, make sure to avoid intense or prolonged staring as that will make the customer feel extremely uncomfortable, which is the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve. You want your eye contact to be natural and friendly,
Smile
A smile communicates warmth, friendliness, and genuine care. As you approach the customer, make sure you give them a genuine and sincere smile. Combined with using open body language and eye contact – and don’t forget that you should smile with your eyes as well as your mouth, you have a powerful combination that encourages trust and connection right from the start.
And who knows, the customer may even smile back!
5. Don’t Invade the Customer’s Personal Space
You’ve approached the customer with a friendly demeanor, but that doesn’t give you permission to invade their personal space. While the whole point of approaching a customer is to close the distance between you and foster a more personal connection, at the same time you don’t want to get too close as that will make the customer feel very uncomfortable.
The right proximity to a customer varies from culture to culture and even from person to person (and even with the same person it can change depending on the circumstances) but a general guideline is to aim for a distance of an arm’s length. It’s close enough to the customer to allow you to engage in conversation with them comfortably but it’s also far enough to ensure that you don’t encroach on their personal space.
Having said that, it’s essential to be adaptable and attuned to verbal and non-verbal signals. If a customer takes a step back or exhibits signs of discomfort, respect their space and adjust your distance accordingly. On the other hand, if a customer seems engaged and eager for assistance, you can consider closing the gap slightly. Remember, the goal is make the customer feel as comfortable as possible, and your proximity to them should reflect that.
6. Deliver a Warm and Friendly Greeting
The way you approach a customer in person is critical, but so is how you greet them. You may have waited for the right moment, approached with a friendly demeanor and stood at the right proximity from the customer, but if your initial greeting is generic or disinterested, then you will have undermined all the positive efforts you’ve made so far.
The truth is that the way you greet a customer is so important that I wrote a separate in-depth article about it which you can find here. Nevertheless, here’s the key point for ensuring that you’re greeting leaves a lasting, positive impression.
Use a simple, warm but professional greeting and make sure that it includes the following four things: a form of hello, a welcome to the store, an introduction to yourself and an expression of a willingness to assist. Here are some examples of greetings you can use. Feel free to adapt them in a way that suits your style and personality:
- “Hello and welcome to [Store Name]! I’m [Agent Name], and I’m here to assist you. How can I help you today?”
- “Hi there! Welcome to our store. I’m [Agent Name], and I’m excited to help. What brings you in today?”
- “Hello! It’s a pleasure to welcome you to [Store Name]. I’m [Agent Name], and I’m here to ensure you have a great experience. How may I assist you?”
- “Greetings! Welcome to [Store Name]. I’m [Agent Name], and I’m at your service. What can I do for you today?”
- “Good [morning/afternoon/evening] and welcome! I’m [Agent Name], your dedicated assistant here at [Store Name]. How may I make your day better?”
- “Hi, welcome! I’m [Agent Name], and it’s fantastic to have you in [Store Name]. How can I assist you during your visit?”
- “Hi there! Welcome to [Store Name]. I’m [Agent Name], and I’m happy to assist you. How can I make your time with us exceptional?”
- “Hello and welcome! I’m [Agent Name], your personal assistant at [Store Name]. How may I enhance your experience today?”
Approach each greeting authentically because customers can often sense when a greeting is rehearsed or insincere. That doesn’t mean you can’t use a scripted greeting or practice it beforehand. It just means you also need to infuse whatever you’ve prepared with authenticity, so that you mean what you say when you greet the customer.
Remember, the point of greeting a customer is not just to mechanically adhere to a formality laid out in the company’s policies or to employ a routine technique that helps move the customer on to the next stage of the sales process. The point of greeting the customer is to make them feel welcomed and valued, and to set the stage for establishing a genuine connection with them.
7. Beyond the Approach: Your Next Steps
You may have successfully navigated the first step in the customer’s journey by approaching them in a way that lays the groundwork for a positive relationship, but that’s only the beginning. The next step is to transition into a meaningful conversation so that you can fully understand the customer’s needs and meet them effectively.
To do this, you need to build rapport with the customer and talk to them in a way that fosters an atmosphere of openness and trust, by doing things like engaging in small talk, listening actively, responding with empathy and observing non-verbal cues. I wrote an in-depth article on how to talk to a customer in person which you can find here, to guide you through that exact process.