What skills does a good independent home seller need?

The interpersonal skills of a VDI

What interpersonal skills are expected of VDI ? ?

Self-confidence

A good VDI is one that is self-confident. In practice, this means thatshe believes in her abilities and potential. This does not mean that they have mastered all the ins and outs of selling, far from it. A self-confident person simply has faith in themselves and is able to moving forward despite doubts and fears.

Self-confidence also means knowing how to bounce back from a mistake and believing in your potential for growth. Finally, a self-assured VDI is able to deal with the way others look at her. During meetings at home, VDIs have to speak in front of guests. Depending on the situation, there may be more or fewer guests. Whether there are 3 or 10 of them, you have to be able to avoid being impressed.

Good to know

Self-confidence can be built up over time. One way of achieving this is to learn about the collections you are selling, so that you are able to answer questions. You can also take the time to practise at home, on your own or in front of a test audience. This allows you to fine-tune your speech and retain it. The more comfortable you are with it, the more confident you feel during meetings.

Fluency in speaking

When you're a VDI, it's essential to be comfortable speaking. This is one of the keys to an independent salesperson's ability to sell clothes.

Oral fluency means being able to give a presentation from start to finish, following a logical thread. From the presentation of the brand to the presentation of the company's collections, via the ordering and delivery procedures, a good VDI must be at ease.

Fluency in speaking also comes in small details, such as knowing how to :

• Articulate well ;
• Use your voice to communicate in a pleasant way ;
• Show its dynamism and enthusiasm.

If you're new to working as a VDI, due to a career change for example, don't panic. No sales consultant is left to fend for herself when she starts out. Elora is a company that supports all its employees and gives them the keys to success. Finally, thanks to the development of expertise and a good dose of determination, each VDI is destined to progress.

The relationship with your hostess and guests

Direct door-to-door selling requires a close relationship with participants. Good interpersonal skills are essential for a successful meeting. The key ingredients are :

• Being at ease with people ;
• Putting hostesses and guests at ease ;
• Conversational skills.

To get off to a good start and learn how to deal with people, it's a good idea to attend a meeting to observe more experienced home sales assistants.

Advice from a VDI:

Relationships are also built outside meetings. It's about maintaininglinks forged with hostesses and guests. Subject to their agreement, you can send them newsletters, for example.

Listening and advising on guests' requests

Selling an article is all very well, but sell products that really appeal to customers, is better. To achieve this, listen to the guests and learn as much as you can about their tastes in the time available. Pay attention to :

• Comments made by the various guests about their personal tastes, the pieces presented or their personalities ;
• Reactions to the presentation of parts ;
• Recurring questions from one meeting to the next (to answer them before your new customers ask them).

All this work will enable you to give appropriate and relevant advice. The more specific the advice you give, the more customers will trust you. This helps to build customer loyalty.

A unifying force

Another essential skill for a good VDI is knowing how to bring people together. Being a federator means in particular :

• Stimulate your audience by being committed and dynamic ;
• Develop a good rapport with the participants in the meetings, and particularly with the hostess ;
• Listen to each participant and her needs/wishes ;
• Be charismatic and have an unquestionable "leader" stance.

The organisational skills of a ready-to-wear sales assistant

What is expected of VDIs in this respect ?

Know your Elora catalogue inside out

As we said earlier, a good VDI knows its catalogue down to the last detail. This is one of the only ways of providing relevant answers at meetings.

To achieve this, there's only one thing to do: read all Elora's communications about the new collections diligently and several times. The next step is to venture onto the product sheets to familiarise yourself with the main features of the new garments and accessories.

Adapting and organising your meetings

Every hostess and meeting venue is different. So you can't automatically apply the same "recipe" to every meeting you organise. Adaptation is necessary. The methodology for doing so is fairly simple:

1. Explain the meeting to the hostess beforehand.

1. Define with the hostess the space that will be made available for the meeting and find out its size. Are there any tables that can be used? Does the hostess have any racks? All these factors will determine the number of items you bring with you and the presentation material you need to take with you.

1. Talk to the hostess to find out more about her fashion tastes. This is the first person to convince and satisfy. If the conversation lends itself to it, don't hesitate to ask about the future guests too. As well as personalising your selection of clothes to bring, you can also adapt your speech by slipping in some friendly phrases here and there, which are sure to please them.

1. Communicate about the event via invitations summarising the essential practical information and your contact details. You can e-mail them to the hostess, who will send them out at least 1 week before the event. A reminder should also be sent 48 hours before the home meeting.

During the organisation phase, it is also important that the home sales advisers are available to answer questions from the hostesses.

> Read also : Organising a home sale: 5 tips

Empathy and patience during home meetings

Mail order buyers have a good knowledge of their products, but this is not the case for customers. Customers, especially in the discovery phase, need reassurance and precise answers to their questions. As a VDI, you have to remember thatno question is a bad one. You have to be patient and respond as best you can, even if the request is made several times during the meeting.

Empathy is also essential. When they are at ease, hostesses and their guests do not hesitate to open up and talk about their fashion problems. These confidences are welcomed. This plants the seeds of a relationship of trust.

Creativity, persuasiveness and openness

To complete the picture of the perfect independent home seller, there are three qualities :

• Creativity. The sales assistants all benefit from a training about the brand and its sales methods. Once you've got all that down, you're free to run your business as you wish. Don't be afraid to have fun and try out different ways of running home meetings. Creativity also means bold communication, particularly through invitations.

• Be persuasive. Your mission is to become the VDI who whispers in customers' ears. To do this, you need to be factual and confident.

• Be frank. As a VDI, it's normal to want to sell as much as possible. However, it's best to avoid compromising the truth to get what you want. Be honest, whether you're talking about delivery times, how to order, how the products are made, the company, and so on. And even when advising on looks, avoid directing customers towards pieces that don't suit their figure, for example.

> Read also : 5 tips from a top VDI!

So, are you ready to launch your new business and become an accomplished VDI ?