Personal Selling Space

Today, take 5 minutes and look around your store. Do you have seating areas for shoppers to spend time with books? I’m not suggesting a reading room for those who treat bookstores as though they’re libraries. I do, however, think your store should have at least one place for a shopper to sit and peruse a stack of potential purchases.

And you should use this space as a selling tool.

If you’re engaged with customers looking for that perfect book–whether for themselves or someone else–encourage them to sit while you bring suggestions to them. Some customers simply do not have time to sit. But for those who do, catering to them by creating a “personal shopper” situation is a smart way to create customer loyalty.

The space can be as large or small as you can afford. One simple chair could do the trick. Just create a space in which you would enjoy spending some time with books.

Beth Golay

Beth is a reader, writer, marketer and Books & Whatnot founder. Even though she knows better, she's a sucker for a good book cover and will positively swoon if a book is set in appropriate type. @BethGolay