In other news, I've had a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks. Like I said in my last post, (which was over a week ago... yikes! I'm sorry!) I got a full time job at the loveliest boutique in Lincoln Park called Art Effect. It amazes me how our buyer is able to mix pieces from $2 to $1200 in one shop. I can't even explain how lucky I am to have this opportunity. Selling can sometimes be a challenge for me, and I think it's mostly because I'm the kind of gal that likes to shop quietly. It's been tough to really open up and find my voice on the floor. This job is too perfect for me to let it slip through my fingers, so if you guys have any tips on selling in retail, let me know!
It's crazy to sit back and realize that work has basically been consuming my life all summer, as I've been working 35-42 hours since I've been out of school. It's hard to find time to document my life! I did manage to have a great 3 day weekend spent with friends that I've not seen in months. I also had the pleasure of going to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion to see Caribou and eat dinner in the park with Ryan. It's been a wonderful few days!
Shirt, Shorts: Thrift
Necklace: Renegade Craft Fair
Sandals: Urban Outfitters
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
And of course, the boyfriend. :) I figure he should make a cameo every once in a while on the ole blog! And excuse the weird quality photos. I'm still trying to figure out all the settings for my new camera.
And now I'll leave you with one of my new favorite songs by Caribou called Odessa,
love those sandals!
ReplyDeleteyou and your bf = cuteness
ReplyDelete!!!!!! odessa is totally one of my favorite songs right now! also, cute outfit and cute couple :) i was so happy to see an ootd from you! xo
ReplyDeleteMy best tip for selling retail is that if you feel like your being pushy by selling dont. Think of it more like your a hostess at a party. Your introducing everyone and showing off the feature points of the party aka selling itmes. Your talking to people and finding out what they need... drink? food? introduction to someone? advice? (replace all those party type items with what you sell in your mind). It helps cause then you realize your not being pushy but instead you are trying to guide people to a happy shopping experience where they get what they need, desire, or what compliments their lifestyle. Also know what you sell. The more informed you are the more likely you are to be able to talk to the customer about the qualitys and features of the item you are selling. Also knowing your product helps to make it easyer for you to figure out if you have what the person wants if their looking for a certain thing. Also customers respect sales people who are knowlegable enough to be able to refer them to someplace else if the item their looking for is not sold at that location. I have had many customers who ended up buying something at my store dispite not finding what they originally wanted because I made them aware of the products we do sell and because I was able to recomend where they can find the item they actually wanted. This left them with such a joy at knowing that they could find the item that they relaxed and where able to enjoy looking around and actually seeing the variouse items of intrest I point out to them. It also made them more inclined to return because a feeling of trust was built because of my honesty.
ReplyDeleteI think if you have an enthusiasm for the items, selling will come to you in no time. For me, one of my loves is LUSH soaps. When I go to the store, I can almost sell the SA's the product! I think they recognized the love, because one of the girls asked me to apply, lol. Anyway, when you love the product, it doesn't even feel like sales anymore.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck! You look adorable in these pictures (as always) by the way. Your boyfriend does too (just don't tell him or MY boyfriend I said that, lol)
Good Luck with your new job, sounds so fun!
ReplyDeletehttp://likepeterdesign.blogspot.com/
fingers crossed for you and the job! xx
ReplyDeleteyour boyfriend sure is handsome! and i looooove your sandles!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the job! I used to work at Nordstrom when I was in college, and I loved having personal customers. They would come in asking for me, and wouldn't shop with anyone else. I realized that they turned to me because of a few things: I was honest, gave one-on-one attention, and treated them as I would like to be treated -- with A-list service. The more I treated the job as if it were my career (taking it seriously and taking pride in it), the more fun I had! Have a great time.
ReplyDeleteThe shoes are so awesome! Lovely. And your boyfriend is cute, too.
ReplyDeleteso cute to see you AND ryan! miss you guys! and i miss chicago!
ReplyDeleteHi there, just found your blog after seeing it linked on YFF - it's fab! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your job - I worked in retail for years and agree with the gals above who say that if you are enthusiastic about the prodcuts, that comes through and employees love that.
Also, be yourself and treat customers how you'd love to be treated. I used to work for the Body Shop and we had to approach every customer and talk to them, which was hard. But once I started doing it in a way where I made the customer know they could just hang out and do their own thing and I'd be there if they needed me, it got easier. Once they don't feel hassled they'll love it.
Also I lived in Chicago for a summer and boy do I miss it! What an amazing city. Loved it.
And Caribou absolutely rocks. That tune is the sound of the summer.
Aoife x
Doh! sorry I made two mistakes there in the third line - typing too fast - it should say 'products' and 'customers love that'
ReplyDeletex