Kiosks become a valuable member of the sales team

Salespeople today can face customers with confidence when they have information kiosk systems in their corner.

Salespeople today can feel like they're facing a no-win situation. Tasked with absorbing frequent updates to products and services and dealing with a customer base that has taken to performing intense research before ever setting foot in a store, these individuals could feel like they are cramming for a test when they learn the product lineup they are tasked with selling. There is hope for a great selling experience, and using technology tools to augment the sales team's performance will help. This is the role of touchscreen kiosk systems, deployed to the sales floor and stocked with vast amounts of detailed data for the entire product line.

"Kiosks can become a natural extension of a presentation led by an employee."

An automatic assistant
Selling from memory can be a losing gambit. If the details are off, customers may become disenchanted with the whole experience. For the same reason, salespeople may be more reserved in their pitches, lacking the data that could convince a hesitant buyer to take the plunge. This is one important role for information kiosk systems, as the software can be either placed on handheld devices for salespeople to carry with them or deployed on big screens they share with the customer. The facts therein can become key punctuation points for the sales process, giving information and numbers the shoppers can trust.

While spending a long time scrolling through menus can impede a sales presentation, working with a modern touchscreen kiosk is a different experience altogether. These highly responsive devices become a natural extension of a presentation led by the employee. It is of course easier to work in this format when kiosk software is also made available in training and officially adopted into the company's sales procedures. Once decision-makers realize access to continually updated and on-brand information comes with kiosk systems, they will likely understand how such an offering can affect their respective in-store sales teams.

Employees with the right information can make a more convincing impression.

Kiosks don't have to be limited to general data, either. As an example, updated records of a particular auto dealership's current stock may be accessible through these systems, meaning that it's possible to tell a shopper right away whether the vehicle he or she is interested in is available or not. If so, the sale is likely to close that much faster. If not, the salesperson can pivot on the spot to either discussing delivery times or suggesting alternatives. Making a sale is a simple process of getting from point A to B and taking a long time to locate stock - or worse, being wrong about whether something is in stock - complicates this otherwise smooth journey.

Before the conversation
Of course, actually speaking to a sales professional has changed its place in the path to purchase in recent years. Now, shoppers are much more interested in doing their own research. Fortunately, the same kiosks that help employees close sales can also guide customers during their independent explorations. Deploying these systems on large, captivating screens in heavily trafficked areas can encourage buyers to perform whatever level of data collection they desire. Then, they can move on and speak with salespeople. The data they face in each situation will be consistent, as the same software underlies both steps.

Whether kiosks are intercepting interested shoppers or assisting in the sales process, it's clear that they are a valuable addition to a sales team's tool kit.