Robert pulled into your car park at 3:55pm on a Friday afternoon in a brand new Land Rover, the kind that still smells of leather and class, without a speck of mud on it yet.
Robert needed a spotlight. A 7,000 lumen one, because that's what his mate had told him to get and Robert is a man who listens to his mates on matters of spotlights.
He wasn't there to browse, because Robert doesn't browse. He walked straight past the fishing rods, the tents and the very tempting wall of merino and went directly to the counter, because he is a busy man and the counter is where the answers are in his mind.
"Spotlights?" he asked.
"Right down the back of the shop, on the back wall," said the staff member, pointing vaguely in the direction of Australia. And that was that. Customer served, box ticked.
Shortly after, Robert was at the back wall staring at a row of spotlights with all the confidence of a man reading a wine list in French.
The back wall problem
The 7,000 lumen spotlight his mate recommended was out of stock. Right next to it, in stock and gleaming, was a 9,000 lumen trigger spotlight. Brighter, tougher and far better suited to a man who owns a Land Rover.
Robert had two options. Go somewhere else for the 7,000 lumen one, or upgrade to the 9,000 lumen trigger spotlight sitting right in front of him.
He wasn't against the upgrade. He just needed someone to say, "That one's out, but this one's 2,000 lumens brighter, it's got the trigger grip and it'll be perfect for spotlighting." One sentence from someone who knew what they were talking about and Robert would have paid for the better one without blinking. Possibly with a spare battery and a head torch thrown in, because he was there anyway.
Robert has money to burn. What he doesn't have is time to work out lumens on his own.
So he picked up the 9,000 lumen box, turned it over and read the back. Then he put it down again and looked around for help. And looked around again.
About seven minutes after he arrived, Robert was heading back towards the exit, past the counter and past the staff member who was finally on his way over, out to the Land Rover empty handed.
The report that never met Robert
On Monday morning the sales report came in. Friday afternoon: quiet, steady, nothing special.
Robert wasn't in it. No receipt means no record. As far as the report is concerned, Robert never came in, the Land Rover never parked and the man with the credit card and an open mind about spotlights simply didn't exist.
That's the problem with a report that only counts the people who paid. It can tell you what you sold. It has no idea about the man who walked to the back wall ready to spend double and walked out again because nobody walked with him.
Robert, in numbers
Say the 7,000 lumen spotlight sells for $150 and the 9,000 lumen trigger spotlight sells for $300. Robert was a $300 sale standing at the back wall waiting to happen. Maybe $350 with the extras. Lost for the price of one helpful sentence.
Now think about how many Roberts come through in a week. The time poor ones who go straight to the counter. The ones who know roughly what they want but need someone to tell them what they actually want. They're not tyre kickers. They're the best customers you've got, ready to buy and happy to spend more if someone gives them a good reason.
Two Roberts a week at $300 is $31,200 a year walking out past your counter. And that's after you've already paid for the rent, the signage and the ads that got them in.
Bellwether shows you Robert
Bellwether counted every visitor through the door that Friday afternoon. Set against your transactions, the gap was clear: people coming in with intent and conversion sliding while the staff continued to fail the customer over and over again.
Look at that by hour and by day and the pattern appears. Friday late afternoon, poor staff performance on the floor, visitors arriving ready to buy and leaving with nothing. That's not a product problem or a price problem. It's a service problem and now you can finally see it.
Robert didn't need a discount. He needed someone to walk him to the back wall and say, "Mate, get this one." And that is how you make an extra $31,200 per year, without spending anymore on marketing!
Your sales report tells you what you sold. Bellwether shows you what you missed. Robert included.
See your Friday afternoons hour by hour, and find the buyers walking out before the sales report forgets them. Book a demo.
