What Makes a Good Demo Rep

What makes a good Demo Rep?

I’m going to put this into a list form. As with any job though, the first and most important thing is “you have to like what you are doing”!!

A good demo rep list.

1. Where the appropriate attire. Most require you wear black pants, white collared shirt, black shoes. Some ask you to wear a black ball cap, hair net or both. I personally like both. Different products can sometimes require different uniforms. Lots of companies will supply t-shirts, aprons, hats etc with the brand logo. Another perk: a closet full of logo t-shirts. 
2. Be on time! Actually you should always try to be at the store 15-30 minutes early. If you are supposed to be there at 10AM, that usually means you have to have your product purchased and the time on your receipt should be 10AM or earlier. Some companies will deliver your sample products to your home. There are times when you are required to find the product on the shelf and use a company debit card to purchase a specific amount of product. You can run into going to the shelf and not being able to find your product on the shelf. Then you get to hunt down an associate or manager and drag them into the back room to try to locate the product. The best stores are the ones who use the stock guns to scan the product and then are able to tell exactly how much product is in the back and where it is located. So always making it a habit of showing up at the store 15-30min early will save you the stress of running late on your event.
3. Know your product. If you are doing a product that requires a demonstration of “how to use”, then make sure you have educated yourself before setting up at the store. If you are doing a food demo, try your samples before a customer. Know how many calories, fat grams, or voltage your product has or requires. It is hard to sell something you do not believe in so “believe in what you are selling”!
4. Smile…Smile…Smile…Always have a smile on your face. It is not hard to do with practice and it will even improve your facial lines over time. Your smile is the first thing the customer sees, not the product. Make eye contact and smile. If a customer looks away, avoids you and acts uninterested, keep smiling and say “have a nice day”. Do not take it personally, some people really are in a hurry.
5. Talk fast: Customers are very busy and will only give you about 20-30 seconds of their time before moving on. In that 20-30 seconds you have to A. introduce your product B. get them to try it C. and make the sale. Always start out with a simple “hello, would you like to try___”. Depending on the product you are promoting. If it is an electrical product ” hello, would you like to see how this works” Make your opening fit your product and talk fast. Give all your information and ask questions from your customers. Such as: “what do you think”, “isn’t that amazing”, “couldn’t that save you time at home” etc. Always ask for the sale. If the customer does not like the product you can say. “Well I’m glad you had a chance to try it before you purchased it”. If the customer likes the product, “would you like to take some/one home with you today”? All of this usually takes place in 20-30 seconds, so learn to talk fast, clear and with a smile.
6. Always look available to your customers. Stand tall, head up, smile and look around to see who might be looking at your product. Try not to reload samples while customers are hovering around table, unless your flow of customers is constant. Reload table with samples during lulls in customer traffic. When you do reload table, do it quickly and then return to customer focus and awareness positions.
7. Follow your instructions on your paperwork. You are expected to preform as a living commercial representing a product and a company. If your paperwork says you get a 30 minute break at 1:30, then take only a 30 minute break at 1:30 or as close to the time as possible. You never leave for break if you have a customer with a pending sale. Your time is paid for, so follow your instructions.
8. At the end of your event, always clean up your area. Put unsold product back on shelf neatly. Throw all trash away in proper containers and check floor for any food or product debris. Make your area you were using look exactly the way it looked before you started your event.
9. Fill out all your required paperwork, and get your required signatures from management.
10. Complete reports on time and send in paperwork within required time frame.

The ten basic things it takes to become a “good” demo rep. If you want to become a “great” demo rep, then you want to make large sales numbers and have customers give excellent reviews of your events.

I also want to note that there are a lot of good demo men out there but since I myself am a woman who has done this job for several years, I am using my experience and opinions. I would like all of my fellow demo reps to comment and share their experiences. I know we all have little things we do to make a sale.

Let’s share why don’t we and maybe help each other find more work. Thank you to all who have taken their time to read my hub.

Please visit my other hubs:

How to Find Product Demonstration Companies

A Mystery Shopping Link

You can also find more information about myself and my hubs on my profile page. If you are interested in finding more work as a Demonstration Rep, please pick up my copy of My List, information on my profile page.

Thank you

katt