Some of you might know Dale Boles — as he’s an industry veteran in the truest of senses.
After founding and building up Casual Living Worldwide, Boles went on to buy Brown Jordan in 1994, and now he’s the owner of Pacific Casual — a well-known manufacturer that owns the Barclounger Outdoor name.
I met Boles for the first time at Casual Market, and he purposely walked me through the showroom as if I was a customer.
It was a fun tour, and he went in-depth about the different lines on the floor and what makes them unique and different.
And in the process, he also shared some amusing yet useful insights about selling furniture. He says you need three things:
- Eye Appeal – Seeing it
- Ass Appeal – Sitting in it
- Price – The first thing people look at after they sit on a piece of furniture
According to Boles, while women do most of the furniture shopping — and men buy the grills — the average customer only sits in two sets of furniture before making a decision.
Not only does that means you only have 2-3 chances to sell, but he said 70% of people will buy the first set they sit in, even if they try out another set.
“We need to teach customers about furniture and stop trying to sell it to them so heavily,” he says. “People don’t like salesmen, but they like teachers. Be a teacher and they’ll make up their own minds.”
