do you think that the presenters have sales targets

[rainbowdottie]

I have often wondered this.at the end of the day they are sales people and what other true measure is there, say at their appraisal,that they are performing well and that they're doing a good job?

I often wondered why presenters seems truly excited about something selling well or selling out completely and then its like they remember where they are and they start congratulating the viewers?

we dont know that JB or DG have gone but is it possible that they were not meeting their targets - I always found JB doing the less popular and niche shows like gardening or diy (IMO) and DG not a hard sell presenter (which i liked about her) very often she'd just laugh through the hour.

do the presenters like CH,new girl chloe (?) and JF have better sales figures because of their constant hard sell,reminders of who qvc are ,why we're here,how brilliant we are,get on the phones,buy now....etc etc

do people trust JR more? she appears to me not to need the hard sell,she seems the queen bee of qvc and people seem to like her - shes popular - is that enough for her sales pitch?

 

[Bea Frugal]

Everybody seems to have performance targets these days. I'm not sure how it would work at qvc though. Some presenters seem to get more jewellery and beauty shows and will have better results than those who get technology and floor cleaners.

The best guide would be if qvc know how many people tune in or turn off when each presenter appears. They would then know what sort of presenting works and might even manage to make some of the most unpopular presenters more tolerable.

 

[techwatcher]

I have no doubt they have sales targets; how else could their effectiveness be measured? They are unlikely to be 'one size fits all' targets though - it will be recognized that jewelry will sell better than technology and targets will be adjusted to reflect that.

Sales can be a lucrative game if you are good and exceeding targets, and brutal if you don't meet targets. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that presenters don't have their contracts renewed due to not meeting targets.

 

[donna255]

Julian was always part time for many years. In the early days he did beauty etc with AY.

The biggest seller is Beauty, hence so many shows. In an old channel 4 documentary about perhaps 10 years ago, they showed AY on air. The director talking in her ear telling what was selling and how much money made. At the end of the one hour show £20,000 worth of product sold. So come forward and the prices now charged for the beauty products. The total will be a lot more.

 

[Vienna]

I should imagine they`ll be expected to sell a certain number of units per show and judging by the recent upsurge in hard sell tactics I`d say their sales targets have been upped. This is probably why the presenters constantly interrupt, constantly point out ways of buying and constantly do the hard sell. At one time the show was about the product but no longer, nowadays its all about push push push. I don`t know why they bother having guests on some shows with some presenters because they`re often barely able to get a word in.

 

[Loveinamist]

Surely D and J would have been hard sell if this was the case and they knew their jobs would be on the line. Why is Jilly still there, I would be surprised if she generated mass sales. These three didn't/don't say they have masses of Q stock in every colour a la Jill Franks and Craig. I think more presenters will go before Christmas, either by choice or not. Q is just so, so boring, lost its edge through complacency and p and p prices. I buy select stuff off Q and am just not tempted to impulse buy like I was. I love Amazon, service, choice and cost and minimum or no p and p. If D and J have gone, which I believe with D judging by sympathy and cries of "where are you" on Twitter not responded to, then something happened behind scenes that we may never learn about. They are certainly gagged.

 

[Julius]

Very interesting question. As has been mentioned on here already I'm sure they do have targets. Most roles these days are quantified and controlled in every which way possible. They probably make a forecast for sales of products, rings, beauty care, clothes, whatever and the presenters' performance assessed on how many units actually sold in relation to the forecast. This calls into question the integrity of what the presenters say, though, as, no matter what product they are selling, it is always deemed to be "flying out of the door, limited stock" etc. Sometimes I think they could flog a bunch of used dustbin lids and they'd still shift. No either people are just buying "willy nilly" (which I doubt is very likely) or there is some manipulation of the truth going on. I mean, since when did you EVER hear a presenter say "not a single one has shifted, where are you all?" or "we still have plenty left so feel free to take your time if you'd like to have a think about it!" It just wouldn't happen! They always appear to feign a sense of urgency as if to close as many sales as soon as possible. I wonder if anyone has ever tried ordering an item after it has "sold out?"

 

[Brissles]

If they are being 'economical with the truth', then it could come back to bite them on the bum, like it did with AUCTION WORLD - now who remembers that little channel ? where a diamond ring was quoted 10 times its saleable value !

I don't think that Q buy anywhere near the stock levels they once did, so the 'limited stock' scenario will occur much quicker. And its so noticeable over the last few months that Advanced Orders Only is much more prevailant now, - a phrase that was never heard of in the past.

 

[China Girl]

I was in a department store recently, the Clinique counter was buzzing and one girl trying to see to everybody. She kept apologising explaining that she was on her own that day, she was doing her best and everyone said it was okay they didn't mind. All the surrounding beauty counters had no customers and an assistant came over to help for those that knew what they wanted. My point here is this----Clinique is popular and was selling itself, no-one minded waiting to speak with the trained assistant, all other counters were deserted and you could see the girls desperately on the look out for anyone who dared to glance in their direction so they could start their hard sell. All beauty shoppers will know what I mean, you daren't stop to look.
On Qvc some things will sell themselves so whoever is presenting will have good sales figures, Craig on yankee for example.

 

[donna255]

Bet Clinique had a GWP on, it is always manic when they do.

 

[rainbowdottie]

lots of you make interesting points.with regard to jilly halliday,shes my favourite presenter.i like that shes normal and is not shrieking shouting or boring us with all her stories.i imagine lots of people tune into her just for that - and as we've concluded on here - the more you watch the more you buy!! But her phrases I hear you all cry - yes i agree but I'll take that over scarcasm (JR) rudeness (AY) and the deluded I've everything (JF).Could jilly h also be in luck that she does the late shift...she only works in the evening so is this in her favour as surely more people watch at this time of day?

With regard to stock - I agree - I think QVC are buying less (honora tsv this week?) and a lot of stuff is on waitlist or advanced orders - I remember watching one show (it must have been jewellery) and i think the whole show was on advanced orders - it felt like well we'll find out who actually wants one...we wont buy it all in and waste our money.If I've seen something I absolutely love and its sold out - most of the time it is back in stock on the website some time later - but I've always just presumed that was people who had in their basket and never got to the checkout stage - i know ive done that in the past to give me some thinking time.

as for beauty - i cant begin to imagine how much money they make on that.i love a bit of makeup - but i'm so not into skincare- i almost want to say thank goodness i think if i were id be bankrupt!! QVC have my custom because I dont have time to go shopping and because i never go- when i do - i hate it.yesterday I had to bite the bullet and go to my local M&S for my some work trousers.Icould not believe the choice in their beauty and cosmetic depatartment.ultrasun,philip kingsley - lookalike packaging to L'Occitane on one range and molton brown on another.i kind of wish i did have the time and inclination for shopping because it was all so much cheaper but still appealing - and i like M&S - I think they're good quality - I would be prepared to buy and trust them on skincare etc...isnt that what all big companies want? for people to trust them and put their faith in them and be loyal to them? QVC are really failing at the moment in that area.I've been with them for the start - spent thousands - but theres no reward for loyalty...

 

[China Girl]

Bet Clinique had a GWP on, it is always manic when they do.

No Donna, there was no GWP that day, just a normal day, I'm not a Clinique fan myself, their clarifying lotions are like paintstripper.

 

[rainbowdottie]

my ds1 has a lot of skin problems on his face.everyone recommends clinique but it has never agreed with him.i dont personally rate it but a lot of people do.

 

[ERICS MUM]

for a supposedly gentle range, I find Clinique very harsh on my face.

 

[Totally Loopy Lou]

I heard an interesting little feature on the BBC radio 4 programme, 'You and Yours' (consumer advice show) recently about qvc. I think it was within the last month. Anyway they interviewed Cathy Tayler and Simon Biag. Cathy said quite clearly that she was 'on the staff' (think that's she put it - the implication was that it was different to another kind of contract - and as such she didn't have sales targets or had to give the hard sell. She said that that was very important to her because it meant that she felt free to advise viewers on what products are appropriate for them and not just push stuff on people... Made her sound as if she had some integrity but no idea how true it is!! Fairly sure Simon said similar.

Wish I could've found the programme on the iplayer afterwards as I would have posted here FYI! But I'm new here and think it was beyond me

 

[Akimbo]

I think you could be onto something TLL. QVC always like to cultivate their presenters who are already a household name from regular TV. I suspect Kathy's background in breakfast telly lends an element of credibility to her hours. In her informal, often faltering delivery I bet many viewers find themselves ordering where the less subtle hard sell approach might put them off.

 

[Loveinamist]

So does that mean you can be freelance if you like on commission with maybe a basic wage?

 

[Totally Loopy Lou]

That was kind of the impression they gave - like there was a core salaried staff like Kathy (sorry thought it was 'C') doing a something like the regular Morning Show (the titles and logo of which even seem like a rip off of 'This Morning'!) and maybe some people on commissions/sales contracts but som of that's just me reading between the lines... But as several people said above why on earth would someone like Debbie Flint keeping telling you to buy 3 of everything for example if it made no difference to her whether anyone bought anything?! Then they would just be completely honest about products all of the time and not have to feign deep love for items you know they wouldn't be seen dead in

 

[Loveinamist]

Anybody want to be Q's Recruitment Administrator? http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJo...=.vjs_6875339_*2_*2_*2_false_*2_*2&_mSplash=1

 

[Akimbo]

I wonder what impact returns have? Are they deducted from their sales figures (penalising those who over-hype) or is it just accepted that there'll be a % of returned items which is just the vendor's problem?