Skip to content
The CHAR Method™ Join the waitlist

People-first sales training by Char Marie

Learn it. Practise it. Live it.™

Friend first. Sale second. Relationship always.

A practical manual for people who sell through conversation — in a shop, on the phone, in a salon or showroom, at an event, or in a small business. CHAR gives you a way to be commercially clear while treating the person in front of you with care.

Join the waitlist See what CHAR stands for
  • Master Training Manual · 25 chapters
  • Companion Workbook & Coaching Journal
  • CHAR 30™ practice tracker
“Not a trick. Not a pressure sequence. A method for paying attention, making a sound recommendation and leaving the person with their dignity intact.”

Sell like a friend. Succeed like a professional.

The method

What CHAR stands for

Four actions, worked in order, then adapted to the actual conversation. You may move back and forth — the point is to keep the person at the centre at every stage.

C

Connect

Build trust before thinking about the transaction, so the customer does not feel approached for a target.

“Take your time. Is there anything you would like a hand with while you look?”

H

Hear

Understand the person rather than listening only for a selling opportunity.

“So the main thing is that it needs to be straightforward and worth the money. Have I got that right?”

A

Advise

Recommend honestly and explain why the recommendation fits their stated priority.

“Based on that, I would choose this one. It is simpler; the trade-off is that it has fewer extras.”

R

Relationship

Create an experience worth returning to and talking about, whether or not there is a sale today.

“There is no rush. If it becomes useful later, you know where to find me.”

Why the order matters. You cannot advise well if you have not heard enough, and you cannot hear much if the person does not feel comfortable talking to you. The four parts work together — commercially capable and genuinely considerate, rather than one at the expense of the other.

The CHAR standard

After a CHAR conversation, the customer should be able to say:

  • ✓I felt noticed, not processed.
  • ✓I felt listened to, not interrupted.
  • ✓I understood why the recommendation suited me.
  • ✓I did not feel pressured, and I felt comfortable saying no.
  • ✓I would be happy to return or recommend this person.

The standard: if the customer leaves feeling smaller, rushed, embarrassed or manipulated, the method has been used wrongly — regardless of whether a sale happened.

Six moments in a confident conversation

  1. SeeNotice something real — a feature, need, comment, preference or situation.
  2. ShareRespond like a human. A little experience, humour or opinion when it genuinely helps.
  3. ShiftLet the conversation breathe, so trust has space to form.
  4. ReassureBuild confidence before correction. Never create insecurity to sell a solution.
  5. RevealExplain what you are doing or recommending as you go.
  6. RecommendEdit the options down to what you would honestly choose if it were your money.

CONNECT uses See, Share and Shift. Hear grows from the relaxed conversation. Advise uses Reveal and Recommend. Relationship is what the person remembers afterwards.

The toolkit

Practical tools, not pressure

Everything in the manual is designed for the minute before a conversation — small, honest structures you can actually use.

The CHAR Advice Bridge

  1. 1 · Connect — bring back a detail they shared: “You mentioned ___.”
  2. 2 · Hear — name the priority underneath it: “So the main thing that matters is ___.”
  3. 3 · Advise — a clear option and reason: “Based on that, I would look at ___ because ___.”
  4. 4 · Offer — the next step with choice: “If that feels right, I can ___ — or you can have a think.”

Keep the bridge brief. Its job is to show your thinking, not to turn the moment into a speech.

C.A.R.E. — for hesitation

Confirm the concern · Ask what is uncertain · Respond honestly · Ease off.

Hesitation is information, not an obstacle. C.A.R.E. helps you work out what the concern really is — and accept a no when it stays a no.

The red-line check

  • Is this claim accurate, approved and relevant to this customer?
  • Would I make the same recommendation if there were no target or incentive?
  • Can the customer comfortably say no, pause or take advice elsewhere?
  • Would this message still feel kind if they never bought again?

If a technique makes a customer feel rushed, smaller, manipulated or unable to say no, it is not being used in the spirit of CHAR. Escalate, do not improvise — direct regulated, clinical, legal or safety questions to the right authorised source.

The books

Two books that work together

Read a chapter in one sitting, but do not rush through the practice. Try one idea during a real conversation, then come back for the next.

The CHAR Method™ Master Training Manual book cover — rose-gold design by Char Marie Coming soon
The CHAR Method™ — Master Training Manual · Master Edition

Master Training Manual

113 pages · 25 chapters

The complete method, from Char's story to the final assessment. Learn one principle at a time, use it in real conversations, and build habits that survive a change of product, counter or career.

  • ✓CONNECT, HEAR, ADVISE, RELATIONSHIP — in depth
  • ✓The Conversation Vault — real phrases that work
  • ✓Role-Play Lab — ten scenarios with feedback
  • ✓Manager & Trainer Notes + facilitator toolkit
  • ✓THE CHAR 30™ — 30-day practice tracker
  • ✓Final Competence Check & Certificate of Completion

Workbook & Coaching Journal

Companion volume

The practical companion for reflection, real conversations, role-play and thirty days of people-first practice — with a starting-point baseline, thirty daily pages and completion evidence your coach or assessor can sign.

THE CHAR 30™ in one line: record what you noticed, choose one next behaviour, and return to it tomorrow. No artificial conversations, no unnecessary messages — choose a smaller, more genuine action.

Formats and prices are confirmed at launch. Join the waitlist to hear first.

Who it's for

Anyone who sells through conversation

The product may change, but people still want the same things from a sales conversation: to be taken seriously, to understand their options, and to feel safe saying what they do and do not want.

  • Shop floors
  • On the phone
  • Salons & showrooms
  • At events
  • Small businesses

Whether it is your first Saturday on a shop floor or your twentieth year behind a counter, CHAR meets you where you are — and gives your strengths room to grow.

Char's story

From Saturday girl to sales trainer

“I did not start my career thinking I would one day create my own sales training method. I simply wanted to work, learn and prove that I could do a good job.”

  1. Age 14 — the Saturday girl

    A Saturday job in a hair salon. Young, eager, desperate to prove herself — and often intimidated. Some days ended in tears. It was the first lesson in how quickly a harsh environment can make capable people doubt themselves.

  2. Age 17 — supervisor and key holder

    Qualified in Beauty Therapy and Level 2 Makeup, then into fashion retail — promoted to supervisor and key holder in a million-pound store. “Maybe I was not the problem. Maybe I simply had not found the right environment yet.”

  3. Age 18 — the cosmetics counter

    Managing a beauty counter and two staff within six months, while building her own self-employed makeup business, Charlie's Beauty Secrets. The conversation mattered as much as the finished look.

  4. The luxury counter years

    Manager for a well-known luxury cosmetics brand inside a major department store — targets, events, a team, and periods with very little guidance. She taught herself what she needed to know and learned to stand up for herself.

  5. Age 25 — building, losing, starting again

    Her own online business grew to around 80 people — then closed when the growth outpaced the investment. “Starting again is not glamorous, but it teaches you what is real.” Back at a luxury counter, she sold around £200 of products in a 20-minute interview and won an internal mascara sales challenge within weeks.

  6. Age 27 — when everything changed

    She lost her dad. Targets, promotions and workplace politics suddenly felt very small. Loss changed how she looks at fear: a difficult conversation at work is still a conversation — it does not define your worth.

  7. The dog-food ambassador

    A completely different product, a completely different audience — and the same principles worked. That was the moment the method stopped being tied to cosmetics, fashion or one company, and became The CHAR Method™.

“Stop seeing the customer as a transaction. Start seeing the person.”

Nearly two decades of sales — one lesson

FAQ

Fair questions, straight answers

What is the CHAR Method™?

People-first sales training built from Char Marie's nearly two decades in sales — Saturday girl, counter manager, business owner, dog-food ambassador. It teaches four actions in order: CONNECT, HEAR, ADVISE and RELATIONSHIP.

Who is it for?

Anyone who sells through conversation: on a shop floor, on the phone, in a salon or showroom, at an event, or in a small business. Whether it is your first week or your twentieth year.

Is it a script?

No. CHAR is a sequence, not a script. You work through four actions in order, then adapt them to the actual conversation — you may move back and forth as long as the person stays at the centre.

What do I get?

Two books: the Master Training Manual (25 chapters — the four parts, the Conversation Vault, a ten-scenario Role-Play Lab, manager and trainer notes, a facilitator toolkit and a final competence check) and the companion Workbook & Coaching Journal with the CHAR 30™ tracker.

Is the certificate a qualification?

The Certificate of Completion records assessed completion only. It is not an accredited qualification — and the manual is honest about that on the last page.

Will it guarantee me more sales?

No income guarantees — CHAR does not pretend otherwise. What you should notice first is your conversations becoming warmer, clearer, more personal and more useful. A customer who feels comfortable can answer honestly, and that makes your advice more accurate.

How is this different from other sales training?

It was built on shop floors and counters, not in a boardroom — and it refuses pressure tactics. If a customer leaves feeling rushed, smaller, embarrassed or manipulated, the method has been used wrongly, regardless of whether a sale happened.

When can I get it?

The books are coming soon. Formats and prices are confirmed at launch — join the waitlist below and you will be the first to know.

Coming soon

Be first in line when the books launch

Formats and prices are confirmed at launch. Join the waitlist and you will hear it here first — no spam, just the moment it goes live.

Launch updates only. Unsubscribe anytime.