The Retail Experience by Doug Fleener

We've Moved

2007-08-06T11:55:00.001-04:00

You can find our new blog Retail Contrarian here.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Retail Management

2007-08-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that most of you are familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins of pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. You might not be as familiar with the Seven Deadly Sins of Retail Management, those foibles and pitfalls that impede our abilities as managers and our capacity to achieve our desired success. Let's look at the Seven Deadly Sins of Retail Management. Procrastination: We can call procrastination "sloth with excuses." Procrastination can devastate a store and a manager's career. I've seen managers lose their jobs because they wouldn't get around to doing some of the simplest paperwork. I'm sure all of us procrastinate from time to time, but most of us don't do it to the point that it has a negative impact on our customers or employees. Arrogance: There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, with the difference being the manager's own view of his/her importance. I've met some very talented people who failed as managers because they somehow got it into the heads that they were more important than others in the organization. Successful managers understand that to succeed they must serve both their customers and their employees. Apathy: Managers are the leaders of their stores. By their actions they determine the level of passion, excitement, and pride felt by the rest of the staff. When managers lose interest it has a domino effect that falls all the way to the bottom line. The problem in retail chains is that because apathy is so difficult to identify in retail management, mid-level managers and executives let apathetic managers remain in their positions. Gossip: This "sin" looks harmless on their surface but can cause major damage to a store team and manager's creditability. Gossip often happens without the participants even realizing what they're doing. The best way to avoid gossip is to never say something about someone unless you would be okay with that person standing besides you as you say it. I know that whenever I start a conversation with "Just between you and me. . ." there's a good chance I shouldn't be having that conversation. Inflexibility: Great stores are the result a manager/leader who can take a group of strong individuals and have them execute as a team. One of the biggest barriers to this occurring is the manager's need to exert control rather than influence. Anytime a manager says "my way or the highway" then the chances are they're losing their team. Remaining flexible and open to new ideas invariably leads to growth of the staff, the manager, and the overall store sales. Inappropriateness: Creating any type of hostile workplace is completely unacceptable. While a manager rarely does do that on purpose, it happens with more frequency that most of us even know. The key is to not only not go near "the line" but to stay far, far away from it. Lack of accountability: The biggest impediment to a store achieving goal is almost never foot traffic or inventory availability. The biggest culprit is mediocrity. Specifically, the store management team allowing mediocrity to take hold in the store. This often is the result of a manager or management team not holding the staff accountable for their actions because they don't want to have those difficult conversations necessary to turn around or remove underperforming employees. Not only is it unfair to the rest of the team (and the company as a whole) to not hold underperforming employees accountable, it's also unfair to the employee themselves. So let me ask, how's your sin level?

Believe and Discover Your Way to Higher Sales

2007-07-26T20:50:00.000-04:00

The other day I had an errand at the mall and decided since I was there to spend some time shopping stores. It's an experience that is both rewarding and maddening. I had a very nice conversation in one store after the employee, seeing my Apple bag, asked if I had bought an iPhone. I replied that it was just a boring power cord in the bag but I did get a chance to try one an iPhone while in the Apple store. (It is quite slick.) We went on to discuss the iPhone as well as the joys of owning a Mac. I enjoyed my conversation and off I went - without the salesperson ever mentioning anything to do with her store. In another store, an employee told me about the good deal on the products that were no longer current and then went back to her phone conversation. In another store I asked a salesperson if she had a particular product. She said, "What you see is what you got" and walked away. Alrighty then. My favorite was when an employee asked how I was doing and before I could even answer he had turned and walked away. In almost every store I was ignored. Even the Apple store where I made a purchase was less than stellar. Nobody talked to me about the products and the person who rang up my sale asked me, "That it?" Of course I had to reply, "That it." On my way out of the mall I stopped in one last store, where I encountered the best retail salesperson of the night. She was friendly, engaging, and focused on me. To be honest I hadn't even planned to buy anything but she was so good I opened up my wallet. It was a pleasant experience and I was happy with my purchase. On the ride home I got thinking about what made her so much more effective than all the other salespeople I encountered. Had she had better training than the others? Did she have a strong manager who worked to develop her skills? I can't answer those questions but I do know that it had nothing to do with price or selection. She and she alone made the sale happen. Then I realized what made the difference. She was the only salesperson in any of the stores I had visited who believed I was there to buy something. From the minute I walked into her store she graciously matched me up with the products she sold. She wasn't pushy but rather she engaged me with purpose, which resulted with her showing me products specifically for me. She was also the only person to discover why I walked into her store. The woman in the store who talked to me about Apple products didn't and neither did the Apple salespeople themselves. The woman who told me about a sale in her store didn't. Obviously, everyone who ignored me or barely answered my questions didn't know or care why I was there. I must have engaged with 25 or so salespeople in the course of that trip to the mall. One store rang up a sale but didn't actually make it. About 23 employees made no sale at all. And one woman created a very nice sale because she assumed I was there for a reason and she took the time to find out what it was. So let me ask, do you believe your customers are in your stores to make a purchase? Equally important, do you take the time to find out why they're there? Do that and I know you'll make more sales. I know that for a fact. . . . I have the receipt to prove it.

25 Ways to Increase Sales TODAY

2007-07-18T05:00:00.000-04:00

1. Sell more. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) 2. Be "on" from the moment you walk onto the sales floor. You have an important role to play so play it well. 3. Be genuine. If you can't, you need to change either your attitude, mindset, or job. 4. Never stalk a customer. If when you first engage a customer she gives you the cold shoulder, back off and give her a chance to get comfortable in the store and to see for herself that you're different from most salespeople. The way you engage others allows them to experience for themselves that you're interested in them as a person, not just as a customer. 5. Engage with purpose. For most of us that means developing a relationship with our customer and making sure he/she has a great experience in our store. Remember: never ask a customer a question if you don't care what the answer is. 6. Listen more, talk less. 7. Never talk over your customer. It's not only bad manners but it tells her you're not listening. 8. Don't show products, sell them. The difference is that when you're selling a product it means you know enough about the customer to choose the right product for him. 9. Focus the conversation on the outcome of the product and its benefits. As an example, people don't buy luggage for the sake of buying luggage but because they wish to transport clothing and other belongings from one location to another. Focus on how the end result at that destination will be enhanced because of the product itself. 10. Assume the customer is buying. Remove the idea that anyone is a "looker." 11. Do something nice and unexpected for your customer. It will almost always result in a stronger relationship that often translates into a sale. 12. Never ask a customer how he's doing. The phrase is trite, completely overused and most people who ask it don't really care about the answer. The same is true with "May I help you" and "Can I answer any questions." 13. Don't over greet or over welcome your customer. Once a customer is well into the store a simple smile and "hello" is sufficient. Customers would rather be ignored than greeted excessively. 14. Having a large selection of products for the customer to choose from increases the likelihood that the customer will make a purchase. 15. Reducing the number of products you show a customer increases the odds of making a sale even more. 16. Recommending one or two of those products improves the chance even more. 17. Skip telling the customer everything you know about a product. Instead give them the information they need to make an informed decision. 18. The only way to be able to do that is to gather information from the customer. That's why just showing products costs sales. 19. Help the customer make the purchase. If we've done our job it is only appropriate to give the customer an opportunity to buy what we're selling. 20. Forget trying to "add-on" to a sale. That's completely internally focused and self-serving. "Enhance" the customer's life with the products they're buying and you're guaranteed to sell more. 21. Don't stop enhancing until the customer says so. We like to compare it to the all-you- can-eat buffet. Your customer will tell you when he's full. 22. Use the kind of manners during checkout that would make your mother or grandmother proud. Use a lot of "please," "thank-you" and "you're welcome." 23. Always see a customer bringing a product into the store as an opportunity, not a burden. Assume it's a return until you've learned otherwise. 24. Follow-up a customer's purchase with a thank-you note, email, or phone call. 25. Contact a good customer to tell him about something new in the store and why you think it's something he would like. 26. Always go above and beyond for every customer. If it doesn't result in a sale today, it will tomorrow.

Some Birthday Lessons

2007-07-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today is my 49th birthday. It's hard to believe I only have 365 days left in my 40s. I hear that the 50s are the new 30s, but until then I'll enjoy where I am in my life today. Because of some dear friends who are kind enough to invite us to Martha's Vineyard during this week, I have for the past several years had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday on the beach. This is pretty special to a guy whose astrological sign is Cancer the Crab. According to the Chinese zodiac I was born in the year of the dog. I'm pretty sure I was also born under a sign that read "Retail." I've had a lot of ups and my share of downs in life, and I consider myself extremely blessed. Blessed because of the wonderful people who have been in my life and shared with me the lessons that enabled me to succeed in retail and in life. For me, they're really one and the same. Here are a few of those lessons that stand out today: - You're only as successful as the people you have around you. Never be afraid to hire the best possible person and learn from her. - Ask for help when you need it. Offer to help when you don't. - Surround yourself with positive people who love life and love you. - Never regret the past. Use it to create a better tomorrow today. - Always remain teachable. Learn something every day. - Stop saying why something won't work and start asking how you can make it work. - Stop repeating, "I really need to." Either do it because you need to or decide you don't "really need to" after all. - Prioritize your day and always put the customer first. - Treat your employees well, they'll treat your customers well, and they'll treat you well. - No matter what your title, if you're in a leadership role you always go first. - Passion trumps knowledge and skill. Never try to cover the lack of knowledge and skill with passion. - Never shy away from a difficult conversation with an employee or a friend. You'll both be the better for it. - Be happy for others. - Always say, "thank you," "please," and "you're welcome." Expect the same from your staff and your children. - Refuse to allow gossip in your store. It kills more sales and profits than any big box competitor could. - Sometimes bad things happen. It's one thing to be a victim; it's another to stay one. - No matter the cause, if I'm bent out of shape about something the problem is always within me. If I don't believe that I'm giving others the power to control me. - If you don't take the time to enjoy the rewards of your hard work why work hard? - It's okay to know that you can't please every customer, but you can sure try. - And last but not least, at the end of my life it won't matter how much money I earned or how much praise I've received. What will matter is how well my children will have learned and applied their own lessons for a good life.

Buyers and Decision Makes

2007-07-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

Years ago, while working at a Sharper Image in Boston, I was helping a couple who were thinking of purchasing one of the massage chairs. While the husband was sitting in the chair I went over its features and benefits. After a few minutes I asked the wife if she would like to try it out as well. Her answer was something I never forgot. She said, "Sure. He may be the buyer but I'm the decision maker." While she said it half-jokingly, she wasn't really kidding. He was going to buy the chair only if she made the decision that he would. One way you can increase your sales productivity is to understand and apply the buyer and decision maker concept. It doesn't matter if your average ticket is $20 or $1000, knowing who is a buyer and who is a decision maker will have a positive impact on your business. For this exercise we'll define the buyer as a person or persons who wants to purchase a particular product or products. The decision maker is the person who ultimately decides if the purchase is made or not. A person can be either or both. Just because a person is shopping alone doesn't mean they are both. They could be a buyer but the decision maker isn't with them or vice versa. It's important to know the needs of each person to help him or her make an informed purchase. Retail salespeople often focus more on the buyer only to be tripped up by the decision maker. You'll see in the following example that it is important to engage and involve both in the sale process. Here are some examples of the buyer/decision maker concept: * Two women are shopping in a jewelry store where one of the women is considering buying herself some new earrings. The one looking at the earrings is both a buyer and a decision maker. Her friend is also a decision maker. To successfully help the buyer make a purchase the retail associate must also involve the friend. Ask the friend some questions that will demonstrate for the buyer her friend's approval of the purchase. One example is, "Don't those look beautiful on her?" * A mother and her teenage daughter are looking at cell phones. If the phone is for the daughter then she is the buyer and the mother is the decision maker. (It could the opposite.) To complete this sale the retail associate must understand what is important to each party. For the daughter it's about fashion and features. For the mother it might be about cost and safety. If you don't satisfy both the buyer and the decision maker you probably won't make the sale. * A husband and wife are considering taking a cruise and are meeting with a travel agent. Couples are always a little tricky since one might be a buyer and the other a decision maker, or they might each be both a buyer and a decision maker. The mistake many salespeople make is that they only engage the person who is showing the most interest, who is usually the buyer. When interviewing, it's essential to uncover what is important to both individuals so each of their needs and concerns are met. Just because they're a couple does not mean they agree on what's important to make a purchase. Today try to identify which customer is a buyer, a decision maker, or both. Just that little exercise will be sure to boost your store sales.

A Very Special Posting: A Lesson in Humility

2007-06-27T07:03:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I was in Las Vegas presenting to employees of the Bribor retail stores. Donny Borsack and his family own and operate the Brighton license stores in Las Vegas as well as the Corsa Collections store at The Forum Shops at Caesars. The Borsacks and their employees are incredibly bright and experienced retailers so it's always a joy to present there. During one of the presentation on increasing UPT sales I asked the group, "What are some of the techniques you use to maximize your customer opportunities?" Without hesitation Zee Hussain raised her hand and said, "I sell with humility." I was fascinated by this response and asked her to expand on it. Zee explained to us that when she worked with a customer she understood that it was all about the customer, not her. She told us that she often emulated the customer's mannerisms since that would in all likelihood be how the customer wanted to be engaged. Zee also said that selling with humility meant showing the customer all the products that were right for her. I thanked her for her comments and asked her if I could use it in my newsletter. She said of course I could. After the presentation Donny and I discussed Zee and her comments about selling with humility. Donny told me that this wasn't just something Zee said but reflected the way she lived every day. He told me that Zee started working for his family 10 years ago and in the last five years she was the top salesperson in the company 50% of the time. 50%! Clearly selling with humility is effective. Since then I have attempted a couple of times to write the selling with humility but I just couldn't seem to effectively translate the concept that Zee made seem simple and effective. It was frustrating because I had said I would write a Daily about it but I wanted it to be right and make Zee proud. I wish now that I hadn't waited. Zaniab Hussain, lovingly known to her family, customers, and colleagues as Zee, passed away in her sleep last week. Zee will truly be missed because she was one of the true ambassadors of retail. As Donny shared with me, "She sold from her heart, she sold with incredible passion, and most important, she did it all with humility." On the day after Zee passed away, I received an email with the following, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less." The words finally came to me, or maybe I should say they found me. When we work with our customers they should be our only focus. Not thinking about when we're going to lunch or what needs to be checked off our to-do list. We focus on customers, their needs and opportunities, and we continue to suggest products that will enhance their lives. Zee lived with true humility and was always there for her family, customers, and co-workers. Whenever Zee was asked to do something she always replied "I'll make you proud." If we all think a little more about our customers and little less about ourselves, we indeed will make her proud. One thing I know for sure, God will have no problem making sales numbers for now on. Thank you, Zee, for teaching us so much and giving us the chance to make you proud.

The View from the Deli Counter

2007-06-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

The other day I offered to run down to the grocery store and pick up a few things. I was happy to do so until my wife said those dreaded words, "Don't forget to stop at the deli counter." You see, I have zero patience and if there is more than one person in front of me at the deli counter I swear that time stands still. Like a good husband I said "yes, dear" and went off to do my duty. When I got to the counter there were five people ahead of me, each of whom were purchasing a quarter-pound of at least twelve different cheeses and meats. As I stood there fighting the urge to beat my head on the deli case, I noticed subtle differences between the three employees working the counter. While all three seemed fairly proficient at using the meat slicer, or I assume they were since they had all their fingers, they differed in how they waited on their customers. The first clerk was focused on completing orders and getting through the line. He was very business like. He said pretty much the same thing over and over again. "Next! What can I get you? Anything else?" I was pleased he was picking off the customers in front of me so I could finish my shopping. The second clerk was extremely nice. "Next? How are you today? What would you like today?" She was happy to come around the counter to help her customer. She made small talk while she did her job and wasn't upset at all when after slicing two pounds of ham the customer said she wanted a different brand. She laughed, chatted and did a wonderful job with the one customer she waited on the entire time I stood there. The third clerk had an entirely different approach. After calling out the next number he always said, "Hello. Thank you for waiting. What can I get you today?" He was as efficient as the first clerk and as friendly as the second without the excessive small talk. What made this clerk the most effective of the three is that instead of seeing what was taking place from behind the counter he saw what the situation was from the customer's point of view. He knew that customers had been waiting and he thanked them for doing so. "Thank you for waiting." Four small words with a huge impact on the customer experience. We will always be more successful in delivering both a great store experience and maximizing every sales opportunity if we see things from the customer's perspective. A customer having to wait five minutes in line isn't a big deal to us. It might be a huge deal to the customer. . . .or at least customers like me. Being out of stock of an item means we miss a sale. To a customer it might mean having to drive to another store or figure out something else to buy. Putting ourselves in the customer's shoes and seeing things from their perspective allow us to better connect with the customer. It helps us to understand when small talk and taking our time is appropriate and when it's not. It helps us to see better when an "I'm sorry" or a "Thank you so much" is in order and not just "Next." The best part is that it helps us to see better how we can improve and be of better of service to the customer. Try it out this week, walk in your customer's shoes and enjoy the view.

Peer Without Pressure

2007-06-13T05:00:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was speaking with a client regarding training their staff around increasing their units per transaction, when the client said something I frequently hear from retailers struggling to develop their employees: "We just don't have time to do structured role-plays." It is, of course, a legitimate grievance. The reality of skill-based training in retail is a classic Catch-22: training is vital to developing and improving employees' abilities to deliver positive customer experiences, while at the same time it's counter-productive to take employees away from serving customers for the sake of structured trainings. My recommended solution to this conundrum is two words: peer coaching. In peer coaching two employees undertake their own training initiatives and observe, appraise, and work to develop each other's skills. This makes on-the-floor development easy and flexible. It can happen anytime, and doesn't require a lot of planning or preparation. Most importantly, it puts the employees in charge of driving their own development. Transitioning single-product buyers to multiple-product buyers (and therefore increasing UPTs) is a skill that's ideal for peer coaching because when done correctly it benefits the employee, the store, and the customer. Peer coaching typically involves employees working together in what could be called a "living role-play". While one employee engages a customer (yes, a real customer) as they normally would, the other employee observes a specific area or skill and makes mental notes. After the transaction has ended and the customer is happily on their way, the coach provides his or her colleague with feedback - preferably a combination of positive observations and areas for possible improvement. This should be an open and honest dialog, not a critique or in-depth analysis. The goal here is to coach and guide, not to humiliate or belittle. Besides, during the next transaction the roles will be reversed: the employee who was the coach will become the one getting assessed, so be sure to have fun with it. Focusing on a small, single bite of the sales process (like increasing UPTs) instead of the whole thing allows the coach to concentrate on the specifics of how adept their colleague is at enhancing their customer's experience through recommending additional product. And since it's an area often overlooked when it comes time to develop skills, increasing UPTs is typically a good even footing for everyone to start with. Encourage your staff to participate in peer coaching by establishing and communicating a set of basic rules for everyone to follow.

Establish a timeframe. While the pace of peer coaching is mainly determined by various factors like traffic and staff availability, it's still a good idea to set a beginning and end date for the whole initiative. "Beginning on June 13th, we're going to start 3 weeks of peer coaching, wrapping up just in time for the Fourth of July sale."

Require regular reporting. Again, while the staff is driving their own development, it's important that they be held accountable. Regular, informal reporting of what coaching has taken place, including areas of focus, best practices, and opportunities for improvement are key to reinforcing the importance of peer coaching. Again, this doesn't need to be a formally documented presentation. Just a quick touch-base throughout the duration of the announced timeframe.

Mutually agree on the skill to be observed. Skills turn into behaviors. Properly developed skills result in behavior that's beneficial to the business and the individual. Before any coaching can happen both participants need to agree on which skill they're going to focus their development. The entire staff can focus on the same skill if it's crucial for an upcoming event or promotion, but ideally each coaching pair will focus on a key skill that's specific to their own personal development.

Don't compete. This is a development activity, not a contest to see who can outperform the other. The coach needs to keep an open mind with regards to his or her colleague's methods, and provide feedback specific to the skill being developed. Unless the employee being coached provides blatant misinformation, acts unethically, or otherwise performs in a manner unbecoming the business, the focus of the observation and feedback needs to be on the mutually agreed-upon skill.

Be mindful of your customers. Your customer's needs take precedence over any other activity. Even if your peer is observing you, your full attention must be given to your customer. This ensures they get the best experience you can provide, and it gives your coach a more honest portrayal of your abilities.

Be open to giving and receiving feedback. Because most participants are not management, they might feel out of place giving a colleague direct feedback. Likewise, some employees may feel invalidated by their peer's observations. Everyone needs to remember that this is a development activity, and honest and specific feedback in both directions is the key to success.

So there you have it: a good solution to the problem of finding time to practice on the sales floor. Give it a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how well it works.

The Secret To Retail Success

2007-06-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

After a recent seminar I was approached by one of the attendees (we'll call her Ellen) who wanted to discuss with me her approach to waiting on customers as it differed from what I had recommended in the seminar. Here's how the conversation went. Ellen: "Hi Doug. I enjoyed what you said although I disagree with your approach to helping customers in the store. I work with my customers the way I like to be helped." Me: "And how's that?" Ellen: "I like to be left alone and I'll ask for help when I need it. That's why I do the same thing with my customers." Me: "I see. Why don't you like to be helped?" Ellen: "I just like to browse on my own." Me: "Okay, there's nothing wrong with that. But what do you do when a sales person tries to engage you?" Ellen: "I tell them I'm just looking." Me: "And why's that?" Ellen: "Usually because the person isn't really any help." Me: "Why do you think that is?" (Yes, I know it can be annoying to have a conversation with me but Ellen started it!) Ellen: "Because a lot of salespeople just stand there next to me, which I find incredibly irritating, and wait for me to ask a question that they may or may not be able to answer. I find they really aren't that useful so I only ask for help if I have to." Me: "What you're telling me is that in your store you stand next to your customers waiting for them to ask a question that you may or may not be able to answer." Ellen: "Absolutely not. I'm great with my customers. They find me quite useful when I help them." Me: "I'm sure they do. But do you even give them a chance to know that because you wait for them to approach you and ask for help? Ellen: "I guess not." Me: "You yourself said you only ask for help if you absolutely have to. And I think most customers are like you." Ellen: "Good point." Doug: "So instead of helping customers the way you like to be helped, doesn't it make more sense for you to work with your customers the way you wish you were helped?" Ellen: "You're right. I've been waiting on the people in my store a certain way because of some of the bad sales help out there, even though I know we're better in my store. Thanks." And that's the secret to success on the retail floor. Treat people the way you wish to be treated. Think about what's important to you. You want salespeople who are attentive but not pushy. You want someone who can answer your questions and help you select the right products. Someone who can help you get the most for your money. Someone who will give you the right answer, not just the answer you want to hear. Someone who you trust, like, and want to go back to again. Don't treat your customers a certain way because of bad retail salespeople, treat your customers a certain way because you're a good retail salesperson.

Leadership Give and Take

2007-05-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

The first time somebody told me that "to keep it you have to give it away" I thought he was talking nonsense. But over time, the more I have learned about being a good manager and a good person, the more I have realized the truth of that seemingly contradictory statement.    These are the four most important things a store manager must give to his/her staff so the staff can give it back to the store and customers.    Loyalty. Loyalty is a two way street. If you want loyal employees, you must be a loyal manager and employer. There are many ways to show loyalty to an employee. It's being willing to adapt a work schedule when an employee is having challenges at home or dealing with other concerns. It's figuring out how to give a leave of absence to a person who needs one even when doing so creates some challenges for the rest of the team. It's spending that little bit of extra time when an employee is struggling to learn a new skill or obtain new knowledge. It's delivering performance reviews and merit raises on time.    Respect. I have had the pleasure to work for and with some wonderful people; people I had great respect for. I've also worked for and with some managers I didn't respect. The reason I didn't respect them is because they weren't people of their word. They lived by the code of "do as I say, not as I do." They didn't keep their word. They didn't keep confidences. They put their own needs above others, believing that rank had its privilege. For a manager/owner to lead a team he/she must have the respect of the team. Respect isn't really that hard to keep but it is very tough to earn back when it's been lost.   A positive attitude. I've always said that you can walk into almost any store and within minutes determine how positive the manager/owner is without even meeting them. Their attitude sets the tone for the entire team. Chances are if an employee greets you with a smile and friendly welcome that they too were met with a smile and friendly welcome when they arrived at work that day. My wife jokingly tells our children that "when mama's not happy, ain't nobody happy." The same principle holds true in a store, too. When the manager/owner is in a bad mood or is stressed out there is a dark could over the entire store. It impacts everyone working that day but most of all it impacts the customer and the day's sales.    The store priorities. A manager's/owner's actions - not what they say but what they do - communicates to the staff what's really important. What matters is not what a manager says that is important, it's what a manager does that makes the real impact. I've seen so many managers stand up in a store meeting and babble on about the importance of customer service, how much they respect the customer, blah blah blah. Then immediately after the meeting they spend their entire time focused on merchandising or preparing for a store visit and completely ignoring customers. Every day you must show and do what is necessary for the store to succeed. If that's what you do then your team will do the same.   So let me ask, what are you going to give away today?

REALLY Listening to Your Customer

2007-05-23T05:00:00.000-04:00

Last week I was working with a group of retailers here in New England and the topic turned to store return policies. It seems that in this particular community the majority of retailers will only give a customer making a return a store credit, not a refund. Very few of the retailers in this town will give a refund even if the customer has a receipt and is returning an item within the stated timeframe. One of the retailers commented that maybe she would change to a full refund policy since "every now and then a customer complains so I end up giving a refund anyway." While I agree that it's a good idea to change her policy, there was actually another reason to do so. She needs to change her policy because it is costing her sales and customers. I believe that in today's competitive retail environment, all retailers should have a liberal return policy. It's so challenging to obtain customers, why lose them forever over one sale? It's not smart business to let customers walk unless you're positive you want to lose that customer. To me there was a more important lesson in this conversation than just return policies. It's the impact of what I (with a nod to Richard Nixon) call the Silent Majority. The retailer above gave a refund to the Vocal Minority who complained about her return policy but she never heard from the Silent Majority. They either didn't make a purchase because of her return policy or they may have stopped shopping in her store after she refused them a refund. I know some days it sure doesn't feel like it but the majority of your customers don't complain when they're unhappy. The majority of your customers don't write letters or make a phone call when they're happy with your store, either. Only the Vocal Minority takes action. The Vocal Minority can help you improve the overall store experience of the Silent Majority. Every time a customer complains or gives you some kind of critical feedback ask yourself if this issue is unique to that particular customer, or could it be something that has an impact on every one of your customers. More often than not the Vocal Minority does indeed speak for the Silent Majority. The odds are good that if one customer is unhappy with something, you probably have a lot of other customers who are unhappy about the same thing. Instead of making something right for the one customer who complains, take a step back and ask yourself if and how that one person's concern impacts all of your customers. In our return policy example above, if our retailer did this exercise she would see that her customers have different expectations of her return policy than what she's delivering. The Vocal Minority complained and got their money back, the Silent Majority either left or cut back on their purchases. But the unhappy Silent Majority doesn't really stay silent. According to the second annual Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study released last week by the Wharton School of Business, one in three unhappy customers tells other people about a problem encountered at a store and those people go on to tell an average of four others. The fact is that every time you think you lose one customer you're actually losing at the minimum three or four. The same holds true for customer praise. If something you did for a customer made them so happy they took the time to tell you about it, can you do whatever it was for all customers? And maybe you already are; it's just that the Silent Majority never told you how much they appreciate it. Remember, the Vocal Minority can help you grow your sales and profits. . . even when they're asking for their money back or giving you praise.

Profit From the Customer Decision

2007-05-16T05:00:00.000-04:00

To be a successful retail salesperson, and we're all salespeople if we work retail, you must understand how customers buy. The act of making a purchase is a financial decision-making process not much different from other decisions except that at the end of this decision-making process there is an exchange of money for goods. The process itself is very linear. The time it takes to move through the process varies by individuals and what the purchase is. The decision-making process to buy a soda at a soda machine is the same one to buy a new car but the amount of time it takes to move through that process will obviously vary. The more you know and acknowledge where people are in their decision making process the better you'll be able to deliver a better store experience and sell more products. These are the four steps/stages of the decision-making process: 1. Recognize a need or want. Someone could be getting dressed one morning and realize that since he's been exercising more his pants are getting loose. He recognizes the need for new pants. Our newly-svelte friend may get into his car and head right to a store or he might file the thought away and continue to wear his baggy pants for a little while longer. Or a customer walks into a woman's accessory store and after seeing a pretty pair of hoop earrings recognize that she might want to add a larger hoop to her earring collection. Many customers enter your store without a recognized need or want but they always come in with an interest.

Success Tips

a) Engaging customers with your products can move them from having an interest to the first stage of the decision-making process. b) Listening closely to what the customer says is an easy way for you to identify if she has recognized her need or want.

2. Gather information. The customer is now discovering what she needs to know and begins to gather information so she can make an informed decision. For a simple purchase like a soda from a machine that information would include what drinks are in that particular machine and how much they cost. For clothing, a shopper needs to look at different fabrics, colors, cuts and sizes. For more complicated purchases like consumer electronics and automobiles the customer has to spend time and energy to educate herself and collect what information is needed.

Success Tips a) The biggest mistake many retail sales associate make is not identifying where in the information gathering stage the customer is. Rather than ask questions about what the customer has done so far and what she knows, associates almost always assume the customer is only beginning to gather information. b) You'll be viewed as an expert and more likely to make the sale if you help the customer understand what information is necessary to make an informed decision.

3. Evaluate choices and alternatives. This is when the customer tries on clothes, tastes samples, tries out different golf clubs, compares the choices side-by-side, etc.

Success Tips a) Reduce the number of choices the customer has to pick from. Instead of showing the customer every single one of their choices, recommend one or two products that you believe, based on the questions you've asked, best meets your customer's needs. b) Get the product in the customer's hands, on their body, etc. It's amazing how many sales people will talk and talk about what a product does and never actually show you what a product does.

4. Make a (purchase) decision. The customer has decided to make a purchase. That doesn't mean he will make a purchase at that moment or even that he has chosen from whom he will make the purchase, but he has made a decision.

Success Tips a) Deliver a great experience and you'll be the clear choice when the customer decides where to buy. b) Often the customer has made a decision to buy but since the sales associate doesn't assume the sale, the purchase is not made. Always assume the customer will buy from you today unless you've been told otherwise.

I encourage you this week to identify what stage each one of your customers is in. Once you do that, see if you can help them come to a decision that will make both the customer and you happy.

Retail - It's Easy and Hard

2007-05-09T05:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the easy and hard things about retail. It's easy to be a good manager when you're in a good mood. It's hard to be a good manager when you're in a bad mood. You're doing really well when your team doesn't think you have bad moods. It's easy to buy products that are hot and in demand. It's hard to know when to quit buying them before they're everywhere and a commodity. You know you're going to win some, some lose, and that's what makes retail a fun challenge. It's easy to sell a customer one product. It's hard to sell a customer more than one product. What's important is that each customer leaves with the right amount of product for them. It's easy to run an advertisement. It's hard to market effectively. You need to understand why you do either. It's easy to create a weekly schedule for the staff. It's hard to create one that makes everyone happy. It's important to try. It's easy to say bad things about your competitors. It's hard to say good things about your competitors. What's great is when you can do both at the same time and no one notices. (Never say anything bad about your competitors. Period.) It's easy to gossip about others on the team. It's hard to say something to someone else who is gossiping. For the good of the team, step in and stop the gossip. It's easy to explain away your mistakes. It's hard to admit your mistakes. What's most important is that you fix your mistakes. It's easy to hang out on the floor and be in charge. It's hard to work the floor and still get done what you need to get done. Isn't working the floor part of doing what needs to be done? It's easy to not say something to an employee you're unhappy with. It's hard to have difficult conversations with employees. Not having those conversations is unfair to both the employee and the company. It's easy to talk the talk. It's hard to walk the walk. Without the walk, the talk is a waste of time. It's easy to accept responsibility when things are going well. It's hard to accept responsibility when things aren't going well. If you're a manager/owner/leader it doesn't matter: you are responsible. It's easy to find ideas every day that will have a positive impact on your business or life. It's hard to apply the ideas. Success comes to those who do. It's easy to start the week on a positive note. It's easy to end the week on a positive note. What's hard sometimes is keeping that positive note one the days between.

The Name Game

2007-05-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago while presenting to a group of store managers on the topic of improving their staffs' selling and engagement skills, the topic of using the customer's name came up. I suggested that at times it is very natural to introduce yourself and discover the customer's name and then use it. Within seconds one of the store managers said, "Too car salesman-like." Someone else mentioned that the expectation at his stores was to get the customer's name from the credit card during the point of purchase and use it while thanking him/her. I agree that it is good retail to use the customer's name in the checkout process, but I disagree that using a customer's name during the sales process is "car salesman-like." I think calling a customer by name is only natural when your focus is on his/her needs and matching the person with the right products. I've always said that a great store experience is the result of the connection between a customer and one or more employees. It seems to me that if you're connecting with someone you probably ought to know each other's name. I've admitted that when I was on the floor I wasn't the best at using a customer's name. I've come to realize that I was actually pretty good at using a person's name once I knew it but I just wasn't very good at finding out the name so I could use it. I suspect that most retail salespeople aren't much different. If a customer walked into your store with a nametag on you'd be likely to call them by name. The challenge is that we're usually the ones with the nametag. We could make everyone who came in the door fill out one of those "Hi My Name Is" stickers but I'm pretty sure that won't work. The solution to the problem has to lie within us. I'd like to challenge you and your staff to improve your customer's experience by becoming more comfortable discovering and using the customer's name. I guarantee that when done well it will make a difference in how your customer feels about your store as well as when and how much they buy. I also guarantee that if done poorly it will make a difference in how your customer feels about your store as well as when and how much they buy. The good news, it really isn't hard to do well. Here are a few things to consider in getting more comfortable discovering and using the customer's name: 1. Introducing yourself and discovering your customer's name is much more important than actually using it. Most people who push you to say the customer's name a lot either haven't worked retail much or they've trained car salesman. If you find a natural place to call your customer by name during the sale, great, but it's getting it one time that really counts. 2. Don't ask if you're not sincere. When people do this poorly it's because they're doing it because they've been told to do it, not because they want to. If you really like your customers, and if you really like your store, then I'm sure you're sincere. It's okay to force yourself to do this because you're uncomfortable; it's not okay to do it if you don't want to. 3. Don't feel pressured to learn and use the name of every customer, but do push yourself to do it with every customer you're highly engaged with. I'd say if you're engaged enough to ask questions and show product, you're engaged enough that introducing yourself is a natural step. 4. Always introduce yourself first before you ask the customer his/her name. Yes, you're probably wearing a nametag and yes, the customer can read, but by introducing yourself you're telling the customer right then and there that his/her experience in your store is going to be different and better than other stores. 5. Introduce yourself when it feels right. For some of you, usually the more outgoing personalities among you, it will be pretty soon after first engaging the customer. For others it might be when you're asking some questions or showing the customer the products you're recommending. There's no right time or wrong time, just your time. 6. Skip the handshaking if it's not your style. Skip the handshaking if you don't feel it's the customer's style. Don't let handshaking impede introducing yourself and discovering the customer's name. This is all about style - your style. 7. Most of the time the customer will tell you their name after you tell them yours. If they don't, you can decide to ask them theirs or not based upon how strong your connection is with them and how comfortable you are asking. I find the "And you are?" question uncomfortable for most salespeople. Remember, telling them your name is what's most important. 8. Keep practicing until it becomes second nature. First get comfortable introducing yourself. Then get comfortable finding out the customer's name. Finally, get comfortable using the customer's name.

It's Show Time: Act 1, Scene 1

2007-04-25T19:47:00.000-04:00

Imagine for a moment that you're sitting in a tenth row center seat in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, eagerly anticipating the beginning of the show, Beauty and the Beast. Finally the house lights dim, the music starts and the curtain slowly rises. The first person you see is Belle, her hair in curlers, sitting in a chair drinking a Starbucks Tall Caffè Latte. Next to her, Beast (is it? you're not quite sure) is on the floor doing a stretching exercise, dressed in jeans and a tank top. You notice his beast head propped on a table, looking like a trophy in a western mountain lodge. A stagehand is vacuuming near the back of the stage. Mrs. Potts enters stage left. Or at least you think it's Mrs. Potts since she's wearing what looks like part of a teapot costume - along with a Mets hat. She looks out to you and the rest of the audience and says, "I'm sorry, we're not ready. We had a cast meeting that ran a little long. Chip just wouldn't shut up. Go ahead and get yourself a drink or talk among yourselves and we'll be ready in just a little bit." The performers finish what they're doing, leave the stage and a few minutes later the show begins. As much as you might have liked the show even with that rocky beginning, your experience was not nearly as good as one that theatergoers at a different performance enjoyed. Both groups got a show, but one group had a less than a stellar experience because the cast was not fully prepared to begin the show. It might be totally absurd to think of the scene I described taking place at a Broadway show but it happens every day in retail. I recently stopped by a local store a few minutes after 10:00 a.m. but when I tried to open the door it didn't budge. A few seconds later "Belle" unlocked the door, apologizing that they were running late. "Gaston" was running the vacuum cleaner, which frankly looked like it hadn't been emptied in a week and was in dire need of a muffler, while "Chip" was racing around trying to clear boxes out of the walk way. "Feel free to look around and if you have any questions let us know." They spent the next 10 minutes scurrying around oblivious to my presence. What a lousy shopping experience. Every day is a new performance. Every day brings a new audience. Every day brings you new opportunities. Every audience deserves the best possible retail experience you can deliver. Short changing the first or the last customers of the day is poor business. Short changing any customers is poor business. It is absolutely vital to the success of any retailer that they put on a great show every minute of the day. So make it a habit to never let the curtain rise in your store until you're ready. On the flip side, always have the stage set and cast in place five minutes before curtain time. Don't let morning meetings or other activities run long and impact the experience of the first customer of the day. It doesn't matter if somebody is ready to walk in your door the moment it opens or if your first customer doesn't arrive for another ten minutes. What matters is you're ready to deliver a great experience the instant the curtain rises. So let me ask, is your store or stores ready for Show Time?

A-Z For The Retail Sales Associate

2007-04-18T05:00:00.000-04:00

Hello again. Last week I shared with you the A - Z on how to be a better manager or owner. This week is the A - Z on how to be a better retail sales associate. Assume every customer is a buyer. Begin each shift by setting a goal. It doesn't always have to be a sales goal; you might aim, for example, to show a particular product to x number of people. Continue to ask your customer qualifying questions after you've shown a product. How else will you know if they like it or not? Demonstrate products, don't just talk about them. (i.e., Put a bag on the woman's shoulder instead of just holding it in your hand. Don't just point to a rake, take it off the wall.) Exceeding a customer's expectation isn't really that hard if you decide to make doing so one your goals. Friendly smiles create more sales than any sign or window display. Greet each customer with the word "Welcome" or some other word that communicates your pleasure in seeing them come into your store. Handwritten thank you cards are an investment in future sales. Identify your customer needs or wants before you show him/her too many products. Just because a customer is standing in front of a product doesn't mean he/she is interested in it. Keep showing products until the customer says he/she is done. Love what you do or do something else. Period. Memorable customer experiences are easy to deliver when you appreciate your customers and like what you sell. Never say anything negative about a customer until you're in your car on the way home. Then feel free to let it rip! "Opportunity knocks" doesn't apply to retail. Opportunity walks in your front door - unannounced - all day. Practice makes perfect. Roleplaying with another employee will make you a better salesperson. This is especially important with new products or services. Quickly resolve your customer's problems. The longer it takes, the less likely the customer will continue to shop with you. "Recommend" is an extremely powerful word to use with customers. "Suggest" is also good. Showing the customer too many products will cost you sales and result in a frustrated customer. Only recommend or suggest one or two products at a time. Thinking like a buyer will help you sell more product than thinking like a salesperson. Use the customer's name whenever possible. Always use the customer's name when ringing up the sale. Volunteer your opinion. You're the expert and if you've established a rapport with the customer your opinion will be appreciated and respected. Walking from behind the counter to hand the customer their bag is classier than reaching across and handing it to them or even worse, leaving the bag on the counter for them to pick up. XXX talk has no place anywhere in the store. Your passion for a product often determines whether a customer will buy it or not. Zappy salespeople will sell more than quiet low-key salespeople.

Managing A-Z

2007-04-13T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here is the A - Z on how to be a better manager or owner: Attention to the customer is more important than anything. Period. Be on the floor during peak hours. Check your ego at the door. Delegate operational areas so you can spend more time leading your team. Energy and passion are your most effective tools. Focus your team on achieving daily goals and the month will take care of itself. Go first when you introduce something new in the store. People learn from watching you. Humor is a great way to manage your team - as long as it's in good taste. Remember, what's funny to you may not be funny to someone else on your team Interview potential employees as if your future depends on it. Most of the time it does. Just because you think something doesn't mean you should say it. Think before talking. Knowledgeable employees are vital to a store's success. Your role is to provide knowledge in an easy to learn, easy to apply method. Lead by example with every customer encounter. Meeting one-on-one with each staff member every month keeps communication open and positive. Never put off a difficult conversation with an employee unless the time truly isn't right. Waiting rarely makes it easier or better. Optimism is a must for a team to achieve their goals. Practice makes perfect. Roleplay with at least one employee every day. Remember, go first. Question your staff on regularly about how you and the store can improve. Be open to their suggestions. Respect people's privacy. As a manager or owner it's inappropriate to share knowledge about one employee with another unless there's a real need to know. Stress out at work and your team stresses with you. Remain upbeat and positive and your team remains upbeat and positive. Time is one of the most valuable assets you have in a day. Spend it wisely. Use each staff member's strength to help others on the team to grow. Values and integrity determine what kind of leader you really are. "We" should be used more than "I" or "you" every day. XXX words should never be used at the store. Your development is as important as your staff's development. You can't give away what you don't have. Zap negativity before it spreads. Resolve issues or conflicts before they undermine the rest of the team and, eventually, the customer.

Batter Up Retailers

2007-04-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Opening Week! Yes, it's the start of the 2007 baseball season. In our house it's practically a religious holiday. So as a salute to baseball and retail, consider these four attributes winning baseball teams and winning retail store teams share. 1. The key to winning is consistently executing the fundamentals. Whether it's major league baseball or Little League, teams win because they pay attention to the fundamentals of the game every single day. Teams that get sloppy lose. The same is in true retail. Although many retailers are always looking for some magic "instant success" formula, winning retailers know that they win and lose by the fundamentals. That means welcoming the customer, keeping glass free of fingerprints, keeping the store well stocked - all those little details that add up to a big picture. Retail teams that get sloppy lose, too. 2. The more you win the more fans you have and the more loyal they are. The best part of opening day is that all fans feel good about their team. Almost every team sells out opening day. But as the season goes on some teams will begin to fall behind and some fans will begin to lose interest. Winning teams will continue strong and may actually grow their fan base. The same thing happens in retail but in reverse. Winning retailers try to make a fan out of each customer and when they do, not only are those fans more loyal but they also help create other fans. The more fans they create, the more retailers win. 3. Winning managers in both baseball and retail know how to use the strengths of each person on the team. For a baseball team to win, each individual must be able to not only understand and execute his specialty but be able to contribute in practically all areas. Consider non-pitchers. Each position player brings unique skills and abilities to the team. One player's specialty might be to get on base while another's is to get the first guy home. And unless they're a designated hitter in the American League, they can't be defensive liabilities. A player who is used because of his fielding abilities can't be such a poor hitter that it hurts the team. It takes a well-rounded team to win in retail, too. You want people who have great visual skills or are awesome at inventory management - but they still have to be pretty good with customers. You want people who excel at selling - but you don't want them to be a liability in other areas. 4. Practice leads to winning. Whenever I'm training store managers I always emphasize how important it is to practice sales and engagement skills with the staff. Baseball players don't just show up on Opening Day and start playing. They have over a month of spring training. On game day they don't just get in to their uniforms and start playing. They take batting practice and work on their defensive skills. They practice to win. Wining retailers do the same thing. They don't just throw new employees on the floor without the right coaching and practice but provide them with their own "spring training." Winning retailers are always practicing customer and engagement skills. They'll take a few minutes of down time to roleplay. When a new product comes in they use it as an opportunity to practice selling skills. Managers don't waste weekly or monthly store meetings droning on but use that time for skills practice. Practice leads to winning. So let me ask you this coach, do you have a winning team? Play ball!

Say It Better - Say It Different

2007-03-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

Last week I shared with you fifteen sentences retailers should not use if they want to better differentiate their store as well as improve the customer experience. These sentences have generated more comments than any Weekly Retail Experience in the last six months. While most people agree that those sentences should be avoided, the number one question was what to replace them with. So without further ado, here are fifteen sentences you DO want to say to customers: 1. "How may I help you?" isn't in and of itself a bad question but it is way overused. It's said most often in these three contexts: a) When a customers first walks in the store. Replace it with "welcome" and some engaging conversation about weather, asking if it is the customer's first visit to the store, etc. They key is to build a rapport with your customer. The fastest way to kill that is to ask the customer why they're in the store. Obviously if the customer wants to quickly tell you why he's there that's fine but we shouldn't bring it up too early in the rapport- building process. b) A customer approaches you at the counter or walks in clearly looking for some help. Greet the customer with a smile, a "hello" or "welcome," and then "How may we assist you?" It's not too far from "How may I help you?" but it is different and that's the key! c) While answering the phone. Tired! Skip it altogether and try something like this: "Thank you for calling Dynamic Experiences Group. This is Doug." 2. Don't: "Feel free to look around." DO: Try something like, "It's nice to have you here. We just got some wonderful new xxxx in that you may want to see." Be specific about what you'd like the person to see. 3. Don't: "Let me know if you have any questions." DO: "I'll be happy to assist you at any time." 4. "Let me know if you need any help." See #3. 5. Don't: "We're out of stock but you can call us after our truck comes in." DO: "We're currently sold out but we'll be happy to call you when it comes in. May I get your name and number please?" 6. Don't: "I don't know when [insert another employee's name] is going to be in." DO: Tell the person when that employee will be in and ask, "May I have him/her call you?" 7. Don't: "I wouldn't know." DO: "I can't answer that but I will find someone who can." 8. Don't: "I can't do that." DO: "Here's what I can do." 9. Don't: "Hold on please." DO: "May I put you on hold for about thirty seconds?" 10. Don't: "Anything else?" or "Will that be it?" DO: "I have a xxxx that will be perfect to with the xxxx" or "Did you see xxxx?" 11. Don't: "No problem." DO: Either "You're welcome" or "My pleasure." 12. Don't: "Uh-uh." or "Yeah." DO: "Yes." 13. Don't :"What's up?" DO: Either "Welcome" or "Hello". 14. Don't: "How's it going, guys?" DO: Once again, you can't go wrong with "Welcome" or "Hello". 15. And as a reminder any personal conversation between employees has a negative impact on the customer experience and kills more sales than we know. Remember, the difference between a good experience and a GREAT experience is you and your staff.

Say What?

2007-03-21T16:06:00.000-04:00

One of the most important lessons I learned at Bose is "To be better you must be different." Differentiation is a vital element of success in today's retail world of commoditized products, look-a-like malls, and same-old-same-old customer service. Differentiation is important in your merchandising, in your product offerings, in your marketing materials, and most important, in how the staff engages your customer. To differentiate your approach, take a look at these fifteen sentences your retail employees should avoid saying to their customers:

1. "How may I help you?" - It's old, tired, and way overused. If you visit ten stores on a shopping trip you're bound to hear it at least five times, which also means you were probably ignored three or four times. Kill it.

2. "Feel free to look around." - Also old, tired, and way overused. It's like you're giving me permission to look around in your store.

3. "Let me know if you have any questions." - Okay, maybe not as tired as the first two but definitely overused. If you use this one, think about changing it to "I'll be happy to assist you at any time."

4. "Let me know if you need any help." - See #3.

5. "We're out of stock but you can call us after our truck comes in." - This virtually invites the customer to shop your competition because you clearly don't care if that person makes a purchase from you or not. Always offer to call the customer.

6. "I don't know when [insert another employee's name] is going to be in." - Either check the schedule or offer to take the customer's name and phone number.

7. "I wouldn't know." - This is only acceptable if it is followed by, "But I'll find out."

8. "I can't do that." - Hopefully we say "yes" more often than "no," but sometimes we do have to tell a customer we're unable to fulfill a request. Instead of saying "I can't" it will sound a little better if you say "I'm unable to."

9. "Hold on please." - If you need to put a customer on hold, ask if it's okay and estimate how long she can expect to wait. "May I put you on hold for about thirty seconds while I find the answer?" Someone once asked me what happens if the customer says no. While I've never heard of that happening, I guess I wouldn't tell the customer I'm putting them on hold but that I'm putting the phone down. As a side note, if you're busy or whatever you're going to do will take longer than a minute or two, consider calling the customer back. Time passes slowly when you're on hold.

10. "Anything else?" or "Will that be it?" - Usually these are feeble attempt to add-on to a sale. The customer almost always replies "no" to the first or "yes" to the second. To enhance a customer's purchase the employee should either suggest a product or at least not ask a close-ended question.

11. "No problem." - Ahhhhhh! No problem is not a proper substitute for, "You're welcome." If you listen for it today I will guarantee you hear it at least once, quite possibly coming from your own mouth.

12. "Uh-uh." or "Yea." - These are not a proper substitute for "yes."

13. "What's up?" - At the very least this shouldn't be said by or to anyone over the age of 30.

14. "How's it going, guys?" - "Guys" could be the most misused word in society today. I do understand that it has become an informal term for people but my personal opinion is it if it is used with families or women over the age of 30 that it shows a lack of respect. (Disclaimer: I've arbitrarily picked 30 as a cut off point. I think it is something that you should determine according to your customer base, market segment, community, etc.)

15. Any personal conversation between employees. It has a negative impact on the customer experience and kills more sales than most retail employees know.

Doubling Your UPTs and The Attitudes of Success

2007-03-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

IT’S FINALLY HERE! Matt and I are happy to announce the release of our first retail audio training program, 4 Days to Doubling Your UPTs. That’s right, in just 15 minutes a day we’re can teach any manager or retail associate how to double their Units Per Transaction.

Don’t worry; this isn’t those same boring training CDs that most companies provide. We make learning FUN and EFFECTIVE. Our “Those Retail Guys” retail training program will remind you of the NPR show Car Talk, except it's for retailers by retailers. Our light-hearted approach injects humor into the subjects and makes it fun.

This product is guaranteed to pay for itself in the first week or we’ll happilyrefund your money. Learn more about 4 Days to Doubling Your UPTs.

The Attitude of Success

One of the biggest differences I see between high-performing managers and everybody else comes down to one very important attribute. The same attribute is also shared by store owners and executives as well. And just what is that one attribute, you may ask. It’s attitude. That’s right, attitude. While experience and skills are unquestionably important, the biggest differentiator is a person’s attitude. These are the four key attitudes successful retailers have in common:

1. We Can Do – The manager/owner/executive hits the store everyday with the attitude that it will be a successful day. She believes every day that the store will achieve the daily sales goal. But a “We Can Do” attitude is much more than confidence. It’s a leader showing the way with enthusiasm, passion, positive energy, and confidence. These managers have the entire team believing it will be a successful day. This manager/owner/executive doesn’t make excuses or place blame when she falls short, she just goes into the next day even more determined to make it a successful day.

2. Sales Determine Our Success – Successful managers/owners/executives are focused on hitting a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sales number. They know that to do this they have to be a smart retailer. They know that it takes a well-merchandised store staffed by a motivated and trained team. And they know those elements are the means to an end, not the end itself. One mistake many retailers make is deeming themselves successful because they receive many compliments on their store or on their staff. Compliments are nice and it means you’re doing the right things, but success comes from achieving sales goals.

3. You Grow, We Grow – High-performing managers/owners/executives achieve their goals through people, not with people. They are always challenging and developing all of their people. When I worked at The Sharper Image I had a manager who always took the time to sit down with every single employee and discuss how he/she was doing. I once asked him if it was really that imperative to spend time with a part-time cashier who had told me she basically wanted to come in, ring the sales, and leave. He responded that it was important that everyone improve and develop in their position. He told me that when the individuals on the team are growing, the store as a whole will grow. He was absolutely right.

4. An Attitude of Gratitude – Top performing managers/owners/executives always see what they have, not what they don’t have. They’re grateful for both the opportunities and the challenges that lie before them. They appreciate and never forget who helped them get to where they are. They’re always helping others as a way to give back for what has been given to them. They live with an attitude of gratitude.

So let me ask, how’s your attitude?

"I didn't know your store was here."

2007-02-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business 22 days, 22 weeks or 22 years, inevitably you’re going to have a customer walk in and announce that they didn’t know your store existed. If you’re like many retailers, you’ll immediately decide that your marketing strategy is obviously not working, the store location stinks, etc., etc., etc. But you don’t have to do that; whenever a customer says he didn’t know your store existed don’t get frustrated, view it as an opportunity. When a customer says he didn’t know your store existed he might be saying:

1. I didn’t know your store was here because I wasn’t in the market for what you sell until now. Obviously, we LOVE these customers. Think about it - would you really pay attention to, say, pet stores in your community if you didn’t have a pet? Probably not. But once you start thinking about getting a pet you might begin notice the pet stores in your area. A customer who is new to your store and market segment may offer you huge opportunities.

2. I didn’t know your store was here because I’m new in to this area. We LOVE these customers, too, because to sustain and grow our sales we need new customers. This customer is saying, “I have an interest in what you sell and here is your opportunity to capture me as a customer.”

3. I didn’t know your store was here because I just hadn’t noticed it before. I have lived in the same house for nine years. For eight and a half years I never noticed that there was a large open space behind my neighbor’s yard and the neighbor behind them. I mean so big that that neighborhood kids explore and play back there. When I learned about it at a neighborhood gathering a few people looked at me like “Dude, do you need to get your glasses checked?” No, I just never noticed. The same thing happens all the time with customers. They might go by our store every day for five years and never notice it. And then one day, they see it. Unless you hear it over and over and over this is usually a customer issue, not a marketing or real estate issue.

4. I didn’t know your store was here because I don’t read the newspapers or magazines you advertise in. The reality is that it is impossible to reach every potential customer in the marketplace with our advertising strategies. You may never reach this customer even if you quadruple your advertising expenditures.

So how do you know what a customer is really saying when she tells you that she didn’t know your store existed? It’s all in how you engage her after she makes the comment.

“Well it’s so nice to have you here. Are you new to the area?" “We’re so glad you found us. Where have you shopped for (products you sell) before now?” “We didn’t know you existed, either, so I’m glad we found each other. Have you ever seen any of our advertisements?" (Obviously, he’s going to say no. You’re asking this question so you can find out more about him and perhaps gain information that will enable you to refine your advertising approach.)

So from this day forward, “I didn’t know your store was here” might just be the happiest comment you hear.

Twenty Ways to Increase Sales by Delivering a Better Store Experience

2007-02-22T09:09:00.000-05:00

Here are 20 ways to increase your store sales by delivering a better store experience. Remember, the experience is in the details!

1. Have a designated out-of-the-way place for UPS, Fed-Ex and other carriers to stack your shipments. Don’t let them pile boxes where it’s convenient for them or for you, stack them where they are out of your customer’s way and preferably out of their sight. 2. Often one of the last things a customer does before leaving your store is to sign a credit card slip. Be sure the pen the customer use is a good representation of your store. It is amazing how cheesy some pens are. A few weeks ago a clerk nonchalantly handed me a pen from behind his ear. Not only that, but the pen had been chewed on. Yuck!

3. Don’t load up your cashwrap with a lot of impulse items or brochures. It takes space away from the customer and is overwhelming. 4. If you must take a phone call while with a customer, offer to call the customer on the phone back. I’ve never understood why retailers do not recognize the customer in front of them as the highest priority.

5. Offer to take products from your customer to hold behind the counter while they continue to shop. 6. If at all possible, don’t eat on the sales floor. If you are alone in a store and must eat in the store avoid heating foods up that leave an aroma.

7. Keep the back door closed. Nobody wants to see your backroom and it really distracts from the rest of your store. 8. Actively listen to your customer. Never ask a question if you’re not interested in the answer.

9. Keep concise written directions to the store at the counter for when customers call on the phone. If you’re in a mall you might even tell every customer who calls where in the mall you are and what mall entrance is closest. 10. Never miss a chance to tell first time visitors what’s unique about your store. The only way to know if they are first time visitors is to ask.

11. Play music with a high quality sound system. Never play the radio. Play music that is appropriate for your customers, which may or may not be what you or the staff want to listen to. 12. Whenever a customer asks “How’s business?” always reply with a positive response. Nobody wants to do business with a retailer who is “slow,” “could be better,” or “not bad.”

13. Have something to give to every customer’s child. It could be a cookie, balloon, lollipop, a page to color, etc. Always first ask the parent – and not within earshot of the child - if it is okay. 14. If you sell items large enough for customers to need to bring their cars around, give them a preprinted card with directions to the pick-up area and the phone number of the store so they can call you when they’re ready. This way they can take their time going to the car or not have to come back inside to let you know they’re ready. The benefit to you is that you don’t get stuck outside waiting for them to appear.

15. Insist on keeping dressing rooms and other areas where customer try on products impeccably clean. 16. Don’t interrupt angry customers. Let them vent, and then find a solution. Remember, always tell the customer what you can do, not what you can’t do.

17. Ask for and then use the customer’s name, especially when you are ringing up their sale. 18. Always offer to call the customer when a product comes in. Never tell them to call back to check to see if something came in.

19. Don’t let sales reps visiting your store take precedence over your customers. Ask them to visit your store during off-peak times or even before the store opens. You may say “Please feel free to ask any questions as you look around,” but the fact is that most customers won’t interrupt you and the rep. 20. Smile! 21. Always go above and beyond for every customer.

Vacation Observations to Boost Your Sales and Profits

2007-02-14T07:18:00.000-05:00

I just spent a week on a vacation in Florida that included three days at Walt Disney World. Naturally, I have a few observations that may help your store's performance:

* No detail is too small. I know that’s the one thing everyone writes about Disney, but the fact is that Disney absolutely nails the details. They get it right not just in the parks or with the characters but in every single store we visited including The Marketplace. Not once did I see boxes of inventory sitting on the floor waiting to be put out or a single thing out of place on the counter. As I talked with some Disney employees it became clear to me that it isn’t the attention to detail that is their focus, it’s the commitment to perfection that drives the attention to detail. Disney has incredibly high standards and the only way to achieve them is to focus on the details. Dick Nunis, who was Chairman of Disney Attractions, once said “There are two words that make things work around here. . . . quality and pride.” It’s clear both words are still key at Disney. Let me ask, how high are your store’s or organization’s standards? Better yet, what does your customer think they are?

* Customers are given the room necessary to have a pleasant shopping experience. Except when a store was packed with too many people, every store at Walt Disney World had plenty of space between fixtures and in aisles. Never once did I feel overwhelmed in a store. I know this is difficult for smaller stores and independent retailers with small stockrooms but the fact is that crowded stores cost you sales. Let me ask, can your customers navigate comfortably through your store?

* Make it easy for your customers to buy more. I hadn’t been to Walt Disney World in over 10 years and was impressed with some of the ways they now have to make it easier to spend even more money. Since we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge on Disney property, all of our purchases at any of the parks could be delivered directly to our room so we didn’t have to carry packages around all day. Our room key could be used for all retail and restaurant purchases, including even the snack carts throughout the parks. With two children eating and buying their way through The Magic Kingdom and Epcot I practically sprained my wrist reaching for that card. So let me ask, what are some ways you can make it easier for your customers to buy more? This could be a great project for someone on your staff to work on or make it a topic at your next store meeting.

* It’s all about the guest/customer. I realized while we were there that one of the reasons I enjoy Disney - besides the amazing rides and shows - is that practically every single employee is focused on making sure I have a great experience while I’m on Disney property. From the Main Street characters to the ride operators to the retail employees, they know that their primary purpose is to deliver to my family and everyone else at the park that day a safe and wonderful experience. This focus on the guest/customer is ingrained in the culture of the company; it began in 1955 when Walt opened Disneyland and declared “The visitors are our guests.” As an owner/manager/leader in your store or organization you set the tone every day. Your staff learn what’s important from what you say and what you do. So let me ask, do your actions tell your staff that it’s all about the customer?

Make it a magical day!

How to Identify the Different Retail Associate Profiles Before You Hire Them

2007-02-11T09:15:00.001-05:00

Last week I described the five different profiles of retail associates. (If you didn’t read that post do yourself a favor and skip over this one and read it before continuing on.) If you recall, I categorized retail associates as Doers, Sliders, Hiders, Blamers, and Leaders. We often don’t know which type we’ve hired until after the fact. Here are some suggestions to help you hire Leaders and Doers and to avoid getting stuck with Sliders, Hiders, and Blamers.

1. Try to meet every person who asks for an application. Don’t make the mistake of letting the staff hand out applications. I think it is important to meet each person asking to work for you so you can see them in non-interview mode. While handing them the application, ask a few questions about why they are interested in your store. Leaders and Doers will probably be able to answer without hesitation because they specifically want to work at your store; they’re not just looking for a job.

2. Pay special attention to the energy level of your applicant during the interview. I often share with my audiences that if a person can’t “turn it on” for you during the interview, they’re very unlikely to do it on the retail floor. No, I don’t think every person we hire has to bounce off the walls during an interview, but if you don’t feel any energy or passion then you’re probably talking to a Hider. Some people don’t interview well so it is up to you to put them at ease, but if they don’t wow you in some way during the interview - keep looking. If they don’t smile at you during a job interview they’re not going to smile at many customers.

3. Ask unexpected questions. One of the mistakes hiring managers make during interviews is asking stock questions that everyone knows they’re going to be asked. Examples include, “How would you handle an unhappy customer?” or “Why do you want to work here?” These are the questions that people are ready for, have prepared answers for, and don’t really tell you much about the person. Here are a couple of my favorites unexpected questions that will help you identify the type of person you’re interviewing:

* Who do you see as our toughest competition and how do we differ from them? Listen carefully to the answer. Sliders and Hiders are in deep trouble with this question because they’ve never given it any thought. They’re prepared for the usual questions because they always give the same answer, no matter where or with whom they are interviewing. Leaders will nail the answer, as will some Doers, but Sliders will babble and Hiders won’t be able to answer it at all.

* Tell me about a time that you or a team you were on fell short of goal. What was the situation, what happened, and what did you learn from it? This is a great question to identify a Blamer as they’re not likely to take personal responsibility. Leaders and Doers might point out how others failed as well but will never blame others for their own failure. The person being interviewed is totally unprepared for a question like this. Give them time to think about it. They might be embarrassed they can’t think of anything. If this happens more than once during an interview you should pass on the person as you need a more critical thinker on your team.

* Tell me about a time you had to deal with an extremely unhappy customer. What was the situation, why was the customer unhappy, and what was the outcome? If the person is new to retail, substitute an unhappy friend or family member. What you’re looking for is someone who can empathize with the customer as well as try to find a suitable solution. This question works because it’s not about theory, it’s about real life. Ask some probing questions so that you can better understand the applicant’s thought process. Sliders and Hiders will share very little detail, a Blamer might fault company policy or even the customer, and Doers and Leaders will probably answer the question to your satisfaction.

4. Last but not least, go out on the floor and roleplay. You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, why hire a retail associate without one? Have another employee play the role of the customer to take a little pressure off the applicant. Have the employee come into the store like a customer and have the applicant greet them and show them a specific product. While nerves can sometimes get in the applicant’s way, you’ll be able to tell whether talking to customers comes naturally or not. At the very least, you’ll scare off Sliders and Hiders and maybe even some Blamers as it will be clear that you’ll have high expectations of them.

Different Profiles of Retail Associates

2007-01-31T06:20:00.000-05:00

One of the mistakes I probably made when managing a store was not looking hard enough at the individual contributions of each retail associate. I had a tendency to look more at the outcome of the store as a whole rather than how each individual’s contribution added up to the store total. Even when I had individual sales data I’m not sure I had enough individual accountability in the store. With our work since then on designing sales and customer experience systems, I’ve come to learn that not only do we need to look at each individual’s contribution but to better understand the individuals themselves. Retail associates can be categorized into one of five retail associate profiles.

The Doer Doers do what is asked of them. Highly skilled doers can be some of your best salespeople. They rarely complain and are happy to learn new skills. They are consistent in their approach and strive to improve. They are usually great team players and are good representatives of your brand. Some doers may not be as good at their job as you would like, but they are very coachable. Chances are a lot your staff will fall into this category. The best way to manage doers is to constantly be practicing the skills necessary to improve their selling and customer service skills. Most doers will rise or fall to the level of execution of the management team.

The Slider The slider does whatever it takes to get by. Hence, they slide by. A slider often masquerades as a doer. They often talk a good game and on the surface appear to be performing well. The slider is a master at making things appear better than they are. Sliders thrive in organizations that don’t report individual sales or hold individuals accountable for their own results. Sliders rarely go above and beyond for the store or the customer. Sliders usually offer great potential but never achieve it. Sliders will cost a store sales due to lost opportunities. They often do what is asked of them only if a member of management is watching.

The Hider The hider is neither a good nor a bad performer. Like the slider, they get by. The difference is that the hider keeps a low profile and survives in organizations by carefully staying under the radar. Managers like hiders because they don’t cause any problems and appear to be doing the job. The problem is that they don’t do their job particularly well. They don’t even try. The difference between a slider and a hider is that the slider probably has the skills to do the job but chooses not to make the effort. A hider is punching the clock and looking for a paycheck. Hiders thrive in stores where the manager doesn’t spend much time on the floor. I’ve seen an entire staff made up of hiders and sliders because of poor management. Good managers can probably turn sliders into doers, but it is more challenging to turn hiders into doers.

The Blamer The blamer is a master at explaining away poor results. Blamers are actually more prevalent in management than in retail associates. Sliders who get promoted into management frequently become blamers. Or maybe sliders who are exposed as sliders morph into blamers. Either way, blamers never accept personal responsibility. Everything is someone or something else’s fault. They always seem to have the “difficult” customer and have a different excuse every time they are late. They always complain about the sales goals or the low store traffic. Blamers are the worst type of employees to have because they’re a virus in the store. They’re usually gossipers and will undermine other associates and the management team. When blamers are allowed to stay on a staff they bring down the performance of every other employee, especially the sliders and hiders. Strong managers don’t have blamers because they don’t allow it.

The Leader Leaders are passionate, engaging and energetic. They create opportunities and make everyone around them better. Customers naturally gravitate to them. Doers look up to them; sliders, hiders and blamers are threatened by them. Leaders create their own opportunities and as a result are your best sales people. They sometimes have a competitive spirit that may turn others off, except for other leaders who love the challenge. It takes a strong manager to manage a leader. Sometimes the leader is headstrong and can be perceived as difficult to work with. Their desire to succeed can sometimes result in stepped-on toes and bruised egos among other employees. Leaders hate to be held back by mediocrity, so weaker managers sometimes label the leader as a troublemaker. Weak managers rarely hire leaders. This is the very reason underperforming stores struggle to turn it around. If you have one or two leaders in your store you’re blessed. If you have more than that then you’re probably the Gandhi of retail management.

So let me ask, how’s the make-up of your team?

Maximizing Your Slow Period

2007-01-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

The last week of January and a lot of February can be slow for many retailers. For others, the second half of July is the slow time. Whenever your slow period happens, the key to long-term success is how well you maximize that time. Here are some ways you can take advantage of the natural break in retail sales and traffic.

1. Clean your store. I’m not talking about the regular cleaning that I assume you’re doing anyway. I’m talking drill sergeant clean. Drill sergeant clean is cleaning a store down the smallest detail, so clean that if a drill sergeant came into your store he wouldn’t find a spec of dirt or anything out of place. It’s a great time to clean those AC vents, those dark corners, underneath the POS system and any other hard-to-reach but easy-to-ignore zones.

2. Replace your worn signs. Whenever I visit a store the owners and managers are always surprised at some of the things I recommend for improvement; things they haven’t noticed but should have. It is a lot easier to spot these things when you’re not in the store everyday. One thing I almost always point out is the worn and tattered signs. Most of the time, we post a sign and don’t replace it until we need to communicate new information. The problem is that signs get faded, crinkled, and just plain worn out.

3. Get the carpets cleaned and/or the floors waxed. Getting your carpets and floors done on a regular basis helps keep the store clean, smelling fresh, and extends the life of the carpet. Do it now while business is slow and it’s not as big an inconvenience for you and your staff.

4. Paint and freshen up your walls. Painting in the store is a royal but necessary pain. Lately I’ve seen a lot of stores and restaurants that really need a coat of paint. You can choose to paint your store at night when the store is closed, which is easiest, but if you’re using a contractor you may pay a premium as well as incur some additional staffing costs. You can do it in the daytime when the store is open but it is an inconvenience to the customers and will probably cost you sales. Regardless of the time of day, painting when the store is slow makes a lot of sense. Because it is such a pain to do, too many stores just skip doing and it shows. When’s the last time you painted?

5. Roleplay. Okay, I write about this often, but honestly, how many times do you really do it? I thought so. The key to roleplaying is to make it fun and competitive. Try this: Announce to the team that you are starting a competition called Store Idol Survivor. Yes, it is a combination of American Idol and Survivor. First, split the staff into two teams. The winning team is the one that has scored the most points at the end of the day or week, depending on how long you want the contest to run. Base half of the points on surprise and customer challenges. Surprise challenges are surprise roleplays. Approach a staff member and ask her to show or sell you something. If you feel she did a good job, award her the points. If two employees are available from different teams you can ask them both to roleplay and the employee who does the best wins the points for their team. Customer challenges are when you challenge team members to do something specific with a customer. For example, announce that for the next hour there are 25 points available to the team that does the best at identifying a customer’s needs. Shadow different employees and award the points at the end of the hour. Hold the Idol finals at an all-staff meeting. All employees will need to “perform” (roleplay) during the “show.” Keeping the contest close until the finals will make the meeting a lot of fun. Award the points out at the end and announce which team is Store Idol Survivor winner. It may sound kind of cheesy but cheesy training activity is incredibly effective.

6. Take some extra time off. That’s right, you getting away will improve your staff and store experience because you’ll come back energized and charged up to lead your team.

7. Put a bounty on certain products. A bounty is more than just a spiff. First pick a product or product category. Now announce the bounty for showing and selling the product as well as the prize. As an example, a store that sells leather goods might want to goose luggage sales. It’s a great time to show luggage since a lot of people are taking trips now through March. The bounty for showing a piece of luggage could be 1 point. If they employee can get the customer to hold or roll the product then they score 3 additional points. If the customer buys a piece the employee scores an additional 6 points. So to tell, demonstrate, and sell one piece could be worth a total of 10 points. You could also award 6 points for each additional piece sold to that customer. Have the staff track the points themselves. The advantage of doing this bounty rather than a spiff is it rewards people for showing products, not just selling them. Planting these seeds will create future sales. At the end of the day award a prize to the employee with the top bounty score.

Making Sales Even When NOT Making a Sale

2007-01-17T08:08:00.000-05:00

Here are five methods to increase your overall sales and profits while not making a sale. Sound confusing? Perhaps at first, but I’m convinced that if you do certain things with every customer you’ll make more sales even when not making a sale.

1. Believe that every customer who walks into your store will buy. Run your floor as if there is no such thing as a looker. The minute we label a customer “just a looker” we’ve decided they aren’t buying. Most customer are “just looking” because that’s what they’ve been programmed to do. No one walks into a wine store who doesn’t have some interest in wine. No one walks into a luggage store if they don’t have an interest in luggage. For now on let’s call “lookers” “undecided buyers.”.

2. Try to sell something to every customer. Oh no, it’s that four letter word, sell! I could change it to try to exchange product for money with every customer. Very few retailers try to sell something to every customer. They greet customers. They show products. They ring sales. They help people. But very few retailers try to sell the customer something. Our own shopping experiences prove that. If you’re looking at two different sweaters, chances are the retail associate, assuming one is even attempting to help you, will tell you which one she likes. She might say something like “That one’s cute.” Or she might say “I like that one on you better.” The successful retailer who is out to make sales will say, “You should buy that one, it looks great on you.” That’s how you try to sell something to every customer.

3. Know why someone is leaving the store without making a purchase. Obviously if you’re in a high traffic store this can be difficult, but most of us should be able to engage and establish enough of a relationship with a customer to know why he is leaving without buying something. Remember, we can’t say he was just looking.

4. Thank every customer for visiting the store and invite him/her to come back. Many retailers thank a buying customer and invite her back, but most don’t extend an invitation to return to those who exit without buying something. Most consumers today are very busy and when they come into our store and give us an opportunity to share our products with them and present us with the chance to make a sale, it is only right to thank them for their time. Inviting the customer back just makes sense because we want another opportunity to share our store with him/her.

5. Capture the customers contact information. I’m sure I sound like a broken record to long-term newsletter readers, but getting customer contact information isn’t enough of a priority for retailers. If a person is in your store you know he/she has an interest in what you sell, so doesn’t it make sense to get contact information and talk to them again? Imagine how much your sales will increase if you get half of the people who walk in your door to come back within a month and make a purchase. Find an incentive for customers, both buyers and non-buyers, to share with you their contact information. Perhaps you could be something like a drawing for a shopping spree each quarter. Once a week sweep the names and then send the customer a $5 gift card. The worst thing that can happen is they come back and only spend $5 for products that cost you $2.50 or so. For every customer who does that, there will be plenty of others who will spend a lot more. Getting the customer back in again will also increases the likelihood that he/she will become - and remain - your customer.

45 Questions to Improve Your Store and Yourself in 2007

2007-01-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

Here are 45 questions to ask yourself or your management team that can help you discover ways to improve both your store and your own performance in 2007:

1. Do you begin your day with a positive attitude? 2. Do you have a plan each day/week/month to ensure the store succeeds? 3. Do you regularly give your staff positive feedback? 4. Do you positively recognize employees in front of their peers? 5. Do you thank your staff regularly?

6. Do your employees feel like you’re a good coach and have their best interests at heart? 7. Do you model expected behaviors when you are working alongside your staff? 8. Do you model expected behaviors when you are working alone? 9. Do you regularly meet with your staff? 10. Are you developing your staff regardless of how long they’ve worked for you?

11. Does your store continue to improve?

12. Would you be proud to have every member of your team wait on your best customer?

13. Do you and your staff have a daily routine that makes certain you complete the activities vital to your success? 14. Do you constantly remind your employees what’s most important to you? 15. Do you tell them that what’s most important to you is the customer?

16. Do your actions show that what’s most important to you is the customer? 17. Are you happy doing what you’re doing? 18. If not, what are you going to do about it? 19. If you are out sick for the next 90 days, do you have someone who can step into your role? 20. If not, why aren’t you preparing for the possibility?

21. What do you need to quit doing? 22. When’s the last time you walked your store with members of your staff and discussed ways to improve the store? 23. When did you and a member of your staff last shop other retailers? 24. When did you last do that with a non-key holder? 25. Are you spending as much time training and developing your staff as you do on administrative work?

26. Have you set aside time over the next few weeks to review all of your marketing activities and stop doing what you’re not sure is working? 27. If appropriate, have you got your Valentine’s merchandising and marketing plans in place? You do know it’s less than 6 weeks away? 28. Are you capturing as many customers’ contact information as possible? 29. Are you maximizing your database? 30. Do you remember that it’s cheaper and more effective to market to the customer you know than the customer you don’t know?

31. Do you know what you personally could improve upon for 2007? 32. Have you ever tried to equate that improvement back into what it would mean for additional sales? 33. What if you could become a better coach of selling skills? What if those selling skills increased your store sales 5% over last year? Is that motivation enough to do it? 34. Do you talk to your customers about the experience they’ve had in the store? 35. Have you thought about scheduling a customer round table (focus group) and learning more about your customers and what’s important to them? You do know that the more you understand your customers the more successful you’ll be at meeting their needs?

36. Is your retail floor as perfect for the customer as it can be? 37. You let the customers use the bathroom if they ask, right? (Sorry, but I had to get my first push for public access to bathrooms before we got too far into the New Year.) 38. What have you been thinking about trying in your business but haven’t yet done? If you think it’s a good idea then what’s holding you back? 39. Speaking of ideas, when did you last ask the staff for theirs? 40. Did you officially close out holiday 2006 with your staff? Did you know that post-Christmas parties are the best way to reduce turnover and keep seasonal staff coming back year after year?

41. Have you planned or held an official kick-off meeting for 2007 where you share your goals, vision, and expectations? 42. Are you feeling good about yourself and your outlook for 2007? 43. Do you live to work or work to live? Do your actions show which it is? 44. Have you planned your vacations and other time off for 2007? If not, why don’t you do it soon? 45. Are you glad we’re done? Well, I don’t think we should be just yet. How about you write down right now three actions you’re going to take to make 2007 a Smashing Success? How about making it a good day, okay? (Whoops, that makes 46 questions!)

Skip The Resolutions: How to Make 2007 a Smashing Success

2007-01-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! For years I made lists of New Years’ resolutions. I would tell myself that I would lose weight, work less, spend more time developing my staff, etc., etc., etc. You know the drill. Of course almost all of my noble goals went by the wayside long before spring. Over time I came to discover that the problem with resolutions is they are frequently a “to-do” list, not an “action” list. Change only happens when you make a decision AND take the actions necessary to achieve your desired results. Here are some decisions you may want to make in 2007 along with some of the actions that you can take to achieve your goal.

Decision #1 Double your 2006 sales growth in 2007

Actions * Spend a minimum of 1 hour a week without interruption or multi-tasking working on strategies to grow your sales. * Go offsite sometime during January for an all-day (or at least half-day) meeting with key members of your team and any advisor/mentor you have. First, create a list of what you think your company/store did well in 2006 that helped you achieve the success you did. Then create a list of all the things you believe had a negative impact on your results. Using your working and not-working lists as a starting point, create your 2007 objectives along with the tactics, measurements, and milestones that will enable you to double your sales growth for 2007. Even if you don’t do the offsite, do the exercise anyway. If you don’t, the chance of you achieving your sales growth will be slim. Share your goals and objectives with your entire staff so that together you can achieve your vision.

* Find at least two things you do on a regular basis that you can delegate to an employee, outsource, or quit doing altogether. If you’re in retail you probably feel that you don’t have enough time to do everything you need to do. If you want to double your sales growth for 2007 you must let go of things that are low level and don’t enable you to achieve your goal. We all have them. Come one, give it up!

Decision #2 Improve your overall store experience

Actions * For most of you this will, I hope, be one of the objectives you list when you make you list of 2007 objectives. I again recommend creating a list of what’s working and what’s not in your store experience to determine what actions you need to take.

* Spend more time observing and analyzing your overall experience so you better understand your strengths and weaknesses. I know some people don’t like to hear this, but most in-store experiences aren’t nearly as good as the retailer thinks it is. It is important to step back and take a hard look at everything our customer experiences so we can find ways to improve. Many football and basketball coaches will tell you that the time they spend watching film of their team and their opponents is an important investment of time and effort. Retailers don’t have film to watch but spending time on the sales floor and in other stores will give you the competitive edge you need to win in 2007.

* Take an inventory of your staff to determine who is exceeding, meeting, or falling short of your expectations. There is nothing that has more impact on your customers’ experience than your people. While the products you sell and how you merchandise them are important to the customer experience, it is your people that will set you apart from your competition. People are the very heart of what it means to be a specialty retailer. A mass merchant sells products by offering an extensive product selection, usually a reduced price. A specialty retailer as a rule offers a more focused product assortment with less emphasis on price but competes by having experienced and knowledgeable sales people. You win or lose based on your employees.

* Using staff inventory, take a look at those employees who are falling short of your expectations. I’m sure you’ve heard me say this before, but a store is only as good as its’ worst employee. To improve your store you must improve or move out underperforming employees. Of course this is not the most enjoyable part of your position but it is vital. I believe that most of your employees want to succeed and do a good job. Once you sit down and have that difficult conversation with an employee to tell him he is underperforming and share with him a plan to improve his performance, most will rise to the occasion. For those who don’t, you have to move them out so you can bring in someone who can. You’ll also want to find ways that you can leverage your best employees to improve your store experience. Maybe you can start a mentor or training program that is led by your top performers or delegate some of the on-floor responsibility to them. Either way, make 2007 a year to grow and improve your people so you can achieve your desired results.

Decision #3 Develop as a manager, leader, and retailer

Actions * Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Nothing will have a greater impact on your business than you. But to be a successful manager, leader, and retailer you must continue to grow and develop. We can’t rest on our laurels. Retail is dynamic and we must be, too. We have to keep learning. Keep being challenged.

First and foremost, you have to schedule time for your own development. Certainly learning happens throughout the day, but spending focused time each day on developing yourself will make certain that it takes place. Spending 15, 30, or 60 minutes a day on self-development will pay huge dividends.

* Read! I start every day by reading the Marketplace section of The Wall Street Journal as well as numerous newsletters and websites. Every evening I complete my day reading a book. Not only do I read a lot of business books, but I find that history and biographies stimulate my thinking as well. And that’s the key. Stimulate the mind. What you read isn’t nearly as important as just reading. Did you know that 42% of college graduates never read another book after college? Even more depressing, 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year. Read!

* Consider finding and using a mentor or coach. I do this from time to time and have always found it to be a smart investment. When I talk to someone else on a weekly or monthly basis I’m not only able to tap into what they know, but I’m also able to talk through things that I’ve learned but haven’t stopped to process.

These are just three of many decisions you can make today that will have a positive impact on your life. It’s your choice. As I’ve heard many times before, change is inevitable, growth is optional. I hope you choose growth and success for 2007. - Doug

Holiday Returns: Three I's with a Smile

2006-12-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

You may want to download this article and review it with your team before they start their shift today. Download also includes an in-store poster you can use in the backroom. A retailer said to me that returns are “just a fact of life” and you have to “grin and bear it.” I agree with him about the importance of the grin but I differ about the need to “bear it.” Virtually all retailers will have a number of returns after Christmas; how the retailer handles those returns can ultimately determine whether December is a good or a GREAT month.

These are three common mistakes retailers make when it comes to holiday returns: 1. They assume the customer wants a refund. Wrong. 2. If the customer doesn’t have a receipt, or they have a gift receipt, the retailer assumes that the customer will only spend the amount of the product they’re returning. Wrong. 3. They assume that if they can just break even on the few days after Christmas they are doing well. Wrong.

With the proliferation of gift cards, the post-holiday period has become almost as important to a retailers’ top line as the weeks leading up to Christmas. These additional sales offer retailers incredible opportunities to add to their overall December. With the right approach to handling post-holiday returns a retailer can not only save sales but create them as well. We recommend that all your staff members know and execute the “Three ‘I’s with a Smile” approach to handling returns.

Intercept all customers before they get to the counter. Greet them with a warm smile, a heartfelt “welcome” and an offer to take the return from them. In most stores associates ignore customers with refunds, or at the very least just point them to the counter. This is not only a big mistake that ends up increasing the amount of returns, but makes the person with a return feel less important than person making a purchase. A store manager I once worked for told me that any retailer can make buying something a good experience for a customer, but it takes a great retailer to do the same with a return or an exchange. Try to engage the customer as close to the door as possible without making them feeling accosted.
Identify why the customer is making a return. Since you are assuming the customer will make an exchange (and quite possibly spend even more money,) listen carefully to what they say as you will gain information that will you help your next step be the correct one. One important thing you need to know is whether the person returning the product is the original buyer or received the item as a gift.

Influence the customer by suggesting or recommending products that better meet their needs than the product they are returning. The customer may object to this and state that he/she just wants a refund. With a smile and the information you’ve gained from your identify step you can easily try to overcome the objection by stating what you’ve learned from them. I think we owe to the customer and ourselves to always try and overcome at least one refund objection. This can save a retailer thousands of dollars in returns. If the customer objects again then of course you escort them to the counter and get their return handled cheerfully and efficiently.

My store manager told me, “You know, any retailer can make buying something a good experience for a customer, but it takes a great retailer to do the same with a return or an exchange.” The same can be said for sales over the next few weeks. Deliver Three ‘I’s with a Smile and you’ll maximize every single customer opportunity.

Here is wishing you a wonderful and profitable 2007. May all your experiences be delightful and all of your customers happy. - Doug

Download the in-store poster only.

An Unhappy Customer Story

2006-12-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

I’ll never forget the “crazy” women who came in to The Sharper Image store I was managing. It was the day after Christmas and as the woman, accompanied by her college-age daughter, made her way towards the counter you could see she was not happy. I met her before she made it to the counter and asked how I could her help her. She demanded to see the manager. When I told her I could help her she asked if I was the manager. I told her no, but I was the manager on duty. She looked at me with disdain and said, “I guess that will have to do.”

She informed me that we had “ruined her Christmas” since the gift she had bought from us for her son didn’t work when he plugged it in. She demanded to know what I was going to do about the ruined Christmas. Of course I apologized and told her how sorry I was that the product didn’t work but I would be happy to replace it. She looked at me and said, “That’s fine but I asked what you’re going to do about the ruined Christmas.” I was pretty speechless. Other than replacing the product and apologizing I wasn’t sure what else I could do. Long story short, she stomped out of the store with her new product but angry because we couldn’t fix her ruined Christmas.

After she left I was standing on the floor talking to one of the sales associates about the crazy lady who wanted me to fix her holiday, ruined because of some defective product. While we were having a good laugh about the lady the daughter walked back into the store and approached me. She said to me, “I want to apologize for how my mother just acted. Usually she’s a very nice lady but she just gets so upset when everything at Christmas isn’t perfect. You see, she didn’t have much growing up so she now overcompensates with us kids. She was just so excited about giving my brother that pinball machine and when it didn’t work she was more upset than my brother. I’m sorry.” And she left the store.

It made me realize that our customers often have a big emotional investment in the holidays and when things don’t go as they hope they can be extremely disappointed. The result is that they sometimes take out their disappointment on us. After the daughter left the store I realized I felt badly for the mother and decided that I would try to fix things. Later that day I called the mother and invited her to bring her son in the next day.

When they came to the store I presented her son with two small gifts that we had specially wrapped for him. You could tell he appreciated it but was a little taken back by the attention. I looked over at the mother and she was beaming from ear to ear, clearly pleased that we had fixed her Christmas. At that moment I knew we had done the right thing.

Remember, doing the right thing and making the customer happy doesn’t mean you’re admitting that you or your staff did anything wrong. You’re just admitting that you like to do the right thing. We wish you, your staff, and your family a very Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate. Thank you for being a part of our retail community.

Holiday Mistakes That Can Costs Retailers Sales

2006-12-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

Twelve days and counting! Here are some of the most common mistakes I see retailers make as we head into the Christmas rush. Be sure you and your team don’t fall into the same traps.

Mistake #6. Thinking that you don’t have time during the holidays for self-development. I’ve always found that the more I think I don’t have time to spend on learning, the more I actually need to do it. Freshen up the coffee, slow down for a second, and read on.

Mistake #5: Shifting from a selling mode to an order taking mode. Sure, when the store is jam- packed you don’t always have as much time to engage and sell a customer as you would like, but this should be the exception, not the rule. All this week you should have an opportunity to properly engage customers and show them additional products. Too often I see salespeople work with a customer in “hurry-up mode” only to go back and stand around waiting for the next customer.

Mistake #4: Setting the thermostat too high in the store, making it uncomfortable for the customers. Retailers would be shocked if they ever added up how many sales are lost because the store is too hot. Retailers make the mistake of setting the temperature in the store based on what is comfortable for the staff, usually first thing in the morning. What they don’t take into account is that the customers are more bundled up and the store warms up as it fills with people. We made this mistake one year when I was running a Sharper Image and a customer passed out right in front of the cashwrap. Talk about slowing down your sales! Managing your store’s cooling and heating is just as important as any other element of the customer experience. Heat up your sales, not your store.

Mistake #3: Letting the cashwrap get messy and out of control as the day goes on. One of the last impressions of your store the customer receives is when they are standing at the counter paying. The checkout experience can be another opportunity to sell the customer an additional product or giftcard, or at the very least communicate information to the customer that gives them confidence in their purchase. A cluttered front or back counter with stacks of products, messy shopping bags, and scraps of gift wrap and tissue paper does not do that. It also leads to mistakes that can negatively impact a customer’s holiday.

Mistake #2: Forgetting that Hanukkah starts on December 15th at sundown. There are over five million Jewish Americans, many of whom will be out shopping this week.

Mistake #1. Not taking action on slow sellers now. It is a lot easier – and more profitable - to sell your dog products at a discount now than after the holidays at a much steeper discount. While you don’t want to get too aggressive and give away too much margin before Christmas, if you wait until December 26 I guarantee your markdown will have to be even steeper, resulting in even less profit. Don’t forget to highlight your markdowns with signage. Once you make a commitment to move through it, do it!

Make it a mistake free GREAT sales week.

Things to STOP Doing

2006-12-09T07:22:00.000-05:00

Last week I listed 21 actions you can take now that will boost holiday sales and profits. This week I’ll talk about ten things to STOP doing because doing them will cost you sales and profits. Yes, some of them are variations on the actions I wrote about last week, but as Earl Nightingale once said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”

1. STOP congregating at the register. Okay, I had to say that one for old time’s sake. I don’t know what they put in those counters but they act as magnets for the flesh of retail employees. I just can’t figure out why so many customers are immune to the magnetic force.

2. STOP thinking it is too late for you to do things that will have a positive impact on your business. If you’re an owner or a manager now is the time to increase some of your staff’s hours so you can concentrate on driving more customers in and maximizing those opportunities.

3. STOP thinking that what newspapers, websites, and pundits are saying about the holidays is what is also going to happen in your store. Last week I searched the terms “Holiday Sales” on Google News and once again the stories are all over the place. The San Francisco Chronicle’s headline yesterday read “Sales slow after hefty Black Friday” while the Houston Chronicle headline read “Holiday Shopping Off to a Solid Start.” The only thing that matters is where your store ends up. The biggest impact on your sales isn’t the national or local economy but how well you and your team execute. Believe and work hard to achieve a GREAT holiday and you’ll have one. As a matter of fact you should create your own headline like “ {Your Store Name} Blows Away Holiday Sales Goal” and post it at your desk and in the backroom.

4. STOP thinking traffic is slow. Start thinking that slower traffic gives you an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with customers and to sell them more products.

5. STOP believing that all customers want is a great deal. Most customers actually want a great experience buying a product at a fair price. Most customers want to feel good about what they buy. That same customer may have been hunting for a great deal on Black Friday weekend but has now settled into his regular shopping routine.

6. STOP assuming customers are “just looking” or “getting some ideas.” Customers are out to buy and if you don’t make the sale your competitors will.

7. STOP thinking that to be highly focused on the customer means to be overbearing and pushy. What it really means is to maximize your opportunities by creating a wonderful and memorable in-store experience with highly passionate and personable salespeople.

8. STOP letting any slackers on the staff continue in their slacker habits. Nip it in the bud now before it gets too busy to address and ends up costing you sales.

9. STOP thinking the holidays are stressful and not fun. I think the dog days of summer or the dark days of February where you have to make your numbers with a heck of a lot fewer customers are more stressful. Have fun and enjoy yourself.

10. STOP {input what you know you should stop doing}.

11. STOP thinking you’re too busy to go above and beyond for the customer the way you usually do. It is the essence of what makes you a “Specialty” retailer and you need to do it now more than ever. The holidays aren’t just important to our sales but they give us the opportunity to obtain new customers for 2007 as well as keep those we’ve had. Show them the love!

21 Holiday Tips

2006-12-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

Here are 21 things to do now that will boost holiday sales and profits. 1. Send all of your customers a personalized Christmas card with either a picture of the store or the staff. You need to do this now!

2. Send your top customers a gift card or gift certificate wrapped in an attractive box. Give higher amounts to your best customers. If your staff is good, when your customers come in to spend their gift cards they will end up making purchases for far more than the face value of the gift.

3. Email your customers and tell them about the top 20 gifts available in your store this season. Include a printable wish list for them to use either as a shopping list for others or to give to someone else.

4. Put the same list into a press release and send it to the local paper, radio station, etc.

5. Run one-day sales on the slowest days of the week.

6. Give a gift card with purchases over a certain amount. The card will inevitably result in a sale that will reduce the overall cost to you.

7. Drop small thank-you cards in customer’s shopping bags with their purchases but don’t let them see you do it. You can either have the staff fill them out in advance with the words “Thank You” and their name or have a seasonal person fill them out without signing a name. While it may not be practical for most of you to do this on all of your sales, you can definitely do this for the large sales.

8. Hire a musician to play Christmas music in the store during peak times. The live performance will differentiate your store and l keep the customer there longer. The longer they shop, the more your opportunity to sell them more.

9. Post your top 20 gifts on a large sign in the store and then sign each product on the list with the corresponding number. Include on the product sign why it is a unique gift and who would enjoy receiving it. Are you thinking you don’t have time to do these sorts of ideas? If it adds to your overall sales then why wouldn’t you make the time? Read on!

10. Remind your staff to keep showing additional products until the customer says he/she is done. Retailers miss many sales during the holiday because they’re too quick to ring the customer up.

11. Fifteen percent of all purchases made during the holiday are not given as gifts but are for the person shopping. Ask all of your customers “And how about treating yourself to something today?”

12. Bundle products. As I wrote a few weeks ago, we did this quite successfully at Bose with the $500 Wave Radio, offering a second one at a reduced price. One thing we learned doing these bundles is we sold more when we told the customer how much the price was on the second one versus stating it as a percentage of savings. Don’t make the customer do the math, tell them the price and how much they are saving.

13. Set some daily stretch goals with prizes for the staff if the goal is hit. Stock up on things like gift cards from Starbucks, Target, etc. and award them to the staff for making goal. Keep the staff focused on sales one day at a time.

14. Be extremely methodical about what impulse products you put at the counter. First, pick an item with the right price point. If you put too expensive an item at the counter it won’t sell, and if the item is too inexpensive it will sell but add little to your overall sales. Make sure the item is something that is both unique and something the customer will want to pick up. Have a bunch of the impulse items gift wrapped so the customer sees how simple it is to give that extra gift. Finally, consider bundle pricing with your impulse items.

15. Have the staff dressed seasonally. Consider Santa hats, red or green aprons or sweaters, or anything else that helps the staff appear more festive.

16. Put a big sign on the backdoor that reminds your staff to smile. It is pretty easy to let the smile droop after being on your feet for eight hours and working with crowds of customers. Here is a link if you’d like to use the one I made.

17. Create “Best Gift For” signs. First pick out a top seller, or a product you want to be a top seller, that is under $20 Next to that product put a sign that reads “Best Gift for Under $20.” Now do the same for $50, $75, $100, etc. Do the same for different people. How about a “Best Gift for your Hairdresser” or maybe a “Best Gift for the Babysitter?”

18. Create a daily “Hot Buy”. It gives the staff something to tell the customer about and it might help you sell a product that either isn’t selling well or is a hot seller that you want to get hotter. Remember, the special doesn’t always have to be a discount.

19. Give out candy canes and other goodies with each purchase or to all customers.

20. Invite your top customers in for an early morning event that includes gifts, refreshments and special pricing. Have the staff call the customers on the phone and invite them to bring their friends. Keep the event going after the doors open so those customers who come into the store feel special as well.

21. Keep having fun. Fun sells and makes working and shopping in your store a wonderful and enjoyable holiday experience. Isn’t that what it is all about?

Don't Fall Short on the Experience

2006-11-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

A challenge during the holiday season can be continuing to deliver the services and elements of your customer experience that differentiate your store from your competitors. I say can be, because with the right focus and staffing strategy most of us can continue to deliver those things that make us unique.

Take welcoming the customer, something you know I’m pretty passionate about. Most retailers either ignore customers when they enter the store or pounce with a “How may I help you?” As customers, we definitely don’t like being pounced on. And while most of us are fine with being left alone when we enter a store, we don’t like to be ignored when we want help. By graciously welcoming the customer as she walks into the store we’re letting her know that we are customer focused and she is our number one priority. While many retailers think of a greeter during the holiday season as a non-revenue producing position, I argue the opposite. A good greeter not only warmly welcomes the customer, an action that continues to differentiate you from the competition, but also acts as a traffic cop to help those who want to be helped quickly or answer questions for those who need information.

The demands of the holiday season can occasionally keep us from performing some of the services and elements of the customer experience that are standard operating procedure during the rest of the year. Maybe the store traffic is too high or the holiday customer just isn’t interested in a particular element. Take serving warm cider. A store that serves its customers warm cider throughout the winter may choose to not do so on last two weekends before Christmas. The store may find that the especially heavy traffic resulted in too many spilled drinks.

But there could be even a more important reason to stop offering the free cider. If the store was unable to keep up with the demand for the cider, the empty cider container would result in disappointed customers. Remember: Failing to fully execute a key element of your customer experience is worse than not offering it all. It’s true. Falling short is worse than not offering it all.

Here’s an example. I recently brought my car to one of those speedy oil change places. In the corner of the waiting room was a nice fixture with a sign above it that read “Complimentary gourmet coffee.” Unfortunately the fixture was bare except for some cups. Having a cup of coffee wouldn’t have even crossed my mind if the sign and fixture wasn’t there. But because there were visual cues that I should have gotten a free cup of coffee, I felt that I hadn’t received the full value of doing business with this company. And if they couldn’t keep up with a coffeepot, might they also be missing a few steps while working on my car? Falling short of executing a key element of your customer experience is worse than not offering it all.

A greeter who ignores customers is worse than no greeter at all. Having big rolls of wrapping paper in full view of the customer but not offering to gift wrap a customer’s purchase is worse than not offering gift wrapping at all. An empty candy dish is worse than never giving out candy. I think one could most definitely make a case that under-trained sales associates are worse than leaving customers on their own and just having cashiers to ring up purchases. Falling short of executing a key element of your customer experience is worse than not offering it all.

This isn’t just a seasonal issue, either. You see it in stores all of the time. You’ll see an empty brochure rack, or signs that read “No tipping for carryout service” but no one offers to carry out your purchase. Falling short of executing a key element of your customer experience is worse than not offering it all.

So let me ask, are there any changes you need to make to your store this holiday or going forward to ensure that you’re delivering on all of the elements of the customer experience?

A Holiday List for all Retail Employees

2006-11-18T07:01:00.000-05:00

Here are five of the best holiday suggestions I’ve been given through the years. I'd recommend that you print them out and share them with your entire team.

1. Take care of personal to-do’s now. In a couple of weeks things are going to start to get pretty crazy. As my friend Robin says, during the holidays every day is like a week and every week is like a month. Store hours usually expand and so do the demands on everyone’s time. A manager I once worked for always told us that we should take care of all our November and December to-do’s now. He believed that during the holidays the last thing you want to have to do on your day off is go to the dentist or get your license renewed. He would make a list of all the things that he could do now and at his own pace, instead of during the holidays when they became even more of a chore. That way, his time off during December wasn’t already spoken for.

2. Take a quick inventory of your shoes and clothing to make sure you’re all set for the season. When did you last buy new work shoes? Are the shoes you are wearing at this moment comfortable? We retailers are on our feet most of the day and one of the best investments we can make in ourselves is good shoes. For years I bought traditional dress shoes until someone on my staff recommend that I try Rockports. What a difference!! At the end of the day not just my feet but my entire body felt better. Good shoes are important all year but they’re a must during the long hours of the holidays. How is the rest of your work wardrobe? With all of the holiday sales going on it is a great time to pitch those worn out shirts/blouses and pants/skirts.

3. Finish your own holiday shopping early, or at the least complete your list now so you can shop at your own pace. I once worked with a woman who was always done with her holiday shopping by February 1st! I could never decide if she was incredibly smart or just crazy. Either way I knew that would never work for me. I annually found myself on December 18 with no gifts bought and worse, no clue what I was going to buy. Trust me, that did not make my Christmas shopping any fun. By following this advice you can take some of the stress out of your holiday.

4. Keep doing those things outside of work that you enjoy doing the rest of the year. If you enjoy going to the gym or church or meeting a friend for coffee, then make the time to do so even during the holidays. It’s important to your team, your family and friends that you keep your batteries charged. Too much work and no play during the holidays will result in a tired, cranky, and less effective you.

5. Enjoy the holidays. For a few years during the time I ran a store, I got to the point I actually dreaded the holidays. I used to say that the holidays were to be endured. Luckily, I came to realize that I was missing an incredible opportunity to enjoy a special time of year. Since then, I love the holidays. I love the music. I love to see how excited children are about Christmas. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The best way to get in the holiday spirit is to get out of yourself. Do unexpected nice things for people. Even better, do them anonymously. Leave little presents for your colleagues or your manager. Drop an extra dollar or two in the kettle. As a mentor once told me, be grateful for what you have and enjoy life. It’s great advice year round but it’s even more important during the busy holiday season.

Less than 6 weeks and counting. Yee haw! BRING IT ON!

Maximizing opportunities = Increasing your sales and UPTs

2006-11-13T17:40:00.001-05:00

I constantly focus on helping retailers to maximize their opportunities. How can retailers maximize their opportunities? By welcoming their customers, engaging them in conversation, asking questions to identify their needs and better understand ways the products in the store can enrich their lives and then recommending products that will enhance their lives. Good retail associates do all these things so as not to miss any sales. But often, even though they make the sale they still don’t completely maximize that customer opportunity. Either because they are in a hurry to ring the sale, or because they’re uncomfortable suggesting additional products to the customer, they miss the chance to sell more products to the buying customer. In watching and working with successful retail associates, I see that those who create additional sales do it seemingly without effort. If you watch closely, though, you’ll discover that there are a few reasons they do it so well. First, they’ve established a rapport with the customer. They aren’t just clerking the sale, they take the time to establish some type of relationship with the customer. Secondly, they’ve asked enough questions to have a good understanding of what product to recommend as well as how the customer will be using it. As an example, if the customer is buying a gift, the associate has taken the time to ask a few questions about the person who will be receiving the gift. After asking their questions they might know the recipient’s name, the occasion for receiving the gift, and some background information on the person that will link them with specific products in the store. And finally, what separates those who can do multi-unit sales well versus those who don’t is the ability to make that transition from the “I’ll take it” on the first product to showing of the additional products. They all seem to have some very natural and effective transition lines that move the customer from the first purchase to looking at additional products. Here are some of the best transition lines:

* “If you like that you’re going to love this.” * “If he or she likes [fill in blank], then you really need to consider [fill in blank].” * “You just have to see this.” * “Let me show you what will really enhance that.” * “I’ll tell you what will go perfectly with that.” * “Now that you have that, you really should think about this.” * “Let me ask you one more question.” * “I really recommend that you consider adding this.”

And I’m sure you can add many of your own. Notice a couple things about these transition lines: 1. None of them are questions, they’re statements. Successful retail associates don’t ask the customer if he/she wants to look at something else, they assume that the customer will continue to shop. They can do this because they’ve established that relationship with the customer and learned enough to suggestion additional products that will enhance the customer’s purchase or life. If the customer is in a hurry he/she will say “no thank you” and that’s that. The retail salesperson’s job is to make sure the customer receive the best possible experience. The best experience when a customer is walking out of the store with as much product as he wanted to buy. Not what we decided he needed. 2. Successful retail associates don’t ask the customer “Is there anything else you are looking for?” Probably 90% of customers say no and almost 100% of the sales associates they’ve met that day have used that same tired line. If the customer is even thinking about looking for something else the transition lines will spur the customer to bring it up. Many retailers see an employee’s average UPT (Units per transaction) as a measurement of their ability to sell. I see it as way to measure both how well they are focused on the customers and their ability to maximize their opportunity.

Questions To Find GREAT Employees

2006-10-20T08:32:00.000-04:00

These are three of my favorite interview questions. I think they help me identify the type of person that will deliver great customer experiences and be a good addition to the store team.

1. Tell me about your favorite boss. What’s their name, what made them so special, and what is one lesson you took away from them and use yourself?

I like to ask this question of all employees, but especially those I’m hiring into management. The answer a management applicant gives you will tell you exactly what type of manager they aspire to be. I watch for how the applicant starts their answer. You’ll often see the person’s expression and body language change before you. Those who have had a great experience with a boss often smile and tell you in great detail about the person. One of the reasons I enjoy this question is I get to hear about great managers and maybe take away something that helps me. I also like to hear about how they apply what made that manager so good. It’s almost like features and benefits. The better someone can explain to me how they apply management techniques, the better I understand how much they really comprehend managing people. I once had an applicant that, going into the interview, I really liked and thought there was a good chance I would hire. That is, until he told me about his favorite manager. His favorite manager, one he wanted to emulate, went to great lengths to control everything that happened in the store. It was quite clear that this person’s way of operating was to micromanage the store and staff, and that is exactly what I was not looking for in a store manager. I’m not sure I would have learned that about this person had I not asked this question. This is a good question for non-management applicants as well. By answering, the applicant will tell you exactly how they like to be managed.

2. Tell me about a time a retailer fell short of your expectations. What happened, how did you feel, and what was the outcome?

Every applicant shows up ready to tell you their retail superhero story where their actions saved the day. Been there, heard it. Instead, I like to turn the tables and hear about the applicant’s perspective as a customer in that type of situation. I’m looking for a few things with this question. First is the ability to analyze a poor experience. I like when an applicant tells me about a poor shopping or customer experience and at the same time is telling me what the retailer did wrong and, even more important, what they could have done to either avoid or rectify the situation. I’ve had some very good applicants just tell me about an experience where they were wronged and that was it. The best examples include how the applicant was a participant in the solution. I listen closely to how they describe how they felt. Experience has shown me that those who gloss over that part of the question usually aren’t very empathetic with customers themselves. The more an employee understands how a poor shopping or customer experience impacts the customers personally, the better they’ll resolve them in your store.

3. Pretend I’m a customer and sell me these scissors. (Or telephone or belt or immersion blender or whatever you choose.)

Eight out of ten applicants will just start babbling about the scissors which is pretty much what happens on most retail floors. I’m looking for the other two. One of those two will ask you some clarifying questions about selling you the scissors. These applicants are usually good critical thinkers and can be a great addition to the team. The tenth one will start selling you the scissors by asking you some questions about your needs before showing you the scissors. I usually hire that one on the spot!

Beyond these questions I’m looking for someone who is well groomed, smiles, seems well prepared, and someone who has taken the time to learn something about the store.

Remember, if you’re not totally excited about your applicant then you need to take a step back and determine if you’d be offering them a position because you need to fill an opening or because this is the right person to join your team.

Blog Update

2006-10-16T09:11:00.000-04:00

I am changing the date of the posts. Going forward I will now post on Wednesday of each week. Look for my newest post then. What a bummer it is to watch Tower Records, a legendary name in music retail, liquidate their inventory via a going-out-of-business sale. Tower was a great place to hang out and flip through records, then eight-tracks, then cassettes, and then CD’s. There is no doubt that Tower’s demise has a lot to do with iPods, online music downloads, and big-box discount stores. To me the bigger issue was that Tower kept opening new stores but not changing the way they ran those stores. The industry has changed, and retailers who stick their heads in the sand and don’t change as the world changes around them are destined for a long slow death. Tower Records, I’m sorry to say, is an example of just that. I was sitting somewhere the other day and could actually hear a clock going “Tick. Tick. Tick.” It got me wondering about customers and if we know what makes the tick. And what makes them click with us? If you don’t try to understand what’s important to your customers you’ll never connect with and serve them well.

Have you got your entire seasonal staff identified yet? If not, you’d better get moving. It’s only 73 days until Christmas.

Musings

2006-10-07T09:40:00.000-04:00

Someone told me the other day that he really likes my Daily, my daily client newsletter, and every time he reads it he’s able to apply it to his business. Needless to say, this was music to my ears. But what he said next almost floored me. He said that the problem is he just can’t find the time to read it every day. Think about that. This person just told me that he is so busy running his store, or maybe I should say he’s so busy allowing his store to run him, that he can’t find the time to work on improving his business. Not surprisingly, this person’s store sales are falling short of expectation. I really like the Chinese proverb from yesterday’s Daily, “If you want to know your past - look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future - look into your present actions.” I would encourage you to ask yourself, are you investing your time and resources in creating your future, even if the future is this weekend. (Thank you to the reader who gave me permission to share this exchange.)

I recently shopped a retailer to gather information to use in a presentation. When I asked the sales person why I should buy a particular brand I was told, “People with money buy that one.” I guess that would have been okay if she had at least qualified me by asking me if I had a lot of money!

One of the best lines I read this week was about R.W. Apple Jr., a world renowned New York Times correspondent known for his large appetite for both writing and food (and sometimes writing about food), who passed away this week at the age of 71. A colleague of Mr. Apple’s observed that he “had the best mind and worst body in American journalism.”

Holiday Staffing NOW

2006-10-01T09:13:00.000-04:00

It’s three months until Christmas and those ninety days will pass in the blink of an eye. I can’t stress enough that store managers and owners should be finding their seasonal staffing NOW. Here are the people to hire for seasonal help, in the order to seek them out.

1. Former employees who left in good standing. Store employees leave for many different reasons. Sometimes the employee who left still enjoyed and was good at her job, but might have tired of retail hours or just have had a better opportunity came along. These folks are great holiday hires. They already know the store products, processes, and staff, so they can produce as well as a regular employee. Many of them would love the opportunity to make some extra money over the holidays as well as reconnect with the store. All you have to do is reach out and ask if they’re available to work a night or a weekend day during the holiday season. Many of them may not be thinking of working an extra job for the season but will still be receptive to your call.

2. Last year’s seasonal hires. Again, they know the products and processes and with a refresher training will be up to speed in no time. These employees are usually more productive than your new seasonal hires and should be compensated as such. They will appreciate that you thought so highly of them you’ve invited them back. If for some reason they can’t or don’t want to work in your store this season, be sure to ask if they can refer someone.

3. People your staff refer. As I’ve written before, I’m in favor of hiring friends of the staff. My opinion is that the staff ends up becoming friends anyway, so you might as well tap into their network of friends and acquaintances. I have always found that that the best employees provide the best referrals. Some of my worst holiday hires came from employees I should have moved out before the holiday season got underway. I always asked people to refer someone whose primary job slowed down in December. One of my best seasonal hires was a man who sold pharmaceutical products but told me that in December his clients were so distracted that he could take the month off and no one would even notice. This guy was awesome. He loved working in the store and was more productive than the regular employees. He made too much money selling drugs (legally) to recruit for the store permanently but he was a godsend for several holiday seasons in a row. Be sure to pay a referral bonus to your staff for their holiday referrals. I like to pay it out after the holidays and then only if the seasonal employee stayed on and met their obligations.

4. Recruit your customers. Put up a sign inside the store that communicates the benefits of working in your store over the holidays. Your customers can make great seasonal hires as they already know some of the products and are usually passionate about both the store and the products.

Some holiday staffing tips:

* I’m personally not in favor of putting a “Seasonal Help Wanted” sign in the front window since every other retailer around you is going to be doing the same thing. If the suggestions above don’t fill your staff needs then you might consider it but usually you can fill out your staff by having your staff help recruit.

* If you’re in an extremely tough market for hiring seasonal staff you might need to go above and beyond the norm to get your staff. Some suggestions include extending a seasonal hire’s employee discount beyond the holidays. What if a seasonal employee could get a discount for the first three months of the new year or even for the entire year? That might help you recruit someone who wouldn’t normally work the holidays. Pay at or above market. There is too much riding on the holidays to nickel and dime employees.

* Finally, include all your seasonal employees in store contests. I don’t understand retailers who exclude the seasonal staff from holiday contests. I’m sure it is often recommended for legal reasons by the Human Resources department but I believe there are ways around it. You can either award a lesser prize or at the very least, run a parallel contest for seasonal staffers at the same time you’re running one for your permanent employees. Remember, your customers never know who is and isn’t a seasonal employees, they only know if they had a good experience in the store or not.

Quick comments

2006-09-22T20:32:00.000-04:00

While visiting a store yesterday I was reminded how important it is that we maximize the decompression space when a customer enters a store. This store I was in felt so much better 10 feet into the store than it did closer to the door. We want to make sure that we don’t overwhelm customers with products when they first enter the store as well as give them the space to get oriented in the store.

Now I’m the first one to preach life/work balance but lately that hasn't been easy. I got a good clue that I was out of balance the other day when at dinner I asked my daughter Kate how she liked her teacher, Ms. McLaughlin. Kate looked right at me, rolling her eyes, and said, “That was last year’s teacher, dad.”

I noticed in a store yesterday that one of the customers was waiting for a staff person to do something in the backroom. I don’t know the details, but it was pretty easy to see that the customer had been waiting awhile and was getting really frustrated. Every time an employee would come out from the back she would look up to see if it was her person, to only be disappointed and go back to waiting. On my flight yesterday, the pilot did a great job of keeping the passengers informed of what they delays were, what he was being told by the air traffic controllers, and when he thought we would take off. That retailer should have done the same exact thing with the woman who was waiting. The person who was helping the customer should have come back out on the floor and told her what the delay was as well when he expected to be back with the customer. I’m sure this would have completely changed this customer’s experience.

One Liners

2006-09-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

* You can't have true accountability without consequences and rewards.

* Never underestimate the importance of passion to an employee's ability to create a memorable customer experience.

* Don't underestimate the importance of management in creating passionate employees.

* Focus on the individual customer's needs and experience. The numbers will come.

* People want to succeed in their positions but they're being set up to fail when managers don't set expectations high enough.

* One of the toughest things is to look objectively at a business without creating excuses and blame, two things you absolutely don't need if you are to successfully turn around a struggling store/market/company.

* Retail can be incredibly hard. Being able to laugh and have fun on the job makes it a lot more enjoyable.

* Internal theft is a fact of life when running a retail store and anyone who thinks it can't happen in his store either works alone or needs to face reality.

* If you want to get something done, tell your staff to do it.

* If you want to develop your staff, teach them why it's important.

* Of all the attributes as a leader and manager should have, the most important is credibility.

* Sometimes we can over analyze and over think issues when oftet t's better to just dive in and get something done, live with it, and then improve it.

* Your best and most loyal customers should know how much you appreciate their business.

* I believe in recognizing loyal customers for the same reason I try to help others; I always get more in return than I give.

* Not having enough time is a poor excuse to not get something done.

* Not arranging your priorities correctly is a much more productive way to look at the challenge of allocating your time.

Four Questions for Store Managers

2006-09-09T06:40:00.001-04:00

Four questions every store manager and/or owner should ask themselves:

1. What are the top three actions the store staff can take to create sales? Notice the words “action” and “create.” Anyone can ring up a sale. Successful retailers create sales. So what are the top three actions your staff can take to create sales? One of our clients knows that if he increases the number of customers that try on shoes, shoe sales will increase. So what is it for your store? Is it getting a phone in the customer’s hand? Is it getting the customer to tell you his favorite flower or candle scent? Is it getting the customer to tell you what sports she plays? The first one is the easy one. Knowing what second and third action the staff can take to create sales is where the payoff really happens.

2. Are you and your staff taking those actions that create sales? To lead is to go first. Are you demonstrating the right behaviors yourself? Does your staff see you getting the customer to try shoes on or put a phone in the customer’s hand? As a store manager or owner it is critical that your staff see you doing what you are expecting of them. This business of “do as I say and not as I do” isn’t leading. It’s pushy management and you’ll never achieve your desired level of success working with a team that way.

So is your staff taking those actions that you know create sales? If your answer is “no,” what are you going to do to change that? You could consider a refresher training course followed by a fun contest. Or maybe you could do a one-on-one with those staff members who clearly are not on board. It seems to me that taking actions that create sales is something you either require or not. If you expect people to do something and they don’t and there are no consequences, then your actions are saying that it is optional. It is best if you can track, measure, and report on these behaviors in some way. Do you have the staff track how many customers they have try on shoes or hold a telephone? Do you use mystery shoppers or customer experience feedback systems to measure it? Remember the old retail line, “That which gets inspected is respected.”

3. Have I been spending enough time on the floor to properly lead my team? It is so easy to get trapped at the desk. There are calls to take, emails to answer, schedules to write, orders to write, etc. Never think that administrative activities drive your sales activities. They are not the same. You can always delegate administrative activities but you cannot delegate the activities that drive your sales.

4. Finally, am I taking the time to recognize my top performers? That’s just one thing YOU need to do to create sales. Never be too busy to tell people what a great job they are doing and thank them for their fine efforts. A pat on the back or note slipped into the locker can go a long ways towards hitting your sales goal.

Some random thoughts

2006-09-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

* People get too fixated on a specific solution, not a desired outcome. When I’m working with someone who keeps falling into that trap, my favorite question to ask is, “What would you like to accomplish with your solution?” When looking at issues in your business, try to determine what the problem or opportunity is, what would change as a result of you taking action, and how you will know you’ve accomplished your goal. Is it an increase in sales or profits? Customer loyalty? Employee satisfaction?

* Someone said to me yesterday that as long as a salesperson has product knowledge she can make a sale. I don’t agree. I think that as long as a person has passion she can make a sale. Product knowledge helps sell the correct product and passion for the customer and the product results in a better store experience. Having a knowledgeable and passionate store staff is a key to an independent or specialty retailer’s success.

* Yesterday Radio Shack laid off 400 people - via email. Man, that’s cold. That’s beyond cold. Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically, spokeswoman Kay Jackson said. She said employees were invited to ask questions on a company intranet site before the official notification. Wow, ask questions online? That’s cold, too. I think the soul of a company comes through during tough times like closing stores and laying off people. When I ran the Bose stores I use to fly across the country to tell a store staff in person that I was closing their store. I never lost sight that the business decision I had to make was taking a human toll. I know Radio Shack has been bleeding money but that was a soulless act.

* Great employees attract great employees. Retailers need to put more focus on using their current staff to fill open positions. I don’t buy into the belief that you shouldn’t hire friends of employees. Everyone in the store usually becomes friends anyway, so you might as well hire people you know get along.

* On the subject of hiring, I find in retail that industry experience is overrated and personality is underrated. Only hire people who smile during the interview. I love when a person I interview brags about a company he worked for. I can’t stand it when a person I’m interviewing knocks a former employer. Those two things tell you a lot about the person in front of you.

* I read a good tip in a magazine yesterday. It said that you shouldn’t read your email in the first hour of work but that you should use that time to work on a project. The expert said that once you open that email you’re sucked in. I can relate to the sucked in part but I’m not sure I could follow her advice. Excuse me, I need to check email.

Selling, Shields, and the First 60 Seconds

2006-08-22T15:28:00.000-04:00

Here’s something to think about. I asked an audience of jewelers if they liked to be sold something. Only one or two people raised their hands. I then asked the retailers how many of them like to sell. The majority of hands went up. Hmmm. When asked about it, a couple of participants said they don’t really sell, they build a relationship. So what they must be implying is that although they build relationships, other retail salespeople don’t. I'm not sure that’s the case.

I think the truth is that most of the retail salespeople out there add so little value to our shopping experience that we automatically shut them out before they even get a chance to build a relationship with us. Of course if we do give them the chance, most of them confirm what we already know. They’re only interested in selling us something; they’re not really interested in us as individuals at all.

This is exactly why the first 60 seconds engaging the customer is so critical. You need to be forceful enough in your approach to overcome the shield the customer will put up, but not so forceful that you confirm the customer’s bias towards retail help. The secret is to spend those first 60 seconds delivering a very personable welcome that demonstrates an appreciation of the customer for coming into your store. Use the word “Welcome.” Skip the tired lines used by every other retailer. Stay far away from phrases like, “How’s it going?” or “How are you today?” or even worse, “May I help you?” The next time a retail salesperson asks me that, I just might give into my long-suppressed impulse and reply that I have a scratch VERY low on my back that I can’t reach and I’m wondering if they could scratch it for me. If you’re not busy with another person, and the customer you just welcomed acknowledges your welcome, then engage her in some non-product conversation. If the customer barely acknowledges your welcome then clearly she wants space and you should give it to her.

Either way, those first 60 seconds are the opportunity to begin building a relationship that will let you add value to the customer’s experience. That relationship increases the chances that your engagement will result in a sale, or at the least, a potential store advocate. None of us want to be sold, but all of us like to be appreciated and engaged by friendly and knowledgeable employees. The good news is that your competitors will keep saying “How’s it going?”, “How are you today?” and “May I help you?” and their potential customers will immediately say to themselves, “Shields up!”

Delegation in Retail

2006-08-16T09:07:00.000-04:00

There is an article on Monster.com, for which I was interviewed, about the need for managers to delegate. Here’s the excerpt and the link.

Doing Delegation Right in Retail

It's a lesson straight from a beginning management textbook: To succeed as a manager, you must delegate effectively. Yet in retail, few managers receive much, if any, training in people development and virtually no instruction on how to delegate tasks to help employees grow and become comfortable taking on added responsibilities.

Doug Fleener, author of The Profitable Retailer: 56 Surprisingly Simple and Effective Lessons to Boost Your Sales and Profits, says that for obvious reasons, new retail managers tend to delegate less than more experienced peers. "New managers are still trying to learn the role," he says. "But once these new managers become comfortable, they need to delegate to free themselves up to focus on sales and staff development."

Read the entire article here.

A Freakonomics lesson

2006-08-06T08:24:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine kept telling me that I had to read Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Freakonomics has been on The New York Times best seller list for quite a while but for some reason I kept putting off reading it until that same friend gave me the book for my birthday. It is quite interesting and I enjoyed it although it does bog down at times. I won’t spoil some of the more interesting details of the book but I can say that I was reminded of an important lesson.

The authors make economics a heck of lot more interesting than Dr. Felix Livingston, my economics professor in college. They remind me to look and think about things in everyday life and in business with a more critical and analytical eye. It’s so easy to accept the obvious but the obvious may or may not be true. Say that a store’s sales have been trending way down over the last two months. It just so happens that the city is doing road construction near of the store. Conventional wisdom would say that the reason for the drop in store sales is the road construction. And that’s probably true. But Freakonomics reminds me that I should gather more data to prove that that is the case. What if you found out that four out of five other retailers in the area have not experienced a drop in sales? Does that mean it isn’t the road construction? After further digging, you may find that most of those stores took some action to overcome the drop in store traffic. So it is the construction after all. Or you could find out that the other stores are doing fine and took no other actions, which means you’re in a heap of trouble. Either way, don’t always accept the most obvious answer without poking it around a little bit more.

So what are some of the things happening in your business that you might just be shrugging off to conventional wisdom? Maybe you’ve assumed you have trouble hiring good staff is because your store is in an affluent area. Maybe you’ve decided that your units per transaction are lower than other stores because your customer is always in a hurry. Whatever you’ve assumed, take a moment and ask how you can validate it to ensure you’re maximizing your store’s performance.

Lessons From The Mall

2006-07-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

On Saturday afternoon my wife and I dropped our children at a birthday party in another town, which gave us two free hours. So what did we do? We shopped, of course. Here are four things I saw or experienced while shopping that any retailer can apply to improve business.

From Tiffany & Co. 1. Any question a customer asks is a chance to put the product in her hands. Every time a customer asked an associate the price of something, the associate never answered the question without bringing the product out of the case, putting it on a pad, and getting it to the customer’s hands. I wrote about it last week, and I’ll say it again, the more you engage customers with the product, the more likely they are to buy. Never, ever, miss a chance to hand the customer either a product or something related to a product.

From Williams Sonoma 2. Your visual merchandising can help convey the solution or outcome of the product you sell. Anyone who is responsible for the visual presentation of his/her store should go visit Williams Sonoma. In each of their primary merchandising spaces, they feature a product or a product category with a graphic of a dish that the customer could make with the product or product category. Next to the graphic is a recipe card for the customer to take home. I love the focus on the result of the product. Most retailers are trying to sell a widget, and next to it is big picture of the widget, with a sign about the details of the widget. Instead it could be a picture of a happy customer or family using the widget and a card with suggestions of things to do with the widget.

Gap Kids 3. Have somewhere for the people accompanying your customers to sit down. It doesn’t have to be a fancy overstuffed chair, even a bench will do. But I’m surprised how many major retailers don’t have a place for people to sit. I know many retailers feel they can’t afford to give up the space. I say you can’t afford not to, because on Saturday I was living proof that it costs sales. My wife goes into Gap Kids when we don’t have the kids with us, which makes it so much easier to see what they have in summer closeouts and see the fall selection. (I wasn’t impressed with either.) After a few minutes I wanted to sit down but of course there was nowhere to sit. So I left and stood outside the store, which made my wife rush because she figured I was impatient and ready to go. Of course she was correct. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have been impatient anyway even with somewhere to sit, but she would have gained at least another five minutes to look around. If that happens in the store twice an hour, a low number if you ask me, the store would have gained two additional hours of opportunity each day to sell something. That is, it would be if Gap and Gap Kids actually tried to sell you something, but that’s a different story for a different day.

From Ross-Simon 4. The manager or manager on duty should never reprimand an employee in the presence of customers. While this one seems like a no-brainer, I could buy a nice dinner if I had a dollar every time I’ve seen it done. It’s bad business and it is even worse employee relations. Take it to the back room or save it for later.

So can you apply any of these tips this week to improve your sales and profits?

Boring Retail (Yawn)

2006-07-23T15:16:00.000-04:00

Man, is it hot! It’s 92 degrees as I’m writing this but with the humidity it feels like 100 degrees. That may be a normal summer for some of you, but here in New England this qualifies as a heat wave. And when it gets hot, I get a bit cranky. And let me tell you what I’m cranky about at this moment – shopping. How boring it is to go shopping. It’s a yawner! Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the time of the year. Whatever it is, the retail salespeople I’ve encountered recently look bored. The customers look bored. I swear the animatronics outside The Rain Forest Café look bored.

Yesterday in my private Daily Retail Experience newsletter I wrote about how poor to nonexistent the customer engagement was at the mall on Saturday night. Retailer after retailer ignored us and, as a result, missed the chance to create sales. And there, my friends, is the incredible opportunity for those retailers who get it. The incredible opportunity to differentiate your business, and to engage and sell your customers. To create a buzz that lasts beyond the dog days of summer.

The right strategy for these dog days is a combination of small gestures and planned events. One of the best small gestures at this time of year is offering the customer something to drink. I still remember walking into a men’s store in Scottsdale Arizona on an extremely hot day and being offered a choice of cold soda or bottle water – twelve years ago. I remember it like yesterday. When other clothing stores ran you out of the store if you had a drink, this store did what they could to put one in your hands. I remember feeling so welcomed by the employee that I was determined to find something to buy. Some retailers feel they don’t have the time or money to do something like that, but one very successful retailer I know, who gives out water in all his high-traffic stores, tells me that giving away a bottle of water is one of the best investments he can make. He says it’s just like having an extra salesperson in the store. If you don’t want to give out bottled water, make big pitchers of lemonade and have plenty of paper cups on hand. It’s the perfect small gesture to break up the customer’s boring shopping experience.

Planned events are also very important in these dog days of summer. I know a lot of retailers who don’t do them in the summer because they “aren’t successful.” These retailers don’t understand the key to success. The key to success is to drive traffic, create loyal customers, and show your customers some love! I guarantee that if you put together some fun events that achieve the above, the sales will happen. It may not all happen during the event, but it will happen. You have to make it fun, though. Nobody is going to buy at some boring trunk event in the middle of the summer when there is so much else to do. The best reason to do events is so that when customers come in to the store something exciting and fun is happening.

I didn’t have time to visit, the kids wanted to leave, but I did notice that my old friends at the Brighton store looked like they were having fun. They had an inflatable palm tree float in front of the store and the staff was all wearing Hawaiian shirts and I think leis. Let me tell you, neither the staff nor the customers looked bored there.

So let me ask, how bored are the people in your store this summer? What are you doing to take advantage the summer doldrums around you?

Store Management Lessons

2006-07-15T16:20:00.000-04:00

Today I got to thinking about some of things I learned running stores and wish I had known earlier in my retail career.

The store staff are adults and should be treated as such. Part of treating people like adults is telling them the truth and not trying to “spin” bad news into something good. Early in my retail career I hated to tell people things that were hard to hear so I would try to put a positive spin on everything I said. Many times that makes sense but sometimes it doesn’t. What’s more important is that you tell people why a decision has been made. For example, the company was changing the dress code and most of the staff would have to buy some new clothes. Believe it or not, I tried to spin it by telling the staff that this way they would look nicer if they went out after work. Right after I said it I knew it was a dumb thing to say. The truth was that the company believed that changing the dress code would improve store performance, and people were going to have to invest in new clothes to keeping working there. Skip the "they" and "them". Last week I wrote about taking over a Sharper Image store that was in turmoil. One of the ways I rallied the team, that I later realized was a mistake, was to create an “us against them” mentality with the corporate office and our sister stores. I used the words “they” and “them” when referring to the executives or the district manager way too often. I only used “us” to refer to myself and the store staff. I eventually learned that my job as a store manager was to represent the company and ensure that the store staff felt part of the company as a whole. I made the mistake of putting more emphasis on a well-merchandised store than a well-trained team. I probably ran stores for over five years before I finally realized that I should invest as much time working with my employees as I did working on the store. Part of this came from working at The Sharper Image, where the executives were obsessed about the small details of the store. Careers could be ruined over a store visit that had just a few merchandising mistakes. District and regional managers would visit the stores and spend the whole time picking apart the merchandising while practically ignoring the staff. It was only after I started working for Bose that I learned that both a well-merchandised store and a well-trained staff are critical to a retailer’s overall success. This one I always hate to admit, and I have written about it before, but the biggest mistake I made as a store manager was not keeping confidences. I’d probably be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time I said in my early days as a store manager, “Just between you and me. . . . “ I’m not sure if I wanted to show others how important I was, or if I used gossip to control others, but either way it was wrong. The funniest thing was that I would be appalled when someone shared something I said to them in confidence even though I had no business sharing it myself. I later learned that trust and integrity are key attributes of a successful store manager.

I hope these lessons help you avoid some of the mistakes I made and help you succeed as a retail manager, owner, or executive.

Funny Search Terms

2006-07-07T07:51:00.000-04:00

Here’s another installment of “Interesting Search Terms People Used to End Up on One of My Websites:”

- Shrink control on a Store Manager Resume (Has this person lost items from their resume?) - A waiter's commitment to the customer (to serve them food?) - Where to get retail experience (Try working in a store. I don’t believe it is available in a can or in an aerosol.) - Parameters for profitable retailers (That would be sales minus product costs minus expenses and hope to heck there is something left.)

- Managers becoming too friendly with cowworkers (Do you mean how one gets friendly with a cowworker? I mean I can understand co-worker but not sure about cowworkers. - SLIP AND FALL ON STAIRS IN APPLE STORE ON FIFTH AVENUE (Is this person planning a lawsuit?) - sample memo for top salesperson (Try “here’s a big fat check!”) - worst retail experience that could happen (I think it has something to do with those stairs in the Apple Store.)

- retail personal care products consultants (Yuck!) - is ohio or south dakota closer to the north pole (I really have to work on my search engine optimization.) - the handwritten note makes a marketing comeback (Personally, I don’t think it ever went out of style and I hope you don’t either.) - the fish stinks from the head down definition (I must need a retail personal care products consultant too!)

Liberty and choices

2006-07-03T13:35:00.000-04:00

Happy 230th Birthday, America! Philosopher and writer Simone Well once said “Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose.” Let me ask, which do you usually choose?

- When you have an unhappy customer do you see it as an opportunity to keep that person as your customer or do you choose to see it as a pain? - Whenever you have to work on a holiday do you resent it, or do you choose to try to make the most of it and make it a great day for your staff and customers?

- When a customer asks for something you don’t carry, do you just say “can’t help you” or do you choose to make a great impression and help the person find the product they are looking for? - When a customers asks you to gift wrap or box their purchase, do you see it as a pain or do you choose to see it as an opportunity to find out who the gift is for so maybe you can enhance the purchase by making a suggestion based on what you’ve learned?

- When someone asks if the store is hiring do you just answer the question or do you choose to invest a few minutes with the person to see if they might be your next GREAT staff member? - On your days off do you disconnect from work and enjoy time with family and friends, or do you choose to keep sneaking work and then wonder why you’re always so stressed?

- When a staff member makes a mistake do you get annoyed and tell him what they did wrong, or do you choose to use it as a teachable moment to coach and help him improve? - When a member of your staff or a colleague is having a bad day, do you avoid them or do you choose to see if you can be of any assistance?

- When you’re having a bad day do you keep getting upset and inflicting your bad mood on others, or do you choose to start your day over? - When you read a posting like this do you just move on to the next email or website, or do you choose to think for a moment about what you can do to improve yourself and your business?

Have a fabulous Fourth!

4 ways to improve your employee’s experience

2006-06-25T06:35:00.000-04:00

1. Throw a welcome party. This is one of my favorites, which I’ve written about before but will include for those who are newer to The Profitable Retailer. Why wait until an employee leaves to throw them a party? It seems a little odd that we celebrate when someone leaves the company. Are we saying, “Yeah, we’re glad you finally quit and got another job. Good riddance!”? Since our goal is to attract and keep GREAT employees why not throw the new employee a welcome party? Imagine how good the employee will feel when they discover a party is being thrown in their honor. Putting up a big welcome sign and serve cake and drinks to everyone who is working. Even better, include the customers as well. What a great buzz that could create. Who knows, maybe the local paper would pick it up and run a story on it. You never know.

2. Rotate job responsibilities regularly. When I was at The Sharper Image I had an employee who was awesome at stocking and maintaining softgoods so we always had her do it. After she had been doing it for about 9 months I mentioned to her in our one-on-one how good she was at and I appreciated her doing it. She thanked me for saying that because she really hated that particular job. I was surprised because she had never given any clue she disliked it so much. I realized that her ability to do one particular task so well kept her from the opportunity to learn new responsibilities. I immediately had her train the rest of the staff on how to work with the softgoods and then assigned her a new job responsibility. She was much happier and the store gained additional people who could help us keep the softgoods stocked and maintained.

3. Expect your employees to be involved in making the customer’s experience even better. Ask everyone to come up with at least one thing that can be done to improve the customer’s experience and increase sales and profits. One thing I’ve learned through the years is that the people who work with the customers the most usually know what is and isn’t working in the store. The problem is that those who don’t work with the customers - but are responsible for what happens - don’t ask the store employees their opinion. I like to not only ask them what they think needs to be improved but also have them help execute that improvement. It not only gives people more ownership with the solution, but they learn new skills and knowledge in the process.

4. Last but not least, ask them what you can do to improve their experience in working in the store. Numerous studies show that the happier the employees are, the more productive they will be. And as I once read and love to say, “If you want your employees giving service with a smile, you first need to give them something to smile about.”

Work and vacation

2006-06-18T06:59:00.000-04:00

A newsletter reader once asked me if I ever work in the summer as it seemed I was always writing from somewhere other than home. As I wrote yesterday, summertime for my family usually includes more than one out-of-town vacation plus daytrips to area beaches. I can’t think of a better place to be than sitting on the beach with my family, good friends, good food, and good music. I work all year for those moments. I'm always appalled at people who work so much they don't make time for vacation.

At Bose I worked with people who would tell me how much vacation time they had accumulated, or even worse, how much they had lost since they didn't use it. For some of these people, not using their vacation time was like a badge of honor. I thought it was a badge of stupidity. I don't work for work's sake. I work to provide for my family's current and future needs and to live life to its fullest. Vacations are when memories are built. It's where I get the opportunity to recharge my batteries and clear my head. Having employees take vacations is just as important to a business's financial health as strategic planning, hiring great employees, and being incredibly focused on the customer. So if you have found yourself too busy to plan a vacation or two this summer, stop reading and go do it. Life's too short, my friend.

For those of you who are taking vacations this summer, here a few things to consider.

First, I'm not going to give you the lecture about it not being okay to even think about work, let alone sneak off to do some. If you want to check your email, check it. If you want to check your voicemail, listen away. The way I see it, if you have to "sneak" then you're probably doing so at the expense of your family or friends. It's not checking in on work that is an issue but rather at what expense. Here's what I do. I'm an early riser. I love getting up in the morning and having my morning coffee while everyone is still is asleep. I take a few minutes and check my email to see if there’s anything so important it can't wait until the following week. Twenty minutes and I'm done. Now before you say that by doing that I'm not really getting away and recharging my batteries, I disagree. Wondering what I'm missing might be a bigger drain than checking my email before the rest of my family is awake. The key is that I very rarely take time away from my family to work. So quit feeling guilty about doing any work on vacation but feel guilty if work takes time away from your family and friends.

Next, when you're on vacation, let go. If your employees can't run the business without you then your problems are too big for you to be on vacation. Don't call the store or your managers every day. You'll give the impression that you don't trust them. If the store burns down I’m sure they'll call you. Other than that, leave them alone. This isn't about you, it's about them. Show them you that you trust and appreciate then. When you get back from vacation be sure to thank them for their hard work. I once had a manager who, whenever he came back from vacation, yelled and complained that his store was all messed up. The staff told me that the store could be improved tenfold and the guy would still complain. What a jerk. I told him so, too. If you come back from a vacation to find things you don't like, develop your people so it doesn't happen again. The next time you go on vacation set very clear expectations about what you want to see when you get back. But don't be a jerk after sitting on the beach for a week while your staff worked double shifts to cover the store.

Finally, have fun. Forget about the store, district, or company. Be in the moment. Enjoy it. I can guarantee that when your life comes to a close you'll be remembering the time you spent with the people who are special to you, not how you fixed a pressing cash flow issue one summer while staring out at the ocean or mountains. Here's wishing you a wonderful summer of memories! I'm sure I'll be sharing a few with you along the way.

10 ways to start your week off right.

2006-06-11T08:09:00.000-04:00

1. Call it coincidence, call it karma, call it whatever you like, but the better my attitude is, the happier my customers are. 2. The more the store manager focuses on the staff’s engagement and selling skills, the more often the store hits its sales target. 3. The more you recommend products to the customer instead of just showing them, the more likely it is that the customer will make a purchase. 4. While most people make their list of things to do at the start of the day, I find I’m more productive if I make my list at the end of the day before. That way I know exactly what I want to focus on when I start my day. 5. Don’t take unhappy customer personally. Do your best to make them happy and then move on. The worst thing you can do is let it ruin your day and influence how you treat your next customer, your staff, or your friends and family. 6. There isn’t a single reason a manager shouldn’t be following the same processes and procedures as the rest of the staff. “Do as I say, not as I do” is a bad way to manage. 7. Never forget that the best way to reduce store shrink is to keep honest people honest. That means following and maintaining your inventory and store processes and procedures. 8. If you haven’t conducted a store training in the last 30 days you’re missing the chance to grow your sales and profits. 9. Unless your store sells wireless products, I don’t see any reason an employee should have his cell phone on his person while he’s working the sales floor. I was in two different stores last week where the staff was clearly “sneaking” either instant messages or emails with their friends. 10. There’s a difference between posting a daily sales goal and focusing the staff on achieving a daily sales goal. How about running a fun contest this week? One of my favorite contests that costs little to do but is incredibly effective is the “Win Your Own Day” contest. The staff member who either has the highest sales or sells the most of a particular product wins their own day. Their own day includes the day being named after them (Doug Fleener Saturday), the manager doing any cleaning for them on their day, their lunch is bought for them on that day, and they get little treats and gifts throughout the day. It is amazing how hard the staff will work to win their own day.

Interactive Blog

2006-06-03T08:56:00.000-04:00

This blog is interactive. If you are reading this in the store, print this newsletter out before reading any further. If you are not in the store, print it out, bring it to the store and take yourself through the steps as soon as possible.

1. Stand outside your store and look to see what the customer sees when they approach your store. Try to sum up the signage, graphics, window display, and front display into a single sentence. I’m hoping the first words are not “no”.

2. Now find two things you can improve or fix immediately and do so. Don’t go on to the next item until you’ve completed this one.

3. Go to the front counter and stand where customers stand while making a purchase. What do you see? Is it clean, neat, and clutter free? Are there messages that reinforce the customer’s purchase? What do your customers think as they stand there?

4. Find two things you can improve or fix immediately at the counter and do it. Don’t go to the next item until you’ve completed this one.

5. Now we’ll walk into the backroom as your staff members do when they come to work. Stand either where they might take their jacket off, put their lunch away, or sign in for the day. What do you see? What is the primary message they are given? Is it one of encouragement and commitment to the customer? Or is it “no” or “management” messages?

6. I’m sure you know the drill by now. Find two things you can improve or fix immediately in the backroom and do it. Don’t go to the next item until you’ve completed this one.

7. Now go into your office. Look around. What does your team see when they stand there? Do you appear organized and smartly managing your business? Do you have positive messages posted? Does it feel like a space that employees can come into and speak with you openly and honestly? Or is it one of those “managers only” spaces?

8. Yup, you know it. Find two things you can improve or fix immediately to make your office more representative of the type of store you want to have. I know for some of you the fixes in your office might not be able to happen immediately in the office unless you get a leaf blower. At the very least, get your papers and office organized enough so that when you have time you can finish it up.

Now open the doors and lead your team to a wildly successful day.

Some Late May Musings

2006-05-28T06:46:00.000-04:00

Father’s Day is just over three weeks away. I’ve learned some interesting facts about Father’s Day. Did you know that the average person is expected to spend $88.80 for Father’s Day? That’s compared to the $122.16 spent on Mother’s Day. What’s up with that? If that’s not bad enough, it seems that there are more collect calls made on Father’s Day than any other day of the year? What’s up with that? Either way, ask people this weekend if they’d like to complete their Father’s Day shopping early and have something ready to recommend to them.

Sometimes people amaze me. Three times over the last week I’ve had a conversation with someone who wanted me to help him in some way who then told me (not asked me, told me) to call them. (These are not clients but either friends or former colleagues.) It seems to me that if you want me to help you, it’s up to you to take the initiative.

Did you know that Apple has a patent for the design of the signature glass staircase featured in many Apple stores? They say CEO Steve Jobs is such a stickler for design details that he is listed on the patent for the staircase and was involved in the design of the glass cube atop the new Fifth Avenue store. I don’t know how he could handle so many details in a company like Apple but they are sure a master at building incredible stores.

Have you ever read the blog PostSecret? It’s quite interesting. PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. Some are very funny. Some are sad. Some are in poor taste. Some make you think. You might wait until you’re not on a work computer to access. While they isn’t any nudity, some could offend someone. The one I can’t quit laughing about is the postcard that reads, “When I’m sick I go to work anyway and lick all the forks in the lunch room.” Okay, it is incredibly childish but it makes me laugh. The blog is at http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

I presented a seminar Tuesday night at a seminar and was reminded that there are two distinct types of people. There are those who spend a lot of their energy telling you why something you told them won’t work, and there are people who use their energy trying to figure out a way to apply what you told them. Makes one wonder which group you fall in. . . . .

If you haven’t already done so, you just have to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It’s amazingly good. Team of Rivals isn’t just a biography of Lincoln, it’s the story of the group of personal and political competitors he assembled to lead the country through the Civil War. Doris Kearns Goodwin profiles five of the key players in her book, four of whom contended for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and all of whom later worked together in Lincoln's cabinet. Lincoln’s ability to set aside his ego and to forgive was incredible. I learned more from this book about how to work and relate with people than from any business book I’ve read. Here's the link to the book at Amazon.com. Have a most excellent Memorial Day Weekend.

Monday Morning Questions

2006-05-22T09:01:00.000-04:00

Anybody got any drawings for an ark? It has been raining here in New England since last Tuesday, intensifying to torrential downpours for the weekend. The only good news is that if it happened in the winter it would have been almost three feet of snow.

Monday mornings are always a good time to reflect on where your business is and what you’d like to accomplish this week. So let me ask a few questions:

1. Is your store, company, or department on cruise control or do you have the accelerator to the floor? One of the challenges of retail is that if you’re not careful it becomes like the movie “Groundhog Day.” Retail is very routine. You open the doors the same time, you sort of work the same schedule, and some days you swear the customers are the same. Routine-ness is a sales killer. It lulls you into missing opportunities and not creating sales. The easiest way to turn the cruise control off and put the accelerator down is to run some one day contests, or even better, theme the week with each day focused on a certain product or skill. Have a short quiz each day along with role playing. Give prizes. Make it fun. Act silly. Do something to make sure you don’t slip into cruise control.

2. When did you last sit down with your assistant, a colleague, or someone else on your staff whose opinion you trust and ask them for feedback on how you’re doing? One of the toughest parts of being a manager is that you don’t get a lot of timely feedback on how you’re doing on a day-to-day basis. If you do this on Monday you’ll be able to spend the rest of the week focused on improving any areas that were pointed out to you.

3. When did you last recognize one of your staff members for a doing a good job? For some people doing this comes naturally, for others not. I know my reality is I’m usually recognizing people about half as much as I think I am. I found when I ran the Bose retail stores that the bigger the business got, the more I had to actually schedule recognizing good work into my week or it wouldn’t get done. Spending some time this week saying “Thank you” or “Nice job” may have more impact on your business this week than anything else you’ll do.

4. Are you being consistent with your employee communications? If you put out a weekly memo or newsletter to your staff are you keeping a regular schedule? If you aren’t, then either keep to it or change the schedule. You should especially be consistent when posting the staff schedule. It is unfair to the staff to not post their schedules on a consistent basis. If you’re not consistent with your employee communications and schedules then make them a high priority today.

So how’s your week looking so far?

Softball and Retail

2006-05-13T06:42:00.000-04:00

Every Sunday night my nine year-old daughter Kate has softball practice. After two straight losses, both the result of poor pitching, the coach decided he had to take action to turn around the results. So the majority of this past Sunday’s practice was dedicated to working on pitching skills. But instead of the coach leading the practice, he brought in a member of the high school girl’s softball team.

I watched her work with the girls and it was amazing. After throwing one pitch she had instant creditability and the undivided attention of the third- and fourth-grade girls she was there to coach. She shared with them how she learned to pitch and what she does to be successful on the field. She then started working with them on some of the fundamentals of softball pitching. Over the next hour she had them go through different routines, working their way up to a complete pitch. She was great with the kids and the improvement in their pitching technique in that short time was remarkable.

While catching my newly improved pitcher, I realized that there are a few things store managers and owners could learn from this practice. (When you write a daily newsletter you learn to see a lot of lessons in everyday life.)

I liked how the coach didn’t think he had to do all the coaching and training himself. One of the mistakes I see a lot of store managers make is not delegating some of the training and development activities in the store. Store managers often have so much on their plates that they struggle to find time to work with the staff as much as they know they should. And since they don’t delegate it, it doesn’t happen. I believe the store manager is responsible for training and development but shouldn’t be the only one actually doing it. That’s why there is a management team.

Another lesson I took away from the practice Sunday night was the advantage of having the training led by someone who is experienced in the skills you want the staff to improve. The high-school pitcher isn’t an experienced coach but because she regularly works on her own skills she was able to transfer to the girls what she does to be a successful pitcher. Having high-performing employees work with the rest of the staff is a great way to improve the entire staff’s performance as well as recognize and reward the high-performing employee.

Finally, what I liked best about Sunday night’s practice is how the pitcher worked through basics of the pitching motion before putting it altogether and having the girls pitch. One of the things I personally love when working with retailers is breaking down the store experience into small details. Take the welcoming of the customer, which is just one of the many steps in an engaging store experience. The welcome can easily be broken down in to different areas including body language, smiling, the way we say “welcome,” engaging questions, etc. Too often we try to work only on the “pitch” as a whole instead of breaking it down into specific aspects that when put into play will result in improved pitching.

Practice does make perfect and should improve both my daughter’s softball team and your store’s performance. I’ll let you know the score of their next game.

Notes From The Retail Floor

2006-05-07T11:39:00.000-04:00

A few notes after spending two days on the retail floor: * You are probably far more conscious of imperfections in your merchandising and display than your customers. What is most important is that the merchandising communicate different solutions and alternatives for your staff to offer your customers. * Your customers are far more conscious of imperfections in your customer experience than you. It is important that you find the resources and tools to honestly evaluate the reality of the experience in your store(s). (A subtle plug to have us visit your stores. . . ) * One of the biggest obstacles to a customer finding and purchasing the products and solutions that meets his needs in specialty stores is when the staff has classified him as just a “looker”. When your staff can eliminate the “looker” mentality, your sales and profits will grow. There are no lookers! Current DEG clients will learn more about this in our one-on-one calls. * I know I say this after every visit to the high-executing store of one of our clients, but I am absolutely convinced that a hearty and heartfelt welcome is one of the best differentiators in retail. * I personally like to look at the sales and experience process as linear. It is so easy to see that if you’re not advancing the process, you are at a high risk of losing the customer to one of your competitors. * I’ll write about this in greater detail in a later Daily, but when a customer says she want to check the price online the worst thing you can do is to get offended. The customer is telling us she has made a mental commitment to purchase the product and that’s our opportunity to complete the sale. More to come. * On the same note, there are some people who just don’t feel good about a purchase unless they pay a bit less than others or get some type of concession from the retailer that other customers don’t receive. It is up to you to decide whether you want that person to be your customer or not but it’s not worth getting bent out of shape over it. * Remember, customers buy what they want or need, not what you want or need them to buy. You can create that need in the customer by how you price, merchandise, and present products to the customer. * Matt traveled with me this trip and said it well when he told the staff, “The more you understand your own strengths and limitations on the floor as well as the strengths and limitations of your colleagues, the more successful you’ll all be.” * It seems that the more I remain teachable not only do I learn more but I’m able to give back more to clients, friends, and family. Just because something is the norm for most retailers does not mean that every one of my clients should do it.

Time To Think

2006-04-30T19:38:00.000-04:00

I was reading Margaret Heffernan's blog Stop Multitasking on FastCompany.com about how multi-tasking has gotten in the way of people taking time out of their day to do nothing but think. While reading the posting, checking my Blackberry, answering my phone, and reading The Wall Street Journal, I thought maybe the writer is right. Maybe many of us aren’t making time to shut everything down except our brain.

One of the comments to the posting shared this story. A reporter shoved a microphone under the nose of a visiting Chinese diplomat's wife, and asked her, “What did you find different from China?” Once she recovered from the shock of a microphone stuck in her face, she thought for a moment and then said, "In China when someone is at work at their desk, we would interrupt them in a moment. If they're staring out the window, we would never interrupt them. In America, if someone is working at their desk you would never interrupt them. But if they're staring out the window you would interrupt them in a moment. This I do not understand."

I think she hit the nail on the head. As we hustle and bustle through our days, if we see someone sitting doing what looks like nothing we rarely think that he/she might be doing something important. In truth the person may be doing something of the utmost importance: thinking.

When I used to commute to an office I spent a lot of my drive time thinking about business and my own actions and activities. Over time, though, I got crunched for time in the day and starting scheduling more of my calls during the commute. I’ve gotten better at it now that I don’t commute but I still don’t do it often enough. I know that when I make the time to think and take a mental inventory of myself I always come up with some good thoughts and ideas to improve either my business or my client’s business.

On Wednesday afternoon I cleared my calendar, turned off both the Blackberry and the phone, shut the laptop, and did nothing but think. Forty-five minutes later I had learned something very important. Never try to do this in a hammock on a pleasant spring afternoon as thinking becomes a nap. Oh well. I’m glad I read the post and was reminded that every now and then I have to shut it all down to think and nap.

So let me ask, when did you last shut it down and spend some time with your thoughts?

Retail's Own Waiter's Rules

2006-04-23T09:53:00.000-04:00

I read a good article on the USA Today website called “CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character.” In it, Office Depot CEO Steve Odland recalls an experience when he worked as a waiter. One evening he was serving purple sorbet and a dish spilled onto the expensive white gown of an obviously well-to-do woman. He says he watched in slow motion as her dress was ruined and figured he was about to hear an earful from a very disgruntled diner. Thirty years have passed, but Odland has never forgotten the spill, or the woman's unexpected reaction. She was startled but regained her composure and, in a reassuring voice, told the teenager, "It's OK. It wasn't your fault." When she left the restaurant, she also left the future Fortune 500 CEO with a life lesson: You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she treats the waiter. It's hard to get a dozen CEOs to agree about anything, but all interviewed agree with the Waiter Rule. How others treat the CEO says nothing, they say. But how others treat the waiter is like a magical window into the soul. Take a moment and read the article. It got me thinking about our own “Waiter Rules” in retail. Here are a few to consider:

How a store employee treats the UPS and Fed-Ex drivers tells you what kind of a person he/she is.
How a company treats and respects vendors tells you as much about the company as does the way they treat their customers.
How a sales rep talks to you about your competitors will give you that window into his/her soul.
How a retail employee treats employees at other stores will tell you how they’ll be when the newness of the job wears off. Almost makes you think about taking an applicant shopping before you hire him/her.

So let me ask, how do your direct reports do on The Waiter Rule?

Lessons From My Past On The Retail Floor

2006-04-23T09:44:00.000-04:00

Recently I shared with my clients about some of the retail faux pas associates make that will cost them sales and customers. This got me thinking about my own experience working the retail floor. Here are five things that I know would have increased my sales if I had done them more often: 1. Sent more handwritten notes. When I was at The Sharper Image we were expected to send handwritten thank-you cards to recent buyers. Maybe it was because of my less than stellar handwriting, or maybe I just didn’t understand the real value in doing it, but I just hated sitting down and writing those notes. Too bad. It was a great way to connect with customers, and now with the internet and email, I think the handwritten note is even more valuable. 2. Given out my business card more often. I once worked with a guy in Florida who went through three times more business cards than I did. I swear he gave them out to everyone he met and a whole lot of people he didn’t. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he put them on the windshield of the cars parked at the mall. What I didn’t seem to notice at the time was how often people came into the store and asked to see him. This morning while getting dressed I noticed a few business cards on my dresser, a couple next to my chair in the living room, and quite a few on the desk in my office. I don’t know about you but I can’t seem to throw them out. I guess my colleague knew something I didn’t. 3. Asked the customer their name and used it. I could never get comfortable doing this although I understood the benefit of it. I was pretty good at using the name once I learned it while ringing up the customer’s sale, but I rarely made enough of an effort to learn the customer’s name earlier in the engagement. I understand now that if I had made it a commitment to discover and use the customer’s name I could have deepened my relationship with the customer, resulting in a higher average ticket and a more loyal customer. 4. Created more sales by asking one small question. A few weeks ago I wrote about an employee of mine from my Sharper Image days who was an incredible salesperson. One thing Jeff did that was so effective was asking a customer about to make a purchase if they’d like to buy a second one as a gift. Probably 29 out of 30 customers said no. Of course this also means that one customer out of 30 said yes. I saw Jeff do this once with a $2,000 massage chair and the customer said yes. As I pointed out yesterday, if you’ve built a relationship with the customer and asked in the right way the customer is never offended and is often appreciative of you asking. 5. Not pushing through the “uncomfortable” stage of learning new skills. It seems like I always had a colleague who was better than I at doing the things that created more sales. I could see for myself that if I did what they did I would sell more, but there was something in my way. Whether I call it being uncomfortable or call it fear, I didn’t always push through that early uncomfortable stage of doing something new. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Always do what you are afraid to do.” For most of us it’s more like, “Avoid what you are afraid to do.” The biggest lesson I have learned is that to be successful in whatever I do I’m going to have to learn new skills and try new things that in the beginning will make me uncomfortable. I can also look back and see that whenever I do push through the fear and feelings of discomfort, the payoff is there. So let me ask, what are some of the things you should be doing but you’re just not pushing through to do?

Why A Structured Approach

2006-04-23T09:31:00.000-04:00

There is a good article currently up on MSNBC.com called The Biggest Customer Service Blunders of All Time that makes some interesting points. Some I think are valid, some I don’t. I completely agree with the writer’s first example of a blunder, which is when companies make customer service a training issue. Customer service is not a training issue, it is a strategic, cultural, and execution issue. Too many retailers focus only on the products that they sell and not at all on the customer experience. Though the author is correct when he says that making customer service a training issue is a blunder, I don’t agree with his approach. He says that instead of dictating what your employees should do to delight customers, you should give your workers opportunities to brainstorm their own ideas. I believe that employees do need a structured approach so we can ensure a consistent customer experience. What is critical is that we teach and train on the structure so that the employee’s own personality comes out within the approach. We also need to make sure the approach is easy to learn and easy to apply. Too many retailers and retail experts have created way too many complicated sales approaches. You can’t declare “15 Steps of the Sale” and really believe that employees can execute it. Once at Bose I rolled out a 7-step process and then got annoyed when I was out visiting stores and no one could recite to me the 7- steps. My annoyance lasted until an employee asked me what they were and I forgot! It has to be simple. It must also be taught to, and demonstrated by, each and every employee. While I believe in a structured approach, I do agree that we must constantly be open to staff brainstorming and should invite employees to give input on ways to improve the customer experience. It is this feedback and involvement that will help an organization to constantly improve its approach Training is crucial to a retailer’s success. It’s a smart investment but it isn’t the only answer. It won’t solve customer service issues if the retailer has not already defined the structure, has ways to measure it, and has a management and executive team that supports it. Investing in training will empower the employee to do the job better, be more productive, and enjoy the job more. For customers the advantage is a better shopping experience when they are helped by knowledgeable and experienced experts. For the company there is an increase in sales, profit, and customer loyalty. Now that’s a great return on investment.