Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
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Your
Customers
7 Retail Customer Trends To Be Aware Of For The Holidays
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5 Incredibly Easy Things You Can Do To Bring The Holiday Spirit To Your Customers Page 8
You
7 Tips For Retailers To Avoid Holiday Burn Out
5 Keys How To Manage The Beast Within Your Own Mind
4 Tips: How Retailers Can Succeed This Holiday Season
Make The First Sale Of The Day
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Your
Store
Retail Holiday Sales Tip: Why You Must Stop The Inter-Store Transfers
The Scheduling Secret To Building Your Retail Sales
How To Help Men Shop Like A Hero
How Retailers Can Make Money After Christmas
BONUS
How To Close A Sale If They Put Up Objections (Video here)
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Your Employees
Listen to the customer to find out why, on this day, they came in to your store. Your time will go by more
quickly, when you see every interaction as different.
4.
Say we not them or they. Otherwise you sound like an outsider. You are a part of our success. We will not
survive in business without you.
5.
Be on time. There will be traffic. There will be parking off-site and having to wait for a shuttle. Theres still
no excuse for being late for a shift.
6.
Turn your phone to vibrate and put it away while on the floor. Were not paying you to look in the palm of
your hand, so use your phone on your time.
7.
Customers can be rude, angry and unreasonable. Dont share your stories of how awful they were with
other employeesand especially not to our customers. The pace of the holidays will be crazy busy; keep
your own attitude above the fray.
8.
We all have stress, family and personal concerns. We will all get along much better if there is no additional
drama brought onto the sales floor. When you walk in the door, leave your problems at the door.
9.
Patrol the floor. If you see it, step over it or kick it pick it up and dispose of it. That goes for anything
from a ripped price tag to a used diaper- yes, we get those now and then.
10. Its great to have friends, but please dont have them visit you while you are working; youre working.
11. Since we spend a lot of time on scheduling, a manager has to approve any switchingof days, times or
breaks.
12. We take theft seriously and will investigate and prosecute accordingly. We also conduct random checks of
the trash.
13. Just because you may not be able to afford some of our more expensive items, doesnt mean our customers
cant. Your goal is to help us sell that merchandise and make our customers holiday gifting fun.
14. You are an important part of our business. Youre here to make some extra cash for the holidays. Were
here to make our customers holidays joyful. We cant do it without you. Its never a sin to wear a grin.
15. Remember to keep a sense of humor. If you dont know the answer to a question posed by a customer, tell
them you dont know and that youll find someone who does.
3.
4.
Ask them if they noticed and ask what they think they could have done differently.
5.
6.
You dont have to do this for every trained action that is not 100%, but if it happens on key training or a couple
times, you should say something.
Here are four of the worst ways to give feedback: Dont use:
1.
SarcasmWay to go with the sale there Henry. Yes, if you know them well it can be delivered as a joke
but it may just do more damage than good.
2.
3.
SilenceThis happens when the employee clearly knows you saw what happened and when they try to give
you an excuse, you just walk away without saying anything.
4.
Yelling- The worst, like a storm, your anger touches everyone and everything leaving damage and fear in
its wake.
Sounds a bit like marriage counseling. And in many ways it is. Relationships with employees in this age can be
fragile at best. I know of no one bragging about their own job security.
If we are truly trying to create a culture of exceptional experiences for customers, it only can happen when we give
exceptional thought to how we give feedback.
That
illustrates
the
first
tip,
display
your
store
so
well
that
your
window
draws
us
in.
The average customer only goes into three stores on an average shopping visit so make sure they will include yours
as one of those three.
I entered the store and was greeted and encouraged to explore our shop. This set the tone for my visit;
graciousness, hospitality and a pride of ownership.
What made this store so very unusual is that they feature antique glass candlesticks lit with modern oil filled glass
tapers. The effect is magical.
Have you ever seen anything like this before? Amanda asked. No, I havent, I replied. She went on to explain
how the owner Claude, who was also in the shop at 6pm on a Saturday night had created a very special store
including glass candle holders from Baccarat to Tiffanys and various time periods and price points. The glass
tapers are included in the price of all of the candlesticks or you can buy a set for $39 in five different sizes.
Second
tip,
always
present
information
you
think
a
customer
would
be
curious
about.
She had pre-sold me I could also purchase the glass tapers separately as an add-on.
Claude came over and picked up the new glass ornaments he had commissioned for this holiday and showed my
friend Karen. He concluded, And weve pre-wrapped them so you can take them with you now. Karen purchased
two which shows the power of tip
three,
make
impulse
items
look
special.
As I was considering a pair of glass candlesticks in the display unit Amanda provided more detail when I noted the
price tag. Which leads me to tip
four,
dont
fold
your
tent.
So many times when customers are shopping more expensive items, clerks say nothing to justify the
price. Because of that, the customer often is allowed to believe it may not be worth the price. So they remain
lookers instead of being converted to buyers.
Tip
five
is
simply
ask
for
the
sale. No need to hem and haw or have that awkward pause. Simply ask
something like, May I put this on the counter while you continue to shop? or Would this be wrapped as a gift or
for yourself?
There are a hundred things you could sayjust say them. Remember: Those that dont ask dont get.
Your Customers
than a bigger store, shoppers are often blinded by the dollar signs. It can be
hard to justify a higher price, even if the customer is getting a better value
through your quality or service.
Despite these worrisome retail trends, you can still have a great holiday sales
season. Embracing the new culture and working with these new realities
instead of against it can help a great deal.
For more information about selling to the Millennial generation, snag this
special report.
themselves after the encounter occurs. Your employees need time to process and shake off the rattling interaction so
they can leave the situation behind them. Managers tend to leave employees on the line instead of letting them
process the encounter. If you dont let them process what has just happened, they take it out on the rest of the crew
or the next person in line.
5. Recognize a job well done.
Employee recognition awards during the holiday season are one way managers can keep the crew in a positive frame
of mind. Giving a gift card at an unexpected time to an employee (rather than the entire crew for hitting a goal) goes
a long way. You might give one for one employee having managed a big rush, went out of their way for a customer
or had a great spirit while doing a dull job. It also helps to keep employees in the holiday spirit.
You might also want to read 50 Things Retail Employees Should Never Do During the Holidays
You
They didnt just wait for someone to come up to the counter and say, Ill take it; they dropped everything to make
that sale happen because they knew it would energize themselves and their crew.
The Hindu have a word for it, Bohni. Bohniis based on the belief that the first sale of a day establishes the sellers
luck for subsequent transactions during the remainder of the day.
When you walk in the door to your retail shop, turn on the lights and open for business, are you believing that the
first sale of the day will be yours? And that it will happen in moments, not hours?
Do you make that first sale of the day the first goal on your to-do list? You should; making that first sale pays big.
Look no further than your favorite, winning baseball team..
Making
the
first
retail
sale
of
the
day
sets
into
motion
five
things..
It gives your crew confidence that they can do it. It sets the tone for the rest of the crewtheyre expected to sell, not
stand around talking. It shows the customer they are most important, especially if you stopped talking mid-sentence
to greet them. It focuses you down to the person who can most influence your profitabilityyour customer. It sets up
a bit of a competition between employees.
Many retailers go through their day not thinking a lick about setting up a positive mindset. Of directing their own
retail sales. Of setting and achieving goals.
For those retailers, each person, each situation, each sales encounter leaves them aimless and adrift.
Now imagine setting a goal to make that first sale of the day.
How you would feel after you finished that sale?
Youd be on top of the world. Invincible. It would be your Rocky moment.
Doing this is so simple you can do it every day.
Maybe that would mean you have to wait on several people until you make that sale, but the lesson and example to
your crew is better than any caffeinated drink, breaking news or idle gossip.
Your Store
Retail Holiday Sales Tip: Why You Must Stop the Interstore
Transfers
Customers are opening their wallets in a big way this holiday so you are bound to be out of certain products, sizes or
colorsespecially if they are on sale. Emphasize to your staff to sell what they have in store.
Some store employees with no sales training feel theyhave to call another store because
to them, that is good customer service. No it isnt.
Customers who ask you to call another store should told the hard truth, it is just too busy
to accurately check an item. Suggest other colors or other products you have plenty of.
Heres why transfers do not make you money..
When an employee calls another store, especially the week of Christmas, it takes them off
the floor and their attention from customers wanting to purchase, to someone whomight
purchase.
It also pulls an employee at another store off their floor and away from their customers wanting to purchase for
someone who mightcome to their store or require them to ship it.
That employee is harried and probably wont diligently check the racks, the displays and back stocksince that could
be ten minutes or more. (Now if you are Tiffanys and were talking a $100,000 bauble, by all means but most
readers of this blog are working with items for far less.)
There are six things that can happen during a store-to-store transfer: The item arrives too late. The wrong item
arrives. The item arrives damaged. The customer changes their mind. The customer never picks it up. The customer
comes in and pays full price for it.
When it is February, probably not as big a deal but two days before Christmas?
Impossible.
While were at it, no holds or layaways either. If someone wants an item that much, they should be encouraged to
purchase it and they can return it if need be. When they ask if you can hold it just say, Im sorry we cant.
I cant tell you how many holds Ive seen in retailers lately behind counters. Holds cripple your good
salespeoples ability to sell your merch. All because someone wants to benice. Great, let that employee buy it with
their credit card.
This is the money week so if you want to give good customer service, focus on the customers in front of you
wanting to buy. Not those unable to decide.
For more ways to grow your business, check out my book from Wiley thats getting great reviews The Retail
Doctors Guide to Growing Your Business(Wiley.) You can even download the introduction and first chapter at that
link.
your best.
If you are a restaurant, that means you need to make sure to have enough servers on at key times they can have the
necessary time to upsell the drinks, the desserts and the appetizers.
If you are a hardware store, you need to make sure to have plenty of people on at key times so they will have the
necessary time to talk to the customer and suggest new tools, services and products so they dont just walk out with
the necessary 25 cent washer for the job.
If you are an apparel retailer, you need enough people on key shopping times so there wont be a line and employees
can be on the sales floor upselling, instead of at the register ringing up.
Sophisticated software scheduling is quite expensive. How to do without it?
If you are a restaurant, take half-hourly readings of transaction counts by day for two weeks, you can see when you
are busiest on which days and schedule accordingly. If you are a coffee house, you already know 90% of coffee
drinkers drink their coffee before 11am but knowing how many you should have on during that time can only be
found by doing this analysis.
If you are a hardware or other retailer, you can also take half-hourly readings of transaction counts but a better gauge
would be total sales per half hour. If you can find better software and can afford it, by all means make the
investment to know, really know the patterns of your customers.
Without this detail, you are bound to guess. With it, you can build your sales to your staff, training if it isnt busy,
taking care of customers when it is.
We are not that price driven. We may say we are but remember, youre basically dealing with a boy
discovering your merchandise for the first time.
We often show how much love we have for the person we are buying for by the price tag or size of the gift we
choose; whether thats a toy, jewelry or clothing.
Its almost like we are treating ourselves when we splurge on someone else, so dont try to limit us.
Above all, men hate shopping, its not a thrill its a chore.
Help us by getting us to laugh or at least smile when we deal with you so we can acknowledge we want your
help.
If it were me Id put a sign over the most expensive bike or other toy that read, Yes, you can buy their love.
If I owned a liquor store I might put up a sign, Alcohol always makes the in-laws nicer.
If it were a lingerie store it might be, Guys: Always guess smaller if you want to be a hero.
Get the idea?
Dont follow us around or youll spook us; check-in every few minutes by pointing something out about what
were looking at.
Acknowledge your return policies right away make it safe for us to buy.
If we trust you and pick something out ask us, Who else is on your list? We only want to do this chore once.
Figuratively take us by the hand if weve never been in this type of store before whether its lingerie, cameras
or jewelry. Give us options; dont expect us to know what we want.
If we cant decide between a couple items (and its not Christmas Eve,) suggest we purchase the best item and
return it if we change our mind before giving; that way well at least have something. Remind us that otherwise
well have to return to the chore of the mall again and worse, you might lose out because the item could be
gone.
If youre an apparel store, dont make a big deal if we dont know the size of our wife, girlfriend, buddy or
child. Instead ask us to point out someone in the store about their size. Remind us it can all be returned.
Instead of a gift card, suggest an outfit or item of equal value so the giftee has something to unwrap that looks
like he tried to get something just for them.
What
not
to
do:
Ask for our budget. If you allow us to limit ourselves, youll dumb-down our choices and youll lose out.
Men when shopping have different needs than women. If you use these tips, it wont matter what her size; he
can still be a hero on Christmas.
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