Retail Contrarian

Different Profiles of Retail Associates

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

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

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

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

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

Labels: personal development, resolutions, retail