Retail Contrarian

It's a Black Friday MO Weekend

It's hard to believe but here we are at Black Friday Weekend. Let's make it a good one.  No wait, let's make it a great way! That won't happen by itself; you need to create your success so you have MOmentum going into the holiday.

You can do that if you make more Multi-unit transactions and create sales Opportunities.

So this weekend, the focus is making more MO.  Everyone needs to beMOtivated and ready to bring in lots of MOney by making MO.

It's all about the MO! Here are some tips to making MOre sales:

1. Assume you'll make MOre Multi-unit sales this weekend:

Assume the customer wants to keep looking at products. Do not ask your customer if she wants to see additional items.  If you know why she is buying the first product (and if you don't you haven't done your job well) it's only natural - not to mention good service - to show more products.

Use assumptive language. Instead of saying, "You might want to consider this" say "You'll want to get this, too."

Don't assume your customer is done shopping.  Let the customer bring closure to the sale; your job is to keep showing and suggesting until he's done. If you ask that tired and overused line, "Will there by anything else?" customers will say no 98% of the time because that's what they are trained to do.

Assume she has more people to shop for, so ask every customer who else is on her holiday shopping list.

2. How are a few simple but MOmentous actions you can take to create sales opportunities this weekend.

Engage every customer who walks in the door. Don't greet them, engage them in conversation to learn something about them. Then use that information to move them to products.

Give the customer a reason to buy TODAY. Only make a future sale if you can't make one today.  More retailers lose sales than make them this weekend.

Deliver an awesome experience! There are two kinds of stores that will have a good Black Friday Weekend.

1. The stores that have unbelievable-remarkably-low-you-have-to-buy-it-now weekend specials.

2. The stores that deliver to their customers an unbelievable, remarkable store experience with a staff that makes the customer feel special.

So get your MO on and deliver an unbelievable, remarkable store experience and you might just have a MOnster weekend!

Good luck!

Doug Fleener

Bonus: Download your MO Weekend sign to MOtivate throughout the weekend.

Retailers Adapting Their Service This Holiday

There is a good article from Reuters on how smaller stores are changing their service to survive this holiday. Self promotion alert! I am quoted in the article.

Small U.S. stores adopt personal touch to survive

Many U.S. retailers, large and small, have good reason to envy Sue Opeka -- sales at her store have been up 15 percent for the past four months and she's up 5 percent for the year so far

......"To get through this season as an independent retailer, you have to adapt," said Doug Fleener, owner of Massachusetts-based retail consulting firm Dynamic Experiences Group.

Read the entire article

A Holiday Letter to the Staff

This week's posting is for the retail employee in the store. Please pass it on.

Dear Retail Employee,

With one week and a day before the "official" launch of the holiday season, I'd like to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing specialty retailers.

Unless your last name is Van Winkle and you just woke up from a long sleep, you're keenly aware of the challenges facing retailers this holiday.  Most of the holiday projections are indicating the weakest growth since 2002.

The good news is that there should be at least some growth this holiday.  The bad news for most Weekly readers is that most growth will likely happen at the discounters and online.  I don't think anyone can deny that it is going to be a challenging year for specialty retailers.

But with every challenge comes an opportunity.  For every store that struggles there will be another that succeeds.  For every store that fails before the doors open another will succeed out sheer determination.  For every staff that throws in the towel another will grind it out.

The difference this year is going to be you.  I'm convinced that the difference this year for specialty retailers will come down to the people in the store.  It's the staff that will ultimately decide the winners and losers this year.

I have great admiration and respect for what you do because I've been there.  I know you work long hours at this time of year and often miss family events as a result. You have to deal with crowds and the occasional cranky customer.  And after all that time on your feet you're bone-tired at the end of the day.  I know you give your all but this year it's going to take even more.

Here are some tips for you and your colleagues to make sure you're one of those winning stores:

1. Stay positive. Attitude could be the biggest difference between the winning and losing stores this year. Every employee needs to do his or her part in keeping a positive outlook. Take a leadership role and turn negative colleagues positive.  The press will be looking to cover how bad things are but your customers will be looking for stores that make them feel good.  Make a customer feel great and a sale will follow.

2. Succeed one day at a time.  If you have a bad day - shake it off.  If you have a good day - do it again. You make your holiday by making your month. You make your month by making your week. You make your week by making your day. You make your day by making your hour.

3. Maximize every customer opportunity. You make your day by focusing on the needs of every single customer. Don't let your guard down and miss even one sale, because that one sale could be the difference in success or falling short.

4. Don't pre-judge what a customer is going to spend. Customers aren't a survey in the newspaper. Customers aren't a sales projection in some pundit's article. Customers are unique individuals who offer us a unique opportunity. Give them a unique experience and you're sure to be rewarded.

5. Be a better salesperson every single day. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Keep showing products until the customer says they're done. Ask them if they'd like to also buy a gift card. Ask the customer who else is on their list that you can help them with. Focus on increasing your average sales and unit-per-transaction.

It doesn't matter if you work for the owner of an independent store, a regional or national corporation; I believe you can make the difference this holiday.

Do you?

Good luck this holiday,

Doug Fleener

Download a printable version to share with others.

Don't Quit Before the Payoff

After unsubscribing to the Daily Retail Quote newsletter, a (now former) reader commented, "I'm not that impressed with your quotes."  When I looked at her history I discovered that she had been a subscriber for three whole days.  I don't understand why someone would quit after trying it for only a few days, especially since it doesn't cost a dime to receive it.

I'm equally puzzled when I see businesspeople do the same thing in their stores.  A few years ago I was working with a store on increasing their average sale and units per transaction.  My agenda for this particular day was to show the staff how to suggest additional products before taking customers to the register to ring up the sale.

One employee was clearly not enthused about this initiative. With her first customer, she asked if he wanted to see anything else. He said, "no thanks."  With her second customer she suggested something to him at the counter and of course he said, "no thanks."  She asked her third customer on the floor.  The customer politely declined since she was in a hurry.  The employee came to me and said, "See. It doesn't work."

After a little "coaching" from the owner who reminded her that it really takes very little time and effort to suggest additional products to the customer, she soldiered on.  And sure enough, the fourth customer politely declined to look at anything since he was in a hurry. But then her luck turned around and she was successful with her next three customers. She ended up enhancing the purchases (some of you call it add-ons) of over 40% of her customers that day, increased her average sale by over 20%, and almost tripled her UPTs. And to think, she wanted to quit after three customers.

As a friend of mine says, "Don't quit before the payoff happens," especially if it doesn't cost you anything to try.

Shout! - A Little Bit Better Now

Welcome to a politics free Weekly Retail Experience.

Remember the Isley Brothers song Shout?  One of my favorite parts of that song is near the end when they're singing very quietly:

(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now

Replace the word "softer" with "better" and you have a formula for success.

Some of the best retailers I know have a knack for making things "a little bit better now." Years ago I worked for a manager who had this philosophy.  No matter what you did or what you brought to him he would challenge you by asking, "How can you make it better?"  Since you knew you'd be asked that you would try to figure out ways to improve whatever the situation was before you went to him.  It was a brilliant way to keep making the store and the employees better.

You and your team can do the same thing.  No matter what you're doing, ask yourself how you can make it a little bit better now.  This applies to displays, customer experiences, signage, employee coaching, and just about anything else.

It's a good thing to do on slower days to engage the staff and improve the store.  Look at a section of the store and ask, "How do we make this a little bit better now?"  I like the now part because it helps us focus on improvements that have an immediate impact and are usually the least expensive to implement.

On busy days keep asking yourself, "How can I work with this customer a little bit better now?"  You'll be amazed by how you'll be able to increase your sales and how much fun you'll have. The best part is that customers start feeling. . . you got it. . . a little bit better now.  Then they go tell all of their friends and family about their fabulous experience and the buzz about the store experience gets. . .  Hold on now. . . wait a minute. . . .that buzz gets a little bit louder now.

And that makes you wanna throw your hands in the air and SHOUT!

            - Doug