Retail Contrarian

Talk the Walk

Randy was one of the most amazing salespeople I have ever seen work the floor. He had an incredible ability to engage any customer and make him/her feel like a million bucks.  He turned more "just looking" customers into buyers than I have ever seen, before or since.
 
Watching Randy work the floor was like watching Picasso paint.  Wait - since I never saw Picasso paint I'm not sure I should make that comparison.  Let's say that watching Randy work the floor was like watching Bob Ross paint "happy little trees" on PBS.
 
Even more amazing is that Randy was a store manager.  Like many of his colleagues Randy had worked his way up from sales associate, but unlike most of his colleagues Randy never stopped developing and improving his on-floor skills.
 
Like most specialty retailers the company expected the store managers to be proficient on the floor. While they didn't expect the managers to be as good as Randy, they did expect them to be able to walk the talk.  Most of them did, but every now and then they had to remind a few to go beyond talking.
 
There was one major problem with Randy. Randy didn't talk the walk.  He didn't invest time in teaching his staff to do what he did so well.  What a shame.  Sure, it's important that all owners and managers walk the talk on the floor, but it's just as important to talk the walk.
 
Not every owner or manager is a master on the retail floor, but everyone has the experience and skill necessary to talk the walk.  If they don't they shouldn't be in a leadership position.
 
It takes commitment to talk the walk with your staff.  It requires time, energy, and focus - all precious resources for owners and managers.  But so are your people.  As I said a few weeks ago, about the only exclusivity we have in retail today is our people.  Our people not only differentiate our store, but a great or Extraordinary staff will create so many more sales than a merely good staff.
 
A staff rarely develops and grows without strong leadership.  Leadership not only requires that you're walking the talk when working the floor, but also that you take the time to talk the walk with each staff member.
 
So let me ask, are you walking AND talking?

What's Up with Jen?

Wow! The number and the quality of replies about last week's case study were amazing. Thanks to all of you who took the time to share their experience and perspective.
 
I had to laugh when one owner said, "I would first ruminate and probably complain to my partner and non-work friends about the stubborn attitude of Jen."  More than one person said that rather than rocking the boat they would probably just send out the cards themselves.
 
On the other end of spectrum were the owners who planned to fire Jen for insubordination.  Most of you found some middle ground to help both Jen and the new follow-up call program succeed.
 
The number of diverse comments and different approaches reminds us that there isn't always a clear cut answer or singular approach. I've come to see that to be successful leaders and coaches you have to find a style that works for you and for your employees.
 
Most readers assumed that the reason Jen was not writing notes was resistance or defiance.  I can see why you'd come to that conclusion since Jen was always saying she didn't need to work and snapped at you when you asked her about her progress.
 
But take a step back.  Maybe those things aren't linked.  Could Jen's comments about not having to work actually mean she loves her job that much?  And just because Jen snapped when asked about the cards doesn't mean she won't do it.  Maybe she can't do it.  As a few people noted, maybe Jen can't write very well or has bad time management skills and so she hasn't found the time to do what you've asked her to do.  We do know that she only works part-time and in demand with her customers.  We won't know until we ask.
 
And that's what is most important. You do need to meet with Jen and find out WHY she's having a problem getting cards and calls done.  I like how one reader wrote, "It's possible that there are factors at hand which make her response understandable, rather than just assuming it's just unacceptable." Great perspective.
 
Many of you have heard me talk about the I Can't or I Won't approach.  In the first conversation with an employee about an issue, I'm going to approach it believing that there is a reason the employee can't do what's being asked.  My job is to help him so he can. Yes, it could be that he won't, but more often than not he can't.
 
A few people also commented that maybe Jen misunderstands why you're asking the staff to follow-up with customers.  Maybe Jen is thinking the store is moving into hardcore selling and so she is considering leaving. One reader commented that sometimes all you have to do is get the employee to see the positive impact the follow-up has on the customer to change their attitude.
 
Here are some more thoughts:
 
* I like that most of you want to make sure Jen knows how much you respect and appreciate the great job she's doing with customers.  She is valuable to you.
 
* There's nothing wrong with adjusting a programs if there is a better way. The goal for this retailer is get thank you cards and follow-up calls done. Maybe Jen and her colleagues could come up with a better solution.
 
* A few people said they would also remind Jen to bring problems to the manager/owner rather than talking to the staff about the issue.  Good reminder.
 
* I appreciate how many of you want to make Jen a partner in finding a solution. It's important that employees be invested in the solution and the outcome.
  
Here are some more comments and different perspectives from your fellow readers. I apologize there isn't room for everyone's comments.
 
"I would never let a program destroy productivity."
 
"No matter what we can't let a top producer dictate what she will or won't do. Remember the old saying, you can pay me now or you can pay me later. The extra sales that a prima donna makes may not compensate for lost sales from an unhappy team."
 
"I would not react to what others are repeating about Jen.  If I reacted to every comment I heard from staff about (you name it) I would never accomplish anything." (How true.)
 
"Once again operations are coming before customers!!   Why would we place the burden of some operational extra on someone that is obviously an outstanding sales person?"
 
"Heck with the follow-ups. I'd try to figure out what Jen is doing to make her following so dedicated and use that info to enhance the way the rest of the staff interacts with customers."
 
"If Jen is making me money - more money than anyone else - I'm not going to mess with her tactic!"
 
"As a retailer, I would need to look at myself.  Am I being flexible, building on each employee's strengths, & doing what is best to grow my business?"
 
"I wouldn't make any decisions based on second hand information."
 
"Well talk about sucking the fun out of working retail!  In the first place, I wouldn't ask my employees to do something like this. My goal is to have them available to the customers who are IN THE store."
 
"Oh wait you said you wanted what we would actually do not what we thought you wanted us to say.  What we would actually do is call a staff meeting and publicly flog her in front of the other staff showing that defiance will not be tolerated. Just kidding!"
 
"First of all before implementing this idea I would have run it by the likes of Jen and other top earners to get their feedback. I would have then realized by her reaction that she would not be happy about it and could have addressed it then."
 
Thanks again to everyone who contributed. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend.

Jen, Jen, Jen: A Case Study

Today's blog posting is an interactive case study to help you identify your coaching aptitude and skills. I encourage you to invest a little bit of extra time in yourself and complete the exercise.
 
Situation
Jen is one of your most productive, if not the most productive, part-timers. She's fantastic with customers. Jen's monthly UPT (units-per-transactions) and ADS (average daily sale) are always almost number one in the store.
 
Jen is very outgoing, almost outspoken. Her customers love her and are known to wait a longtime just to work with her. Jen's kids are grown and she's really only working for the fun of it, something she doesn't hesitate to remind everyone.
 
You recently announced to the staff that you want to put a higher emphasize on following-up with customers. You asked that all customers that made a purchase of $100 or more be sent a thank you card, and you'd like to see those who spent $500 or more receive a telephone call.
 
A month later most of the staff has gotten into the swing of the new guidelines. Just about everyone is getting their thank-you cards done, and although the calls aren't going as well as you hoped, there is some progress.
 
The only exception is Jen. Jen has only written a couple thank-you cards and hasn't attempted even one phone call. When you casually mention to Jen that she needs to get her thank-you cards out she snaps, "I know."
 
Two more weeks have passed and Jen still isn't setting the world on fire with customer follow-ups. You've also heard from two different employees that Jen has said how much she dislikes the new follow-up program and is thinking of resigning.
 
What would you do?
 
Share your response below on how you would address this situation. But here's my challenge for you. Don't tell what you think you should do or what you believe is the correct answer; tell me how you would really handle this?
 
If you have managers that work for you what would they do? You might send this to them and find out. This case study will also make a great conversation at a manager's meeting or on a conference call.

I will give you my thoughts and insights from our newsletter readers next week.  

- Doug

 

Aligning Expectations with Your Actions

Last Thursday's Daily Retail Quote was one of the most downloaded and printed quotes in quite a while.  The quote was, "A leader leads by example, whether he/she intends to or not."  That clearly resonated with many of our subscribers.
 
As leaders, we know we lead by example, but we often think it is a timely or conscious decision.  This quote reminds us that we're always leading by example. It's not something we turn on or off.  Instead, it is something we're either aware of or not.
 
Any leader who tells his team, "do as I say and not as I do" is only fooling himself. Your team determines what's important by a combination of your actions and expectations.  If the two aren't aligned, it communicates a lack of commitment and, not surprisingly, your employees aren't committed either.
 
Let me give you an example.  When I was at Bose, a requirement of working in the store was to do a scripted product demonstration at the end of the Bose Music Theater show. One day I was watching one of my employees do a show and I noticed he left out part of the script.
 
I pulled him aside and asked why he didn't do the script as written.  Much to my surprise, or maybe I should say horror, he said that I had been shortening up my script so he figured he was allowed to do the same.  Yes, I had deviated from the script when I had other work to do but I never realized that anyone noticed.  I learned my lesson on that one.
 
Aligning a leaders expectations and actions are especially important to the customer experience.  A great customer experience is the result of many small actions, and if employees see a manager or owner not doing what's expected they will internalize, either consciously or unconsciously, that these small actions aren't important. The opposite is true when employees consistently see a leader do what is expected.
 
Do they see the leader warmly welcome customers when they enter the store?  Do they hear the leader ask a customer a series of questions before they show a product?  Do they see the leader always come out from behind the counter to present the customer their purchase?
 
How about you? Are your actions and expectations aligned?  Remember, a leader leads by example, whether he/she intends to or not.

Download this leadership quote as a reminder.

Have You Told Them How Good They Are?

At the end of Sunday's New England and Baltimore football game (well, actually it was more like a pounding than a game) the television commentator said that the Baltimore coach wouldn't have to work as hard this coming week as he had the previous week. It seems that Coach Harbaugh spent an awful lot of time telling his team how good they were, and clearly the 33-14 final score proved his point.
 
It reminded me once again that good storeowners and managers need to tell their teams that they're good at what they do.  Most owners/managers fall into one of three categories.
 
Some owners and managers constantly let the team know how good they are but the performance doesn't necessarily reflect that.  At first you might think it's because the team isn't as good as the owner/manager says it is.  While that can certainly be the case, more often than not it's because the owner/manager isn't expecting enough.
 
I know I keep saying this but I'm going to say it again - there is a direct correlation between high expectations and specialty store results.  People too often confuse mediocrity with high-performance.  Managers and owners need to motivate their team to keep reaching for higher performance by nailing the basics of an extraordinary experience with every customer.
 
There is another group of owners and managers that have a really good team but never let them know.  I once worked for a manager like that. He was a nice guy but the man never, ever, praised anyone or gave any positive feedback.  He didn't give any developmental feedback of any sort. While this manager/owner may expect more from their team than the first type of owner/manager, the staff will never know it because no one ever tells them.
 
The best owners and managers tell the staff how good they are because, well, they are. They've set daily goals and the staff is either achieving them, or at the very least they're taking the actions necessary to reach the goal.  Everyone on the team knows why he/she is being praised.  Usually it's a combination of both team and individual focus and development.
 
I'm big on telling people how good they are because they're demonstrating right behaviors.  This way, even if the results right now aren't always what we want to see, they eventually will be if the staff keeps showing that they're taking the actions necessary to get there.   It's a big old wheel that the leader has to keep spinning.
 
Here's what I want you think about.  In what area could you walk up right now and tell your team how good they are?  Wait; before you head off to do this, what do you think they will say?  Okay, now ask them.  If their answer matches yours, you're right on the money.  If they don't match, think about what developmental work you should be doing with the staff.
 

Go ahead; tell your team how good they are.  I'm sure they've earned it.

-----------

At Dynamic Experiences Group we help good and even great companies to dramatically improve their sales and customer advocacy.
 
How? By

• Dramatically improving the customer experience.
• Help managers and owners to become better leaders.
• Coach owners and executives to improve their organization.
• Present high-energy high-impact programs

Your 2009 Difference - Part Two

Last week I described the top five things the retailers I've worked and engaged with in 2009 learned and developed throughout the year.  I hope you invested the time to identify your top five so that you can leverage them in 2010 and beyond.
 
But as I noted last week, it's just as important to see where you fell short, maybe missed an opportunity, or didn't take action when you should have or could have.  I know a few people won't look at these shortcomings because it makes feel like they failed.
 
I think it's only a failure when you don't address areas that need improved.  Call it a delayed reaction!  It's all perspective isn't it?
 
So here are the top five things the retailers I've been engaged with this year need to improve on as they move into 2010.
 
1. Be more strategic in how they run their businesses.  While this is true for both high-performing and struggling retailers, it's vital for those stores who aren't doing as well as they hoped.  I still see too many companies that are in a slow death spiral and no one is working a well-defined plan to reverse it.
 
2. Address a major problem that is having a negative on the company and results.  Most of the time this is a person, and sometimes it's a family member.  Problems rarely go away on their own, no matter how much you try to avoid them or sweep them under the rug.  It's not fun to deal with people issues but the pain of not dealing with them is a whole lot worse.
 
3. Become more aggressive in capturing and using customer contact information.  Maybe obsessive is a better word.  If you're not obsessive about building and adding to a customer database, you're not maximizing your opportunities and leaving money on the table.
 
4. Hold people more accountable.  Way too many managers and owners let employees opt out of what are supposedly required activities and behaviors.  If there's no accountability and consequences then those behaviors and actions are not required, they're optional.  Rewarding and recognizing people is also important to maintaining high expectations and high performance.
 
5. Continue to challenge the staff to become even better.  At the end of every month (or quarter) you should be able to review with every employee how he/she has grown and developed.  A lot of people do this with under-performing employees, but they don't always push the good or great employees to become even better.  It's amazing how great people can be if leaders encourage and lead them.
 
What about you?  What can you learn from in 2009 and do better in 2010?  Again, I encourage you to write them down and share them with someone else.  Even more important, determine what one or two actions you'll take on each one to ensure you create the success you deserve.
 
So let me ask, as you close the books on 2009 are you ready to parlay that into an extraordinary 2010?

Your 2009 Difference - Part One

Everywhere you turn this week you'll see stories about 2009. The "remember when" of top news stories, who died, who was arrested, politics, and just about any other topic from Tiger Woods to the economy.
 
Personally, I don't read or watch these stories since I've already lived through it once. Why spend time on something when you already know the outcome?
 
What's more important is to review your own story of 2009.  That's the one that can make a positive difference in 2010.
 
Most people learn and experience more in a year than they ever realize.  And therein lies the opportunity.  By taking an inventory of how you developed as a leader, manager, employee, parent, spouse, and friend, you're able to see how you have grown in those areas.
 
Just as important is seeing how you fell short, missed an opportunity, or didn't take action when you should or could have.  Many people can't do this because they internalize it as failing, but it's only failure when you don't try to learn from it.  It's better to see whatever it is as a shortcoming that can be corrected and leveraged in the coming year.
 
I have worked with and engaged with a number of retailers over the last year.  If I had to collectively sum them all up, these are the top five things these individuals learned and developed in 2009.
 
1. To create high performance you must have high expectations.  As simple as this sounds, most people have high aspirations with little expectations.
 
2. Fix or remove under-performers.  I can't tell you the number of times a client or reader told me they wished they had fixed or removed a problem employee sooner.  No one ever told me they took action too quickly.
 
3. You have to be responsible for your own traffic.  This was the year that a lot of specialty retailers figured out that hoping for walk-in traffic is not an effective strategy. Retailers who worked hard this year in communicating with and engaging this customer base on a regular basis were rewarded this past holiday.
 
4. Daily success comes from developing and motivating employees every day.  Not a week or monthly meeting, not a memo or an email, but leaders leading at every opportunity. Not surprisingly, these are the staffs that performed at the highest level.
 
5. It's always, always, about the customer.  This isn't something these retailers learned this year - it's something they've always known and have continued to put into practice in spite of the economy and other challenges.
 
How about you? What are the top five things you learned and experienced over the last 364 days?  Invest in yourself and write them down.  Even better, write them down and share them with someone else. (I'd love to hear them.) Celebrate your list as you carry these lessons and personal growth in to 2010.
 
Next week we'll look at the areas that retailers fell short, and what they can do to correct and benefit from in the year ahead.

Crank Up Your Store Meetings and Fire Up Your Team

When payroll is tight one of the first thing that gets cut is often the monthly staff meeting.  This is a mistake because store teams need this face-to-face time to train on new products, work on issues together, and continue to develop as a team. While e-learning and other vehicles can help transfer information to employees, you can't beat a monthly face-to-face meeting of the whole staff.
 
However, it is imperative that these meetings are productive, engaging, and result in a positive return on the time and payroll investment.  Companies can't afford poorly run and poorly executed meetings.
 
Years ago I worked for a store manager who was scared to death to speak in front of group of people even if those people were her employees.  Because of that our monthly store meetings consisted of her reading from a script while she fanned us with the shaking papers in her hands.  We always thought about positioning an employee behind her in case she passed out.  I was never sure who was in more pain, the staff or the manager.
 
I'm sure you run your meetings more smoothly than she did but since there's always room for improvement, here are some tips to crank up your meetings and fire up your team.
 
1. Don't use meeting time to transfer information.  Unless you're hiring pre-school students, your staff can read and they don't need anyone to read memos to them.  Assign all necessary reading before a meeting.  The same holds true for new product information.  Even if you're planning a splashy introduction of the product itself at the meeting, have the employees learn about them before the meeting starts.
 
2. Make the first five minutes of every staff meeting a WOW.  Dress up as some character, crank up some music, have the employees up and dancing, throw candy and treats, do anything else you can do to get your team excited and pumped up. Yes, it gets harder and harder to top what you did last time, but since we expect our people to keep improving the customer experience shouldn't we do the same?
 
3. Introduce new products with style and flair. At Bose we went to great lengths to unveil new products to the entire company.  I've come across very few employees who don't love getting to see - and play with - new products.  Even when the staff knows the products are coming in you can still make the first time people see them a fun experience.
 
4. Use the meeting to apply what people have learned.  Instead of discussing the details of a new product, talk about how to sell the new product.  Do roleplaying and a competition on who can best state the benefits to the customer.
 
5. Play games (with a little friendly competition) to reinforce learning. I always like to split the staff up in teams and play games like Jeopardy and Retail Truth or Dare.  And if you have any high school or college memories of Truth or Dare I assure you that this version is not like that one!  Think role-playing and product knowledge. 
 
A good store meeting should involve and engage the entire store team.  The majority of the owner's/manager's time should be in planning the meeting, and not having to carry the whole meeting him/herself.
 
So let me ask, how engaging are your meetings and trainings?

Doug and Brian

Demonstrating Your First Priority

The weeks between now and mid-November can be a challenging time for many store owners and managers.  There's seasonal staff to be hired and brought on board, holiday orders to being finalized, marketing and events to be planned.

But that's just the start. The holiday orders are arriving and seasonal merchandising needs to be completed. And it never fails during this time that something unexpected happens in the store or with the staff.

There's one big difference during this time between successful owners and managers and the rest.  It's a difference that has nothing to do with the holiday. The difference is that successful owners and managers are never too busy to keep the staff focused on their first priority: each and every customer who comes in to the store.

More important, the owner and manager demonstrate that priority every day.  No matter how long the to-do list, they understand that it's their actions that demonstrate to their staff that their first priority is the customer.

Here are six reminders for how you can demonstrate that customers are still your first priority, even while you're busy getting ready for the holidays.

1. Start every employee's day with a Daily Take Five.  To me this is a given but sometimes we can let the morning get rolling and let it slip.  Don't let it. (You can read about the Daily Take Five here.)

2. Be on the floor during peak times.  Yes, peak times during the weekday aren't insanely busy and the staff may get by without you, but being on the floor when the store is busy demonstrates your priority to your team.

3. The minute you're on the floor you're working the floor.  Sometimes our body may be on the sales floor but our mind is still on our projects in the office.  Don't let that happen! Your entire team will be watching and will notice if you miss a chance to engage a customer.  Remember, when you're on the floor you're "on".

4. Don't be too quick to hand off customers to a staff member.  It never fails that if you walk away from your holiday work and go on the floor that every customer comes to you instead of the staff. I'm not saying to not hand them off when the time is right, but doing so immediately demonstrates that your first priority isn't the customer.

5. Check in with your team from time to time about what's taking place on the floor.  You do have a lot of things to get done that are critical to your holiday and by all means do them.  But also take some breaks to check in with the team.  Don't just go out and say, "Is everything okay? Good, call me if you need me."  Instead, find out what's been sold and who's been in the store.

6. Print out Monday's Daily Retail Quote and post at your desk. It read, "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." -  Stephen Covey

Taking these actions will remind your staff that even though you're busy getting ready for the holidays, your first priority is still the same. The customer.

So let me ask, are you demonstrating your first priority?

Doug and Brian

Is It Time to Upgrade?

A couple of years ago I switched from Windows to Mac and my only regret is not doing it sooner.  The MacBook has been perfect for me, except that every now and then I have too many applications open and the spinning ball appears.
 
Whenever the spinning ball appeared I would tell myself that I ought to upgrade the MacBook memory. Then the spinning ball would disappear and so would the upgrade idea. This pattern repeated itself more often than I care to admit.
 
The other day I read something online, one thing led to another, and I finally got around to ordering and installing that new memory. It essentially doubled the memory on my MacBook.
 
The difference is unbelievable.  No, the difference is UNBELIEVABLE.  My MacBook is now lightening fast, no spinning ball and my productivity has skyrocketed.  It's like I have a brand new computer.
 
The total cost for this amazing difference was $39.90 and 15 minutes of my time.
 
What's really unbelievable is the amount of time and productivity I wasted thinking and talking about upgrading my computer instead of just doing it.
 
The same thing happens in stores every day.
 
Someone might put off painting the store and as a result the space looks tired and old.  That's a missed upgrade.
 
Some retailers hold on to products too long, determined to get full price.  Then they can't bring in new and exciting products that will actually turn. That's a missed upgrade.
 
Sometimes retailers stay with lines that are no longer relevant to their customer, which keeps them from bringing in new ones. That's a missed upgrade.
 
I hear a lot of stores talking about doing a Facebook page, an electronic newsletter or more events. But month after month they just haven't found the time to do anything about it.  That's a missed upgrade.
 
There are sales associates that aren't working to improve key elements of their sales approach. They might be really good, but they could be GREAT. That's a missed upgrade.
 
There are managers and owners who fail to address under-performing employees who are costing them sales and losing them customers. That's a missed upgrade.
 
What about you?  What are some of the upgrades you've been thinking and talking about but just haven't done?  Your particular upgrade is probably going to cost you more than the $39.90 and 15 minutes mine did, but what's the true cost of not doing it? Even better, what will be the reward for doing so?
 
So let me ask, what upgrade do you need to start today?