Retail Contrarian

The Daily Take Five Meeting

The other day a reader asked me to explain what a Take Five meeting is.  I realized that even though I always encourage people to use the Take Five, it's been too long since I've actually described what it is.

The Take Five meeting is a tool I began using in my days as a Sharper Image store manager.  Back then I called it the morning huddle.  For a while I called it the Five to Thrive meetings, but finally changed it to Take Five to align with what many of our readers are calling it.

Take Five is a DAILY meeting between the owner or manager and his/her team before the employee begins the day. It can be done as a group or one-on-one.  I recommend you do at least one one-on-one Take Five every week with each staff member.

To use the Take Five to its fullest you need to use it with every employee at every shift. Not just when the doors are opened, not just when the team is together, but every single time someone starts his/her workday.  Put the responsibility on the employee to find the manager/owner for the Take Five Meeting before they start their shift.

In your Take Five meeting you want to review all of the crucial information the team needs to have a successful day, and you want to make sure they are focused, motivated, and ready to go. The Take Five is not just for in-store use; it's also useful for internal support and field management teams.

In the store, you can use the Daily Take Five Meeting to review things like sales results, daily goals, and other key information the staff will need. That can include everything from the lunch and dinner schedule, specials, contests, and floor coverage.

It is vital that every meeting also include giving feedback, praise, and coaching. Too many meetings are just a download of information when they should be about improving everyone present.  Take the time to share some observations of what you've seen employees do well and what they can still do better.

Challenge people on what area they're going to improve in that day. I've always said if an employee can't answer what they're trying to improve in then you're not truly developing your staff. If you have the time do some quick roleplaying. Okay so it becomes a Take Ten or a Take Fifteen Meeting, but that's better than just standing around after they start their shift. It also becomes some of the most productive time in the day that pays the highest return on investment.

Always end the meeting on a positive note. I remember attending one meeting that ended on such a down note I wondered why the staff even bothered to open the door for the day.  The team needs to feel energized and ready to succeed at the end of the Take Five.

We're in the people business.  That's where our opportunities are, that where our focus needs to be, and to maximize those opportunities and that focus we need to start every day with a Take Five.

The Most Important Thing You Do

I recently asked a group of owners and managers to tell me the most important thing they do in a day.  Owners and manager usually have to do ten things at once and a hundred or more different things to take care of throughout their day, but I was looking for that one thing they consider the most important part of their job

I heard a lot of different answers including:

"Drive sales."
"Develop my staff."
"Protect the store assets."
"Drive traffic into the store."
"Make my customers happy."
"Deliver a great shopping experience."

What do you think is the most important thing you do?

I'll tell you what I think it is.  I think the most important thing you can do as a manager or owner is to create the best place to work.  That's right, I think delivering an employee experience that has people loving their job is the most important thing you do.

Why do I say that?  Because as a specialty retailer what makes your store truly special is your people.  You might have a beautiful store with fabulous products but chances are whatever you sell I can find somewhere else.  It's the people in your store that make the difference. It's the people that keep your customers coming back time and again.  The reverse is true, too.  At some stores the reason the customers don't come back is because of the people.

Making your store a great place to work drives all those other important things listed above. Happy employees create more sales.  Happy employees want to grow and develop and make a greater contribution to the store.  Happy employees are less likely to steal.  Happy employees create loyal customer advocates who keep coming back and tell others about your store.  And last but not least, happy employees deliver great shopping experiences that result in happy customers.  Everyone's happy!

So why don't more owners and managers make this the most important thing they do? For some it's because they don't know they should or don't know how.  For many it's because creating a great place to work takes hard work.  As today's quote says, "The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."  Then again, in both your store and the dictionary, happy and employees come before profits.

So let me ask, is your store a great place to work?

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Doug Fleener, the author of the book The Profitable Retailer: 56 surprisingly simple and effective lessons to boost your sales and profits, is a veteran retailer with over 25 years of hands-on retail experience including owning his own specialty store. He is president and managing partner for Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a retail and customer experience training and consulting firm that helps specialty retailers to maximize their in-store performance. Learn more at http://dynamicexperiencesgroup.com or call 781-861-7803.

Assorted Retail Musings: Success, Time, and Credibility

I believe that we're always either moving towards or away from success.  There is no such thing as standing still in business or in our lives. The world around us, including our competition, is in constant change and flux, so to do nothing is to move backwards.

There are times where the forces around us are greater than before, and as a result we need to double and triple our efforts to keep driving towards success. If we're not pushing harder than the forces around us then we're moving away from success. The greatest danger is when we're not even aware of it.

Let me ask, are you moving towards or away from success?

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I often hear owners and managers say they don't have time to do something they know they should do.  I suggest that if they really wanted to do it, they would find the time. When we say we don't have time to do something we need to ask ourselves two questions:

1. Is it important that I do it or can someone else take care of it?

2. What do I need to stop doing so I can do this something else?

We all have things we like to do but sometimes those aren't the things we should be doing.  As owners and managers we need to be focused on high-impact, high-payoff activities and delegate the low-impact and low-payoff activities to members of the staff.

Let me ask, are you spending your time wisely?

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What's the fastest way to lose credibility with your customer? Believe it or not, it's speaking poorly of other companies and people.  Most customers are quite forgiving if you don't know something, but they don't like rude or unsportsmanlike behavior.

Here are five ways to lose credibility with your customers:

1. Speak poorly of your competitors.  I was visiting a retailer once and heard everyone on the staff constantly put down one of their competitors. When I brought it up to the owner she said that they were just passing along what their customers told them.  I reminded her that while that might be true, it sounded like sour grapes.  Now if someone asks about their competitors they just smile and say, "We're happy to say that our customers tell us how much more like they shopping here."

2. Speak poorly of a customer. While shopping recently I heard a store employee get off the phone and then go on and on to a colleague about the "stupid" customer.  As a customer, you can't help but wonder what they say about you after you leave the store. The only stupid person here is the employee who lost all credibility.

3. Speak poorly of another employee. This sometimes happens when a customer has a problem and one employee blames another for making a mistake. You'll hear things like, "He's new and doesn't really know much." While I'm sure the employee is saying that without malice, it doesn't sound good. Instead he might have said, "Since he was new I'm sure he was mistaken."

4. Speak poorly of a product in the store. I think this is a cardinal sin that unfortunately is committed more than we'd like to admit. Employees don't think about the message they're sending about their company when they make comments like, "You don't want to buy that" or "I refuse to sell that."  The customer is left to wonder why the company continues to sell the product if it's such a dog.

5. Speak poorly of a manufacturer or distributor you do business with. The customer can't help but wonder why you're carrying their products if they are as bad as the employee is making them out to be.

Remember the old adage, if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all. Just as important, if you have something good to say then be sure and say it!

So Let Me Ask

I loved a recent Daily Retail Quote that came from Robert Half.  In case you missed it, here it is again: "Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers."  True when you're working with customers and true when you're developing your staff.

When I first start managing people I thought I had to have all the answers. Over time I learned not only that it's impossible to have all the answers but also that it's not right way to lead people, anyway.  I've come to see that strong leaders balance the questions they ask with the answers they provide.

These are some of my favorite questions:

1. "What do you think?" and "What should you do?" When I was promoted to store manager at The Sharper Image I took over a store whose previous manager made every single decision.  I'm surprised he didn't tell his staff what to have for lunch.  As a result, the staff couldn't be proactive in taking care of customers, and the manager couldn't get anything done because he was so busy answering questions.

The only way to change that culture was to answer a question with a question.  It drove the staff nuts for a while but eventually they started bringing me solutions instead of questions.  Once they became more comfortable making decisions I was able to empower them so they didn't have to come to me with a solution.  They knew how to take care of an issue or an opportunity immediately.

2. "What would you do?"  This looks like the same question as the ones above but I use it differently.  With this question we're asking for people's opinion and insight but they don't and won't own the decision themselves.

I like to ask people what would they do if it were their name on the front the building.  By doing this you will not only will get some great ideas from your staff but it's also a terrific way to develop people's understanding of how business work.  Is someone tells you that if it was his company he would run more sales you have a perfect opportunity to teach how sales impact margins and the bottom line. 

3. "What did you do well and what could you have done better."  The best way to develop people is to teach them how to assess their own performance.  Try asking this question to an employee on the sales floor after he/she has worked with a customer.  When I did first begin doing this as a store manager, my staff knew that they had to be prepared to answer, so they learned to assess themselves after each customer interaction.

I then found it to be vital tool for managing people remotely.  I discovered that one of the toughest parts of being a multi-unit manager was not seeing my staff in person for weeks and months at a time.  By asking them to give me their assessment of their week or a particular event I was able to coach them. 

I also find this to be a great tool to use with my children.  I learned early that it doesn't work with my wife.  She just gave me The Look and said, "What do you think?" and that shows how these questions go full circle!

So let me ask, "How well do you ask questions, and what can you do to improve how you use them?

Create an Extremely Successful You

In order to have a successful holiday weekend, store owners and managers have to think and act like successful retailers. YOU will set the tone and energy level for the weekend. YOU will either lead your team to achieve your goals or you will sit on the sidelines and probably fall short.

So here are six ways to "Create an Extremely Successful YOU" which will lead to an Extremely Successful Easter Weekend.

1) YOU achieve what you believe.  For you to meet the goals you set for the weekend you have to believe you can exceed them. That's why setting goals that are a stretch but are attainable is so important. If you start the weekend believing you're behind the eight ball, you'll never get out from behind it. You'll be destined to fail. Believe in what you want to achieve and you'll be sure to succeed.

2) Successful people like YOU don't blame outside forces.  The way to achieve success this weekend is to refuse to blame anything or anyone on why you could fall short.  Success this weekend (and every other day) is based on one factor and one factor only - how well you and your team create it.

3) YOU lead by walking it - not talking it. You know what has to happen for you to exceed the weekend goals. You need to show your staff the way.  It's what you say that matters.  People will do what their leader's ACTIONS tell them to do.  Whatever you expect from your team they need to see from you with every single customer.

4) YOUR energy creates successful store synergy.  Synergy is defined as the "interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects."  When store teams are on, they're unstoppable.  It's a leader's energy and passion that creates the synergy that creates success.

5) Encourage YOUR team often.  While your staff appreciates a weekend contest and the opportunity to win prizes, there's nothing more satisfying than to have their manager recognize and appreciate their contribution.  Spend the weekend praising your team and recognizing what's going right and you're sure to find success. This doesn't mean you shouldn't give constructive feedback as long as it is done at the appropriate time and place.

And last but not least. . . .

6) Success happens to those like YOU who earn it.  Almost everyone desires success. But desire isn't enough.  Success comes to those who take the appropriate actions and create the success they desire.

Your goals are set and you've got everything in place. The only thing between success and you is. . . YOU. 

The Everyone Trap

My oldest daughter and I have the same conversation almost every week.  It usually goes like this:

Kate:  "When can I get a cellphone?"

Me:  "For the 134th time, when you need one." (The only thing that changes is that the number goes up each time she asks.)

Kate: "But I need one."

Me:  "Did you have a need to call someone and not have access to a phone?"

Kate: "No.  But I still need a phone."

Me:  "Why is that?" (I don't know why I bother to ask this question because I know what's coming.)

Kate: "Because everyone else has one."

The conversation will go on a lot longer if I ask her who "everyone" is but I know for a fact that Kate is not the only student in the whole sixth grade who doesn't have a cellphone.  Many do, but not everyone.

I've never said we won't buy her a phone, I've said that we'll get her a phone when there is a need.  But rather than focus the discussion on why she needs a cellphone, she gets tripped up because of her perception of "everyone" else.

The same thing happens to adults, too. (You knew I had to eventually get it back to retail and management or I would have to rename this The Weekly Parent Experience.) Lumping "some" into "everyone" can actually cause people to make poor decisions that do impact everyone - and the bottom line.

I had a call last week with a retailer whose store is losing money.  At one point she said, "But everyone is struggling."  First and foremost, not everyone is struggling and I can guarantee that not everyone is losing money.  What matters is what is happening in her store and what she's doing to stem the losses.

I've also heard over the last few weeks:

* Everyone has stopped buying. If that's the case why are retailers letting people walk out of the stores with their products?  And why are the thieves standing in line at the register before stealing?

* Everyone is asking for a discount.  Some are looking to pay less but if every customer is looking for a discount then I suspect your pricing is way out of line.

I've also heard "everyone" comments about employees, vendors, and the business community as a whole.

The minute we starting talking about "everyone" we've given up the ability to manage or control our own destiny.

If the staff thinks all customers are cutting back then they will miss making sales to all of those people who are spending money. If they believe that all customers are asking for a discount they'll go into each customer engagement in a defensive mode that will cost sales.  You can't work successfully with a vendor if you think all of them are changing how they do business. 

As specialty retailers we succeed one customer at a time. There is no "everyone." There's just someone. An individual "someone" in front of us or on the phone; someone with a unique life and a unique set of circumstances.

Don't fall into the "everyone" trap.  Not only will staying out of that trap help you be a more successful retailer during challenging times but if you're a sixth grader it might even help you get your first phone.

Have a great week!

Extraordinary Actions for Extraordinary Times

Last week I shared here seven things that retailers could do on a slow day. They were:

1. Create an event. 
2. Call your customers. 
3. Put an employee near the front door and invite people in to enjoy something to drink and eat or to participate in a special event. 
4. Keep music playing throughout the day. 
5. Don't let the staff congregate in the store. 
6. Ask (or politely tell) your customers to tell their friends and family about store specials or events. 
7. And last but not least, maximize the traffic you do have. 

While a number of retailers responded via email to share their experiences on how they've used these ideas and served up some of their own, one of my "regulars" Pam responded much differently.

In not so many words Pam said that my suggestions didn't go far enough. She said "that in drastic times retailers need to take drastic actions." She need rattled off some of her own ideas including:

1. Change your store around.
2. Buy off-price.
3. Rework your inventory budget.
4. Move out merchandise that hasn't moved to increase your cash flow.
5. Buy just in time.
6. Buy off price and mark it down aggressively.
7. Get the store in tip top shape for when traffic picks up in the spring.
8. Call your vendors and see if there are any extra good deals being offered to freshen up your merchandise.

While I think that all of Pam's ideas are quite valid, not everyone who reads The Weekly Retail Experience can or even needs to do these things.  Not every store has seen the huge drop-off in sales and traffic others have experienced but for many stores Pam's ideas are on the money.

Framing Pam's point a bit differently, these are extraordinary times and call for extraordinary actions.  The specific actions necessary will be different for every store. They will be different for every executive, owner, or manager.  What matters is what extraordinary action YOU are taking today.

If you're a store manager, what are you doing that is extraordinary?  What actions are you taking to achieve your sales goal today?  Is it improving your staff to increase your average sale?  Is it motivating your team to drive traffic?  Is it doing more with less, and not just doing the same things you've always done?  Are you feeding information to those who make pricing and buying decisions?  Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

If you're an owner, are you aggressively managing your inventory?  Are you making the floor moves to improve your store?  Are you buying right and pricing to sell?  Are you looking for the long-term opportunities that are out there for retailers in strong cash positions?  Are you maximizing your staff?  Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

If you're an executive, are you engaging your stores to make sure your entire company is working together to succeed?  Are you asking and receiving feedback from employees and customers?  Are you streamlining your operations without sacrificing your customer experience and your store support? Are you being the visible leader your stores need? Are YOU taking extraordinary actions?

There is no one-size fit all action in this economy.  We will continue to help you maximize your customer experience through your people.  That's what we do and we do it very well, and as a specialty retailer that's what you need to do in any economy. Wherever you are or whatever you sell, an extraordinary customer experience will always result in higher sales today and more sales tomorrow.

Have an extraordinary week.

Are Your Staff Believers?

When I was a kid one of the first bands I was into was The Monkees. Yes, the Monkees. I never missed their show on television and knew all of their songs by heart. So while shopping yesterday I immediately noticed when the Muzak in the store was I'm a Believer.

If you're over 40 I'm sure you could sing along with me. "Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer, without a trace of doubt in my mind, I'm in love, I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried."

Naturally the song stayed stuck in my head for hours.  As I walked into different stores humming I'm a Believer I started wondering if the store staffs I encountered were Believers. Did they believe that customers were coming into the store to spend money? Did they believe they were going to be successful that day?

If I asked the employees those questions I'm sure they would say, "Of course I'm a Believer." But as we all know, actions speak louder than words.

Are your employees Believers? Do they believe that customers come into your store to spend money? Do your employees believe they have a good shot of achieving goal for the day?

Here are some quick tips to turn any staff into Believers:

1. Accentuate the positive. I can't emphasize this enough.  I don't believe in ignoring the negative but I do believe in highlighting the positive. If traffic is off 5% you still have 95% of the previous traffic. Many retailers would love to be able to say that.

2. Give achievable stretch goals. One of the biggest mistakes a retailer can make right now is to give the staff a daily goal that can't be reached. If a store is trending down 35% but the goals remain the same, even Mickey, Davy, Mike, and Peter couldn't turn those employees into Believers.

3. Give the staff three tips and tools Every Day to enable them to exceed goal.  This might include:
* A contest
* A selling tip
* A product of the day
* A spiff
* A drawing
* A roleplay
* A marketing activity
* And the list goes on and on.

People are Believers when a Believer leads them. And just like the staff, Believers demonstrate their commitment by their actions. If managers and/or owners are not doing the things they need to do to have a staff of Believers, then clearly they're just a Daydream Believer and there's no chance of them being retail homecoming queen. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

What do you need to do today to have a staff of Believers?

The Leader in You

As of approximately noon Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday those of us in the United States have a new president and a new leader. That seems to be a good opportunity to review the leader in you.

Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, the authors of my favorite business book The Leadership Challenge, say that leaders must unite their constituents around a common cause and connect with them as human beings.  That only happens when you connect with your staff from the heart.

Ask yourself these four questions to see how you’re doing as a leader and gauge your ability to connect with and inspire the hearts of your constituents.

1. When rallying your team and sharing your vision and strategy, do you speak from your head or your heart?  Followers use their heads to process the information that is presented to them; passion comes from the heart.

To connect with the heart we must speak from the heart.  Open up.  Tell stories that have shaped either this new direction or your own personal convictions.  Stories are wonderful ways to motivate and teach others.  Sure, there's a lot of information behind your decision but rarely does information by itself create a connection.  If it's passion you want, it's passion you must deliver.

2. Do you speak as a colleague or friend, or do you speak from an authoritarian point of view?  Everyone knows you're the boss.  You don't need to remind them. Remember, your employees have a choice: to follow you with conviction and purpose, or to simply go through the motions. It's not like they're going to stand up and say, "No way buddy. You're a jerk. Lead this!"  You may never know until you fail that your team wasn't with you.

I know that I'm more likely to follow someone I not only like and respect but whom I believe likes and respects me.  Never treat anyone as a subordinate; deal with people as trusted colleagues. Your success depends on it.

3. Do you frequently encourage your staff? When giving instructions or projects do you tell your staff members that you know they'll do a good job and that they'll be successful? When they fail, do you let them know that it's okay and that together, with your help, they'll succeed next time?  Do you ask them what they need to be successful?  Do you cheer them on when they're down?  Do you recognize them when they succeed? If they've fallen short do you let them know they're still valuable?

4. Do you show them you care? The old adage that actions speak louder than words is so true when it comes to connecting with and inspiring the hearts of your staff members. Do you recognize accomplishments with notes?  A gift?  A smile?  A heartfelt "Thank You"?  Do you celebrate birthdays?  Do you recognize their employment anniversary? Do you share in their joys?  Their sadness?  Do you accommodate them when necessary?  Do you help them strike a balance between work and life?

How good are you at connecting and inspiring the heart of others?  What do you think your employees would say if I asked them?  What would they say about your ability to connect with and inspire them?  Because ultimately, that's what really matters.  We make the choice to lead but at the same time others make the choice to follow.

So let me ask, are you inspiring others to follow?

Six Ways to Overcome "I'm Only Buying What's on Sale"

Contrary to what's taking place in retail today, you can't give products away and stay in business. We have to make sales AND profits.

But some might protest that right now customers are only buying items that are on sale and if they can't buy something on sale they won't make the purchase.  I don't agree.  I think a number of customers do come into a store with the intent to only buy items that are on sale. Intent!  A great experience and a well-trained staff can overcome that need for a sale price.

Here are six actions you can take with your next customer to move past their intent to only buy products on sale and have them leave thrilled about their full price purchase.

1. Deliver an engaging and enthusiastic welcome.  I firmly believe that the first thirty seconds makes or breaks most sales. A welcome is especially important when other retailers are cutting back on floor staff and the remaining employees are not feeling too thrilled about the atmosphere.  Big smiles and big welcomes really do overcome "sale price only" intent.

2. Be the best experience your customer will have today.  Most retailers have to do sales because they are in the business of transactions. I'm positive that if you make sure that every customer who walks through your door has the best experience he/she will get in the entire day, price becomes secondary.  As a matter of the third annual Customer Experience Impact Report from Harris Interactive found that 58 percent of U.S. consumers said that in a down economy, they will "always" or "often" pay more for a better customer experience.

3. Assume every customer is a buying customer.  Let them prove you wrong or even better, let them prove you right.  Treating every customer as a buyer increases the likelihood of making a non-sale sale.

4. Engage with purpose. Find the reason the customer has an interest in your store.  As I tell my speaking audiences, I don't walk into sewing machine stores but I do walk into sporting goods stores.  Learn who your customer is and why they're in your store.

5. Focus on the personal values of the customer, not price.  Think about your own shopping.  Is it more important to you to find a product you love or a great sale price? Of course we all love to get both, but most people would rather find the right product at a fair price than compromise on the product at a great price.

While your competitors are only telling the customer what's on sale, you should be learning what's important to your customer besides price.  Whether it is fashion, convenience, quality, ease of use, or whatever, focusing on your customers' values before price will increase your odds of making a sale.  When people want something price almost always becomes secondary.

6. Give the customer an opportunity to make the purchase.  It's as simple as asking the customer to buy it. The more bad economic news there is, the less likely your competitors will ask for the sale. Do you?

So let me ask, are you ready to be successful, sale price or not?