Retail Contrarian

Happy 500th Mine Your Own Business

Congratulations to Mike Buckley at the Mine Your Own Business blog on his 500th post. As I told him he doesn’t look a day over 450.

Mine Your Own Business is one of the best blogs there is for the independent retailer. The blog came about when Tacony Corporation president Bill Hinderer suggested a blog for their customers. Tacony Corporation is actually four different business units: Sewing, Home Floor Care, Commercial Floor Care and Ceiling Fans & Lighting. They also manufacture vacuum cleaners and commercial cleaning products. So obviously they have a lot of smaller independent retailers as customers.

But what makes Mine Your Own Business such a great resource is they don’t try to sell to their customers on the blog.  Rather, they use the blog to be “a valued business partner" and to "help their customers work on their business and not in their business.” As a result, Mike became the accidental blogger and has done a fabulous job ever since.

Regardless of what you sell, if you’re an independent retailer or support independent retailers I recommend that you subscribe to Mine Your Own Business. I know I’m looking forward to the next 500 posts and you will too.

An Education from the Observation

One of my favorite parts of my job is spending time with owners and executives in their stores observing how the staff goes about their business.  Sometimes improving some of the smallest details can pay some of the biggest dividends.  I decided today to share with you some of my observations from a recent store visit. 

* One employee always positioned herself in approximately the middle of the store so she could greet and engage customers from where she was standing.  Another staff member stayed closer to the counter that was in the back of the store.  To greet and engage the customer she had to walk towards them.  It was interesting to see that customers were more open and friendly to the staff member who didn't have to physically move towards them.  I'm not sure I ever noticed the difference before but you could see how much more defensive the customer became when an employee walked towards them.

* The owner had coached the team to focus on making multi-unit sales. One thing we observed is that about half of the team would tell the customer about an additional product while walking towards the counter.  The other half transitioned to an additional product in the same spot or led the customer to a different place in the store.  When we looked at the historical units per transaction averages for the staff it wasn't surprising to see that most of those who tried to talk about a second product while going to the counter had the lowest average.

* I've talked about this one a lot but it was fun to see in person. The best salesperson always got the product into the customer's hand.  It was obviously second nature to her because I'm not sure I ever saw her hold a product except for the brief moment it took to pick it up and hand it to the customer. We observed that the less productive salespeople had a tendency to point at products or just stand in front of them but rarely got them into the customer's hands.

* I was really impressed with one woman's ability to engage customers who said they were just looking. She would welcome and engage a person and whenever they said they were just looking she responded by thanking them for coming in and giving them a 10-second overview of what made the store unique. What made this woman's approach stand out is that she never took it personally or became defensive when the customer said they were just looking.  As a matter of fact her enthusiasm level was where it would be if the customer had just said he would take one of everything in the store. We compared that to other employees, whose energy level dropped and approach changed if the customer said they were just looking.

* One thing the entire team did well was to reinforce the customer's purchase during the checkout. This is a skill that the owner had clearly spent time teaching her staff.  Every single customer walked out of the store not just believing but knowing that they had made a good purchase.  I really liked when they linked it back to something they had learned from the customer when asking questions.  Not surprisingly, this store's return rate is extremely low.

I think the owner was quite surprised what we could learn in just a few hours. It's not that these things are terribly hard to see but you have to look for them and then put what you've learned into improving your team.

So let me ask, when did your team last spend time observing the fine details of each other’s sales and experience approach?  I think you'll be amazed at what you can learn that will improve your store and your overall sales.

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An Education From the Observation in Your Store

Send us an email with “Tell me more” and I’ll share how you can receive your own education from the observations in your store with our Store Visit service.

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Retail Academics

Some of the fine folks at the National Association of College Stores recently had the opportunity to hear Doug speak at their Creating Xtreme Customer Experiences Workshop, and they've posted a few of his recently-published comments on their blog (with permission, of course) to share with their members who were not in attendance.  This also serves as a reminder for those who were there and might have missed or forgotten something Doug said.  Ultimately, though, their inclusion of these bits of wisdom reflects what the NACS wants their stores to strive for.  Check out their blog and some of the other valuable insights they're sharing.

How to Ruin Brand Loyalty

Recently, Doug and I had the opportunity to visit some stores throughout the area. Some were clients, some weren't. I was especially excited to visit one store in particular because I have been a loyal fan of their product and brand for many years, and had yet to visit their store.

Upon entering, I was struck by the awesome assortment of product, most at very reasonable prices relative to other brands in the industry. I felt like a kid in a candy store. My immediate thought upon entering was that if I had a larger house (and a more understanding wife) I could easily spend a few hundred dollars in the short time we would be there. I found things I didn't even know this company sold. I found great impulse items. I even found stuff I didn't know I wanted or needed until I saw it!

But what kept me from going on a crazy spending spree was the staff. The behaviors and attitudes of the three or four employees who stationed themselves behind the cash wrap completely turned me off. Here I was, picking up products, commenting on things, remarking on the great prices, and the staff remained completely aloof and uninterested in my desire to spend money. There was no attempt to build rapport, apart from a cursory and well-worn "How can we help you?" Instead they discussed lunch, talked among themselves, and sat on the back counter. If somebody were to erase the retail environment from around this group, it would be difficult to distinguish them from any other group of twenty-somethings hanging out at the mall, much less determine what brand they were representing. Remember, this was a manufacturer-owned and operated store. The employees work directly for the brand they're selling... or not selling, in this case. One would think that the talent on the sales floor would provide an experience that's representative of the quality and uniqueness of the brand's product. Instead of adding value and raising customers' perception of their product (and, not coincidentally, justifying the premium prices), the staff's lack of interest in their customers and product nearly ruined my appreciation and loyalty for their brand. Imagine what it would do for a customer who had yet to be enticed by the magic of these products.

Whether you're a manufacturer or retailer, brand loyalty is one of the most valuable assets you can build in your customers. The trust and advocacy that comes from a loyal customer is priceless. It's critical to empower employees with the skills and tools necessary to build brand loyalty in customers. Otherwise your brand simply becomes a name.

Predictions for Retail in the New Year (Plus One)

The National Retail Federation's Stores.com website recently published a list of predictions for the upcoming year in retail. While there were no real surprises (consumers will continue to shop despite threats of recession, "green" practices will continue to pervade the way retailers appeal to customers, shopping excursions will become less of an event for more shoppers), there were a few interesting points of interest and one glaring omission.

First, the interesting bits. While social networking remains a dominant activity on computers, its infiltration into portable devices (cell phones, smartphones, media players) will drive a need for retailers to provide a more proactive approach to engaging customers. When a customer is able to get their questions answered by referencing a website or personal expert via their handheld device while they're standing in front of the product, retailers will need to be able to communicate a compelling reason to buy from them.

Another interesting, if not perplexing, conundrum facing retail in the next year is the growing rate of consumers' paradoxical desires. As Stores.com puts it:

You know this guy, right? Installed solar panels on the roof of his home; insists on cutting his grass with a push mower; recycles with vengeance. Yet, parked in his driveway is a Hummer. Having trouble putting the pieces together? That’s the challenge retailers and marketers face.

The real challenge will be to provide an experience on the retail floor that appeals to all sides of this consumer's psyche. Expect to see more and more customer segmentation and personality profiling studies over the next twelve to eighteen months.

Finally, it looks like one prediction was left off of the list. It speaks to a few different items on the list, but it deserves to stand out on its own because it's something retailers can have direct control over so that it doesn't adversely affect their business. We predict that over the next twelve months, customers will continue to grow increasingly intolerant of unengaging store personnel. As time and money start to reach parity in terms of value and scarcity, and more and more retail employees are brought on board with little-to-no customer engagement skills development, the result will be more consumers turning to the web or other avenues for their purchasing, eroding the loyalty that's so valuable to growing a business.

Well, just like Ebenezer Scrooge was able to prove the Ghost of Christmas Future wrong by changing his ways, retailers can thwart this course to destruction by investing the resources into making their sales talent engagement specialists. The retailers that succeed beyond the next year will be the ones that have customers singing the praises of their people.

Sustaining Staff Development Through the Holidays

In all the hustle and bustle of the season it’s easy to neglect the continued development of your staff. Too many retailers cite the chaos of the holiday season as an opportunity to close the training valve for a while, a sure indication that they either don’t place a high enough value on the long-term investment of good development, or they just don’t know how to be flexible in their training initiatives.

Of course, smart retailers know there’s never an excuse to totally cut off training. Here are five easy things you can do to continue your staff’s development through the holiday season and into early next year.

1. Place a moratorium on major new training initiatives. Notice that we said “new training initiatives”. This is not the time to launch your New Year’s Training Blitz Extravaganza. If you have vendors who provide training programs, you should have kindly asked them to hold off until after the first of the year.

2. Continue training on a few (no more than three) popular or promotional products or services via a one- page info sheet. Use this training as a quick refresher for employees to review before their shift starts or during a break. The sheet should contain an FACQ (Frequently Asked Customer Questions) section, a list of features and benefits, as well as promotional pricing info and/or how many need to be sold to reach a particular sales goal.

3. Keep your subject-matter experts focused. Too often during this season retailers will institute a “code red” condition where everybody steps out of their typical roles in order to meet high customer demand. It’s important that individuals with expertise in specific areas (product or function) be able to perform in those areas in order to facilitate the customer experience and offer support for peers.

4. Post a trivia question or riddle in the back room for employees to solve during the day. Have them submit their answers in writing to you and award a prize to each day’s randomly chosen correct answer. This exercise creates a positive mental distraction for the staff, and helps them to focus on something other than the chaos on the floor.

5. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Don’t let any employee leave for the day without giving them some positive and specific feedback on their work. Feedback is a crucial part of any type of development. This time of year is no exception. However, given the stress of the season, daily feedback during the holidays should be informal and focus on reinforcing positive behavior, rather than formally calling out improvement opportunities. Just a simple comment telling an employee they did a great job with a particular customer can make a hectic day seem well worth the effort.

Retail Experience Approach - Dumb or Dumber

Last week at a Customer Experience seminar I shared with the participants the need to design retail experiences so they are both memorable and effective.  Great retail experiences don’t just happen as a byproduct of a physical store, but because the retailer has designed the desired customer outcome.  The only way for that to occur is for the retailer to give the staff the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve those desired outcomes.

The most important tool you can give your staff is a well-defined systematic approach to delivering the desired experience.  Without a defined approach every employee is free to deliver the experience as they see it, not as the company defined it.  The easier the approach is to learn and apply, the more likely the employee will execute it consistently.  This is why any retailer’s “10-steps of the sale” rarely will work.  It’s just too complicated to happen on the floor.

As I was walking the seminar group through some examples of systematic approaches one of the participants asked, “Why do you people think we have to dumb down retail?”  The question stopped me in my tracks, not only because I wasn’t sure who “you people” were but because I had never thought of this kind of tool as a “dumb downed” approach.

After some spirited debate we agreed to disagree.  This gentleman’s opinion is that if we make something easy to learn and easy to apply then it’s dumbed- down.   My opinion is that any tool that helps employee be consistent and achieve their goals is a good thing.  Making something easy to learn and easy to apply enables that success, it doesn’t take away from it.

One has to ask which is dumber....a well-defined easy to learn and easy to apply approach to the customer experience, or letting employees do whatever they see fit with the customer?  I know which is more effective.

Technorati Tags: retail experience, retail experience training, customer experience

Exercises For Healthier Sales and Profits

Recently I was asked to give some advice to a group of salespeople who were relatively new to retail and wanted some helpful hints on improving their on-floor performance.  They were pretty adept at following a structured sales process, and were just aces at making customers feel welcome when they enter the store.  What they needed were a few exercises that they could use to hone their interpersonal skills.  I was more than happy to oblige.

I gave them a list of things they could practice on the sales floor, alone or with each other.  I suggested the store manager build a contest around the list, and now each day when the staff arrives they find out what the day's "challenge" is and whoever can go their entire shift without fouling up receives a gift card to the local coffee hut.

Try to avoid saying the word "no" for an entire day. It's hard.  "No" is one of the first words we learn to comprehend as children.  If you find it too difficult to totally eliminate the word from your vocabulary for 24 hours, just try to keep from starting sentences with it.  Even that can be a challenge.  The point is to focus on the positive, and be able to tell your customer what you can do, not what you can't.

Try to avoid saying "I don't know" for an entire day.  This one isn't as tricky as avoiding "no", but you might be surprised how often you'll catch yourself.  If you're asked a question that you don't know the answer to, simply say something along the lines of "That's a good question.  I'm not sure, so let me get you a definite answer."  You owe it to yourself and to your customer to have accurate information.

Speak to your colleagues only in questions.  This one can be tricky.  If you're not careful it can quickly become annoying to others.  A helpful tip is to watch how you speak your questions.   Also, make sure you're asking complete questions, not just asking "why?"  That doesn't count.

Speaking of questions, here's one you should already be doing but I'll throw it in because it never hurts to practice.

Only ask questions that can't be answered with a "yes" or "no". Open-ended questions are your best tool for learning about customers' needs.  Star your questions with "who", "what", "where", "when", or "why" and you'll unearth a wealth of information to help you find the right product for your customer.

Go a day without wearing your watch. Again, another tough exercise.  You customers deserve your undivided attention.  Looking at your watch, even for a moment, can detract from your interaction with them.  Even if you're not directly engaged with a customer, looking at your watch can make you look aloof and anxious to move on to your next activity.  Granted, you might be late for a lunch break, or overstay your shift, but you'll find that there's one less distraction to take you away from serving your customer.  Of course, if your job is selling watches, you might want to skip this particular exercise.

Go a day without anything in your pockets.  This follows along the same theme as a day without your watch.  When you arrive at work, empty your pockets and put your belongings in a safe place.  Now go through the day without putting anything in your pockets.  No pens, no notes, no business cards, no change, and especially not your hands.  Think of all the things you stuff in your pockets during the course of the day, and most of it is either ignored at the end of the day or ends up in the wash.  And nobody likes to see a salesperson standing around with his or her hands in their pockets. - Matt

So what do you think? Are you willing to try a new exercise program this week? Let us know how it works out or any other thoughts you have on our comments section.

25 Ways to Increase Sales TODAY

1. Sell more. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

2. Be "on" from the moment you walk onto the sales floor. You have an important role to play so play it well.

3. Be genuine. If you can't, you need to change either your attitude, mindset, or job.

4. Never stalk a customer. If when you first engage a customer she gives you the cold shoulder, back off and give her a chance to get comfortable in the store and to see for herself that you're different from most salespeople. The way you engage others allows them to experience for themselves that you're interested in them as a person, not just as a customer.

5. Engage with purpose. For most of us that means developing a relationship with our customer and making sure he/she has a great experience in our store. Remember: never ask a customer a question if you don't care what the answer is.

6. Listen more, talk less.

7. Never talk over your customer. It's not only bad manners but it tells her you're not listening.

8. Don't show products, sell them. The difference is that when you're selling a product it means you know enough about the customer to choose the right product for him.

9. Focus the conversation on the outcome of the product and its benefits. As an example, people don't buy luggage for the sake of buying luggage but because they wish to transport clothing and other belongings from one location to another. Focus on how the end result at that destination will be enhanced because of the product itself.

10. Assume the customer is buying. Remove the idea that anyone is a "looker."

11. Do something nice and unexpected for your customer. It will almost always result in a stronger relationship that often translates into a sale.

12. Never ask a customer how he's doing. The phrase is trite, completely overused and most people who ask it don't really care about the answer. The same is true with "May I help you" and "Can I answer any questions."

13. Don't over greet or over welcome your customer. Once a customer is well into the store a simple smile and "hello" is sufficient. Customers would rather be ignored than greeted excessively.

14. Having a large selection of products for the customer to choose from increases the likelihood that the customer will make a purchase.

15. Reducing the number of products you show a customer increases the odds of making a sale even more.

16. Recommending one or two of those products improves the chance even more.

17. Skip telling the customer everything you know about a product. Instead give them the information they need to make an informed decision.

18. The only way to be able to do that is to gather information from the customer. That's why just showing products costs sales.

19. Help the customer make the purchase. If we've done our job it is only appropriate to give the customer an opportunity to buy what we're selling.

20. Forget trying to "add-on" to a sale. That's completely internally focused and self-serving. "Enhance" the customer's life with the products they're buying and you're guaranteed to sell more.

21. Don't stop enhancing until the customer says so. We like to compare it to the all-you- can-eat buffet. Your customer will tell you when he's full.

22. Use the kind of manners during checkout that would make your mother or grandmother proud. Use a lot of "please," "thank-you" and "you're welcome."

23. Always see a customer bringing a product into the store as an opportunity, not a burden. Assume it's a return until you've learned otherwise.

24. Follow-up a customer's purchase with a thank-you note, email, or phone call.

25. Contact a good customer to tell him about something new in the store and why you think it's something he would like.

26. Always go above and beyond for every customer. If it doesn't result in a sale today, it will tomorrow.

Labels: Increase retail sales, retail advice, retail training