Retail Contrarian

Tips for developing your more seasoned managers

As a leader, one of your most important jobs is to develop your managers. Most of us are pretty good at doing that with newly promoted person, but we often slow down or stop developing them once they attain a certain amount of experience and competency. 

Here are three ways you may or may not have put into action with your more seasoned management team. 

1. Delegate improving a particular metric or category sales over a 60-90 day period. This could be a particular category or brand, increasing ADS or conversion/transactions, or any other area of performance that can be improved.

This is not about being in charge of a department. This is taking full responsibility for analyzing current performance and approach, coming up with a plan to improve, and following through and working the plan. Taking something like this on for two or three months is an incredible opportunity for your assistant to develop, and for you to coach her.

2. The phantom sabbatical. What would happen if today you decided to take a six-month sabbatical? (Besides buying that new bathing suit and/or golf clubs you'd want to take with you!) Would your leadership team be ready to step in and run the store? Would they know how to do everything? 

Usually when I ask that I question the response is something like, "Yes, for the most part, but I would need to show or teach this or that." Bingo! What is your leadership team's this or that? That's a great area to focus development.

3. Coaching the coach in person. It is important to give your managers feedback on how well they coach the staff, and the only way to do this effectively is to observe them while they're coaching.

At least once a month, if not more, tell the staff that one of your managers is in charge for the day. They should see you as just another associate. Observe the manager and give her/him feedback at a couple points during the day. Don't wait until the end of the day, or the person will miss the opportunity to immediately apply the feedback.

Other coaching the coach opportunities include having managers lead staff meetings, join in on Take Fives, and even have them lead one-on-one discussions with associates.

So let me ask, how consistently are you developing your seasoned managers? Which of these tips might you apply, or is there something else you’ve been considering that you could move forward with?

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

Store traffic perspectives

One day I was catching up with two friends over coffee when the conversation turned to how bad the traffic had been recently.

One friend told us how it was killing his productivity. He's an outside rep and the traffic kept him from seeing all of the accounts he planned to see.

The other friend is also a rep, but in a different field. The traffic also kept him from seeing all of his clients, but in the end he had a terrific sales week.

He had decided that he would use the time sitting in traffic to phone accounts he doesn't normally get to call on. As a result, he picked up a couple of additional orders he wouldn't have gotten without sitting in traffic.

Two people. Same traffic. Different results. 

One person had better results because he had a different perspective. Instead of seeing the traffic only as an impediment, he took advantage of the challenge. 

Here are three traffic perspectives store leaders will do well to remember.

1. Maximize every customer opportunity. I once had a store outside of Chicago that had to deal with terrible traffic but still produced amazing results. Their center simply didn't attract much attention, so the store leadership and staff quickly learned that every customer mattered. You don't have to be a slow store to apply that lesson.

2. No labeling customers. One word I never allowed my staff to use was "looker." The minute we label a customer a looker, we're really saying they aren't going to buy anything. It's funny how that is proven over and over.

One manager who recently took my coaching class had her staff stop using the word. Guess what? Yep, conversion went up. Our perspective has a huge impact on our results. 

3. Own it. If you’ve heard me speak you’ve heard me say that when you own something, you have the power to change it. One of my coffee friends owned the bad traffic last week. He didn't sit in his car and fume or complain. He took action. 

Traffic is a real challenge for most stores. No way to sugarcoat it. At the same time we have no alternative but to own it. We have to take responsibility for driving existing clients and new customers into the store.

Make sure the entire staff is using downtime to reach out to customers. Plan small events. Set appointments for your top customers to come in and see the newest products. Refuse to let lack of traffic keep you from obtaining your goals. Own it!

Got too much traffic? First, thank your lucky stars. Then, have the staff practice working with multiple customers and group selling. Whatever your traffic... own it!

So let me ask, how is your traffic perspective?

How to use this article

Discuss your leadership group's traffic perspective with your managers. Which perspectives could benefit from a change?  Identify three actions they’ll take to get an even better perspective.

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

The need to train and/or coach

I’m excited to announce a brand coaching and leadership program The More Accountable Coach and Leader. This is four-week program for holding yourself and your team accountable to higher standards and results. This is the perfect follow-up to those who have taken my EveryDay Coaching and Leadership program. (Suggested but not required.) Details here..

I used to assume that if someone was struggling to do something, it was because they needed more training. Sometimes that was the case, but sometimes what she/he really needed was to successfully apply the skills and knowledge the person had already learned.

How do you know the difference? Here’s a simple but effective way to look at it.

1. People first need to know WHY we do, or need to know, something. If people don't know why you're asking them to do it, they rarely do it. Or at the least they're much less likely to do it especially well.

Why should I learn three things about my customer?

Why should I show an additional item without asking? I

It is also important that your team know if these actions are required or optional. 

2. Next, each person needs to learn HOW and/or WHAT. 

How do I engage customers in a conversation to ask questions in an authentic way?

How do I show an additional item without being perceived as pushy?

How is this product made?

What makes these products unique and different?

Never assume your staff know the HOW or WHAT. You’d be surprised how often leaders assume the staff knows this but they don’t. They know it’s supposed to be done, but nobody has worked closely with them to learn and practice the skill. 

3. Now, people need to DO it. If something is an expectation of the position, people need to meet that expectation. This is where the biggest breakdown happens.

People don't do what's expected of them and the manager/owner assumes the person can't do it and needs more training.

In fact, most often the person doesn't need more training. What he/she needs is observation and coaching so they can do whatever it is they need to do, and do it well.

After that, they need to do it or be held accountable for drifting from it. That’s why accountability is such a key element to leading and coaching a team.

If your staff is struggling in a particular area, walk though these three steps. 

1. Do they know WHY?  
2. Do they how know HOW or WHAT? 
3. Are you requiring them to DO it, and to keep doing it? 

So let me ask, does your staff need more training, coaching and accountability, or a combination of them?

How to use this article

Think about two particular service/selling actions you'd like to see your staff do better. Then apply the three questions. This will help you determine if they need additional training, or you need to be working with them to do it.

Leading a customer priority

I like to think that as leaders we only have one priority: Our customers, and their service and purchase experience. Everything else we do supports that priority.

Some of what we do to support that priority is more important than other parts of our job. First, being an OutFront frontline leader. Making sure the customer priority stays the priority.

Second, coaching and developing the staff to deliver the best possible service and sales experience. The more we help our employees be even better, the better the customer’s experience. Perfect since that’s our priority!

Here are three leadership tips/reminders to help you accomplish this goal.

1. See YOUR day as a series of choices. As a young manager I often felt like my day ran me, as though I had no control over what was going on. At the end of the day I was exhausted and had accomplished hardly anything I planned to do.

Nothing changed until I realized that I always had a choice about what I did. I could delegate. I could put something off. I could knock something off my list quickly. Most important, I learned to challenge myself by asking, "Is this the best use of my time at this moment?"

When a leader has a choice, they’re able to keep the customer and his/her experience as the priority.

2. See your actions as words. It was Gandhi who said that action expresses priorities. Your staff won't always follow what you say, but they'll do what you do. Your actions tell your staff what is most important each and every day.

It's not the memo. It's not the training video. It's what you, as a leader, do day in and day out that communicates what's important. Many leaders do not communicate a customer priority in what they’re doing.

Of course you have many other things to get done in addition to working with customers. Leadership is choosing the right time to do them. Frequently reminding your staff to interrupt you when they get busy.

Making sure your staff knows that customers come before any other tasks and activities you've asked them to do.

3. Make time every day to coach and lead on the floor. Again, when we develop our people, we improve the experience. Following through on our priority.

Most people work from a to-do list. I believe leaders should start that list by blocking out the time they're going to be coaching and leading their team. Everything else works around that. This isn't when you're "working the floor" or “hanging out in a cube” but when you're coaching and leading. There's a big difference.

So let me ask, how well are you leading a customer priority? 

How to use this article

Discuss with your leadership team how well they communicate and act a customer priority, and in which of these areas they can improve. Take a moment also to brainstorm two or three more things they might do to improve their prioritization.

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

 

Yell, Tell, or Teach: An EveryDay Coaching tip

When most managers think they are coaching in the moment, they are really doing one of three things with an employee.

Yelling - Okay, most leaders aren't usually yellers (at least I hope not), but the leader's focus on what the employee did wrong is often interpreted as being yelled at.

Telling - Telling is much better than yelling. In this approach, the leader tells the employee why he/she is being coached.

Teaching - Teaching is far superior to telling. When leaders teach, they take time to connect someone's behaviors and actions to customers, colleagues, and results. Teaching drives behavior changing much faster.

Here's an example

While working the floor with Courtney, you observe that she was so focused on putting out an order out she didn't notice a customer walking into the store.

Here are three ways you can address it:

Yell - "Courtney, you missed greeting that customer who came in." Remember, it is often a perceived yell whether you raise your voice or not.

Tell - "Courtney, I saw you miss greeting that customer. You’re expected to welcome every customer within five seconds."

Teach - "Courtney, I noticed you were so busy with the order that you missed welcoming the customer. It's important that we welcome within five seconds so our customers see that they are our priority. They also know we know they're here, and that we're ready to assist them."

Yes, teaching takes more time than telling and yelling. Imagine, though, what Courtney may think or say after each approach:

Yell: "Okay okay. I was just trying hard to get the order out as soon as possible like you asked."

Tell: "I know. She slipped in so quietly."

Teaching: "That makes sense. I'll try to be more aware."

It's obvious which approach is going to have the most impact.

Successful coaching recognizes what the employee is doing well so they continue to do so, and teaches what they can do to be even better. Something we emphasis and practice in my EveryDay Coaching and Leadership class.

So let me ask, are you more likely to yell, tell, or teach your staff? 

- Doug

How to use this article

Talk with your management team about the three different approaches, and what each person can do to increase the amount of teaching they do with the staff.

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

How to lead a huge performance leap forward

If you want to make a great big leap forward in your business, you have to make a great big leap forward in what you believe you and your team can accomplish. You must believe there's more opportunity and growth out there just waiting to be tapped.

Think of it like taking a high performance car for a test drive. You're flying down the highway very, very fast. Faster than you've ever gone before. The car salesman tells you you're only going half as fast as the car can go. You push down on the accelerator, the car leaps forward, and you speed off down the highway. 

What if you and your team are like that high performance car? What if you can push the accelerator down and speed towards your goals faster? I believe you can! 

Here are three ways to find and make a huge leap forward in your business.

1. Constantly champion, "We can. Let's figure out how." Some of the most successful leaders I see live the saying, "Where there is a will, there is a way." The way may not be easy, and it may not always be easily defined, but the way is there as long as you own the obstacles and results. 

When you believe and champion that you and your team can do just about anything you set out to do, it's amazing what can be accomplished. It requires the right attitude, drive, and focus on figuring out how. We achieve what we believe.

2. Identify and address any governor. A governor is a device used to regulate speed. They are sometimes used in high performance cars to keep the speed down. 

In most stores and service teams, a governor is someone or something that drags down the overall performance of the team. This can be someone whose attitude is negatively impacting the team, or whose performance is pulling down the group's overall results. I estimate that probably half of the leaders I talk with struggle with some sort of governor. Most of the time, they're looking for an easier fix than addressing the governor. 

3. Expect a giant leap forward from yourself. Change and growth starts with you. Identify three things you believe hold you back. Choose one of them to work on, and resolve to make a great big leap forward by March 1 at the latest. Remember, you can. Just figure out how.

Into action: Even though Leap Day only comes around once every four years, any day can be the day you lead your team in a great big leap forward. What better day than today?

So let me ask, what is your huge performance leap forward?

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

Holiday leaders are champions

OutFront Leaders champion these three mindsets during the holidays.

1. Champion WE. OutFront leaders position and reinforce how essential the team is to the success of the business. Henry Ford said, ""If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." I believe that how well a retail staff works together to engage and sell customers can have a positive - or negative - impact of 10% or more. 

Specialty stores want to champion team selling, silent assists, colleague coaching, multi-customer engagement, and all other teamwork that results in higher sales and the best possible customer service experience.

2. Champion maximizing every customer opportunity.Recently, while shopping in a department store I overheard two salespeople complaining about how slow business was. They were doing this, of course, instead of engaging me. 

Holiday success isn't dependent on any one promotion or event, but it will be determined by the experience and level of sales focus on every customer that walks into the store. Miss maximizing even one customer opportunity, and it might be the one that makes the day.

3. Champion your customer's experience. What sets your store apart from all the rest are the products you sell, AND the experience a customer has when shopping with you. While some customers might be looking for deals, that isn’t the only reason they come into your store.

Customers shop your store because of how it makes them feel. The better they feel, the more they purchase. How we do that might change during the holidays, but the importance of doing it never does.

Take these three actions this week and throughout the holidays your store staff is sure to be Champions! (Cue up the Queen music!)

So let me ask, what are you and your leaders championing for this holiday?

How to use this article.

Discuss with your leadership team how each of them sets the tone, and how championing key messages makes a positive impact on holiday results. Talk about these three key points to champion, and any others you and they feel might be vital to your store’s success. 

- Doug Fleener

I speak, consult, coach, and offer online trainings to retail, hospitality, banking, professional services and other customer-focused companies and associations. Learn more about DougFleener.com, or call 781-861-7803.

 

Create more time to lead and coach

Time is a leader’s most valuable resource, one that must be invested wisely. For most leaders, their best time investment is working with and coaching their staff on delivering an even better service and sales experience.

Unfortunately, operational activities take up a great deal of a frontline manager’s time. That’s why it is important to reduce the time spent on these activities whenever possible.

You can do that by giving yourself shorter, specific, time frames to complete operational tasks. Instead of just “working” on your paperwork or saying you’ll get it done “sometime today,” tell yourself you have “45 minutes to get it done.” Why?  Because you’ll use however much time you give yourself.

Think about it. How long did it take to write a paper the teacher assigned four weeks out? That’s right. Four weeks. If the teacher had said one week, that’s how long it would take. It’s actually called Parkinson’s Law. Look it up.

Give yourself less time on operational activities, and you’ll be able to get OutFront to lead and coach your team to higher results.

Try it out today. You’ll see and be able to invest the time you save.

- Doug Fleener

I speak, consult, coach, and offer online trainings to retail, hospitality, banking, professional services and other customer-focused companies and associations. Sorry, but I don't do windows. Learn more about DougFleener.com.

A balanced and productive leadership perspective

I once worked for a manager who gave a lot of feedback. I appreciated that since most of my managers up to then hadn't given much at all. What I didn't appreciate was that he only focused on what didn't happen or what went wrong.

I have no idea why he couldn't accentuate the positive. If you made a big sale he would point out that the paperwork wasn't done correctly.

If you scored a 98 on a mystery shop he would want to review the one item the employee missed. If you hit 104% of sales he would want to talk about what kept you from achieving 105%. You get the picture. His perspective was out of balance.

It isn't much different from the manager or owner who only focuses on the positive.

One manager who reported to me was the King of Pollyanna-land. If his store burned down he would have found a way to position it as a good thing. Needless to say, this guy didn't have much credibility with his team. His praise went in one ear and out the other. 

OutFront frontline leaders keep and share a balanced perspective.

They recognize and celebrate success, and they identify and share improvement opportunities.

They know not to undermine praise with poorly timed feedback, and to not weaken critical improvement feedback with false praise.

They avoid being critical, and focus on what they want employee to do better or different. (That’s exactly what I teach in my EveryDay Coaching program.)

Keeping and sharing a balanced perspective is a key to helping employees develop and your store to succeed.

So let me ask, do you keep a balanced perspective? How balanced is it? More important, how balanced does your team think your perspective is? What should you do this week to have a more balanced and productive perspective?

Have a great week!

Doug

Reminder: I am running a new Four Week EveryDay Coach and Leader program starting September 14th. This is the perfect program for you or someone on your management team to learn how to effectively coach your staff to higher levels of performance. Details here.

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About Doug Fleener

Doug Fleener, a proven business and customer service experience expert, helps companies achieve performance that exceeds customer and employee expectations resulting in more sales, profits, and customers.

Learn more about our services at Sixth Star Consulting, or call Doug at 844-861-7803 to discuss how he can help you achieve higher levels of performance and results. Learn about Doug's keynotes and workshops at DougFleener.com. Sample a Sixth Star University online training program at SixthStarU.com.

Four ways frontline managers unintentionally demotivate employees

 

I am running a Four Week EveryDay Coach and Leader program in two weeks. It will likely be the only one before the holidays. This is the perfect program for you or someone on your management team to learn how to effectively coach your staff to higher levels of performance. Details here.

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"When people are highly motivated, it's easy to accomplish the impossible. And when they're not, it's impossible to accomplish the easy."  - Bob Collings

I love today's quote. While we often think about how to motivate employees, sometimes leaders demotivate the staff and not even know it. As the quote says, that makes it impossible to accomplish the easy.

Here are four ways frontline leaders might unintentionally demotivate their employees, and what they can do to avoid doing so.

1. Take charge after not being on the floor. This happens when a leader walks on to a busy sales floor and immediately takes charge - without knowing what customers have been helped. Even worse, he or she asks customers if they've been helped. Both actions inadvertently communicate to the staff that their manager has no confidence that they are doing their jobs when the manager wasn't on the floor. (Which I am sure is not the case!)

Taking action: When walking on to a busy floor, always take a moment to ask the employees who, or how, you can help. 

2. Undermining the company or their boss. Many leaders do this without even realizing it. I awhile back I heard a manager tell her staff that the company wants them to do something new. She immediately followed up by explaining why it won't work. You could see her staff's negative reaction. As a leader, you are the company. Your staff should never know if you don't personally support something.

Taking action: Be careful to not to undermine your company, or share your personal feelings when they are not aligned with the company or your manager. 

3. Cherry pick customers.I once had an assistant manager who did this all of the time. The minute he learned a customer was going to take a long time or be somewhat challenging, he'd hand him or her over to a colleague because he had "some important operational things to do." Funny, he never handed over that customer who walked in to make a purchase. 

Taking Action: Be consistent in how you choose to turn customers over to your staff. Remember that each instance gives you an opportunity to teach your staff, and demonstrate your priorities and expectations. 

4. Hold themselves to a different set of standards. Not many managers do this on purpose, but it happens from time to time. I see managers who take personal calls when the staff is told they can't.

I've also seen managers who don't always stick to their scheduled working hours. True, the managers might be exempt and have had to work for the store from home, but does the staff know that?

Taking Action: Be aware of what your actions communicate to the staff. Your actions are always teaching. Be proud of what the lesson is.

So let me ask, how might you unintentionally demotivate employees?

Using This Article

Discuss with your entire leadership team these and other ways a manager might unintentionally demotivate the staff.

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About Doug Fleener

Doug Fleener, a proven business and customer service experience expert, helps companies achieve performance that exceeds customer and employee expectations resulting in more sales, profits, and customers.

Learn more about our services at Sixth Star Consulting, or call Doug at 844-861-7803 to discuss how he can help you achieve higher levels of performance and results. Learn about Doug's keynotes and workshops at DougFleener.com. Sample a Sixth Star University online training program at SixthStarU.com.