Making Retailers Successful
The first time a Retail Manager realizes that their company, district or store, and their performance in managing that, is being judged by the numbers they quickly understand that there is more to managing retail than getting all of the work done, making everything look nice and being good to customers.
Unfortunately, that is when many get lost.
Continue reading at DMSRetail website: https://dmsretail.com/retail-math-managing-by-numbers/
1) For evaluation purposes it will be necessary to prepare work schedules that give every associate an opportunity to work during premium shifts and during quiet shifts.
This will ensure accurate comparisons of Sales per Hour between one associate and another.
Obviously, you still need to ensure your top performers are scheduled when you need them, but for those you are unsure of, or for those who are average performers, you need to level the playing field by scheduling this way.
2) Carefully review each associate’s KPI’s (key performance indicators) for the past couple of months.
Look at past schedules to get an idea of which associates were performing well and which ones were not and see if there is any correlation to the scheduling.
3) Use the KPI’s of your top performing associate as a benchmark.
Ranking all others compared to this individual will give you a solid place to start.
If you are thinking this might not be fair – resist the temptation to have lower standards than your top performers.
4) Be relentless in your follow up after every shift/ day.
Check all KPI’s for each associate.
Make notes on your sales reports so you can recall your thoughts and conclusions when it comes time to speak with the associate.
5) Discuss performance at the beginning and end of every shift/day.
Feedback and coaching is much more helpful when it is current.
6) When coaching for performance, be sure to mention the behaviors that you have observed and how those behaviors relate to the results – good or bad.
Offer tips for changing unproductive behaviors and watch to see if the associate actually does change them.
7) Make sure product knowledge is available for associates to review.
Have them read and then initial that they have read the material.
Don’t accept any excuses for not staying current with product knowledge.
8) Ensure your management team members understand what is expected of them when they are in charge.
Associates need to see consistency in the way they are managed.
If what you are coaching them on is important, then the rest of the management team would find it important too, right?
Associates must see this united front, or consistency.
9) A management team member must always be available to answer questions and generally assist associates in their efforts to ‘make their sales’.
10) Although this may not be the ideal time for terminations, it’s also not the ideal time to carry dead weight. After all, you probably have limited wage dollars and spending them on a person who does not contribute isn’t a wise thing to do.
It is unfortunate if you have found yourself in this position at this time but, in the final analysis, it is what it is.
If you have provided feedback, suggestions, coaching and a reasonable amount of time for improvement of sales performance and the associate is still not performing according to your requirements, you need to start an official disciplinary process.
This usually means a discussion with your Human Resources Department.
This was an excerpt from DMSRetail Success Guide: “Dominate Holiday Sales”
Highly successful retail managers (HSRM) are passionate about delivering exemplary customer service; they treat customers with the respect they deserve – role modeling on the sales floor so associates can see and hear exactly what exemplary customer service looks and sounds like.
The HSRM knows that every customer, in every situation, must be treated with the utmost courtesy and respect and, if he does not role model that behavior at all times, there is very little hope of associates delivering consistently.
Role modeling correct and proper behavior ensures that you are seen as the authority on how the customer is to be treated.
It also earns you respect as employees see how easily you deal with customers in every situation.
They see how you change your greeting and overall approach to different customers.
For example, you would likely treat teenagers looking at headphones differently than you would treat a mature married couple who are upgrading their entertainment system – not in any way better or worse, just differently.
Approaches are not generic and need to be tailored, just like the rest of the sales process.
Role modeling is an excellent way to teach and HSRM’s take every opportunity to do so.
HSRM’s know their customer and they insist that their team members learn as much as they can about them also.
By talking to customers, and through various types of analysis, the HSRM becomes an expert on his customers likes and dislikes; their shopping habits; what they will, and will not, accept in terms of merchandise and various other things.
For example, an HSRM would be able to speak intelligently about how the customer will react to a proposed visual display or a promotion.
They know their customer and their subordinates understand that maximum performance depends on knowing the customer also.
The HSRM teaches by showing – by role modeling as mentioned above.
This aspect of the job cannot be underestimated because it speaks volumes about you and your expectations.
Associates must sincerely believe in the importance of the customer.
There is no better way to instill this belief, than by having the manager demonstrate how important the customers are to him/her.
The HSRM knows what the organizations’ service strategy is, knows how to deliver it, never fails to deliver it and expects the same from everyone in the company.
Before any associate steps on to the sales floor, s/he must have been made aware of the customer service offering of the company and how the company expects it to be delivered.
For example, if the business model of a particular company is one of self service then associates may not be expected to actively engage customers in sales conversations.
However, to ensure that the business is still focused on revenue generation through excellence in customer service, they would still want to see customers treated in a particular way; perhaps they would expect an approach and an offer of assistance.
Whatever the company decides to deliver as far as customer service is concerned, that is what the associate must be trained for once the customer service basics are in place.
Many companies incorrectly assume that their new associates possess the basics of customer service.
This is a mistake because when it comes time to layer on training specific to the company’s customer service offering the new associate may become confused and will not perform well.
It would be like learning to run before learning to walk, resulting in a lot of falls or, at least, missteps.
The key, here, is making sure that basics are understood first. Basics consist of things like:
Presentation – dress and grooming
Physical posture
Good manners
Telephone etiquette
Knowing what is, and is not, appropriate behavior on the sales floor
Showing respect for the customers’ time
Showing respect for the merchandise
Understanding the company expectations and general workplace rules
The highly successful retail manager knows how to assess associates to ascertain their level of competence when it comes to delivering customer service.
This is usually done at the time of the interview and with well worded questions to past employers during the reference check.
Of course, observation is an excellent assessment method also.
Once the basics are clearly understood and the associate understands what the company customer service offering is, and how to deliver it, they are ready for the sales floor.
The HSRM knows that this training is critical and that it positively must be done before the associate interacts with customers.
After that, the manager must keep a very close eye on the associate to ensure that all interaction with customers is exactly as it should be.
Watch for eye contact, body language, facial expressions, what is actually said and tone of voice.
We said earlier that HSRM’s role model exemplary customer service at all times and that doing so was the best way to ensure associates realized the importance of customer service.
There is, of course, more to be done to ensure the on-going improvement of our associates and one of the major things is to have coaching conversations as often as possible.
After observing an associate the HSRM spends a few minutes talking to them to either praise or correct, or both.
Praise comes fairly easily. The HSRM praises the associate for specific behaviors that were correct.
Having a coaching conversation where you must correct behaviors can also be easy if you direct your attention to the specific behavior and make sure not to criticize the individual.
The HSRM knows that these conversations are an absolute must and that they owe it to the associate, the company and the customer to make the conversation as productive as possible.
The HSRM knows, intuitively, how customers should be treated and, in addition to modeling the behavior, HSRM’s teach all associates these golden rules:
Treat every customer like a valued guest – using only the best manners.
Never say the word “no” to a customer – even when you cannot say ‘yes’, find a way to handle any situation without actually using the word “no”.
Respect the customer’s time – always – if the customer has to wait, be sure to let the customer know why he is waiting and approximately how long he will have to wait.
Put yourself in the customers’ shoes and try to see things from their perspective – ask yourself “How would I feel if I were the customer in this case?”
Never assume anything – ask questions to gain information.
Recognize the customer’s lifetime value to the organization.
Smile and show your enthusiasm for your work.
For more on Retail Customer Service, Click on the banner below
While checking out my Facebook page, a ‘Sponsored’ box showed up on my screen.
It was about 4” by 6”… quite a sizeable ad, wouldn’t you agree? It was definitely designed to get the reader’s attention and it worked.
Scored!!
Pipa’s Pizza (name changed) ran a Facebook ad that was clearly successful in getting positive reaction.
The ad was so perfectly timed, and it was such a great offer, I went for it immediately.
Yes, I would be ordering a Pipa’s pizza for dinner.
Although no one in our family had tried Pipa’s pizza before, this offer was a no brainer…it was an irresistible offer. And those are the winning offers, almost every time.
So, armed with my credit card and having agreed on the toppings with the rest of the family, I hit the ‘Shop Now’ button. I was directed to a place to input my address.
Of course, they need the address for a couple of reasons like knowing which store should produce the pizza and then where it should be delivered to.
After entering all of my details, I saw a message saying ‘Online Ordering is Temporarily Unavailable’.
I tried it a couple of times thinking I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes little things happen but they get fixed quickly so no harm done.
But, no.
No Pipa’s for us.
I checked it again the next day and got the same message.
One important thing I haven’t mentioned yet…
The special offer was ONLY applicable for orders placed online.
No telephone orders.
No walk-in orders.
Also, there were no asterisked items such as time of day this special would be available, or participating dealers or anything else.
So, no one was going to be able to take advantage of the offer being made on Facebook.
Does this not seem somewhat unproductive?
I don’t think it’s too harsh to ask, “Who is running this operation?”
Why make an offer if no one can use it?
Why bother designing the ad? Why pay for an ad to run?
Of course, mistakes happen. Of course, we must be reasonable but, come on now. How much understanding should there be for people who haven’t tested their ad…for people who went to the expense of creating and placing an ad that is doomed?
That ad cannot be successful…it is impossible.
Pipa’s Pizza very likely has a whole lot of other problems, as well.
So…make sure that you always follow up, check and double check when your money and reputation are at stake. Better still, ensure you have trusted people to do that for you.
All the Success!
PS. More articles at DMSRetail.com/RetailArticles
There are, indeed, some things that you just have to roll with in retail, as in any other industry…but there are many more things – the most important things – that you must plan, and make happen, if you want profitable results.
‘Some people make things happen, some people watch what happens and some people say ‘what happened?’.
It is not an easy thing to operate a solid, responsible, profitable retail operation.
We don’t need to tell you that it is no longer about filling up a space with products and opening the doors to the customer.
Nowadays, there is much more responsibility than that.
Retailers who don’t pay attention to what is required of them will pay the price.
Please go through the posts in this blog as well as at DMSRetail.com/RetailArticles and get a lot of ideas provided to you free of charge.
All the Success!
DMSRetail
Want to find out how this retail business owner took his floundering stores from scary, under performing money pits to glorious cash cows and moved into the top position in their category for Biggest Sales Increase overall and for Average Sale Per Customer, in 93% of their locations, in just one year?
And, even more importantly, want to know what else he did to finally start bringing a whole lot more money to the bank every day?
Have we got a story for you…
When I first heard his story, I was wondering what kind of guy this was…then I felt bad for him…then I was happy for him.
What a ride!
Turns out he was amazing, after all.
This was pretty serious stuff.
To get to how this all happened, let’s draw back the velvet curtain and try to understand what was going down in this guy’s stores when he first realized he was losing the battle…losing his clarity of thinking, his previously unshakeable motivation, tons of customers and, most definitely, his money.
I mean, at the rate he was going, he’d be laboring in his stores for most of his waking hours for the rest of his natural born days just to end up living on average income.
And that would have been the best case scenario.
Fair enough if that’s what he wanted… but he didn’t. Far from it!
He started his chain of stores so he could make more than an average living and, once they were turning a profit, he thought he might even have extra money, and time, to enjoy some luxuries with his family and friends and, maybe, put a nest egg away for a rainy day.
He thought he might like a little of the prestige that naturally comes with being the owner of a fine, reputable and successful chain of retail stores.
Oh, and he absolutely lusted after a summer house on a nearby lake – he spoke about it passionately every chance he got.
That was reason enough to want to get a tidy profit out of his business.
And, the sooner, the better.
Although his wife didn’t know a thing about it, he had already had blueprints drawn up.
He had a realtor keeping an eye out for just the right property.
He had even spoken with landscapers and interior designers.
This summer house – on beachfront property – was going to be a thing of beauty.
It was going to be his reward and a gift to his family for all of the hours that he’d worked; missing special occasions, etc.
He just knew that this was going to be the crowning glory … his reason for his life’s work.
He imagined the family gatherings; the long, warm weekends of fun in the sun.
He thought about the boat that would occupy the boathouse…the one that they would all go for relaxing tours in.
He even amused himself by dreaming up names for the boat!
He could picture every tree and flowering shrub that they would painstakingly plant and nurture…and every ripple on the water.
He could sniff the aroma of the steaming coffee and freshly baked pastries sitting on the oak table that graced the porch with the beautiful lacy gingerbread woodwork at every corner.
He could hear the waves crashing against the shore when a storm blew in.
Ah, yes! He knew what he wanted.
For him, all of this sounded not only fabulous, but reasonable as well.
Power to the entrepreneur!
After all, when you are the business owner and your money is on the line, you should reap the rewards…you are the one jumping from the fat in the frying pan into the fire and back again!!
You are the one who is taking all the risks and enduring the hardships.
So, don’t ever lower your expectations just because your stores are not performing the way you imagined they would.
No way. You go for it with gusto, Retail King!
You make those cash registers and POS machines sing …
C-A C-H-I-N-G! C-A C-H-I-N-G! C-A C-H-I-N-G!
Heck, yes!
If it’s not happening for you yet, the questions you should be asking are…
What do I need to do?
and
How do I do it?
OK, let’s roll it back to where this guy’s success story really got started. The very moment, in fact. (cont’d below)
Mark the calendar & Save!
Tuesday, June13 –Retail Category Management
Wednesday, June 14- Retail Math
Thursday, June 15 – Online Marketing for Retailers
Friday, June 16 – 33% Increase Formula
Reminder – Get your Webinar Pass for upcoming webinars. Four Webinar Pass is the best value. Buy it here.
OK, back to the story…
It was a moment when he was dog tired, with aching feet and a list of ‘to do’s’ that he hadn’t even started yet
He had just put his hat on his head…the hat that he used to cover the crazed Einstein-like hair style that he was sporting simply because he couldn’t find time to visit his barber.
In other words, he was going home for the night, thoroughly exhausted….again.
A staff member all but accosted him at the door as he was leaving and started blabbering on about something or other.
Hands were flying and papers were being thrust toward our guy, although not in a disrespectful way.
Our guy was trying hard to understand.
He had to actually try to understand because it was so trivial, so unimportant, that instead of really listening he noticeably tilted his head to one side and tried to figure out why this staff member was moving his lips and making noise over something so ridiculous.
He recalled, later, that he had truly been in a trance-like state; unable to comprehend what was going on for at least a few seconds.
He wondered, out loud, what would happen if this person just shut his mouth and took care of whatever it was he was yapping about.
This really was unlike our guy and the employee thought something terrible was about to happen – that the owner was going to faint or have a fit or something along those lines.
Our retail business owner finally spoke again.
He said that he suddenly felt like he had a lot of monkeys on his shoulders.
What? Monkeys? What the heck………..?
Not surprisingly, those nearby thought perhaps he’d finally lost his mind. But, they kept quiet.
You’ve probably heard the expressions about putting the monkey on someone else’ shoulder.
It happens all the time…people easily unload their issues onto someone else – someone who is willing to take them – and until that someone says stop, they just keep taking on more and more.
Some monkeys were heavier than others but there they all were…happily sitting atop his shoulders, weighing him down.
His staff, of course being free of any weight of any monkeys (problems or issues) whatsoever, just went about their business accomplishing very little or nothing at all.
“How on earth did I let this happen? How did I get here?” he exclaimed.
And the answer slammed him.
He felt like he’d been whacked with a blunt instrument.
There’s a game called Whack – a – Mole…and, in this case, it’s Whack – an – Owner.
Not funny, right?
Anyway, at that precise moment, he got it… that he had unwittingly invited every problem, every issue, however important or insignificant, to be his and his alone.
He realized he was completely and totally responsible for their lack of sales and profits.
He did it by accident but he had done it all on his own accord; by his own free will.
He was a great guy and knew a lot about retail and about business in general.
But…
He, seemingly, expected nothing of anyone.
And, they all lived up to his expectations!
That was a terrifyingly accurate admission and moment of truth and reflection.
The brutal acknowledgement and the stunning clarity of that moment steered him onto a new path where even fear of the unknown couldn’t stop him from altering the course of his life for the better.
By the way, our guy is not unusual.
This same problem is plaguing lots of business owners out there today.
No performance expectations – no prosperity.
Or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say no accountability – no prosperity.
It seems so much easier to handle things yourself than to delegate, train, set performance expectations, hold people accountable, manage performance, etc.
But, in fact, it is the worst possible course of action an entrepreneur can take.
It’s the worst possible remedy for any malady of the entrepreneur.
The saying “Git ‘er done.” doesn’t mean you should get it all done by yourself.
Certainly, not if you don’t have to.
How long can that go on?
At what point is it no longer feasible?
The small to medium retail business cannot get bigger and better with only one person thinking and problem solving – even a very important, very smart and very dedicated person – while everyone else just wanders around doing tasks and other little jobs but never contributing in a major way.
You can’t smash targets to smithereens when you don’t really expect to, or plan to.
And, you can’t smoke the numbers when you haven’t even set them and haven’t developed a compensation plan to reward that accomplishment.
You can’t pull, drag and stretch the very best out of all of your people when you have your little head – albeit a very important head – buried in some inconsequential task or the other.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Anyway, back to our guy’s story.
Here’s what happened next.
He first carved out some time to figure out what his new understanding meant in terms of his business, his people, etc.
You remember the monkeys, right? Well, clearly, they had to go and he made short work of that!
He realized that things would have to change – and change big time – for him to get where he wanted to be.
However, because he was not a stupid man he realized, very quickly that he was going to need some help.
So he set out to find some help.
He sought wisdom.
He talked to a lot of people, read books, solicited advice from other business owners.
He spent time reading and re-reading his most valuable and important resources.
He listened to DVD’s on Sales and Performance Management, Hiring and Training, Leadership, Time Management and Communication, and myriad other subjects that were to prove instrumental in his business, and life, turn around.
In the final analysis, as the result of his studies, he determined there was one thing he could hang his hat on – individual performance.
The performance of his staff members would be the key to the success of his business and it was really the only thing that mattered.
You may wonder what actions he actually took with regard to his store staff…
Well, he explained everything to his teams.
He communicated well and often and kept them in the loop as much as he possibly could.
He set targets for each individual in his stores.
They were tough targets – not out of reach, of course because we already told you he was not a stupid man – but tough enough to make people strive for the glory of achievement, the thunder of applause and the halo of recognition.
He followed resource materials that had been written by successful retailers with much experience.
He had sought wisdom and he was not disappointed.
Most of his people accepted the targets readily because, at the same time, a new compensation plan was unveiled.
It was a compensation plan designed to work hand in hand with the new targets.
Of course, some staff members liked the old way of just doing tasks and not actively selling to anyone and, eventually, they had to move on and find new employment more suited to them.
Bye-bye…we really liked you but seeing as you are
L-A-Z-Y
and have to leave, we hope you don’t let
the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
But the majority of his associates – particularly the go-getters and the ones who saw that the rewards were not only fair but really rather good – stayed and prospered.
This was now a place for winners, for performers.
They liked that.
There is a saying that goes ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’ (author unknown).
And, it applies to the relationship between employer and employee.
If I, as the employee, am given great rewards for my performance then my performance, the fruits of which accrue to my employer as well, should also be great.
This is only fair.
Our guy had to continue to learn and grow to fully understand how this new way of doing things was going to work out.
He had to make sure he was hiring performance oriented people who had customer service top of mind also.
He had to train them, manage them, communicate with them and just generally be good at driving the business, setting the direction and helping everyone by removing obstacles.
He needed enthusiastic, engaged employees with the business top of mind at all times.
He became an extraordinary leader who developed people to become even better than he was (yes, that is a great thing to do and you should do it too) and his business yielded enough profit for him to realize his dreams.
Now he has considerably more time to spend with his family and friends.
In fact, on most holidays you’ll find him quietly celebrating his good fortune looking out over the picturesque lake that his summer house is situated on.
Every time I think of his success story, I feel uplifted and grateful that I know him and was able to have a part in it.
Really, this guy was on the verge of disaster, though he didn’t know how close he was.
His stores were going to close and he was going to get some ridiculously low number of pennies on the dollar for his inventory, his fixtures, and any other assets.
His real estate was going to go on the block and be sold for a song. All of his staff would be unemployed. Things would go from bad to worse.
It didn’t seem fair because he was a really good guy who meant well and worked his fingers to the bone.
But, he didn’t know how to manage the business he was in. He didn’t know what he didn’t know.
Oh sure, he knew real estate and he could ferret out decent locations and establish nice looking stores.
He was a skilled buyer, knowing what merchandise to pick out when he was on his unavoidably expensive buying trips.
He had the gift of the gab and knew, very well, how to talk to the investors to get his next store, and his next and so on.
But, eventually, the wheels were going to fall off because the stores were not performing.
They just weren’t.
And by that, of course, we mean that the people working in the stores were not performing.
You do not, and cannot, continue on in a retail business if the stores are not performing.
It is only a matter of time until the wolf is howling at the door.
This is true of any business.
And so, you must agree, that it was extremely fortunate for him that he was stopped by that one bumbling staff member that day who started saying “blah, blah, blah” because that’s what finally woke him up; made him face his situation and forced him to make changes.
And, as they say, the rest is history.
Do you know anyone who is in the same predicament?
There are quite a few of them, actually.
Just meander through any shopping mall or center will show you who is winning and who isn’t. Or, in some cases…who is hiding their imminent demise really well.
Now, what if I told you that our guys end result – the extra revenue and profits, leading to the great lifestyle, the summer house, and extra time, etc.- wasn’t all that difficult to achieve?
Or, that we basically bottled the formula and are making it available to other retail business owners.
That was just a figure of speech. It‘s not really in a bottle…it comes in the form of Success Guides, Tools and DVD’s.
Every bit of the Retail Business Academy is highly relevant to everything a retailer does every day. It’s full of books, tools and DVD’s…and tons more stuff (detailed below) that you’ll pour over every day.
Among the materials packed in this prodigious resource you’ll find some serious retail operations management advice and instruction; the kind of stuff he was very much in need of.
He was like a sponge and he absorbed it all.
He got all the retail math, metrics and Key Performance Indicator knowledge he was ever going to need. You too, unless you’re planning on a career in high finance.
You’ll get a simple…and I do mean simple…retail employee evaluation system.
Maybe we should have put it in a black and yellow cover and called it retail employee evaluation system for Dummies…but we didn’t.
We just called it ‘I Succeed’.
It’s quick and easy to use and the reason for that is…duh! because people need quick and easy evaluations …. often. Save the big long, drawn out piece of work for the end of the year and the Human Resources people.
There’s a Store Manager’s Organizer/Planner to keep retail managers organized in a way that no other organizer can because it’s made for a retailer.
The first clue is that appointment slots don’t end at 5:00 p.m.!
And, you can print as many copies as you need for your Store Managers…every year.
There’s some strong advice and warnings related to interviewing, hiring and training.
Our guy learned all about canned questions.
Some people are veteran interviewees and they can skillfully answer any canned question because they have heard them so many times before and they know which answers work.
Of course, there are never any guarantees when hiring.
We have all been surprised from time to time but there certainly are ways to get just a little more information that will help you understand the person who will be in your stores working with your customers.
Long story short…avoid canned questions.
The resource material that our guy used laid out the real questions – the questions that will force the candidate to reach down and come up with a genuine answer that is unique to him or her…not just what they think you want to hear.
For your listening pleasure, there’s a collection of DVD’s with hard hitting information on just about every retail subject you can think of.
They come in digital format, too.
In the Retailer’s Guide to Emotional Hot Buttons, there’s some mighty interesting information about pushing emotional hot buttons to sell more merchandise.
Now, that’s a good read!
And there’s a book about characteristics and ‘ways’ or ‘secrets’ of a highly successful retail manager.
This one’s worth its weight in gold and our guy studied it until he pretty much had it memorized.
The Retail Business Academy is meant for every
retail business owner and retail manager.
In fact, this story had a happily-ever-after ending because the wisdom our guy sought came from the Retail Business Academy.
What you need to do to avoid the situation our guy found himself in early on, and to make sure you prosper the way our guy did later on, is get yourself a Platinum Membership in the Retail Business Academy.
It is priced at a mere fraction of the value you will get out of it.
Make your own happy ending.
Join the Retail Business Academy today.
“It is during the bad times that the skilled manager lays firm foundations for future growth.”
~Konosuke Matsushita, Founder, Panasonic
More DMSRetail Resources for your training library…
Management Success Books
Management Success Tools
The Ultimate Retail Success Collection is a huge compilation of all of our Success Guides, Tools, DVD’s, Self Study Programs, Bonuses and more.
DMSRetail has been helping retailers for 25 years. We love what we do.
We know that, for every roadblock to success, there is a way around it.
We have the knowledge and insight to help you navigate around any and all roadblocks and we are making a very special offer to our subscribers and customers…right now.
Sign up and you get instant access to the Retail Business Academy for 7 days for just $1.
It’s commonly referred to as a ‘no-brainer’!
Read on for all the great details about this membership and why no retail organization should try to get by without it.
Experience and Resources
We have the resources. Lots of them…available in every format for your convenience.
Below, we spell out the products, services, systems and advice you get access to for just $1 for a 7 day trial.
Succeeding in retail will always be hard work, it’s retail after all.
But, your chances of positive outcomes increase by a huge percentage if you’re taking advantage of our experience and resources.
You can get every store contributing with a nice bottom line. Our brand of information and training is what you need to get the best return on every investment you make in people and in stores.
Getting ready is a big part of the battle. The Retail Business Academy will prepare you for your next steps.
Ease of Access
You have access 24/7…at your leisure.
For those of you who want to share information and offer the very best chance of growth and development to your people, get them their own membership in the Retail Business Academy.
Invest in their future to give them the skills to invest in yours. Right now, with our buy one membership, get five free, it’s easy and painless to upgrade the skills and capabilities of your entire workforce.
Let’s get started. You need everything you’re going to see from here on down.
Here’s the long list of everything you will be able to access with your trial of the Platinum Private Membership in the Retail Business Academy
First, let us tell you that absolutely everything that DMSRetail offers for sale, is included in the Retail Business Academy.
Plus, there are many more products included that are not available for sale anywhere.
And, we’re growing it every day making your Platinum Private Membership more and more valuable.
We’re working day and night to get new stuff uploaded for you.
You’re going to have access to a wealth of different things, such as…
You’ll access all of these things on the membership site, through our Success Guides and Tools, such as:
And, our Self Development Programs:
Our Packages:
A multitude of Reports and Forms:
Sales & Marketing Tips:
Compensation Plans – DMSRetail Proprietary Pay for Performance Plans
Guidance to Inspire:
It’s Just Common Sense, Really
Webinars:
DMSRetail holds Webinars on a regular basis and we post them to
Retail Business Academy. With your Platinum Private Membership:
You simply sign in to your membership account at the Retail Business Academy and watch/listen to the webinar at absolutely no additional cost. It’s included with your membership.
Back to the stuff you get…
‘How- to’ for People Development:
**Discounts on Workshop Attendance – Here are the workshops currently being offered:
**Planned access to Consultants and Instructors at DMSRetail via email
**Scheduled telephone conversations with DMSRetail Consultants and Instructors
So, check out this link to the Retail Business Academy.
If you’re in retail, or if you supply retail
you really need this.
Want to skip the trial?
Get the very best value with these links…
For monthly membership, click here.
Save 57% with an annual membership, click here.
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Online Marketing for Retailers
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST (6:00 p.m. London)
All Registrants will get the recording and slides.
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Work with To Do Lists – Daily or weekly, a ‘to do’ list must be created. It must include only those things that you have deemed to be priorities based on your top success factors. Others may inadvertently influence your ‘to do’ list unless you are very careful. Just remember whose ‘to do’ list it is.
Why is it important to use a to do list?
We can’t necessarily keep everything in our memory and, even if we could, why waste the brain space when you can jot it down on paper? Seeing the list of things written down on paper helps you to prioritize. Any possible duplication of effort can be seen at a glance. You get the satisfaction of striking things off the list as they are accomplished.
Appointments – Make a plan for your day, week or month as if you are creating appointments. That is to say, if you plan to do something at 9:30 a.m., and have scheduled that activity as a 45 minute appointment, then do it in the 45 minutes you have scheduled it for. Appointments should have a start and finish time and cannot be left open ended.
Reduce time allotments – Any activity, task, project or meeting can easily expand to use up all of the time allotted to it. For this reason, schedule on the short side. Things tend to be handled more efficiently and effectively when a tighter time frame is in place.
| There is more about productivity in retail at DMSRetail.com |
Organize – In retail, you must be highly organized. You need a system for reducing clutter (of your space and your mind) and for easy retrieval of documents and information. If your life is full of clutter, your brain is confused and is probably actually preventing you from getting things done.
Make a point of regularly clearing out junk that you don’t need or use anymore. Stuff at home and work should be thrown out if it is not useful to you. You should actually schedule this ‘clutter removal’ appointment once a month or even as often as once a week.
Delegate – Presumably you have competent people working for you so you should be able to delegate according to their particular strengths and availability. Even if you need to break a larger project down into smaller, more manageable pieces it will help you and it will help in development your people.
You’ll need to consider these things when deciding what to delegate:
-Is it a repetitive task?
-If a bad decision is made regarding this issue – what is the impact? Is it easily reversed? Will it negatively affect others? Will it be expensive, for the company, to correct or reverse?
Say “no” – Although it is not always possible, you need to know how to determine what you should say “no” to. If someone asks you to take on a project or task that will not necessarily advance your cause – or contribute to your top success factors – then you need to say “no”. If you find there is no alternative but to accept the project or task, then you need to look for items on your to do list that can be moved to another time slot or ‘appointment time’ or delegated.
| There is more about productivity in retail at DMSRetail.com |
Remain flexible and reschedule often – You will need to allow for the unexpected. The idea of planning your work and working your plan is a very good one, but sometimes you will just have to be flexible. So, when the need arises, be prepared to reschedule.
Allow yourself some scheduled unproductive time – It doesn’t sound right but it’s important. This is what will keep you going. We can’t have every minute of every day pinned down – sometimes we have to just enjoy ….whatever.
Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do – Sometimes it’s impossible to embark on a big project. Maybe you have limited resources; maybe the expected outcome is still a bit uncertain. For whatever reason, you just know you can’t get the big project done. You can, however, start on small parts of that big project – the parts that you are able to get done and that will be useful when it comes time to get the big project underway. In fact, if you work at it that way you might just find that the big project has suddenly taken care of itself.
Sleep early, wake up early and take good care of your health– The early bird gets the worm! In our case, the early riser gets more done while they are still energetic. It’s a great feeling to know that some people are just lounging around – still in their beds – while you have already accomplished half of your to do list.
Have you taken our management style quiz yet? Hundreds of our members have.
Here’s the link: http://www.dmsretail.com//Managementstylequiz.htm
DMSRetail 