DMSRetail

DMSRetail Inc. presents the Retail Math – Made Simple Workshop at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel & Conference Centre:

Retail Math – Made Simple – April 16, 2012 (New! For NY location. See Program Outline below.)

Also being offered at this location:     

The Retail Operations Management Workshop – April 16-17-18, 2012 http://www.dmsretail.com/retailtraining.htm

District Management Leadership Workshop – April 19-20, 2012 http://www.dmsretail.com/districtworkshop.htm

Retail Brand & Category Management Workshop – April 23-24-25, 2012 http://www.dmsretail.com/brandcatman.htm

Contact us at training@dmsretail.comfor further details, Program Outlines, Faculty, or to apply to attend these events.
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Now here’s a Sneak Peak at what’s new for the NY location…one day intensive workshop… Retail Math – Made Simple

The Retail Math – Made Simple Workshop is designed to inform retail professionals about Retail Metrics, their calculations and their importance in daily retail operations. Key Performance Indicators that are essential for measurement of retail operational success are covered in detail. In addition, this program contains a section on the very important management tool – Balanced Score Cards as they apply to Retail Management.

Agenda:

6 Pillars of Retail and how to optimize them for maximum sales and profitability

Definition and explanation of terminology used in Retail Math

Break

Key Performance Indicators (What to measure, how to measure and how to interpret the results)

Lunch

Commonly Used Formulas

Open-to-Buy

Sell-Thru Scenarios

Break

Store Operating Statement (P&L Statement)

Balanced Scorecards and Their Implementation in Retail Management – Break out excercise

Q&A

What You’ll Learn:

Why the success of your retail operation depends on your ability to determine, and accurately measure, your Key Performance Indicators. Measurement of important metrics and determining the key performance indicators is one of the most important activities for a retail manager at store/district/region/company level. Failure to identify your most important metrics can be fatal to your business.

Retail Math, Metrics and KPI terminology and definitions.

Commonly used formulas.

What to measure, how to measure and how to interpret the results.

What action to take based on the results.

Overview and examples of Open to Buy, Sell-thru and Store Operating Statements.

How to create and implement Balanced Score Cards at any level in your retail operation. Balanced Score Cards are used to summarize your most important KPI’s on one page – right at your fingertips – while considering all angles of your retail operation: Financial, Customer, Processes and Growth & Development

Who Should Attend: Anyone who has a responsibility to drive sales and profits in a retail environment, including Store/District and Regional Managers as well as appropriate Head Office staff.

Workshop Fee: $495 per person; $425 per person in a group of 3 or more; includes lunch and workshop materials.

Duration: 1-Day (9am-5pm)

There’s not much time left to apply to attend these workshops, so contact us today at training@dmsretail.com.

All the Success!
DMSRetail

PS: Applications to attend accepted until March 15, 2012. If you need more information on Faculty and/or Program Outlines or if you’re ready to apply, contact training@dmsretail.com without delay.

The answer is ‘who knows?’

We wanted to send a short note about the importance of increasing one’s value in order to reap the rewards we’re searching for; the rewards we feel that we deserve for all our hard work…and we found this quote. We think R.Sharma said it very well, so here it is:

“In the new economy you now find yourself in, you will be compensated not by how hard you work but by how much value you add to the world around you. Think about it. If you are currently being paid twenty dollars an hour, this money is being given to you not simply because you showed up at your desk for those sixty minutes but because you have added twenty dollars worth of perceived value during those sixty minutes. So, the monetary reward you receive is determined not by how long you work but by how much value you add.

This is why a brain surgeon is paid so much more than a McDonald’s employee. Is the brain surgeon a better person? Not necessarily. Is the brain surgeon a harder worker? Probably not. Is the brain surgeon smarter? Who knows? But one thing is certain: the brain surgeon has accumulated far more specialized knowledge and specific know-how than the McDonald’s employee. There are far fewer people who can do what the brain surgeon does and, as a result, the brain surgeon is perceived as far more valuable to the market place. This is why the brain surgeon is paid over ten times more than the person who flips burgers. Money simply becomes a symbol for how much value each person has added to the world at large.

So to be paid more money in your work, you must add more value to the world. And the best way to begin adding value to the world is to start becoming a more valuable person. Acquire skills no one else has. Read books no one else is reading. Think thoughts no one else is thinking. Or, to put it another way, you cannot have all that you want if you remain the person you are. To get more from life, you need to be more in life.”

We invite you to comment on this quote at:  http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

All the Success!
DMSRetail

PS: You can acquire skills and sharpen your thoughts with DMSRetail’s Success Guides and Self Study Courses, or by attending our workshops. Here are just 3 of the many products we have available to help you add more value and have all you want: 
The Retail Operations Management Workshop: 
http://www.dmsretail.com/retailtraining.htm
The Super Retail Success Bundle – Success Guides and Tools: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm
Store Management for Maximum Success Self Study Course: http://www.dmsretail.com/storemanagementcourse.htm

PPS: Feel free to forward this message to your friends and colleagues in retail. Better yet, if they want to receive their own copy, they can sign up here for free…and it takes about 3 seconds! http://www.dmsretail.com/retailwise.htm

Store Management for Maximum Success Workshop – this is for people who are Store Managers, Assistant Managers and any other position that has responsibility for the store operation in the Managers absence. The workshop teaches participants the importance of running the store as a successful business. Often we find that Store Managers perceive their role in a certain way – perhaps as an administrator, or as an enforcer of all the rules, or as the person who makes sure the store is kept clean and tidy, or maybe a sales manager. While all of those duties are within the scope of the Store Manager’s position, it is important for them to understand how the store operates as a business that is required to return a profit to the stakeholders. This workshop develops Store Managers (and Assistants and other in-store supervisory positions) into stronger business people by understanding how everything they do every day impacts their store’s success.  

District/Region Management Workshop – this is for people who are District/Region Managers already and others in the organization who might be promoted to these positions in the near future. One of the biggest challenges for District/Region Managers is that they manage, and are accountable for stores spread throughout a geographic region, and cannot see/hear everything that is going on in each of those stores every day. We call this managing remotely. This is, of course, much different and much more difficult than managing in one location that a person works out of every day.
So there is a strong focus on the responsibilities of a District/Region Manager to be a very good leader. We talk about leading people, integrity, supporting their people, representing their Head Office, and much more. We also introduce some straight forward methods to get the best out of their people, through certain processes that they can use every day in their work. As the leader, there is no doubt who is accountable for the store teams in their district/region – no matter how difficult, the District/Region Manager is the person who has to make the stores operate successfully through effective leadership and management of their teams. We teach them how – from what to look for when hiring store managers and associates, to how to drive sales, to how to ensure they get maximum productivity from a store visit and much more. 

The Retail Operations Management Workshop – this is for people who are in mid to upper management in the operations side of a retail business. People who attend this workshop usually have implementation power so they can make changes to their operation based on ideas they get at the workshop. It is also a very good way for Head Office Managers who may not work in the operations side of the business but who need to understand how things work. For example, people from the following departments: purchasing, administration, human resources, accounting, distribution, marketing, etc. There is a huge benefit to the organization to have people from these departments attend this particular workshop because it gives them a foundation of store operations knowledge so that they can make any and all of their decisions with this in mind.

Brand & Category Management Workshop – this is for people on the product side of the business and for marketing teams. It is all about the benefits of category management; managing vendor relationships; taking different marketing approaches based on changing circumstances. There is a lot of detailed information and several case studies in this 3 day workshop

True story. I know a guy who worked in retail for years. He started as a sales associate and progressed to higher positions in a relatively short period of time. He shared this story with me and I just have to pass it on.

The events in this story took place when my friend was a brand new, young, impressionable sales associate.

 The actual dispute between the Store Manager and the Customer isn’t all that important but here it is (below) anyway…

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The Super Retail Success Bundle, electronic download version, is really affordable at two monthly payments of just $77 each. And, we ship your DVD’s after you make your first payment! You get 8 Success books and tools and 7 DVD’s…plus, 7 personal development bonuses and a bonus DVD on Selling Skills! Check it out here: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm
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The customer had purchased some merchandise from the store. It happened that the Store Manager was the person who sold it to him. The Store Manager had made a lot of promises about what the merchandise would do…how it would perform…and most of the promises turned out to be lies. Actually, it turned out that this Store Manager was a little shady!

Not surprisingly, the customer was upset and returned the merchandise to the store. The Store Manager refused to give the customer a refund. The store had a return policy which would have allowed this customer to receive a refund but the Store Manager refused.

The customer was angry, justifiably so. He was sold some merchandise which was falsely represented and he was angry. Add to that the fact that he was refused a refund when he clearly was within his rights to receive his money back and you have to ask…

Who wouldn’t behave a little irrationally?

Anyway, the part that’s interesting is this: As the customer was storming out of the store, he yelled back at the Store Manager “My lawyer will see you in court over this.”

That’s bad, isn’t it? Imagine the effect on customers hearing this kind of thing; hearing an obviously dissatisfied customer screaming about a law suit. Bad, yes…but it gets worse…

The Store Manager yelled back, from across the store, “Oh, yeah? You have one lawyer, we have a hundred lawyers!”

Then, to really show off his managerial abilities, he approached his employees and said “Never be afraid of customers.” I’m not making this up. It really happened.

So, can you tell us everything the Store Manager did wrong? Join the conversation on http://www.facebook.com/dmsretail

All the Success!
DMSRetail

PS: Don’t miss out on this. The Super Retail Success Bundle, electronic download version, is really affordable at two monthly payments of just $77 each. And, we ship your DVD’s after you make your first payment! You get 8 Success books and tools and 7 DVD’s…plus, 7 personal development bonuses and a bonus DVD on Selling Skills! That’s 23 ways to improve your chances of success in retail!! Check it out here: http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm

Have you given any thought to the fact that a generation of income earners may be doing less and less business with retail stores? And what that really means for retailers? This is not new, by any means, but have you thought about it?

A few days ago my good friend’s son, who is 29 years old, made an interesting comment to me. He said, “It’s amazing how much more I shop online now than I did a couple of years ago. My friends and colleagues do too!”

I asked him why that was. He said “Well, why not? It’s just so convenient and there are no hassles with anyone.”

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Retail Selling Skills & Customer Service Fundamentals Self Study Course on DVD’s with Study Guide
http://www.dmsretail.com/retailsellingandserviceskillshs.htm
Retail District Management Self Study Course on DVD’s with Study Guide
http://www.dmsretail.com/retaildmstudycourse.htm
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So, perhaps the modern consumer, many of them being young and upwardly mobile people, will just stay away from stores without thinking much about it. They don’t think they’re giving anything up. During the conversation, he didn’t complain about retail stores. In fact, brick and mortar stores didn’t even get into the conversation. That should be reason enough for retailers to be concerned. This young man and his contemporaries may not even be making a conscious choice…they’re just doing what comes naturally. Perhaps expectations of service and a great shopping experience have sunk so low that it doesn’t even warrant consideration anymore.

This young man, by the way, earns a very good salary, owns his own home and spends plenty of money on clothes, shoes, furniture, healthcare items, accessories…you name it. Most of it, clearly, online.

Now, at age 29, it’s doubtful that he would consider shopping in brick and mortar stores as a form of entertainment as a lot of people used to do…and some still do. So he’s not giving anything up. If you think about it entertainment is the only thing people may not be able to get when they order on line. For some that may continue to be a factor. Certainly they get selection, convenience, hassle free shopping, no sales associates to ‘bother’ them, easy check out without lining up, etc.

Of course, from our point of view, the customer is missing out on a lot of benefits by only shopping online. But, I’m afraid those benefits are being seen less and less by today’s consumer.

The huge question we absolutely must address, as retail management and owners – whether independents or chains – is “Why would people want to come into our stores and buy from us?” Sure we can enjoy our online sales as well, but what about all the money we have tied up in buildings, leasehold improvements, signage, fixtures, other equipment, etc.? And think of the hit employment numbers could take if all of our stores closed their doors! We need in store sales, don’t we?

If you haven’t asked yourself why people should come into your stores yet, don’t delay. The answer will help you to figure out what action you need to take right now to stay in business for the long haul…profitably. It’s not complicated! Don’t put it off.

 All the Success!

 DMSRetail

PS: Help your people learn how to keep your customers coming back to your store(s) and increase your loyal customer base. Get leaps and bounds ahead of your competition. Our Retail Selling Skills & Customer Fundamentals YourTime Self Study Course: http://www.dmsretail.com/retailsellingandserviceskillshs.htm and the Retail District Management YourTime Self Study Course: http://www.dmsretail.com/retaildmstudycourse.htm  are incredibly helpful tools and resources for you. Don’t delay…get on the right track today!