Doug Fleener offers up a list of things you should stop doing because they may very well cost you sales and profits. You’ll see some of them are twists on the items in Doug’s 21 Ways list, but as Earl Nightingale once said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”
1. STOP congregating at the register. Okay, I had to say that one for old time’s sake. I don’t know what they put in those counters but they act as magnets for the flesh of retail employees. I just can’t figure out why so many customers are immune to the magnetic force.
2. STOP thinking it is too late or you don’t have to time to do marketing activities that will have a positive impact on your business. If you’re an owner or a manager now is the time to increase some of your staff’s hours so you can concentrate on driving more customers in.
3. STOP thinking that what newspapers, websites, and pundits are saying about the holidays is what is also going to happen in your store. I just searched the terms “Holiday Sales” on Google News and once again the stories are all over the place. The San Francisco Chronicle’s headline yesterday read: Sales slow after hefty Black Friday – while the Houston Chronicle headline read: Holiday Shopping Off to a Solid Start. The only thing that matters is where your store ends up. The biggest impact on your sales isn’t the national or local economy but how well you and your team execute. Believe and work hard to achieve a GREAT holiday and you’ll have one. As a matter of fact you should create your own headline like: Blows Away Holiday Sales Goal – and post it at your desk and in the backroom.
4. STOP thinking traffic is slow. Start thinking that slower traffic gives you an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with customers and to sell them more products.
5. STOP believing that all customers want is a great deal. Most customers actually want a great experience buying a product at a fair price. Most customers want to feel good about what they buy. That same customer may have been hunting for a great deal on Black Friday weekend but has now settled into his regular shopping routine.
6. STOP assuming customers are “just looking” or “getting some ideas”. Customers are out to buy and if you don’t make the sale your competitors will.
7. STOP thinking that to be highly focused on the customer means to be overbearing and pushy. What it really means is to maximize your opportunities by creating a wonderful and memorable in-store experience with highly passionate and personable salespeople.
8. STOP letting any slackers on the staff continue in their slacker habits. Nip it in the bud now before it gets too busy to address and ends up costing you sales.
9. STOP thinking the holidays are stressful and not fun. I think the dog days of summer or the dark days of February where you have to make your numbers with a heck of a lot fewer customers are more stressful. Have fun and enjoy yourself.
10. STOP (input what you know you should stop doing).
11. STOP thinking you’re too busy to go above and beyond for the customer the way you usually do. It is the essence of what makes you a “Specialty” retailer and you need to do it now more than ever. The holidays aren’t just important to our sales but they give us the opportunity to obtain new customers for 2007 as well as keep those we’ve had. Show them the love!
Check out Fleener’s website at www.dynamicexperiencesgroup.com
