Decision Making 101 for Entrepreneurs - Taking Accountability

One of the most important things that I expect of people (any myself) is accountability.  We’ve all gone through ups and downs in our lives, both personally and professionally.  We’ve all made mistakes and said and done things that maybe weren’t the wisest choices.  But how can you expect to learn from those decisions if you don’t own up to them in the first place?

As a business owner, you make decisions all day, every day.  It’s sometimes hard to know what decisions are the “right” decisions because sometimes there is no “right” or “wrong” choice, just a subjective choice.  Here are some tips on how to make decisions that you can feel confident about and will be able to own up to no matter the outcome.

1.       Make your decisions based on your key core principles.  For me, if I am questioned about the decisions I have made, I want to know that the decision I made was based on honesty, accountability, and responsibility.  If my choices don’t fit those criteria, then I need to keep thinking until a decision can be reached that will fit those criteria.

2.       Keep other people in mind.  If you have the responsibility of being the final decision maker on an issue, think about who will ultimately be affected by this decision.  Is it a change to a process that will affect customer service?  If it is, then you’ll need to keep in mind how the customers will feel about the change and take into consideration your front line staff who will have to implement this change.

3.       Don’t worry about what other people think.  I know this sounds contradictory to what I just said, but let me explain.  Every decision you make in life will not only affect you, but everyone around you.  However, not everyone is going to agree with your decision or support it.  You will never be able to please everybody.  I know it’s hard to hear people tell you that you’re wrong or that you screwed up.  Everyone is going to have their opinions but as long as you are confident with your final decisions, not everyone’s opinions are going to matter.

4.       It’s okay to change your mind.  People make mistakes.  If you see that the choice you made was a wrong choice, don’t let your pride get in the way of making a better choice.  Too often people hold onto their decisions out of sheer stubbornness.  But this is where some of your accountability comes in.  If you made a mistake, own up to it, apologize if need be, make a different choice, learn from it, and move on.

Strong leaders are people who can make important decisions on the fly but are also confident enough in themselves and their abilities to be held accountable for their decisions.  They don’t let pride or stubbornness or greed get in the way of making decisions that have a positive impact on their organizations.  So, as you go about your day today, making decisions all day long, keep these points in mind.  Remember that you are a role model for your staff.  Be accountable to that.

How to Increase Your Sales This Week

I often hear people say that Christmas has become too commercialized and that it’s not about the true meaning of the holiday anymore.  But no matter what your thoughts are on this, this weekend is the busiest shopping week of the year.  In fact, according the 2012 BMO Holiday Spending Outlook, it is estimated that Canadians will spend an average of $1610 per person this holiday season.  That’s a lot of money! 

Having worked as a store manager, area manager, and regional manager in the retail industry for over 10 years I know firsthand what it takes to operate a successful retail location.  As a retailer you can capitalize on consumers’ spending this week to increase the amount customers spend in your store (instead of your competitors’ store!) with a few simple sales tactics that really work.

·         Encourage multiple unit sales (UPT’s) – Set a UPT goal and hold a contest among your staff to see who can get the most units in one sale.

·         Increase your average total transaction dollar amount – Encourage your staff to make each sale a minimum amount, for example $50 per sale.

·         Show complimentary items. Don’t just tell customers about the other items in your store.  Show them!  And present them with items they already want to purchase.

·         Put items near the cash so customers will see them when they already have their money in their hand.  These are referred to as Point-of-Purchase items (or POP’s) for a good reason.  Often customers will pick up one of these items just out of curiosity while you’re entering their other items into the cash.  Train your staff well on providing exceptional customer service and selling these items will just come naturally to them.

·         Create displays that tell a story.  People purchase benefits not products.  When they can see themselves using a particular product that’s when they will buy it.  Get creative with your displays, but don’t overdo it.  You don’t want it to be so busy that the customer gets overwhelmed and walks away.

Try these tricks in your store and you’ll reap the rewards of having more sales in your cash and you'll be able to say that you helped put more money into the economy.  But amidst all the craziness, don’t forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  Happy selling!

Creating a Positive Company Image During the Holidays

The holiday season is upon us in full force.  Santa is at the shopping malls and in parades all across the country and people are lining up outside stores to get the best deals on gifts.  But lately over the past several years, I’ve noticed a difference in how people approach the holiday season.  Have people gotten more lazy, less thoughtful, less considerate,  andless respectful over the years?  Or am I just getting old and expect some good old-fashioned manners?

Maybe when I was younger I just didn’t notice, but it seems that people are now a lot less thoughtful.  I realize we’re all busy, trying to do too much to make Christmas a wonderful experience for everyone we love.  But imagine that every time you step out your front door that you are a representative of your company.  No matter what position you hold in that company, whether you are the CEO or the stock boy, you represent that company every time you talk to someone.  You may not be talking business, but the image you project will be remembered by the people you spoke to.

 

Marketing is about creating a positive image in the minds of your customers.  And there are lots of marketing communications tools to do that with.  But have you ever given much thought as to how your personal image reflects on your business?

Remember that no matter who you’re talking to, that person could someday be a potential client or may refer you to a friend who could give you your next big break.  I know we’re all busy, but this season when you’re out running around, take the time to say please and thank you to the sales associates helping you, be considerate of the other shoppers, help someone just because.  These are not only good business practices but they are things that should be in everyone’s daily repertoire anyway.  

So, like I was saying it’s a busy time of year.  People are rushed and tired and sometimes in a grumpy mood and we’ve all seen people at the grocery store in their pyjama bottoms.  Think about this before you leave the house… you never know who you’re going to meet throughout the day.  I doubt you’d want your first meeting with a potential client to happen in your jammies!  I'm not saying you need to go shopping in a business suit, but getting dressed is a good first step.  And, remember that Santa’s watching… so you might want to make sure you’re on the “nice” list and not on the “naughty” list!

Consistency in your image is crucial

Communicating a consistent message is absolutely imperative to any business, from your marketing materials, to your on line marketing to the look of your business.  That includes the visual layout of the store, the cleanliness of the store and the attire of your staff.  Many small businesses just kind of wing it when it comes to marketing, not really knowing what to do when and not having a lot of money to play with.  But no matter what kind of business you’re in, the first impression a potential customer has when they walk into your business is an impression that will stay with them.  So what kind of impression do want to make?

·         Merchandise your products in a way that is appealing to your target market.  For example, a discount store can put racks of clearance stuff out front and centre because that is what that customer is looking for.  As soon as you put a clearance rack in a store that is geared to the wealthy and affluent customer, they’ll be insulted and walk out.

·         Make sure your company signage reflects your brand.  It doesn’t have to have your logo all over it.  It just needs to reflect the core values of the company.  I have a client that sells all natural products to a very elite target market who expect exceptional quality and service at any cost.  With this client, we needed to develop different sets of signage, some that could be used year round and some that could be used seasonally or during a particular occasion or event.  The signage that she uses everyday shows the products along with a description of the product and the manufacturer.  The other signage reflects the feel of the store with earth tone colours and pictures, without overdoing the “natural” theme or plastering her logo everywhere.

Creating that consistent image doesn’t need to cost a ton of money.  Get creative with decorating your place of business.  Better yet, make sure your place of business is clean and inviting.  Make sure your staff is dressed professionally and they greet your customers with a smile as soon as they walk in the door.  The last thing you want is for your customers have a consistently “bad” image of your company.

Is Your Merchandise Safe?

Sure, your store visuals need to look pretty, but have you really given much thought into the loss prevention side of merchandising? I recently met with a client for the very first time.  The instant I walked into that store, I noticed several things that needed to be changed; not for aesthetics purposes but for loss prevention reasons.  As soon as you walked in the door, there was short slat wall with a rack of pyjamas on it.  Now, the store has 3 levels to it and they generally only staff one employee at a time in there, so the opportunity for someone to step in that front door and swipe all of those jammies is huge. 

I hate to say it, but I’ve seen it time and time again, where people get desperate, especially at this time of year.  If they spot an opportunity to take something and think they can get away with it, they will.  Here are some tips for safeguarding your merchandise while still making your store look nice.

·         Don’t merchandise anything too close to the entrance of the store.

·         If your store is an odd shape, with sections that are sometimes difficult to monitor, consider filling that space with large signage, mannequins or decorative stuff like empty boxes wrapped like Christmas presents.  For example, if you have a sporting goods store, put a snowmobile in there.  Nobody’s going to steal that!  The point here is to put something in there that isn’t going to be easily swiped or if it does, there isn’t any monetary loss from it.

·         Keep the change room area free of displays.  Things can go missing from there very easily unless you have a staff member delegated to monitoring that area at all times.

·         As you’re going around throughout the day straightening things out, putting items away and organizing sections, do a quick check to make sure there aren’t empty spaces where there shouldn’t be, empty hangers or items stuffed under racks.  If there are, that’s an area that will need to be more closely monitored in the future.

·        Be careful where you put small, easy to pocket items.  I’ve seen stores with slat wall on the front of their cash desks.  Big mistake!!  Putting small items there is easy target for someone to easily slip it into their purse or shopping bag all while they’re casually chatting with the salesperson who is ringing up their actual “purchases”.

I could go on and on about loss prevention merchandising, but this gives you a good start in terms of things to think about when designing the layout of your store or place of business.  The majority of us would never dream to take anything from a store, but unfortunately there are people who do.  So you need to think like the thief when displaying product.  Think about how easy you’re making it for them.

One of the things I was most proud of when I was managing a clothing store was when our store was recognized from head office because we had the lowest inventory percent loss in the entire company.  Not only was my staff diligent about shipping and receiving product accurately to reflect accurate inventory counts in the computer system, but we were very creative in our visual merchandising strategies.  We sort of followed the visual sets sent to us by head office, but we always had to get creative because our store was an odd shape.  I was really excited to share with my staff the results from our inventory count.

You too can have the same results.  Take a few minutes to draw out a diagram of your store and decide where you want to position things.  When you’re done, step back and look at it from the thief’s point of view.  Adjust things accordingly and you’ll have a store that is a deterrent to thieves. 

The State of Customer Service in this Country

My personal opinion about customer service in this country is that it has been going downhill for years.   This past weekend was no exception.  My husband I decided to take our kids to the movie theatre.  We very rarely go to the theatre since it’s a little pricey for all 5 of us to go regularly.  Anyhow, I was flabbergasted at the complete lack of service, in fact lack of respect for the customers.  With this kind of service, I don’t plan on going back anytime soon.  In fact, According to American Express, 85% of customers have decided to never do business with a company because of poor customer service in the past.  That’s a lot of people!! 

Now of course when you go anywhere on a weekend, it’s going to be busy and you’re going to encounter teenage sales associates.  I get that.  After all, I was a manager for 10 years and some of my best employees were my students.  However, when we got to the movie theatre, there was line up a mile long.  We got in line, but the line didn’t seem to be moving very quickly.  After standing there for a very long time, the line suddenly split off.  I guess they had decided to open another cash window.  Maybe it’s just me, but really… on a weekend matinee with 5 movies playing that everyone wants to see, you’re only going to open one cash window with a slow moving teenager??  By the time we got to the cash, the teenager did not even look at us, he just told us the total and that was it.  No apology for the wait, no “Thank you for coming”, no acknowledgement what so ever.  Next we headed to the lineup for the popcorn.  Once again we stood there forever.  Once we got to the front, the teenager working this cash was taking his sweet old time, oblivious to the fact that there were 50 people still standing behind me.  Once again, no acknowledgement what so ever.  He just took our order, proceeded to have a conversation with another teenager working the counter, took my money and that was it. 

Now I’m not bashing teenagers (I have a 15 year old son), but what is with the level of customer service lately?  I’m not blaming the teenagers.  After all it’s likely their first job, so they have never had any training on how to be courteous.  (Don’t get me wrong, some of that is common sense and should have been instilled in them at home by now)  When I was a manager, the absolute number one priority in my store was customer service.  The stores I managed were number one in the district and the company for a reason… because we had repeat customers who wouldn’t think to shop anywhere else.

So, how have things changed in terms of customer service training?  Do you have a thorough training plan in place?  Do you have high expectations for your staff (teenagers or not)?  Remember, 85% of your customers won’t come back because of poor service.  Taking the time to adequately train your staff, follow up regularly with them and instill a sense of pride to be working for your company is well worth the time it takes to do that.  Remember that customer retention is so much easier and cheaper than customer acquisition.