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Maximizing the Final Week

Five Shopping Days left! Internet no longer a viable option. They have to come see you. Here are some things to remember to make this weekend HUGE!

Prep the Store

  • Get everything out of the warehouse and on the floor, even if you’re making creative piles in the middle of an aisle or off to the side of another display.
  • Load up on your giftwrap/bags/tape, etc. You don’t have time to go to the backroom and get more supplies.
  • Straighten the shelves and pull everything forward to the front edge of the display. It makes the shelves look more full and inviting.

Prep the Staff

  • Schedule breaks for them so that they are fresh when they are on the store.
  • Get food so they don’t have to leave to eat.
  • Healthy food so that they don’t have a bunch of sugar highs/lows.

Sell Up

  • Show the best first.
  • Limit the options.
  • Complete the sale by showing any and all accessories and add-ons that could possibly needed.
  • Ask this very important question… “Who else is on your list?”
    (nod to Bob Phibbs)

Have Fun

This is why we are in retail. This is our moment to shine. Be in this moment. Enjoy this moment. Have some fun in this moment. That is what retail is all about.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Other cool things you can do for your staff… Give them gifts – lottery tickets, gift cards to restaurants, gas cards, etc. Give them massages – hire a masseuse for the day to chair massages in the backroom. Feed them – order in pizza, or cater a healthy lunch/dinner. Put on Christmas Movies in the backroom to keep them in the mood.

Make the Guys Happy This Week

Starting today, the guys are hitting the stores. We are last-second shoppers by nature. Ladies shop fifty two weeks a year. The men? Ten days tops. Although I won’t speak for all guys, here are three things you should do to maximize their transactions.

  • Limit their choices. Guys don’t want to make too many decisions. Bog them down with lots of options and choices from the get-go and you might not get them to go to the checkout. Show them the best in the category. If they balk at that option, find out why and show them one other option. Show them one option at a time until they buy. But always start with the best.
  • Make them feel smart. Don’t question their judgment. Don’t use big words or insider terminology. Explain things in a simple, but not condescending way. Ask only the necessary questions. Let them do as much of the talking as possible. Reinforce their statements and beliefs. You will win their trust and their wallets.
  • Offer them time-saving services. Do you giftwrap? Assemble? Deliver? Guys are willing to pay extra for time-saving services and conveniences. Tell them all that you can do for them. They won’t ask, but they will say yes when you offer. Guys are the reason the “convenience store” concept even exists. Anything to save a few steps, a few minutes, a few hassles.

Guys want their shopping trips to be smart, fast, and hassle-free. The best way to maximize these final days of the season is to be ready for the guys. They should start arriving this afternoon.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS One more thing you can do to help the guys – refresh your signage. According to Paco Underhill’s book Why We Buy, guys are the number one reader of signs. According to Rick Segal, signs increase sales by 43%. According to Phil Wrzesinski, Introverts (50% of the population) are the #2 reader of signs.

Corporate-Speak and Fifty-Cent Words

This was in a blog I follow…

“In the next three years, retail will reinvent itself as omni-channel leaders reach for customer relationship, relevancy, and reciprocity. A new replacement cycle of enterprise, planning, and commerce systems will anchor complex companywide business transformation for immersive experience and commerce. Quick-to-market leaders will improve same-shopper sales — fast becoming the most significant leading indicator of future performance,” said Robert Parker, IDC Retail, Energy and Manufacturing Group VP and GM. “We expect renewed investment in the narrower but transformative capabilities of PLM and sourcing, marketing and advertising, and big data and analytics.”

Let me translate that for you…

“In the next three years there will be a lot of upheaval and change in retail. Those who change the fastest and most in-line with the customers will do the best.”

You can apply that to any 3-year period you want. It’s true today. It will be true tomorrow.

Two lessons from that paragraph:

First, the more things change, the more they stay the same. You will always need to be adapting your store to meet the needs of your customers. You can take that to the bank (and if you adapt properly, you will take it to the bank!)

Second, never use big, fancy words when simpler words will do. Sure, you can show off your knowledge and prove what a big shot you are, but we don’t care about that. Use simple words. Make your ideas and thoughts understandable by the masses. Especially when you work with your customers. They often don’t know the terminology you and I use every day, and they don’t like being made to feel stupid. When I read the first paragraph up above I was immediately turned off – and I know what some of those words actually mean! I still had to read it three times before figuring out what they were trying to say.

Make your customers feel smart by keeping your words simple.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS This is especially important with your male shoppers. Guys communicate vertically – did what I say make you think higher of me or lower of me? They will walk out of any store that makes them feel stupid. And since these next two weeks are the male shoppers’ turn to shine, you need to maximize them to maximize your sales.

The Two Distinctly Different Customers

This video is a great summation of many of the ideas and thoughts I have shared with you. I want you to watch it and think about the Transactional vs Relational Customer. I want you to watch it and think about the importance of knowing and showing your Values. I want you to watch it and think about your products and services and policies and to which planet they are aimed.

There are powerful lessons contained in these eleven minutes. Block out some time when you can watch this without distractions.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS What does Planet Neo look like for indie retailers? Much of what we already do, but need to do more. Think words like Innovative, Cutting Edge, Unique, and Authentic. Think not just in terms of your products, but of your services, too. What do innovative services look like? What services are cutting edge? How can your services be unique?

The Mortar Between Your Bricks

They call us Brick & Mortar stores. Physical locations where you go to pick out and pick up your goods.

But many stores are simply Brick stores – no mortar. Those are the stores being Showroomed.

Bricks are the products. Bricks are the items you choose to put into your store. Bricks are the items you buy, hoping to sell for a profit. Bricks are the reason you believe customers will beat a path to your door.

Oh, but you would be wrong on that last one.

Sure, you better have some nice bricks. But everyone knows that just stacking a bunch of bricks will not build a sustainable structure. Anyone can come by and knock it down.

Mortar is the glue that holds the bricks together. You need a good mortar.

Mortar is the staff you hire and train. Hire the right people and train them well. Give them autonomy to do the job they are capable of doing, mastery to do it better each successive time, and a purpose greater than themselves that will motivate them to do their best.

Mortar is the way you service and take care of your customers. Build policies around your Values. Build policies around the Feelings you hope to give your customers. Build policies around Delight, around going above and beyond what your customers expect.

Mortar is the way you invest in your community. Mortar is the charities you support, the issues you champion, the involvement and commitment you make to the greater good.

Mortar is the special touches you offer. Mortar is turning off the overhead music when an autistic child enters your store because you know it bothers him. Mortar is carrying the heavy item out to the car – even though it is parked hundreds of feet away – so that mom can manage the stroller and the toddler who wants to walk. Mortar is calling that customer who really wanted your sold-out, discontinued science set because somebody returned one the next day. Mortar is saying Yes! when everyone else says No.

The stronger your mortar, the stronger your store, regardless of which bricks you use.

Bricks are everywhere. The bricks that make up your store can be found online, in hundreds of other stores, all over the place. They can be found right in your customer’s pocket, one click away. If you want to make it in this retail climate, you need some incredibly good mortar.

Tell me what is your mortar?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Mortar is also your financial strength, your ability to manage your inventory and cash flow, your ability to manage your expenses and cost of goods. The best retailers find ways to strengthen their mortar everywhere they can. If you are in the Jackson area and want to strengthen the mortar in your store, sign up for the Jackson Retail Success Academy class starting in January.

Call Me Farmer Phil

A toy store in December. Time to harvest the crops. Time to gather the rewards from a long year of planning and preparing for this moment.

Yet here we are still planting seeds.

Check out this FB post from a customer…

We’re always impressed with customer service at the Toy House, but yesterday was over the top. Our family was there because our son was picking out a gift for our daughter’s birthday. He asked me about a ride-along horse which I told him was fine, and he raced off, I assumed, to tell my husband. The next thing I knew a Toy House employee was asking me if I was XXXX’s mom. I said, yes, and she said that my son was asking if they could wrap the toy for his sister’s birthday. She wanted to know if it was okay, and they would go ahead, remove the tag, and wrap it for him, and we could pay when we were ready to go. I appreciated them taking the time to interact with my son (and tracking me down) instead of just brushing off his desires to get something for his sister. Thanks again, Toy House, for the continued hard work and great customer service!”

Planting the seeds for the next generation of Toy House shoppers.

If you are in a retail business like mine, where your primary target outgrows you, you have to always be farming, always be planting seeds for the next harvest.

I have to grow a new crop pretty much every year, so I am always in planting mode. You should be, too. Here are some ways to plant seeds.

Treat everyone in your store the same wonderful way, regardless of how much money they spend. Today’s small spender might be on a tight budget, but might know some friends and relatives who are not. She might also find her luck has changed next year.

Treat everyone in your store the same wonderful way, regardless of how they behave. You don’t know the journey they are on or the troubles they are facing. Have compassion and kindness. Understand that this is just today. Tomorrow will come and tomorrow will be different. It always is.

Pay attention to the memories and feelings you are creating. We are emotional beings. We remember feelings long after we forget the facts. Design your policies, choose your staff, and build your store around the feelings you want people to associate with your business.

Call me Farmer Phil. I’m off to go plant some more seeds.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Here is a seed worth watering… If you are a retailer in the Jackson area and you want to take your business to the next level, check out www.JacksonRetailSuccessAcademy.com. A new class is starting in January.

Redefining the Terms

You don’t sell products. You sell feelings.

The jeweler doesn’t sell diamond rings. The jeweler sells the look on her face when he opens the box and asks, “Will you marry me?”

The shoe salesman doesn’t sell shoes. The shoe salesman sells the bounce in your step and the self-confidence you have when your feet feel good.

The toy store doesn’t sell toys. The toy store sells play value and imagination and creativity.

You and I get this. Our customers don’t.

Not because they can’t, but because the big chains won’t let them. Especially the discounters. They are trying to commoditize everything you sell. Make it all about the price. It isn’t about which toys you buy, but how many. The big chains know you can outperform them on getting the right items. They want to make sure the customers don’t even think about that. They’re winning, too, because we allow them to control the conversation.

They talk about the products. We talk about the products. We’re speaking their language. We need to instead talk about the feelings.

We need to talk less about the products we sell and more about how our products make the customer feel. We need to talk about the emotions behind the products, the emotions behind the purchases, the feelings we create.

We need to bring the importance of the purchase, the reason for the purchase back to the forefront.

When you write your ad copy, whether for print, broadcast or social media, ask yourself two questions.

  1. Is this copy about the product or the feeling?
  2. How can I make it more about the feeling?

The more you do that, the more you change the conversation back to one you will win.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS For example, here are two radio ads I have run this fall to change the conversation. These are the left-brained, logical ads. The more emotional ads run next month.

We Sell Play Value
Over the next couple months a bunch of stores will start advertising to you about toys. They’re talking about the wrong thing. You don’t buy toys. You buy Play Value. You don’t buy toys; you buy creativity and imagination. You don’t buy toys, you buy engagement and fun. You can forgive them for not knowing this. They only sell toys part time. We sell Play Value all year long. That’s why you shop at Toy House and Baby Too in downtown Jackson. We’re here to make you smile.

Made Up Lists
Fortunately, you guys are smart. You know all those Hot Toy Lists are fake, phony, decided in some backroom meeting months ago. Designed to get you to buy what they want to sell. As if your kids were sheep and only happy if they got one of the “hot” toys.  That’s not you. That’s not us. We aren’t going to hype you into buying what we want to sell. We’re going to help you find what works best for you. Over twice the selection of the big chains, ten times the play value, and none of the hype. Toy House in downtown Jackson. We’re here to make you smile.

But Why Would I Need That?

You can lead a horse to water…

My friend, Rick, is a successful dentist with a wonderful practice. He has learned some principles along the way that he shares with other dentists. Good stuff, too, that makes a difference in their practices.

My friend, Chris, is an amazing visual artist. He is responsible for making my powerpoint slides much more impactful and meaningful. He has interesting insights on being an artist in a digital age. He makes a difference for starving artists.

My friend, Joel, put both of my books together. Did the covers, the layout, prepped them for printing. He does that for anyone who wants to self-publish. And he’s darn good at it.

I teach classes for independent retailers wanting to take it to the next level. Eye-popping and jaw-dropping revelations on what it takes to be successful in this business climate.

We are all out there to help others succeed. And we all hear the same thing from people we know we could help.

But why would I need that?

Why would a dentist need to learn about marketing?
Why would an artist need to learn about communication?
Why would someone smart enough to write a book need an editor or designer or professional layout?
Why would an independent retailer who already opened a shop need help on running a retail business?

Rick is a dentist. Rick invests time learning about best marketing practices for dentists, learning new ways to serve customers, learning new ways to attract patients, learning new ways to communicate.

Chris is an artist. Chris invests time learning new ways to market his art, learning new ways to make his communications more effective, learning new ways to be successful in this age.

Joel is an author. Joel invests time learning how to self-publish books, learning new ways to build platforms, learning new ways to create websites, use social media, and design professional looking books.

I am a retailer. I invest time learning how to advertise my store, learning how to manage my inventory, learning how to hire and train, learning how to understand the financial side of retail.

All these guys are successful. They never asked the question… Why would I need that? Instead, they invested the time to learn.

You can lead a horse to water…  …and if you can get him to float on his back and paddle, then you’ve got something.

You are a ___________. How are you investing your time?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS If your answer is, “I don’t have any time to invest,” might I suggest that if you start investing now, you’ll find the time?

Emotional Responses

“The mind uses logic to justify what the heart has already decided.” -Roy H. Williams

The best way to get into the customer’s mind is through her heart. Tell stories. Share values. Speak to the emotions.

On the flip side, however, the best way to hold yourself back is to make business decisions based purely on emotions.

As independent retailers, we’ve all faced this dilemma. The product that a new manufacturer promised us would never be in the mass market was just spotted on the shelf at your local Target store. You’re mad. You just placed a $1000 order and now the product line is no longer “special”. Or you happened to get an email from a flash sale site showing one of your favorite products on sale for what you paid for it.

Your first instinct is to flame the manufacturer on the discussion boards, cancel orders, deep-discount your on-hand inventory and vow to never carry that line again.

Stop. Wait. Take a deep breath. You’re making an emotional response.

Before you make any decisions, do a little fact-checking. Are you still selling the product at the retail and turn-ratio that works for your store? Are your customers coming into your store expecting you to have this product? Do you believe in this product? Does this product fit into your image as a store?

If the answers to those questions are no, figure out a game plan to get rid of your excess inventory in a smart way. Find a replacement product that says yes. And move on.

Surprisingly, sometimes the answers will still be yes and you’ve just dumped a viable line and burned bridges on the way out.

There will always be manufacturers who do things you won’t like. There will always be situations that frustrate you. The smart businesses, however, skip the emotional responses and make business decisions.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Remember that at the end of the day, you are beholden to two things – your customers and your bottom line. Make sure all of your decisions on both accounts are smart business decisions, not emotional reactions.  Don’t think that other manufacturers aren’t watching how you react to these situations. They know who the hotheads are.

Are You Planning or Learning?

Five years ago, how many of you predicted that Amazon would be the retail power that it is today? How many of you accurately predicted the housing market collapse? How about the Great Recession? Did you nail that one, too?

None of us did.

Any Five-Year Plans that were made in the beginning of 2008 would not be producing fruit in today’s market. The market changed in ways no one was expecting.

Do you think the plans you’ve made this year have any chance of accurately predicting what will be happening in 2018?

“We cannot plan our way into the future. We must learn our way into the future.” -Jeff De Cagna

The one thing you can plan on with certainty is unforeseen events, seismic market shifts, new threats, new challenges, and a marketplace no one in today’s world would recognize.

The one thing you can do to prepare for that is to learn more. Read more blogs that challenge your views of the world. Take more classes that stimulate your mind. Attend more events that change your perspective.

The more you learn, the more likely you will be on the leading edge of those changes. The more you learn, the more likely you’ll be able to implement the strategies that will succeed in the new market. The more you learn, the more likely your current plans will be able to adjust to the new challenges.

I’m not saying that planning is bad. But strict five-year plans that do not take into account the fast-moving changes in today’s business climate have little chance of succeeding. Learning organizations will always have the leg up on planning organizations, because they will be nimble and smart enough to make the necessary changes to succeed.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Plans change. Values do not. Know the difference. Regardless of the products and services, we’ll always be here to make you smile.