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Category: Building Business

Which Would You Attend – Revisited

A few days ago I posted 4 potential classes and asked a bunch of my retailer friends if they could only attend one, which would they choose.

I had two purposes for this post. First, to see how people choose which sessions and trainings to attend. Second, to see if there was one over-riding topic in which everyone was thirsting for more info.

The answer to the first purpose was interesting. There were three basic reasons for choosing which class to attend.

  1. It is the class that you deem most important to your business success (regardless of your own skill level)
  2. It is the class in which you feel your skills are least competent
  3. It is the class that sounds the most fun (of highest interest to you)

Professionally, I would think reasons #1 & #2 make the most sense, but I can also see how #3 plays into the equation. If you aren’t enjoying yourself, you’ll have a harder time staying focused, thus have a harder time learning.

The answer to the second purpose was less clear. All four classes received interest. Including the email responses, there would have been at least two people in each class, but no more than three in any one class. So no clear cut topic emerged. Darn! I was hoping to get some more focus for future posts.

So, in lieu of a single topic, I’ll keep writing a variety of posts on all topics important to retail success. If you have a question, send it along and I’ll respond. Maybe by the 4th quarter you won’t have to attend any classes.

-Phil

How Much Marketing Does it Take?

Here are some of the ways I have decided to market my new book…

  • Face-to-Face Sales – I do speaking engagements all around the country and get opportunities to sell my book one at a time to attendees. Plus, I sell it in my store. And I always have a few copies with me wherever I go (sold two at a recent birthday party!)
  • Web Marketing – I have it for sale on my website
  • Blog Marketing – Yeah, this is the fourth time I’ve talked about it to you.
  • YouTube – already one video review online about the book, more coming…
  • Facebook – The book has it’s own page, positive reviews starting to come in.
  • Friend Blogging – I have given away a few free copies to influential friends who have blogged about it or at least given it some link love (one of those links increased my blog traffic by a factor of 15!)
  • Direct to Buying Groups – There are retail buying groups made up of independent retailers to whom I am reaching out.
  • Radio – I already did one radio interview, working on setting up more
  • TV – Ditto
  • Newsprint – I will be profiled soon in the local paper as a local author, working on getting profiled in other papers, too.
  • Human Resource Professors – this is tougher nut for me to crack, but I am working on making contact with HR Professors to try to get this book into their hands and into their classrooms
  • Human Resource Professionals – I have been following HR groups on LinkedIn, posting where applicable, getting involved in discussions, and getting to know other people there. Soon I will be enlisting their help in spreading the word.

As you can see from this list, there is a lot I am doing to market one tiny little book on Hiring & Training.

How does this apply to your business? Simple. All of the above marketing techniques are basically free. They only cost me time and a few free books. If you don’t have enough business, then you have enough time to get cranking on any one of them. (Yes, they are all applicable to your business – email me if you can’t see how.)

-Phil

I’m Going to Learn

Next week I’ll be attending the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy 2010 in Providence, RI. Four days of workshops, keynotes, small group discussions, panels and a mini-trade show.

I’m going to learn.

I’m going to learn new ways to improve my marketing.

I’m going to learn new ways to train and motivate my staff.

I’m going to learn how to increase our profit so that we can weather tough economic times and grow in the good times.

I’m going to learn about new games and new activities and new toys.

I’m going to meet new people, network with old friends, hear interesting stories.

I’m going to give a presentation on Inventory Management to help others learn from what I know.

Yes, I’m going to learn, because when you stop learning, you start dying. And I’m in no mood to stop learning.

What have you learned recently?

-Phil

PS The most observant of you reading this post probably got the double meaning of the phrase “I’m going…”

Serving the Customers WHEN They Want to Be Served

My wife and I finished a wonderful meal at Pablos in downtown Fernandina Beach, FL. It was 8:15pm on a Friday night. As we strolled the shops of this quaint downtown on Amelia Island, one thing was noticeably absent.

No, it wasn’t the people.

The sidewalks were teaming with people out for an early evening stroll. There were easily 12-15 groups of revelers in a short three-block expanse, all of us engaged in the same activity… window shopping… because all the stores were closed!

Except for the two ice cream shops (both full of people), the bars and one jewelry store jammed with browsers, all the rest of the shops were closed, dark, not doing business, not making money. Yet, there were people with money to spend all over the place.

Are you open when there are people available or just when you are available?

And I don’t just mean your everyday hours. Do you open for special occasions in your area? Do you open when there are events on your street? Do you open for when the movie or show lets out at the theatre venue next door? Do you open early when there is a parade or morning activity on the street?

I went back this morning to the same area for the farmers market at 9am. Didn’t need much. But as we left the farmers market and strolled the same streets (still packed with people), I looked through many of the same windows of darkened shops not willing to be open when the people were there.

When these shops close for good, it won’t be “because of the economy”. Don’t let your shop think like them. When people are there, be ready to open your doors. That’s one of the first steps to great customer service.

-Phil

I’m Sharing My Biggest Secrets

But not right here… (at least not yet:-)

Thursday, Feb. 25 from 8:30am to 11:30am I am doing a 3-hour workshop with the Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce to share the biggest secret behind the incredible success of Toy House and Baby Too.

(Success? Besides growing and remaining profitable while in a shrinking industry and shrinking population, Toy House and Baby Too was recently named one of The 25 Best Independent Stores in America in the book Retail Superstars by George Whalin.)

The class is:

“Accelerated Branding: Taking Your Advertising and Your Business to a New Level”.

All the best stuff I learned from two incredible people; Roy H. Williams, aka The Wizard of Ads and David Freeman, the best screenwriting master you’ve never heard of.

In three short hours you will learn more about how advertising works (and doesn’t work) than most marketing professionals. And you’ll be able to harness that knowledge to accelerate your business no matter what the economy is doing.

I’m going to show you how to make your advertising work better (without spending a penny more) so that you attract more customers, get them to spend more, make them more loyal, and empower them to bring you even more business.

The cool thing is that there are no gimmicks, no radical changing of the way you currently run your business, no unethical or impractical practices. I’m just going to show you how to unlock the potential that already exists in your business and teach you how to harness that energy so that it works for you.

It will be a hands-on workshop in which you’ll create a simple blueprint that will guide all of your advertising (and business) decisions along with a number of examples how to put your plan into action.

  • It will be fun. (Hey, I play with toys for a living – If I’m doing a workshop, it’s gotta be fun)
  • It will be eye-opening (The downside is that you won’t ever look at advertisements the same after this class.)
  • It will be well worth your time (3 hours? $25? I’m kinda surprised the Chamber is giving away this program so cheaply – I paid many thousands for this same info and charge many hundreds to give it out individually as a consultant.)

Contact Mary at the Chamber (517) 782-8221 to enroll. But be warned. There is pre-class and post-class homework (not to mention in-class work, too). If you’re not willing to do the work, don’t bother calling. We’ll give your seat to someone who wants to grow their business leaps and bounds.

See you Thursday!

-Phil

PS If you’re one of my out-of-town followers, you’re welcome, too. The price is $40 for non-Chamber, non-Midtown, non-Jackson Local First members. That, and a little travel will be some of the best money you spend all year. If it isn’t, I’ll pay you back the $40 fee and take you to the best lunch you’ve ever had right after the class.

What Are You Tracking?

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Here are two numbers you should be measuring this holiday season.

Traffic Count: How many sales do you have per day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…)? Per day part (morning, afternoon, evening)?

Knowing this can help you schedule your staff to better meet the peaks and valleys of your daily & weekly sales. It also helps you measure the success of your marketing and your customer service. If traffic counts are up, you’re doing something right. If they are down, you better figure out why (and it isn’t just the economy).

Average Ticket: How much is the average transaction or sale? Which employees have higher or lower averages (if applicable)?

This number helps you measure the effectiveness of your sales staff and promotions. It also helps you understand your merchandise better. Are you getting the add-on sales? If not it could be that you don’t have the right products to complete a customer’s purchase. If you sell dolls, you better sell doll stands. If you sell electronics, you better sell batteries.

Measure these two numbers. They have a lot to say about your success.

-Phil

Breaking Trust the AT&T Way

Two letters have undone all trust I ever had with AT&T. For 60 years we have used AT&T in one form or another for our store. That’s a lot of trust built up.

The first letter came on August 24th saying that my account with them was about to expire. With 16 phones, 8 business lines, and a business open 7 days a week, you can believe I called them right away. After jumping through a bunch of online menu hoops I got a guy who informed me that my account was not about to expire, but that he had some great offers of other products I might want to buy.

Yeah, the letter was a total scam to get me to call so they might sell me some services I didn’t want. Apparently the hundred plus phone calls from sales reps that I had blown off wasn’t enough for them to get the message that I was completely happy with my current level of service and didn’t want anything more.

Trust meter down 50%.

The second letter came today. It informed me of the “new services you have requested” and that my new bill would be $106.35 more for the new services.

What!!?

Apparently, even after explaining that I was happy with my current services and didn’t want anything more, AT&T thought I should have Caller ID for my 8 lines (two which are purely modems, not even used for receiving calls). And somewhere over the past month, they decided to add that to my account for an extra $106.35 a month.

Yeah, I got back on the phone. Only this time it took 5 calls and umpteen hoops before I found a live person. Unfortunately, the phone number led me to a live person that had no clue how to help me with my problem. Yes, she finally transferred me to someone knowledgeable on the subject, but even then, he couldn’t help me. (What’s the point of giving out a phone number if the people answering that phone can’t deal with the issues for which the number was given?)

Bottom line? They changed my account because they changed program I was on. It wasn’t anything I had actually requested. I just wanted to stay on the old plan, but the old plan now had Caller ID bundled in it and I was getting Caller ID even though I don’t need it, don’t want it, can’t use it. No option. It was now in the plan, and I had to pay for it.

I suppose AT&T’s idea was, if you can’t get someone to buy your products, just bundle them in and tell them they have no choice but to pay for them.

Trust meter down 100%.

On Monday I’ll be calling their competitors.

There are so many lessons in this, I don’t think one post could cover them all. Here’s the one I want you to remember…

Trust takes time to build, but only seconds to shatter. We have used AT&T in our business for over 60 years. We have never had any issues with our phone service. Yet it all was destroyed in 39 days, and now I’m shopping around.

Trust is precious. The trust you have built with your customers is gold. Remember how hard it was to get that trust, and then do everything in your power to keep that trust. Make sure all your policies, procedures and ventures are designed to build trust, not break it.

-Phil

PS If you sell phone services, call me Monday.

Helping the Independent Retailer Succeed

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” – Neils Bohr

Whenever I make a mistake, I am usually the first to admit it. Probably makes me unique. But if you’ve been near me when I goof, you’ve heard me say, “Not the first time I made a mistake, certainly won’t be the last.”

After growing up in a retail family and spending 16 years running a top level independent retailer, I’m now the guy Neils Bohr was talking about. Yes, a bona fide expert in independent retailing. And I’m here to share my experiences with you.

I’m launching a new website just for the independent retailer – http://www.philsforum.com/. There is so much a business owner needs to know to run a successful retail operation.

You have to be great in four categories.

Great Products – having the right products in the right amounts merchandised the right way at the right prices to make your customers happy and make the registers sing
Great Customer Service – providing a top notch experience for your customers through a fabulous, well-trained, friendly and caring staff with customer-friendly services and attitude.
Great Marketing – getting the word out about your business in a consistent and well-planned manner with a powerful message that connects deeply and drives traffic through the doors
Great Financials – knowing where your money is and what it is doing to help you succeed

Rare is the independent retailer who is strong in all four categories.
Few have mastered even three.
Most independent retail owners are strong in only one or two.
All think they know more than they do (except for the smart ones among you)

The truth is we all need to keep learning.

Even a guy like me is still learning. I’m constantly trying to become better in every category above. And, having made and learned from a bunch of my own mistakes (not to mention the mistakes of others), I can say I’m pretty close to becoming one of the Few.

No, I’m not a financials kind of guy. Talk to your accountant on that. But I do know about Marketing, Merchandising and Customer Service. Stuff that has elevated Toy House and Baby Too to be recognized as one of the 25 best independent retailers in America.

Now I’m going to share our secrets.

The website is loaded with freebies – ebooks and articles you can download and start using right away. This blog is there, too. I’ll be writing to give you insights and new perspectives on the world of retail and how to grow your business.

I’m also looking for your feedback. What hot button issues are graying your hairs? In which category do you need the most help? What topics do you want me to cover?

Your success is the goal. I already have a successful business. My purpose is to help you get there, too.

Growing the Top Line or the Bottom Line, What’s Your Goal?

I just returned from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Marketplace 2009 in St. Paul, MN. Hundreds of toy retailers and manufacturers gathered to highlight the best toys for 2009 and the best practices for toy store owners.

And over the course of 4 days I must have heard the question, “How’s biz?” at least a hundred times.

It’s a fair question. We’re all concerned with how other retailers are doing in other parts of the country. The issue I have is with the answer.

Most every retailer talked only about their top line sales. Sales were ‘flat’ (flat is the new up), ‘down a little’, ‘holding steady’, ‘tough’ and many other euphemisms for “not what we want but who’s complaining?”

But no one mentioned the bottom line – profit. When you get right down to it, retail is not about top line sales but bottom line profits.

If top line sales were all it takes to make you happy, I have a guaranteed 3-step program to raise your sales 100% over the next three months.

  1. Mark everything at half price.
  2. Quadruple your advertising.
  3. File bankruptcy.

Anyone want to try it?

One of the speakers at ASTRA, Bob Negen, pointed out correctly that there are only three ways to increase top line sales:

  1. Get more (new) customers
  2. Increase average sale
  3. Get existing customers to shop more often

Bob went on to give us great tips for doing all three with the idea that if we grew our business 5% each way we would have 15% top line sales growth. Who wouldn’t want 15% sales growth?

Before you answer, let me rephrase the question… Who wants 15% sales growth with 30% growth in costs? Doesn’t sound so good, now, does it?

One of Bob’s ideas to get customers to shop more often is a Frequent Buyer’s Club. You’ve seen these. Shop a certain number of times, spend a certain amount of money, and get a kick back of some sort. In Bob’s way, the customer shops 6 times and then gets a store credit for 10% of her purchases as an incentive to shop more. In essence, it’s a 10% discount for 6 out of 7 trips to the store. And this idea is supposed to grow your sales by 5% by getting customers to shop more often.

I’m not the brightest mathematician around, but spending 10% to get 5% growth doesn’t add to the bottom line. Probably why I’m not a fan of discounts, coupons or Frequent Buyer Clubs.

On the other hand, Bob gave some great ideas for increasing the average sale.

  1. Raise your prices
  2. Add on to every sale until the customer has everything she needs (what I like to call “completing the sale”)

Both of these ideas will not only increase your top line, but also add to the bottom line.

When you are looking at ideas to grow your business, remember that your goal is to grow your profit, not necessarily your sales. Look at each idea carefully and see how it changes your bottom line, not your top line.

Paying attention to the bottom line is what will keep you in business and make you most happy.

-Phil

Doing it the Right Way

My wife hit her goal today. In the fall of 2007 she set a goal – lose 50 pounds… the right way.

Yep, eat right, exercise more.

No fad diets, no magic fat-burning pills, no surgeries, meal deals or other gimmicks. Just eat right and exercise more.

Yes, she enlisted help. She signed up for Measure-up Monday through Allegiance Health to give her someone to which she would be accountable. She also signed up for exercise classes, figuring that if she paid money she’d be more apt to attend.

And it worked! It took her eighteen months, but she has dropped 50 pounds, 7 dress sizes, and a load of unhealthy self-esteem.

Best of all, because of the changes in lifestyle, she’s going to keep that weight off for good.

So what does this have to do with your business?

Just like losing weight, there is no miracle cure to make your business profitable. You have to change your habits. You have to…

Eat right and exercise more.

Eat right means control your inventory. You need to bring in the right products in the right amounts. You need to calculate and closely follow your Open-to-Buy. You need to manage your cash flow. It might mean making a wholesale change to how you run your business. It did for my wife. She reads labels more carefully, understands nutrition much better, and makes smarter choices based on new information. Oh, she still has dessert every night, just not as much and not as often. She changed her eating habits. Can you change your buying habits? Of course you can.

When your business eats right, you’ll find your business is leaner and more agile, able to make changes to meet the needs of the marketplace faster.

Exercise more means get out and work. Retail is not for the lazy. As Roy H. Williams said, “If making a profit were easy, everyone would be doing it.” It takes work. It takes paying attention to the details of your customer service. It takes following your finances closely and knowing what each number is and what affects them. It takes doing your due diligence in the hiring and training of your staff to make sure they represent you as well as possible. It takes scrutinizing your marketing to make sure it portrays the message you want it to portray.

In short, it takes effort. The good news is that the work becomes habit forming. After a few months of working out at least 5 times per week, my wife now feels horrible if she doesn’t work out. And the same will be true for your business. The more you work at it, the easier the work becomes.

One of the biggest drawbacks to losing weight is simply getting started. The same is true of the pile in your inbox. But if you make small changes daily to pay just a little more attention to the details, to focus just a little more sharply, your inbox will be less daunting and easier to manage.

If you want lasting profitability, you have to make changes to your business lifestyle. There are no shortcuts. You have to eat right and exercise more. And if you do, it will work!

Just ask my wife.

-Phil