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Two More Freebies For You

Why do I give it away for free? It is part of my Core Values to be helpful.

Don’t get me wrong. I love getting paid to sell toys and baby products. I love getting paid to travel across the country and impart some of the lessons I’ve learned to a room full of peers.

I also love helping and sharing. I want my ideas and thoughts to spread farther and wider to help my friends and peers in the independent retail industry. Plus. more often than not, I’ve already been paid.

All of my Freebies are the notes written from presentations I have done. That is why they are short and sweet – so you can print them easily. I could make eBooks more like power points with full-page graphics, tight bullet points and simple messages spread out over 72 pages. But I would rather keep them down to seven pages or less so that I can use them as handouts. Short and sweet so you can print them at home and read later. Short and to the point for you to email and share with your friends.

Since I got paid to do the presentation, I have already been paid to write the eBook, too. Now we just need to spread the word.

Here are two new Freebies worth sharing.

Generating Word-of-Mouth – You know Word of Mouth is the best form of advertising. But do you know the five ways to generate it? Do you know how to get people to talk positively about your business? This Freebie shares all the secrets behind getting people to talk about you.

(Yes, I decided to put it under Great Marketing. Put your best stuff where the customers are most likely to see it.)

Making Your Ads Memorable – Most ads are ignored, because most ads are lousy. The truly remarkable ads are the ads most remembered. This Freebie will show you three things you can do to make your print and broadcast advertisements cut through the clutter and be seen, heard and remembered by your potential customers.

Enjoy!

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Some have argued that by giving it all away, no one will ever hire me to speak. Fair enough. Of course, the live explanations are always more fun and interesting and worth every penny. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t offer to do them.

Own Your Mistakes

You will make mistakes. In business. In relationships. In parenting. In life. Own them. Admit you did them and learn from them. The worst thing we can do is try to find someone else to blame or be in denial about it.

This applies to guys like Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez who cheated with drugs in baseball. It also applies to you and I when a customer has a complaint. If you look for it, you can usually find something you could have done differently that would have kept the situation from ever happening.

I’m owning my mistakes. I recently received my evaluations from a couple talks I did for the toy industry last month. I got shredded. My friends and fellow store owners were nice to my face, but the anonymous comments from the surveys were brutal.

They were dead on, too.

I bit off more than I could chew with those two workshops. I tried to do more than the time would allow. I cut out things that would have been helpful to try to squeeze in a couple worksheets that just didn’t work in a big room format. I spent too much time on the worksheets and not enough on the instruction behind the worksheets. I didn’t make all the points I was supposed to make as well as I could have made them.

I blew it. And I apologize for anyone who attended those sessions. Not my best hour(s) on stage.

Here is the cool thing. By owning up to my mistakes, I can learn far more than if I were to deny them or find someone or something else to blame. The next time I am asked to present on either of those topics, I now have a far better idea of what to do and what not to do. I know where to put the emphasis and where to beef up the examples.

When you have a customer complain, that is an opportunity for you to learn. Why is she complaining? What could you have done proactively to make sure she would have no reason to complain? What changes to policy and procedure can you make to keep this from happening again?

When you make a mistake with an employee you can learn better ways to handle that issue in the future. Screw up in the training? Admit it, fix it, and move forward. Screw up in communication? Admit it, fix it, and move forward.

Own your mistakes and you can learn from them.
Own your mistakes and you can grow from them.
Own your mistakes and you will find your customers and employees far more willing to forgive you.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Negative criticism is tough to handle. I know. I have always had a big issue with it. What changed was when I looked at it as a chance to improve. Then the criticism became an opportunity. As soon as I was able to say, “Yes, I did that,” I was able to learn from it and move on. I’ve already tweaked those presentations, learned my limits and found better ways to get the idea across. The audience last weekend agreed. As hard as it was to own up, it was well worth it!

What Makes Them Drive to See You?

I plopped down in the back seat next to a newborn baby. Cute little thing. Eyes still closed to the world.

The new mama sat on the other side of the seat and asked, “Do we have the straps on right?”

They had been in last week to get help installing the seat in their car. Now they have the baby. Even though the car seat owner’s manual clearly states how tight the straps should be, this couple drove to our store, parked while daddy came in to get me, and listened carefully as I explained how tight the harness should be and how to check it themselves.

Some of you might be thinking, wow, what a waste of your precious time. I didn’t sell them anything. There was no transaction. Heck, the car seat didn’t even come from my store. It was a shower gift. I got nothing out of the transaction.

Or did I?

They drove to my store.

Twice.

In one week.

While having a baby.

To make sure their new baby is safe.

What is the chance they will be back?

What is your store known for to the point that customers will seek you out even though there may be an easier solution? What do you do that is so trustworthy customers will make a special trip just to see you? What do you do that connects to the core values of your customer base? What do you do that might seem costly to an outsider but you know will reap you great rewards in the long run?

Answer those questions. Then do more of that. They’ll be back.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS There are many ways to build trust with your customers. I detail some of them in my latest FREE eBook Selling in a Showrooming World. If you aren’t one of the 273 people who downloaded it last week, you might want to see what all the fuss is about.

Do You Know Who You Are?

Do you know who you are? No, not you. Your business. Well, okay, and you, too.

Did you know that as much as you try to keep your business separate, your business is really simply you?

You only have so much energy to give to your business. You only have so much energy to teach your staff, merchandise the store, work with the customers, pay the bills. You can’t do it all. So you prioritize. There are the things you have to get done. Period. The necessary stuff.  Then there is everything else. With limited time and energy what part of the everything else will you do?

The stuff that is important to you.

If orderly and organized is important to you, you will spend your limited resources on straightening, organizing and getting your staff to do the same.

If having fun is important to you then you will find fun things to do or do things in a more fun way. You’ll encourage your staff to join in the fun.

If education is important to you, you will spend time reading, watching instructional videos, teaching others.

If staying active is important to you then you will find things to do that get you out of your desk chair and out on the floor. You’ll be directing traffic and assigning tasks to anyone who looks the slightest bit bored or inactive.

If punctuality is important to you then you will be standing by the time clock waiting for the staff to arrive, devising games to get them to show up on time, firing those who are chronically late, and posting clocks all around your store.

If innovative is important to you, you will be updating to the latest technologies, using the most modern design features, trying new things, encouraging your staff to follow the trends to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Whatever is important to you – your values – will be where you spend your limited resources after doing the necessary stuff. Those values will then become your store’s values, and eventually your store’s reputation.  More than your product mix, more than your services, this will be the most true differentiating factor that sets your store apart from everyone else’s.

The key is to know what those values are, and openly embrace them. Not only will it help set you apart, you will end up attracting more customers who share those values. Those are the best customers. The most loyal, the best recruiters for more business.

First, however, you have to know who you are.

Check out this worksheet I designed to help you figure out your own values and those you most closely share with your store. Here are the accompanying notes.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Once you identify your values that also fit your store, you will have a blueprint for every decision going forward. Does it fit with my values? Yes, do it! No, don’t do it. It’s that simple.

PPS Yeah, that is also the foundation of Tim Miles’ First Order of Business. (In his naming contest I was a runner-up because I called it “The Order of Business”. I won the bacon!) Do this first because everything else depends on it.

Praying for Customers

I know it was tongue-in-cheek (kinda), but when a fellow store owner asked a group of us on FB what we were doing to attract customers, the first response was “Praying”.

This might seem like a religious post. If I offend anyone, so be it. But I found the answer to be not only funny, but also appropriate. Yes, praying can have a place in your business.

Remember what I have said over and over about being true to your Values? If religion and faith are part of your values, praying should be a regular event. Include your staff in a holy huddle. Make sure your policies also reflect your faith. It can be a powerful attractor of customers who share your faith. (See Chick-Fil-A and how they share their faith.)

Here are some prayers you can say.

Pray that your advertising will be effective.
Pray that your staff will have a good day and take care of your customers.
Pray that you will accomplish your to-do list efficiently.
Pray for thanksgiving of the blessings that have allowed you to be in business.
Pray for the blessings of your wonderful staff and all that they do (and have done) for you.
Pray for your wonderful evangelists who tell your story to all their friends.
Pray for your vendors who supply you with the products that solve your customers’ problems.
Pray for your government leaders that they have the strength and will to do good for your community.

If faith and religion are part of your Core Values, then you should be Praying for Customers.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I say a modified version of the Jabez Prayer every single day…
Oh that you would bless me indeed
And enlarge my territory
That your hand would be with me
And lead me to good

The Five Drivers of Traffic – Delight

I posted that JC Penney was struggling because it was losing in all five of the main drivers of traffic… Price, Product, Convenience, Trust and Delight.  Let’s look at each one of them separately.

DELIGHT

Delight is probably both the easiest and most difficult of all the drivers to own. 

Easy because so few companies even try to own it. Sure, they give it lip-service, but outside of a handful of retailers (Apple? Zappos?) and companies (Disney?), few major chains or national businesses really even try to delight anyone other than the shareholders and owners.

Difficult because the bar of expectation is constantly shifting and changing. What delights the customers of today might seem ordinary tomorrow.

You can increase your Delight Factor a number of ways…

  • Sell things that make people happy. The more whimsy and uniqueness you bring to the table, the higher the delight factor in the customers’ minds. The more fun and interesting your product selection, the more you will delight customers.
  • Sell things that solve problems. Customers buy items to solve a problem. Identify the problem and you can delight the customer by solving it.
  • Host Events. Bring in authors, experts, and celebrities. Teach classes. Host parties. Play games. Show movies. Serve food and beverages. 
  • Bend over backwards to help. When you put the customer’s needs above your own, you raise the delight factor exponentially. The easiest way to do this is to say “Yes!” every time a customer asks, “Can you…?” and then go figure out how to do it.
  • Exceed expectations. This may seem simple enough, yet once you consistently exceed the expectations of today, you raise the bar for the expectations of tomorrow. Keep raising the bar, though, and you’ll continue delighting your customers in new and exciting ways.
  • Do something no one else would even think of doing. How about a downtown toy store offering Valet Parking at Christmas? How about a clothing store offering free dry cleaning for a year? How about a bookstore that gets you a signed copy every time you buy a book from a living author?

The advantages of delighting your customers are numerous.

  • They become more loyal.
  • They bring you more customers like them.
  • They do your advertising for you.
  • They make your job more fun.

You can do Delight. In fact, you need to do Delight! It is the one driver you can consistently do better than any of your competitors. It is the one driver you are expected to do better than the chains and online stores. It is the one driver you can most easily own all to yourself.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Want to know which driver (if any) you already own? Check out this free download – How to Measure the Strength of Your Brand. When you do your survey, be sure to use the five drivers as part of your word association. You’ll know exactly which of your competitors owns which driver and what you need to work on.

Pendulum Made Easier to Understand

I’ve talked about this new book by Roy H. Williams and Michael R. Drew called Pendulum. It really has been an eye-opener for me to understanding how advertising, marketing and selling has changed over the last couple decades.

The hard part is trying to explain it. The elevator pitch takes too many floors. Although I read the book in one sitting – I was already pumped up about it, having seen the presentation by Roy twice and by Michael once – most people are looking for a simpler, quicker way to understand this swing between a Me and a We generation.

Thanks to the folks at PendulumInAction, here is a simple graphic that explains it quite well.

Click to get complete graphic…

Thanks Leigh Jeffery for putting this together!

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Warning: Reading and understanding Pendulum can be hazardous to your mental well-being. Often readers are left with a feeling of dizziness, followed by a frustration caused by instantly seeing evidence of this pendulum swing all around you even when you are not looking.

Reading List (Short Version)

For some reason, I have found myself recommending the same three books over and over the past couple weeks. So before anyone else asks, here are those three books.

Why We Buy by Paco Underhill – Buy this book if you want to be better at merchandising your store. Buy this book if you want to think about merchandising and traffic patterns and aisle widths and aisle lengths and sight lines in a whole new light. Buy this book if you want to read fascinating case studies about retail successes and failures at merchandising. Buy this book if you have any plans at all to change the layout or design of your store.

Drive by Daniel H. Pink – Buy this book if you want to understand how people are motivated to do their best work. Buy this book if you want to find different ways other than money to reward your staff. Buy this book if you want to find ways to make your trainings stick better. Buy this book if you want your staff to work harder.

Pendulum by Michael R Drew and Roy H Williams – Buy this book if you think the world has changed dramatically over the past ten years. Buy this book if you want to see what the next thirty years will look like. Buy this book if you want to know why your advertising that worked in the past isn’t working today. Buy this book if you want to see how society changes every 40 years from one extreme to another and how to navigate each of these extremes.

It will be the best reading you do all year.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I purposefully did NOT include links to any of these books.

  1. Print out this list (or keep it on your phone) and walk into your local bookstore (if you still have one). 
  2. Order these books through the local store. 
  3. While you are there, browse the business section for one more book that catches your eye. 
  4. Buy that book, too.  
  5. Then buy one more book, just for fun.  

You are as good as you read.

Believing or Behaving?

I could probably fill up a whole page with “I Believe…” statements.

I believe… specialty independent retailers need to have better customer service than their competitors.
I believe… cash is king and sometimes more important than profits.
I believe… the store owner who quits trying to learn quits trying to grow.
I believe… what gets measured and rewarded gets improved.
I believe… we need to know and understand the financials of our business inside and out.
I believe… we need to stay true to our core values, but be willing to change everything else
I believe…

What do you believe? I challenge you to write it down. All of it. Take an hour and type up everything that comes to mind. It will be a powerful hour.

But then I’m going to ask you to do something else.

I was reading Drew McClellan’s blog (Drew’s Marketing Minute) and he said this…

“One of the sure signs of a person who is going to be successful is that they wholeheartedly behave in lifelong learning. I didn’t say believe in life long learning because I’ve found just about everyone believes in it. But few actually act upon that belief.”

I have some strong beliefs. But does my behavior match those beliefs? Can I prove it?

Can you prove it?

Write down underneath, next to, or over the top of each of your belief statements the behavior you are actually doing that proves your belief.

I believe specialty independent retailers need to have better customer service than their competitors.
I attend and teach customer service trainings, constantly look for new ways to train my staff on customer service, read books on the topic and explore new ideas and thoughts.

I believe cash is king and sometimes more important than profits.
I get rid of slow-moving merchandise regularly. 

I believe the store owner who quits trying to learn quits trying to grow.
I attend workshops, read books and blogs, and teach (to teach something, you have to learn it deeply first)

I believe what gets measured and rewarded gets improved.
I praise regularly and am implementing new rewards programs in other aspects of the business.

I believe we need to know and understand the financials of our business inside and out.
I run reports at least monthly. I wrote a book on financials for the toy industry. I look at that book frequently.

I believe we need to stay true to our core values, but be willing to change everything else.
I have my core values posted on my wall and use them as a guide for everything we do, including changes for the better.



How does your behavior stack up to your beliefs?

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS You don’t have to agree with my beliefs. You are more than entitled to your own. Just live up to them. If your behavior doesn’t match your belief, maybe it isn’t something you actually believe in???

Sales Reps are People Too

Christmas is over. The dust has settled. The inventory is counted. The phones are ringing. Sales Reps are invading, loaded down with 2013 catalogs, samples, and stories.

Some of us dread this. Some of us look upon our sales reps as a whole different breed of creature designed to suck the life out of us (not to mention every penny). Every page of every catalog needs your full attention. Every product is a home run. Every product is a destined best-seller. Every product should be bought deeper, every company bought wider. There is so much hype, you need to wear waders just to get out of the office.

Ugh! When will this plague end?

It ends when you get better. It ends when you realize that your sales reps are people, too. In fact, they are more than just people, they are YOUR employees. They work for YOU. They help you fill your store with products that make you money. They help you find hidden gems and stay clear of sure-fire dogs. They help you keep your look, your philosophy, your reputation intact. They make money for you and you don’t even have to pay them.

What? You say your reps don’t do this? That is because you haven’t trained them.

Yes, you need to train your sales reps. You need to train them just as you would any other employee. Teach them your core values, your philosophy. Teach them what products you want or don’t want. Teach them how you want to receive information, what information you want, and when you want it. Teach them how you place orders, when you place orders, why you place orders. Teach them how you handle mis-ships, defects, back orders. Teach them what you expect from them and you will be surprised how much better they will become.

Your reps take you out to lunch to try to buy your favor and buy an order. Have you ever taken your rep out to lunch to thank them for the job they do for you?

Your reps send you gifts to thank you for your orders and the commissions they have received. Have you ever sent your rep a gift for helping you find the products that made you money?

Treat your reps as good or better than your employees and they will work incredibly hard for your business.

Your reps will get better the moment you do.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I was at a conference years ago when one session turned into a bitch-session about reps. I watched with amusement because for the most part, my reps are wonderful. Treat them well and you will see a huge improvement.