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Category: Staff Training

The Customer is NOT #1

Yes, I said it. Go ahead and crucify me. But I stand behind it 100%.

The #1 person in your company is your frontline staff. You take care of them, they will take care of the customer. You don’t take care of them, they won’t take care of the customer. Plain and simple.

But how do you take care of them?

Salary and benefits are nice. Other perks like a parking place, uniforms, an employee lounge, are helpful. But those are simply the starting points. Even the ping pong tables and video games and perceived fun that places like Google brag about only go so far.

What your frontline employees really want is to know that they are valued and they create value for others.

In an interview Google did with its employees, what the employees valued most was, “even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.” (source)

Value.

Your staff wants to know you value them as individuals and as team members. There are three easy things you can do right now that will show your staff how much you value them.

First, invest in education and training. The more you do to help them become better employees and better people, the more you show them that they are important to you. You should be training them anyway. But are you offering continual training? Are you offering advanced training? Are you offering personal training? Are you preparing them for work above and beyond their current responsibilities? The more you invest, the more valued they will feel (and the better trained and capable they will be).

Second, listen. Listen to their concerns. Listen to their stories. Take an interest in their lives, in what motivates them. They are giving you clues every time they knock on your door and say, “Got a minute?”

Whenever possible, say YES and turn away from your computer, your catalog, your phone. Give them exclusive one-on-one time where they have your complete, undivided attention. Your body language alone sends a powerful message that you value them as an individual.

Third, praise them. People love to be praised. People love to be told they did something right. Our favorite word to hear is our own name spoken lovingly. When someone does something well, praise them openly and in front of others. Not only will they continue to do well, the other staff will raise their own game in an effort to get that same praise.

Do those three things and your frontline staff will feel valued. Only then will they be able to make your customers feel valued, too.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS There is a great book on motivation called Drive by Daniel H. Pink. I highly recommend you read it.

The Busy Season

As a toy retailer everyone expects that my busy season is December. They would be wrong.

December is the store’s busy season. My busy season is right now. Here is my October To-Do List:

  • Place all my orders for product I expect to sell in December. If I wait too much longer, many of the best items will already be sold out.

  • Hire and train my seasonal staff. This involves writing and placing ads to attract applicants, weeding through all of the applications, scheduling and doing interviews, doing background and reference checks, setting up a training schedule, updating the employee handbook, and doing the actual training. It also includes refresher courses for the regular staff.

  • Place orders for all selling supplies. I need to make sure I have plenty of bags, giftwrap, price tags, receipt paper, toilet paper, paper towels, layaway string, tape, etc. to get through the holidays. Do it now or forget and not have it when you need it.

  • Prepare my marketing campaign. I need to write/create/produce/schedule all of our marketing for November and December. This includes promotional events like Neighborhood Toy Store Day, the Downtown Christmas Parade, Discover Downtown Again Day, and the Toys for Tots Breakfast. This also includes writing radio ads and planning a Facebook campaign.

  • Carefully plot out cash flow. The money rolls in during December. The money rolls out during October and November as we stock up for the holidays. That means I have to pay close attention to every penny I spend.

  • Clean up. The entire store needs a fresh and thorough dusting. Displays need to be upgraded or moved out. Merchandising needs to be plotted and planned for all the new products coming in.

Yes, my busy season is right now. After I accomplish all those things over the next few weeks I’ll have plenty of free time in December to do what I do best – sell toys.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS I wrote this list as much for MY benefit as for YOURS. For me, it is a reminder to stay focused on the tasks at hand. For you it is a reminder of all the things you need to do to make this the most successful selling season ever.

Being an Expert is Easy, Sharing is (not) Hard

You already are an expert.

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

I take a more liberal approach.

An expert is someone who knows more than me on a given topic.

Most of your customers would agree. If you know more about a topic than they do, you are an expert to them. If it is a topic of which they would like to learn more, they will seek you out.

So accept the fact that you are an expert. The next step is to learn to share that expertise.

Here is a three-step process for learning how to share your expertise well:

  1. Boil down your ideas into two or three main points. Make them simple points that are easy to remember. Label each point with some catchy phrase or title.

  2. Find evidence to support each point. Reports, quotes, examples and especially anecdotes all work well for this.

  3. Choose products you sell to help make your points. Your products bring the points closer to home, help establish your position as the expert (you are walking the walk), and connect your expertise to your store.

Once you have done those three things, you can then choose the platform(s) you wish to use to share. Here are just some options you can use:

  • Facebook – The plus side is that you can use pictures, the downside is that you have to be brief and to the point.

  • Email Newsletters – A little more room to make your point.

  • Your Website – Give yourself a page on yor website just for sharing your expertise. It helps brand you as the expert in your field for your locals, and helps build trust with non-locals who have never heard of you till they clicked you in a search.

  • A Blog – WordPress and Google have blogs you can set up for free in seconds.

  • Youtube – Another free service, you can even post your videos to Facebook, your website and your blog.

  • Press Releases – Pass your information along to journalists and bloggers. Let them promote your expertise.

  • Speaking Engagements – Your local service groups (Lions Club, Rotary, Exchange Club, Kiwanis, etc) are always looking for speakers. Plus, most towns have women’s clubs, mother’s clubs, networking clubs, etc.

  • Classes in your store – Probably the easiest of all. Clear out a space in the store. Announce the topic and time. Share.

There are plenty of opportunities to share what you know. And share, you must. Sharing builds trust with your customers. Sharing makes your customers smarter and more loyal. Sharing creates opportunities to reach out to potential new customers.

Be the expert you already are. Be it willingly and generously. To paraphrase Carl Rogers, Who you are is good enough, if only you would be it openly.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Afraid to speak in public? Start simple. Practice your presentations by first giving them to your staff – a friendly crowd. First, you empower them with that knowledge so they can be experts, too. Second, they will be forgiving of your mistakes, but also quick to point them out, which will help you improve. Third, because of the familiarity, you will be less nervous.

Is Your Staff Laughing?

Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Laughter decreases stress hormones.
Laughter decreases the risk for heart disease.
Laughter oxygenates the cells and helps fight cancer.
Laughter boosts serotonin levels which helps your mood.
Laughter releases interleukins that boost your immune system.
Laughter releases endorphins that can even cause temporary pain relief.
Laughter works your core muscles, which promotes better spinal alignment.

Laughter also strengthens relationships. Someone who is laughing and smiling immediately looks more “attractive”. The key part of that phrase is “attract”. Smiles and laughter “attract” other people. You know this. You would much rather approach a person who is smiling than someone who is frowning.

Laughter opens the mind, too. People who laugh are more willing to listen, more willing to see things from other points of view, more willing to engage with other people.

So to recap… People who laugh are healthier, happier, more attractive, more engaging and more approachable. People who laugh are more open-minded and listen better.

Sound like the perfect sales staff?

Encourage and foster laughing in your staff and not only will they see benefits, so will your business.

We have three rules of laughter on the sales floor.

  1. Laughter has to be inclusive. If you are laughing at instead of with, then it has to stop.

  2. There are no inside jokes. If it isn’t funny to everyone, it doesn’t belong on the sales floor.

  3. Appropriate laughter should be encouraged at all times.

Not only is laughter good, it fits into our Core Value of Having Fun and our mission – We’re here to make you smile.

So I leave you with this one final thought…

There was a captain sailing on the sea during a battle. His servant came up to him and the captain said, “Bring me my red shirt.”

So, the servant did as the captain said.

After the battle the servant came up to the captain and said, “Why did you say bring me my red shirt?”

The captain said, “Well if I got shot the crew wouldn’t see the blood and be demoralized.”

The next day the servant came up to the captain and said, “There are 50 ships on the horizon.”

The captain said, “Bring me my brown pants.”

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS One way to encourage laughter is to play. Have game nights with your staff or join a sports league like softball or bowling. Another way is to have a joke session at your next meeting. Whatever it takes, set up a culture where appropriate laughter is the norm.

A Safe Place to Dry

As you hire and train your seasonal staff this fall, there is one thing I want you to contemplate…

When do you throw your new staff to the wolves?

I was in Office Depot yesterday and the name tag of the guy at checkout said “trainee”. I looked around and he was all alone. No support, no one to lean on if he had a question. And he had a question.

One of the items did not have a barcode on it. He looked around with a sense of panic in his eyes. No other staff was within range. What should he do? He decided to take measures into his own hands and go find the number himself. Left his register all alone and ran – no not a fast walk, an actual sprint – over to the area to find the number for that product. He was huffing and puffing when he returned and a little unnerved that he left his register unattended for a short bit (hence the sprint).

He solved the problem and he is definitely a go-getter, but it wasn’t training that helped him, it was instinct. He probably wasn’t ready to be alone yet. But how many times do we do that? How often do we give our new staff just enough skills to do the job and then leave them alone and hope they learn the rest on the job?

You cannot leave that kind of training to chance.

Here is how this lesson gets learned in my book Hiring and the Potter’s Wheel. (2 chapters – enjoy!)

Chapter 12 Lessons 4, 5 and 6 Centering, Gentleness & Protection
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Teresa

“So, how did the conference go?” Mary began.

“Quite ordinary, a bunch of theories using fifty cent words, but nothing that hasn’t already been explored or learned,” Dr. Scott explained. “I’d have rather been in your pottery class. How about you? How was class? Having fun? Learn anything new?”

Mary almost didn’t know where to begin. “The pottery is great. I love it. I think I may have found a new hobby. I can’t thank you enough. And as for business, since we last met, I have learned three distinct lessons.” Mary pulled out some notes she had been taking.

“First, before I can start throwing, I mean training, I have to make sure everyone is centered, that they are starting from the same point. Everyone has to be on the same page. That pretty much goes hand in hand with the earlier lesson of getting out the impurities, the air bubbles. I’ve already developed a clear set of guidelines and expectations, and also a list of bad habits to watch for and weed out, if necessary. But no matter what their previous experience, everyone will start from the same point in their training. That way I’ll be sure not leave anything out.

“Second, once the throwing, oops, I mean training, begins, I have to remember to use a gentle hand, lots of positive encouragement. There’s the old saying, “you get more flies with honey than with vinegar.” The same is true in teaching. The more positive gentle words, the more likely the student will listen and learn.

“That was tough for me, I mean in the pottery. I kept pushing too hard and watching my bowl flop over like it was sick. It reminded me of how I feel when someone yells at me or pushes too hard. Patience and gentleness are definitely the keys. I wrote myself a sticky note on top of my computer to remind me to praise every thing done right during the training to help encourage that behavior.

“But wait, as I think about it, you were never gentle with me, Dr. Scott. You always pushed me hard. You and your, ‘you can do better,’ mantra,” Mary added with a slight sarcastic twinge.

“But did I ever push you too hard?”

“No, I guess not,” Mary replied wistfully.

“You’re absolutely right on this, Mary,” Dr. Scott continued. “Pushing too hard never works. But you have to find the right pressure to get the most out of your clay, and your trainee. If you don’t push at all, nothing gets formed.

“I think you’re getting it. Now what about that third lesson?”

“Well, last night it dawned on me as I placed my bowl in the rack to safely dry, how often do we put newly trained employees into safe positions? Usually, once training is done we throw them to the wolves, so to speak. But wouldn’t it be better if we put them in a safe environment to try out their new skills? If they were in limited roles or carefully supervised, they could safely practice their skills and grow stronger. We know, no matter how well they train, they are going to make mistakes. But this way they can make mistakes under a watchful eye and learn from those mistakes before the errors become costly. That way they’ll be even better when they finally take on their new roles.”

“Kind of how your clay is growing stronger as it hardens?” Dr. Scott asked.

“Exactly!” Mary exclaimed. “Once the training is complete, I’m going to come up with a safe way for my new sales reps to use their skills. But Peter said something curious just as we left. He mentioned that our bowls, although hard, would be quite fragile once dried. I think I’ve got a little more to learn about this step and the steps following.

Mary looked at her watch, “Well, I’ve got to run. Oh, and I’ve got interviews scheduled all next week. Can we meet the following Tuesday?”

“Sure. You know I don’t like to miss any meals,” Dr. Scott said with a chuckle. “See you then.”

Chapter 13 Class #7 Smoothing the Rough Spots
“The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.” – Daniel Defoe

After a long day of interviews, Mary was exhausted. Only the excitement of seeing her bowl gave her the strength to make it down to the YMCA. All weekend long, when not thinking about work, Mary was decorating her bowl in her head, how she would paint it, what colors to use, etc. But to Mary’s surprise, as she entered the classroom, there were no paints or paintbrushes, only sponges and sandpaper.

Peter sensed Mary’s disappointment. “What’s wrong, Mary?”

“Where are the paints? I thought we’d be decorating our bowls tonight,” Mary inquired.

“Not yet, not yet. Your bowls aren’t ready. Okay everyone, take a seat.

“Before I bring out the rack where your bowls have safely dried and hardened over the weekend, I want to review a few terms. First, since we are making bowls and the shapes are finished, I’ve allowed your clay bodies to dry completely. We call that bone-dry. But in some cases, such as making a water pitcher or any piece of pottery that might have an attachment, we would only allow them to dry about 75 to 80 percent. Does anyone remember what we called that last week?”

“Leather-hard!” shouted out one of the students.

“Very good!” Peter remarked. “The clay is firm enough that it won’t change shape, but wet enough that attachments can be made and will stick. There are different levels of leather-hard, such as soft leather-hard when we trimmed the foot, medium leather-hard, and stiff leather-hard. But since we aren’t doing any advanced designs, now we want it bone-dry.

“But this gives me a chance to plug my advanced pottery class that starts two weeks after this one ends. In that class we will be making more advanced shapes such as a water pitcher and using more advanced techniques including working with leather-hard clays. If you’re having fun and want to continue creating works of art – and believe me, these bowls are well done – you can sign up tonight right after class.

“Okay, tonight we need to prep these bowls for decorating. Before you go to the rack, understand that your bowls are dry and hard, but also fragile. This is one of the dangerous stages in pottery. You will need to handle your bowl gently as it is easy to chip them or even break them in this stage. Everyone pick up your bowl. Now, feel them. Run your hands all over them. Do you feel how rough they are?”

Mary was surprised. The clay had felt so smooth last Wednesday as she shaped it. But now there were rough spots both inside and outside the bowl.

“Not to worry, folks. This is quite normal. Our task today is to smooth out the rough spots. Up here on the table I have masks, sandpaper and sponges to do this job. The masks are for safety. The dust you kick up as you sand your bowl is silica dust and can be harmful. Please wear the masks. Use the sandpaper to gently scrape away any lumps, seams, or other extra pieces of clay. Especially work on the rim of your bowl. As you scrape away the excess, lightly dampen the sponge and wash away any dust that might accumulate.

“If you have any spots that won’t come smooth with the sandpaper, you can use this scraper. I recommend you start with the sandpaper and sponge first. Only use the scraper as a last resort, and be sure to wipe away any and all dust.”

Before you hire your next employee, buy the book. It will make a difference.

-Phil Wrzesinski
http://www.philsforum.com/

PS If you already have the book, download the Hiring & Training Worksheets. They’re free!

Two Rules to Follow at Every Staff Meeting

Even though I have published a manifesto to help business owners and managers plan Staff Meetings Everyone Wants to Attend (free download), I still hear about two common mistakes being made all the time that make staff meetings ineffective at best, and sometimes downright dangerous for your business.

Here are two rules you have to follow even if you do not use the method I prescribe.

Rule #1 Do Not Hold a Bitch Session

It does not matter what might be going on or who is to blame. Bitch sessions only accomplish two things:

  • Brings down the morale of the staff

  • Fractures the team

Bitch sessions never solve the problem, never “clear the air”, never get to the heart of the matter. Do not buy into those excuses for allowing griping and blaming. Bitch sessions only serve to bring up more negativity and destroy any team unity you might have built.

Instead, if there are issues to resolve, resolve them in private with the involved parties directly, or simply bypass them by stating that no matter how things were handled before, this is how they need to be handled moving forward.

Rule #2 Focus on the Positive

Sure, negative issues need to be addressed. But instead of allowing them to turn into impromptu bitch sessions (see Rule #1), you need to approach them from a positive point of view.

We made a mistake.
Here is what we did.
Here is how we are going to handle it.
Here is how we will avoid this mistake in the future.

Notice how this approach holds everyone including you to blame without singling out that one person? The staff usually knows who that one person is to blame, but you take the focus off that person by making everyone including yourself the culprit. And you take the focus off the negativity by showing how to solve the problem and avoid the problem in the future.

When all is said and done, it really does not matter who made the mistake or who is to blame. All that really matters is that the staff has a positive, we’re-all-in-this-together, outlook and a blueprint for avoiding those problems in the future.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Have a tough topic you need to cover for a staff meeting? Send me an email and we can brainstorm some ways to cover it.

Is Self-Serve Checkout a Good Option?

Rick Segal posted a blog talking about the pros of self-serve checkouts. The cost for them is coming down. They never have a lousy attitude. They are cheaper to maintain than paying an employee. Rick even goes so far as to say that all retailers should be utilizing every option that saves them money.

Do you agree?

I don’t.

As a specialty independent retailer the one advantage you have over the competition is service. Incredible, over-the-top, WOW service. Sometimes that costs money.

The checkout is the final memory your customer has of your store. It is the takeaway, the lasting image they will have. Are you willing to give that over to a machine?

Sure, I get Rick’s premise that a bad attitude at checkout can be harmful. Equally so, an awesome experience at checkout can cement a customer for life. A machine cannot give an awesome experience.

At its best, self-serve checkout is neutral. It didn’t piss off the customer. But you and I have had plenty of experiences where self-serve checkout has been less than its best.

My wife has learned not to send me to Kroger. I will not go. I have had such horrible experiences with their scanners that I cannot stand the thought of shopping there. Yet almost every time I have gone the only lane open is self-serve. Apparently other people are complaining, too. Kroger is taking out their self-serve lanes in Texas as an experiment.

Albertson’s grocery is also removing their self-serve lanes. They have seen average transactions drop at their stores since they put those lanes in. I would venture to guess it is because people would rather buy less than have to scan so many items themselves.

To give WOW service to your customers you just need to train your cashiers the same way you train your sales staff. Get everyone on the same page with the same goal. Give the customer an experience so wonderful she has to tell her friends.

You cannot get that from a cold, impersonal video screen.

-Phil Wrzesinski

http://www.philsforum.com/

PS I outline exactly how to give WOW Customer Service at the checkout in my free eBook Customer Service: From Weak to WOW!



PPS I hate the Kroger experience so much that I have been begging my local grocery store to carry the three items we eat regularly that we can currently only find at Kroger. I know they can get those items for me. But they don’t. Hmmm… Might be another blog post in there.

“No” is Not Acceptable

“Do you carry this product?”

“No.”

End of conversation. End of interaction. End of sale. End of business.

There are millions of products out there. You have 5,000 in your store. The chances are pretty good that your customers will ask you for something you do not have. How your staff answers goes a long way towards your success.

Do they ask why?

“No we don’t. What exactly are you looking for in that product? Why do you want that product? What are hoping that product will do for you?”

Do they offer alternatives?

“No we don’t but we do have this other product that I actually like better because…”

Do they give explanations?


“No we don’t. We used to carry that product but had too many problems and switched to this other brand.”

“No we don’t. That brand is only mass-produced for large chain stores. Let me show you something of which you probably haven’t heard that does the job better.”

Do they offer help in finding the item?

“No we don’t carry anything like that. Would you like me to call this other store for you to see if they carry anything it or anything similar?”

If you are hiring friendly, helpful, caring people they might already do this just because of who they are. If they are not, then you need to train them that when the customer asks, “Do you have…?” they need to know how to respond.

-Phil Wrzesinski

http://www.philsforum.com/

PS You are probably thinking, “Aren’t we all hiring friendly, helpful people?” In theory, yes. But in practice most store owners tell me this is the hardest part of their job. It was for me, too. Until I learned a secret. Quit hiring for experience and start hiring for character traits. You can read all about it in my book Hiring and the Potter’s Wheel: Turning Your Staff Into a Work of Art. The book is $19.99 plus S&H. Far less than the cost of one more hiring mistake. You should buy it. You can read it in one sitting. Yes, one sitting. It will make a difference.

Are You Google?

Yes you are! (or at least you should be)

Google is a search engine that helps you sort billions of pages of information into the most relevant answers to your question.

Just like a smart salesperson.

Customers now have more information than ever before. They have spec sheets, reviews, pricing, and a whole lot more. In fact, they are overloaded with information, some of which is not as helpful as it could be.

The smart salesperson works like Google to sort that information so that the customer hears only the most relevant and important information needed to make a decision.

Here is how it works.

The smart salesperson starts by developing a relationship with the customer, getting to know her. Then the smart salesperson begins asking questions to find out not just what the customer wants, but why she wants it. The “why” is the search box, the question that sorts the information. From there, the smart salesperson uses his or her product knowledge to find the most relevant reasons why a certain product solves her needs.

To find the why, the smart salesperson pays close attention to the underlying problem needing to be solved.

“I need a new curtain for my son’s bedroom. The sunlight in the morning is waking him up too soon.” (I need something to make a room completely dark.)

“I need a new TV for the man cave before the playoffs begin.” (I need a TV that shows off sporting events superbly.)

“I am looking for a gift for my seven-year old nephew that lives in California.” (I need something for a young boy I rarely see because he lives so far away that I can ship easily.)

When you understand the why behind the purchase you are better equipped to answer that why with the product and benefits of that product that are most relevant.

Google is only as good as the info you type into the search box. The salesperson is only as good as his or her ability to find out the why behind the purchase. The smart salesperson, therefore, actively seeks out the why.

-Phil Wrzesinski

www.PhilsForum.com

PS To learn more about the power of WHY check out this TED Talk video by Simon Sinek

What if They Stay?

Most retailers know that we have to train our staff. The question is often how much should we invest in this process?

The answer is Everything You Can!

You can have the best product selection in the world at the best prices, but if your staff cannot lead the customer to those products and match the customer to the right product, all you have are full shelves (for which you don’t have the money to pay).

You can have the most fun displays and activities in your store, but if your staff is a real downer no one will be having a good time.

You can be the highest-tech, energy-savingest, greenest store on the planet but if your staff is texting their friends instead of greeting the customers, you’re still just wasting valuable space and resources.

Your staff is the make-or-break difference in the profitability of your store. They either point customers to products and get out of the way or they create meaningful, lasting relationships that make your customers bring you more customers.

Roy Williams was once asked “But what if I train them so well they leave?” His response was, “What if you don’t train them and they stay?”

The fourth quarter is right around the corner. Now is the time to start training, and training, and training, and training.

Rule of thumb… If you can do more training, then you haven’t done enough.

-Phil Wrzesinski

http://www.philsforum.com/

PS Don’t know how to train? I laid it all out in an easy-to-understand format in the eBook Staff Meetings Everyone Wants to Attend. Be sure to also download the one-page worksheet I use for planning fun, informative and effective meetings.

PPS Don’t know what to train? Check out my latest eBook Customer Service: From Weak to WOW! If that doesn’t at least spur on some interesting conversations, I’ll be surprised.