Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

How Do I Sell More Units Per Sale as a Retailer? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Do you ever wonder how valuable your employees are to you? A lot of people do. They don't really know exactly what the metrics are, and I always say, "Look at the units per sales." That's the #1 way I look at it. That's the tip I'm talking about today because add-ons are the most cost-effective ways to lift your retail sales, means you sell the first item, and then the employee shows something that's complimentary that helps the person get more out of that first purchase.
It's a matter of looking at getting numbers of basket items to rise rather than trust going after the highest-priced item because you'll find that everything has something else in your store. Whether that's shoes, they get the polish or the shoe trees, whether that's a dress and they can go through and get the belt, whether that's a hardware store and you can get a new hammer with the nails, there's always something you can suggest. When you see that, then you reward those best employees who are selling more units per individual sales than just getting the big sales. That's your tip for today.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

How Do I Get Shoppers to Give Me a Review? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Do you ever go to a movie without looking at a review? I don't. I always want to know that and shoppers are no different now. They're looking at all kinds of reviews whether it's product reviews, brand reviews or even in your individual store. Whether you're big or small, you need to get those reviews and you need to be timely in talking to people. So today, I'm just talking about making the time to set aside one morning a week and monitor your public reviews. Going through and being able to comment. If somebody's saying something bad, you ask them to call you. It shows the intent that you have to fix it. People are reviewing you right now, so you want to make sure you know that they know you are there to respond to them.
Then look at how you can get people to actually give you reviews. You ask them in a great sales process at the end or you put a little flyer in your bags or you ask people in your newsletter. There's a million ways you can do it. Just make sure you do the next step, which is always respond and being encouraging, so that you get more of those reviews.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

What's the Best Way to Greet Shoppers as a Retailer? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

You know, over on my blog, retaildoc.com/blog, I probably have a thousand articles, and a lot of times they're in response to people asking me, "How do I greet a customer?" and "What's the best way to approach a customer?"
And I'm always surprised by that because if you just looked at what's going on, you wouldn't do those bad habits. "Hi, can I help you find something? You have a budget? Looking for anything particular?", all that other garbage. You know when shoppers say no, it's usually your fault, not them.
So what I say today is, whatever you're using for your opener, your greeting, go through and listen for the number of times you hear no. And you know what? If you just tally those up, you'll realize how do I not get a no? And then you'll discover that a sales process really makes a difference.
You'll check out SalesRX, my online retail sales training program, and you'll be able to just greet them with something simple where the customer ends up saying "Thank you" or repeats it back to you, and ultimately that's the start of a great interaction.
It's not that trying to tie somebody down and make them buy something. It's just being warm and natural, just like you would be in your house. So today, listen for the noes from your shoppers and then stop doing those things that get those noes.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Adjusting Your Time for a Busy Store | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

I love a busy store, don't you? Time just goes by. Everything works well. But one of the challenges we have is some of our employees don't know how to make it faster or shorter depending on the number of people. And what I'm talking about today is that the length of time with a shopper has to diminish the busier the store is. So what I want you to think about, today, is role play with one of your employees, a scenario of somebody that's looking at one of your best sellers and you want them to give them two minutes and explain it and go through and qualify them. You want to give them one minute and then you want to give them 30 seconds after that.
And the goal is that they can understand that when I have a leisurely time and it's just me in the store, I have longer time. I can talk about something I'm familiar with, but if I have to touch multiple people, I've got to get to the point and not be dismissive and say, "Hey, if you have any questions, let me know." I still have to get that same information across. I just have to be more succinct.
So that is my tip for you, today, is go out and roleplay one scenario on a bestseller with one of your best employees at two minutes, one minute, and 30 seconds, and then you'll give them the tools to be able to change gears when you're really busy.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Sales Employees Need Reviews | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Can you imagine if you were in school and you turned in a big term paper and you got it back with no grade or comments? How would you feel? Kind of deflated, right? Well, that's what happens with an awful lot of employees. They never hear that they did anything good or bad because we've gotten rid of employee reviews. Most employees, especially millennials, want to know how they're doing. It isn't just about money. My tip for you today is do an employee review one-on-one today. Not really just a conversation, but it's making sure that you point out both the good and the bad. It doesn't have to end up in a raise, but people just want to know, "What can I do better?" And you know what? The ones who like that kind of engagement are the ones that you can build your business on, so why not give them the tools that they want.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

What’s Your Conversion Rate as a Retailer? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

As the Retail Doctor, people often ask me, "How can I get more people into my store? How do I attract more shoppers?" And while it's good to attract shoppers, you better know your conversion rate, because just getting more people in the door isn't the begin all and end all. It's how do you convert those lookers into buyers? When you look around at how different types of businesses have made a difference, I think it always comes down to framing the entrance to your store.
Now let me explain. Probably 20 years ago, I think it was, Toyota had a model car dealership where they just put a big square around the door. It sets off that entrance, and they noticed that sales went up. So now if you go out and look around, you'll see the big square that goes around most new auto dealerships, and that seems to work.
At some others, like Mimi's Cafe in California, they plant all the pots and they put everything around the door so it looks like a garden. But you understand that's the focal point. For you today, maybe you've got a strip center or something else. You could always put pots or something out and then a welcome mat to really show that you're open for business and you want people to understand you are there to grab their attention. Once you get them in the door, then you want to start looking at how you can convert those lookers to shoppers. That's your tip for today from the retail doc.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

How Do I Have a Better Return Policy as a Retailer? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

You know, returns are at an all-time high in online and it doesn't look like they're going away. In fact, online shoppers, I think, can return up to 30, 40, even 50% depending on your category. But what about in your own stores? What's your return policy? If you have one that's archaic and you have it up at the register, and it's like, "No returns without this, this, this, and this," then it's a "Got you!" moment for a shopper.
So, my tip for you today is if you have a liberal return policy, make sure that your crew tells all your shoppers about that, so they can relax and get that same convenience they would get in a brick-and-mortar store that they come to expect in online. But of course, if you been listening to me for a while, you understand that the fitting room for apparel businesses is the key because the person who tries it on is 70% more likely to keep it.
That's your tip for today.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

How to Close the Sale in Retail by Reframing the Product | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

You know, people often hire me as a sales coach to train their crews or to train their brand boutiques. And people often say, "How do I close the deal? How do I get that customer to buy it now and hand over the money?" Well, it's really simple. You have to go through and spend enough time to build rapport that they're going to tell you everything they want from a product. And so, to close the sale you have to reframe how your product does more than they were expecting.
So what I usually do for that, and your tip for today is, that when you're trying to close a sale, make sure that you repeat at least three things they said they wanted in a product that yours does better than any others. And as long as you do that and then shut up, you'll probably be able to close the sale. Don't do the loser's limp where you ask, "Is it too much money? Is it wrong?" You start putting doubt. You want to close more sales, make sure you reframe how your product does more than the shopper was expecting and ask for that sale.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Virtual Training | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Do you hate training employees? I know most people do. They feel like it's a time suck, or I have to say the same thing over and over again. Or worse, they have somebody trained who really didn't like retail or sales training and then they have somebody else that they trained, trained somebody else, and now you've got a copy of a copy from people who didn't really like training.
One way to get around that is to use online retail sales training. That way everybody gets the exact same message in bite-size forms and you can hold them accountable for it. I use SalesRX, which is my online virtual interactive courses because they stop an employee from being able to just watch a video to where they have to interact and think about things that they heard, and then you're able to roleplay it on the floor so that they get quick wins. 
Ultimately, you're trying to solve the problem of what do we do and how do we do it in such a way that you could hold employees accountable through mystery shops and through employee reviews?
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Do Your People Look Engaged? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Do you know what good customer service looks like? You know, a lot of times when I walk around in various retail stores, I see managers who are managing tasks, but I don't think they really understand what great customer service looks like. And it's really quite simple: Do your people look engaged? Does the shopper look engaged? What does their body posture look like? And the other part of that is: Understand that customer service should have an end where the shopper takes action. Maybe they buy something or leave their information, but you just don't want people talking to other people. There has to be a goal.
So that's your tip today, to look around and see: Do your associates, do your shoppers, look engaged? And if not, well, you should probably get some retail sales training from a guy like me. 
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!