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Episodes
Saturday Mar 14, 2020
Saturday Mar 14, 2020
You know, if you're trying to close a sale, one of the hardest things is just presenting too many options. You know it yourself, if you get overwhelmed, suddenly work is what shopping feels like and you shut down. You're like, oh, I've seen too much. I just have to leave. I'll come back. Except you don't come back. You'll probably go to some other retailer who doesn't make it feel that way. What I want you to do today is to look at curating down your products to a good, better, and best. Because too many choices leads to your shoppers saying, "I'll have to think about it." That's a good lesson you can work on with your employees as well, is for them to understand, oh, this is a good, better, and best alternative to someone who needs, I don't know, a new raincoat.
How do we present that? We always start with the best because that's the one that is probably more expensive due to the materials. What does that do? It's lighter weight or it repels water better, whatever that's going to be. If someone can't afford that, then you say, "Oh, I also have this version, but we lose the convenience of the lightweight. It's going to be a heavier, it's going to be a heavier cloth." Then if they say, "Oh, that's too much," and then you get down to something basic and then you're not trying to make that sound the same as the more expensive one. You're just showing all the things that they've lost. That's so different than what most people who are untrained do. They start off with the cheapest one and the customer says, "Okay, that's good enough for me." The problem with that is the more expensive merchandise sit.
Today I want you to curate down to a good, better, and best and role play so that they, your crew, understands too many choices leads to, "I'll think about it." You know what the problem with that is? They don't buy it from you. If that happens enough, you're not in business again.
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!
Friday Mar 13, 2020
Friday Mar 13, 2020
Yesterday I was talking about employees and associates who just want to vomit useless fact after useless fact on people. They're typically kind of, an engineer or an analytical background and they think that the facts are what is going to make the sale.
And today's tip for you is, that you always want to lead with what the product does for the customer after you've talked to them. You don't want to talk about how much it cost, or just the facts.
Nobody buys based on just what the facts of what the product has. What they buy on, is what will work for them. And that's the key for you to think about today is. So, find your top five items, go over your crew with them, and then say, "What does this do?"
Now, that could be apparel. It's going to be more expensive, so it's not going to scratch your neck. It could be an appliance that goes through and it takes less water, or less energy. There's a million things that every retailer has that benefits the shopper, but if you're not looking at that and you think the product knowledge is your key more often than not you're just vomiting useless facts.
And frankly, all I need is three benefits and I'm going to buy it. So, today lead with what the product does, not what it cost, or the facts that it has.
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!
Thursday Mar 12, 2020
Thursday Mar 12, 2020
Have you ever met somebody that you just can't get along with, whether they're interviewing for a job or a shopper or even a colleague? We all have, and there's other people that really do well with you and really like them. We've all had that as well. Well, I think that there is an awful lot to personality styles. In fact, today I want you to Google my personality quiz, so Retail Doctor personality quiz. You can take it and find out that there are people that are not like you. And the reason that's so important is if you understand what your typical characteristics are, the way you look at the world, and you understand that three-quarters of the world is not like you, then you can modify the way you talk to them.
For example, I'm a driver personality and I'm kind of a cut to the chase guy, which is fine, except that when I wait on analytical, an engineer or someone that's got more of a process they need, they have a hundred questions. I don't get mad at them. I just realize like, "Oh, so this person needs to hear more detail, that's fine." But if it's the other way around, if I have an analytical salesperson waiting on me and they want to just vomit useless information after useless information on me, I just want to slap them. It's like, "I got it, dude. It's the best. It does this, but has nothing to do with me."
So, today I just want you to Google my personality quiz, just the Retail Doctor personality quiz. You'll find it and then understand that your personality is different than 75% of your shoppers. And when you know that you can modify your way that you talk to them, rather than expecting them to do something different.
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!
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Wednesday Mar 11, 2020
Have you ever been thanked by a vendor or by a store that you did business with? It's pretty powerful. I have a pond that I had cleaned out a while ago and they sent me a handwritten thank you and told me how great the pond was and made one more suggestion of something we could do, maybe next year when we have it cleaned out. And that really stuck with me, because I go back to them over and over again. And so today I want you to think about the power of sending thank yous because obviously you want to build the list, but your top 20 customers are most likely to move the needle of sales. So you can just thank them without any other offer. You don't have to give them 20% off this weekend or something else. Just simply doing that. And yeah, you can do it by a phone call, but a lot of people don't want to answer a phone, but taking the time to just do a handwritten thank you to your top 20 customers goes a long way.
So that's what I want you to do today, is just send one. Just find one of your best customers and send them a thank you with no expectation they're going to come in or buy something else for you, and the more specific you can be about that, their last purchase or something personal about them, the more it will help you. But again, word of mouth starts in these small moments, which you can control.
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!
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
Tuesday Mar 10, 2020
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!
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
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!
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
Sunday Mar 08, 2020
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!
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
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!
Friday Mar 06, 2020
Friday Mar 06, 2020
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!
Thursday Mar 05, 2020
Thursday Mar 05, 2020
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!