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Episodes
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Monday Nov 11, 2019
You know, I've been doing a Facebook live video on my page for The Retail Doctor for several years now, and I always get the same questions about this time of the year. How do you greet a customer? Should I say, "How are you today?" Should I say, "Happy holidays?" What should I do? And the best way to greet a shopper is to simply say, "Good morning," "Good afternoon," or "Good evening," with a smile. That's the best way to greet them. That's in all of my books. That's what I talk about all the time when I do my in-person training. It's much simpler than you think. And you're going, "Well, my employees don't want to say the same thing over and over again." Well, I guarantee you, all they're saying now is, "Can I help you?" Or, "How you doing today?" And they're saying the same thing.
When you say, "Good morning," or "Good afternoon," or "Good evening," it piques the person's ears and says, "What did they just say?" And then they don't... can't answer you, "No." They usually will say, "Oh, good morning," or they might say, "Thanks," but it starts off the dialogue with a positive. So, "Good morning," can't be answered, "No." And when you make it a habit all year long, you'll end up starting that role of becoming a trusted advisor in your store. And that's going to lead to more add-ons and, more importantly, going to make everybody more happy or happier, including your shoppers and your bottom line.
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 Nov 10, 2019
Sunday Nov 10, 2019
Do you think actors go into a studio and just wing it when they're making a movie? Of course not. Well in two weeks, your staff, if they're not well trained, are going to potentially be winging it when they're talking to your customers. That's potentially going to add or lose, sales for you. The important thing to think of today is to role play with every employee in the next few days. That's from greeting the holiday shopper to adding on, to finding out what else they have on their list, and then making sure that they understand the right way to discover a shopper, and make a customer. When you practice on the floor, it allows associates to make mistakes long before it affects your margins.
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 Nov 09, 2019
Saturday Nov 09, 2019
Have you started thinking about your own holiday shopping? Well, now's the time to get your shopping done. When you're a busy retailer, the last thing you think about is, A, eating properly, and, B, your own holiday gifting until the last minute. And I'm encouraging you today to encourage your own employees to start getting their holiday shopping out of the way. You'll find that their breaks won't be as long, and you'll also find that they won't be as stressed. The less stress associates have, the better. So today, go around and encourage your employees on how to find time in their schedule that they can get their shopping done so that they have more time on your schedule that's not stressful.
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 Nov 08, 2019
Friday Nov 08, 2019
We're deep in football season right now, and a common thing we refer to in most retailers is having a huddle. Do you start each shift with a brief team huddle? You know, best retailers do. When you have a two to three-minute meeting, it focuses everybody's attention. You talk about a new product or you talk about a customer service story that went well, or you talk about a way to add on to a sale. It focuses everybody onto something different that morning that they can concentrate on. And when you make team huddles a regular part of your store schedule to drive sales, well, then you find that every day you're renewed to focus on the most important thing, which is converting lookers to buyers and adding on to every 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!
Thursday Nov 07, 2019
Thursday Nov 07, 2019
It's about six weeks until Christmas and I can hear you saying, "Oh, well, we're getting ready because it'll really get slammed after November when people are picking things out for the holidays." I hate to tell you, but shoppers are filling their holiday lists right now and it's a great time to add on to every sale because they're in a good mood and they're not overly stressed. So, how do you do that?
You add on to every sale, once they've already decided what they're going to pick up, and before you get to the counter, by just asking, "Who else is on your list?" You'll see them look up and to the left, kind of this imaginary list, and then they might say, "Oh, well, I need something for my grandmother. I'm sure you don't have it." And you say, "Well, try me," and then you get into a dialogue about what grandma likes. Or, they say, "No, this is just everything for everybody else. I'm set." And you say, "What about a gift for you?" And you'll see them also stop and look up to this imaginary list, and you know what, that's where you make the money. Especially this holiday season when you have six less shopping days. So, this one question has made more sales goals than I can count just because it was asked with every customer. If you like what I have to say, you might want to also check out my podcast Tell Me Something Good About Retail on your favorite podcast platform.
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 Nov 06, 2019
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
If you're a regular listener to my podcast, or to this flash briefing, you probably carry better merchandise and you're bound to hear at the holidays, "You're expensive." Here's how to deal with that, have a reply ready, talk about how we have better merchandise and we found that people were more satisfied if they paid a little more at the beginning, that the most expensive merchandise is things that are priced cheaply, because they break, or they don't do what you want them to do, and then move on. This isn't a debate. If they say it's too expensive, they probably weren't your customers anyway. You know, not everyone can afford the better things in a store, but when you present it correctly, and you just state it as fact, they'll move Heaven and Earth to get it, provided you have built trust and rapport, to become a trusted advisor.
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 Nov 06, 2019
Wednesday Nov 06, 2019
Do you remember when McDonald's used to ask, "Do you want fries with that?" Back, 20 or 30 years ago, they knew that added on to sales pretty easily because once a customer says, "Yes," they're much more likely to say "Yes" to an add on. So here's what I want you to be thinking about today is for every shopper who comes in, certainly for the next six weeks, simply ask, "Who else gets a gift?"
You'll see people look up to the left and look at this imaginary list they have in their minds. I've said this once before on this flash briefing, but it is so important that I'm saying it again. By asking this one question, it will stop shoppers in their tracks and get them to consider their list. And if they say they don't have anyone, then you can simply say, "Oh, well, what about something for yourself then?"
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 Nov 05, 2019
Tuesday Nov 05, 2019
Are you all set with the number of employees you have for the holidays? You know what, there is still time to hire. And that's important because I'll tell you, people are going to quit and they're going to get sick. And you think, oh, not me. But I'm telling you, if you have a lean crew now, this early in November, it's only going to get worse. Two-person coverage simply doesn't work at the holidays. You staff for the rush, not for your convenience or what your employees can work.
Today I want you to be thinking about how can I over hire so I'm not left working 90 hours myself this holiday season. And more importantly, I'm not missing those add on sales because my employees are so in the duck and cover mode that they really don't want to do anything other than can I help you? And then try to ring it up. And that's not going to make you money. That's just going to make you stressed this holiday season.
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 Nov 04, 2019
Monday Nov 04, 2019
The holidays are coming and you're probably going to be slammed. You know customer service is great, but your crew has got to learn how to juggle more than one customer. You have employees who like to talk to customers for a half-hour, whether they buy something or not. You simply can't afford that. So juggling customers can be taught, and if you are interested, you can look at salesrx.com to find out how I teach a complete system of engaging a customer. But basically, to juggle a customer, right, whoever you're with first, you have to ask for permission to leave. "Excuse me, may I go greet that other person?" And they'll always say, "Yes." You go over, greet the person, "Good morning, feel free to look around and I'll be right back." If the person has a quick question, you can direct them. But if they have something further, say, "I'm with somebody else, but I will be back." And then you come back to the person you were originally with and you say, "So, we were at...", and then you restate where you were in the sale so that that person feels comfortable.
Remember the speed of service goes down with the more people that come in your store. So ask permission to leave. Give them something to do. Or even better, greet the person just walked in the door and then restate where you were when you're juggling customers. And that way you'll build more sales, but more importantly, you'll get better customer service this holiday season.
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 Nov 03, 2019
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Did you know there's going to be six less shopping days this holiday season? Yeah, that's right. There will be almost a full week of less time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I know things can get crazy during December, but you've got to plan now.
So, what I want you to do today is, prepare your crew for what could go wrong. That could be anything from we've run out of gift boxes, to we've run out of receipt paper, to three employees are stuck and they can't come in.
We want to go through and come up with scenarios you probably have dealt with within the last few years and then make sure everybody understands what to do, and in what circumstances to reach you, and what decisions you allow them to make on their own. Because I'll tell you, when you work retail, you drill the details, especially at the holidays.
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!