I’ve raised my prices as part of my efforts to boost my margins, but sales have dropped off. How do I know if this is because of the economy or because people are balking at my new higher prices?
This basically comes down to knowing why your customers are buying from you, says Andrew Gregson, author of Pricing Strategies for Small Business. If people are deciding to shop with you based purely on prices, you need to build a new customer base — because, as you may be finding, these guys have no loyalty. If you believe price is secondary for your regulars and sales are falling, you need to do a better job of satisfying their needs. This may mean rethinking your inventory and services or your sales approach. Is your sales team matching customers with the right items? Finally, there are good customers you don’t want to “fire” but for whom your price points are now possibly out of reach. For these people, you need to find some value that can be surgically removed (a warranty, a free service, cash only payment) that lowers the cost for you and the price for them, Gregson says. Or conversely, you could add value without adding cost and keep the higher price. “Can you offer easier credit terms, a guarantee or something else?” asks Gregson.
What do you think of using personality tests when hiring? I prefer to go with my gut.
Personality tests have their place, as does your gut, but we don’t think either should be your primary means to judge a candidate. The tests, which are often Internet-based, can’t capture those all-important inflections, gestures or other nuances of communication. As for intuition, it’s got a poor record as a hiring tool too. Much better is to do your homework. Study the candidate’s resume (history is the best predictor of performance), actually call up references, and pay close attention to how well they sell themselves in the interview. This is a sales job, after all.
How do you help a customer with a size 6 knuckle and a size 5 or even a 4-1/2 finger?
First thing is to make the customer aware of the “problem” so as to avoid constant resizings that still leave her with twisting rings. David Geller suggests using top-heavy and hollow ring sizers that make it clear to the customer that she just might have to live with a twisting ring because of her knuckle size. “These rings show there’s no happy medium. It helps to reduce sizing over and over again just to come to the conclusion of “Oh well …” he says. There is a technical solution to twisting rings, but it comes at a price: expandable shanks made by companies such as FingerMate and SuperFit. Geller says he used to sell them mostly for rings that were priced over $1,000. The key to selling them is to remind the customer of the comfort, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, he says.
I know there are issues that my staff are unhappy about but I worry inviting them to vent will just descend into a bitch and moan session. How can I design a meeting that will result in a constructive outcome?
You’re right to want to bring these issues into the open so that you can deal with them. Venting has its benefits from lowering stress, to identifying hidden problems, to helping create a culture of openness, to building relationships and collaboration. According to a study by Integrify, employees who feel heard at work are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. But as you rightly fear, not handled well, it can just dissolve into a mire of moaning and finger-pointing that undermines store morale and productivity. The answer is a structured approach that promotes psychological safety, encourages open communication and and creates a pathway toward effective solutions. One technique developed by Atlassian, called The Dirty Laundry Play (instoremag.com/dirtylaundryplay), effectively accomplishes this. It involves establishing a safe, neutral space where team members can share frustrations without judgment. A facilitator (you or your manager) guides the process, asking participants to anonymously submit written “laundry” notes over a set period — typically around 10 minutes. The meeting leader then categorizes these issues and promotes discussion on the underlying causes and potential remedies. The key is to focus on constructive solutions rather than blame. According to the Atlassian Playbook, over time, this process encourages a culture of openness and continuous improvement, turning “negative venting into a catalyst for positive change”. Given what’s at stake, you can only give it a try.
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