April 30-May 6
DISPLAYS Position your best Mother’s Day (May 14) specials in a showcase just inside the front door. Offer a wide range of price points but simplify the selection process by highlighting a few classic pieces or current trends.
SALES Set up what sales trainer Shane Decker calls T.O. teams. When you see two people who work well together, schedule them together. “The success of a T.O. team — two different selling personalities or opposite genders paired together — can skyrocket,” Decker says.
STAFFING Reach out to students who were superstar team members last summer and see if they want to come back.
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May 7-13
OPERATIONS Step outside your store. Through your windows, assess the visuals and displays, but mostly watch some customer-associate interactions. It’s amazing how much more you can observe without sound. Research suggests words account for less than 10 percent of communication. What kinds of things are your sales staff communicating to your customers?
TRAINING Summer is a great time to send your staff for additional training (e.g., seminars, camps, summer courses). Start reading up on some of your options.
May 14-20
BUYING Whether you’re going to JCK (Jun. 2-5) or not, dig into your POS data to discover your best and worst sellers of the past 12 months and fine-tune your open-to-buy for the second half of the year.
OPERATIONS Another down-time project: De-clutter work areas to prevent fires or accidents.
MARKETING Place “Congratulations Class of 2023” signs in your windows. See if your high school or local college has advertising options in their graduation bulletins or final editions of school newspapers.
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May 21-27
OPERATIONS Summer’s on the way. Start thinking about some minor “remodel” projects you could implement over the slow season.
MARKETING Send anniversary cards, along with a special offer for diamond upgrades, to customers with anniversaries in June.
May 28-June 3
INVENTORY Ever tried a “Christmas in July” promotion? Maybe this could be the year! Or if you’ve got a lot of lower-end inventory that won’t move, what about a sidewalk sale?
DISPLAY Redo your showcases to give them a fresh summery look. Replace tired florals and other décor pieces with new props that enhance new merchandise brought in for the hot season.