Jul. 30 — Aug. 5
MARKETING A girl’s first day of high school might just be the occasion for Dad to get her a “grown-up” piece of fashion jewelry. Do you know what the must-have items are for high school kids this year?
CUSTOMER SERVICE Try saying “yes” to clients whenever you can, says Theresia Oreskovic of Peter & Co. Jewelers (Avon Lake, OH). “We try to be ‘yes men,’” she says. “I make it a habit not to say ‘no’ right off the bat, even though customers can come up with the craziest requests.”
Aug. 6-12
TRAINING This week’s topic: Selling to those with limited budgets — students, working mothers, young professionals: it’s usually most of the people in your market.
SALES August is the year’s top birthday month. But instead of holding a bash for everyone with an August birth date, focus on their astrological sign (mostly Leo). People tend to see more similarities between themselves and those of the same sign. It should make for a great party. Roar!
Aug. 13-19
TECH Engage your online critics. Even if you detest review sites, it’s worth opening a business owner account on Yelp, City-search, and any other website on which your customers are talking about you. Registering generally allows you to correct inaccuracies, receive alerts when you are reviewed, and respond to your critics in a gracious, reasoned manner.
MANAGEMENT Just about everybody believes they need to improve their speaking skills. Yet just about nobody wants to do the one thing that can help them improve fastest: to listen to recordings of their voices. Christy Fletcher, a spokesperson for QVC, advises you use this trick: Don’t play the recording back immediately. “Record something. Wait a day. Then listen to your voice,” she says in a column for eHow.
Aug. 20-26
STAFFING Hire support and sales staff for the holidays now. If it’s part-timers, start with a few hours a week to ensure they are up to speed when the holidays arrive.
DISPLAYS Call a few suppliers and issue them a challenge: I need to redo X cases for $Y. What can you do for me? “Most display companies have some items (returns, show samples, etc.) around they will be happy to sell at a discount,” says display consultant Larry Johnson.
Aug. 27-Sep. 2
INVENTORY Review client-purchase histories so you’re ready to make recommendations once the holiday season begins.
INTERNET With all the social media sites that come and go (MySpace, anyone?), it’s easy to have dated store information floating around the Web in inactive accounts. Clean up your digital profile by closing down those accounts. Services such as NameChk.com can help you track down your errant accounts.