Eight fresh ideas to better your business
Play games on your way to a cleaner store; more.
[componentheading]GET TOGETHER[/componentheading]
[contentheading[Meet Each Month[/contentheading]
How often are you doing performance evaluations with your salespeople? Once a year? Twice a year? Not enough, says George Whalin, author of Retail Success. To truly shape performance requires once a month performance evaluations — at least. Talk with your salespeople about how they performed versus their goal for the month that passed — sales they made, sales they didn’t. And remember: the goal of these meetings should always be improving performance, not simply listing the things an associate did right or wrong.
[componentheading]EYE SPY[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Look Deep[/contentheading]
Eye contact is extremely important in any kind of sales — and jewelry sales is no exception. Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your Customers, suggests asking your sales associates: “Do you know the color of your top customers’ eyes?” Quiz them on this once in a while … whenever you feel that your sales associates might not be making enough eye contact.
[componentheading]EYE LEVELS[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Know How Much[/contentheading]
Speaking of eye contact, have you ever wondered how much is too much and how much is too little? Here’s the answer from Keith Ferruzzi, author of Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets To Success, One Relationship at a Time. “If you maintain an unblinking stare 100 percent of the time, that qualifies as leering. If you keep eye contact less than 70 percent of the time, you’ll seem disinterested and rude. Somewhere in between is the balance you’re looking for.”
[componentheading]LOVES THAT LAST[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Establish Rarity[/contentheading]
Diamonds are rare. But do you know what’s even more rare — couples that stay together for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or more. When such long-time married customers come in looking for an anniversary purchase, Kate Peterson says to be sure to tell them how rare their romance is. That also helps inspire them to make a remarkable purchase to celebrate their accomplishment.
[componentheading]NEXT TO GODLINESS[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Reward Cleanliness[/contentheading]
Want a cleaner store? Then you need to find ways to reward cleanliness. Here are two ideas to positively reinforce cleaning habit from John Putzier, author of Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways To Make Your Company a Great Place To Work. 1.) Collect the Dots. Place little colored stickers around your store, concentrating on the most obscure corners, nooks and crannies. Any employee who collects a sticker and brings it to you gets points. More points, bigger rewards. 2.) Mystery Mess. Place rewards, gift certificates or even cash, in areas of clutter around your store. Worried your employees might just shuffle through any piles they come across to see if a reward is there? Well, sounds like you have a bigger problem than just cleanliness.
[componentheading]BETTER OFF BLUE[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Make Your Point[/contentheading]
Ever have a subject that you’ve talked about until you’re “blue in the face”? And figured it was time to give up because it didn’t seem to be having an effect on anyone? Well, don’t stop just yet. Bob Nelson, author of 365 Ways To Manage Better, says that it’s often just when you’re getting tired of saying a message over and over that it truly starts to take hold. Repeat the message until you start hearing it back from your employees. Then you’ll know it has sunk in.
[componentheading]TIME TO SHRINE[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Create A Shrine[/contentheading]
Need a pick-me-up? Jim Krause, author of Creative Sparks, suggests creating a small “personal shrine” in your office space. Include things that are important and relevant to you — a book that taught you something, a few trinkets, a picture or two (family, happy customers), and anything else that inspires you. Spend a minute or two each day in quiet thought with your shrine. Use it to help yourself get into the zone for another day of wow-ing your customers.
[componentheading]DECIDEDLY WISE[/componentheading]
[contentheading]Act First[/contentheading]
A good quote to remember for all those wafflers out there: “You don’t make a right decision — you make a decision, and then make it right.”
[span class=note]This story is from the June 2005 edition of INSTORE[/span]