How to ‘buy’ sales productive store teams for summer – Christmas 2009

Before you ‘buy’ anything you need to know what you want.

In the last fifteen years prior to the current downturn sales and profit growth was easy.

Last October sales for some categories of retailers hit a brick sales wall and haven’t recovered.

Retailers have struggled through with existing sales team strategies; we believe for summer – Christmas 2009 even if you do not ‘buy’ new sales teams, setting clear guidance direction and KPI’s is necessary to hit summer – Christmas 2009 numbers.

• We suggest you start testing new sales growth techniques and start planning Store Team training for summer now.

Getting back to retail sales motivation basics.

• Choose sales teams that are sales and profit  hungry; set incentive schemes that reward sales and profit hungry sales teams.
  The days are gone when good performing sales teams work just for wages.

• Re-set the meet and greet 15 seconds into store sales starter statements; mix them up; make sure front line, front door casuals are aware of them; set mystery shoppers on notice re first stage customer greeting standards.

• Train your managers to ask the question; ‘what did they want?’.
  Regularly monitor your lost sales lists.

• One of the qualities of  good retail manager is to track lost sales if key lines, sizes or colours are out of stock chasing buyers for more stock.

• Training store teams to find an alternative line, size or colour is part of a good store managers’ responsibility.

• Set trustworthy incentive schemes; pay small; pay regularly; keep your incentive promises.

The easiest way to de-motivate staff is to keep moving the incentive goal posts.

• Set incentive schemes which lock in a permanent salary increase for consistent high performers; let other sales team members know when this happens; make competitive sales and profit motivation part of your business culture.

‘Buying’ good store sales teams is as important as ‘buying’ the right stock.

Get either wrong and you have an underperforming retail business.

Set the stage when you enter a store on a ‘royal visit’, get selling, set and example; have fun and watch the sales fly.

It is all about all your management team setting the same example.

Enjoy the experience of having trustworthy sales and profit hungry sales teams.

To help you maximise your summer – Christmas 2009 sales email Maximising summer 2009 sales.

Have a great selling summer – Christmas 2009.

Tony Standley

Principal
The RETAiL Alert Group (Australia)

Mobile +61 (0)41 924 0497
e-mail info@adsass.com.au
Fax +61 (0)2 9987 0633
Website http://www.retailalert.com.au