Here are 10 things you can do today (or
tomorrow) to be a better store manager:
1. Take one of your employees out for a
cup of coffee and spend some quality one-on-one time. Be sure and ask what you
can do to improve the store and make it a more enjoyable place to work. Also ask
what you can do to help them develop.
2. Watch and listen to your staff interact
with customers, and then give them feedback. First tell them three things they
did well. Then tell them three things they could have done better. Always end a
feedback session expressing your confidence in them and your appreciation for
their efforts.
3. Create a fun one-day contest that
involves the whole staff. Here's one that is fun to do and fun to watch. First,
pick an area of focus. It could be selling products over a certain price point.
Or it could be selling add-ons or complete solutions. One of my favorites is
exhibiting a desired behavior. Purchase a bouquet of flowers and put it into a
container in the backroom or on the back counter. Then with either plastic
bottles or cups create a vase for each employee working that day. Every time an
employee achieves the goal you've set they move a flower from the bouquet into
their vase. At the end of the day the employee with the most flowers in their
vase wins. The winner gets to take the flowers home as well as something like a
gift certificate to a local restaurant.
Learn how to create great winning contest with our white paper, Design and
Execute an Engaging Contest.
4. Always, always, always, thank your
employees for their contribution and efforts when they're leaving for the day.
Chase them out the door to tell them if you have to. Of course,
be sincere.
5. Spend 15 minutes working on your own
development. Whether by it's reading a book, a magazine, or a newspaper, you
must drive your own development. To develop as a leader we must always be
expanding our own base of knowledge.
6. Straighten up your office. You can't
expect your employees to have spotless work spaces if you don't.
7. Be the first one to clean this morning
or at closing. It's amazing how much your staff respects you when you join in
and clean. I know you have a lot of other things to do but working side by side
with your staff is invaluable.
8. One of the biggest mistakes store
managers can make is to spend hours working in the office and then come out on
to the floor and try to take charge. The best thing you can do when you come
onto the floor is to ask the staff how you can help. So often I see a manager
come out from the office, see a customer in the store and ask an employee if
they've been helped. You know the employee is dying to tell the manager "If
you'd been on the floor you'd know that we've approached him twice." Come out to
help, not take charge.
9. Engage a customer and be the reference
standard. Successful managers know that there is no such thing as "do as I say
and not as I do". If the reference is to welcome every customer then the manager
should be out front welcoming every customer. Leaders always go first.
10. Repeat the first nine things every
day!
- Doug
About the author:
Doug Fleener is founder of the Dynamic Experiences Group. He is a veteran
retailer with more than 25 years of hands-on retail experience with world-class
retailers including Bose Corporation and The Sharper Image. He has also owned
and operated his own specialty stores. His new book, The Profitable Retailer:
56 surprisingly simple and effective lessons to boost your sales and profits
published by Acanthus Publishing.
Doug is now president and
managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a Lexington based retail
consulting firm dedicated to helping retailers create unique customer
experiences that results in higher sales and profits. Learn more at
www.dynamicexperiencesgroup.com or call Doug at 866-535-6331.
Fleener also shares his
knowledge of experience based retailing in a series of custom key notes and
workshops designed for stores, businesses, corporations, non-profits, and trade
associations of all sizes. His casual style and quick wit make him not just a
crowd pleaser but also an incredible motivator, encouraging people to take
action and deliver extraordinary experiences to customers and employees alike.
Learn more at
www.dougfleener.com.
