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Retail Jobs:10 Things You Need To Know To Get And Keep

Whether they’re looking for a retail sales job for the summer, a second job, or a new career, many people turn to jobs in retail while they look for other opportunities.

Retail can be the best job for anyone – from college-age to past retirement – to develop their people skills. If you choose a job in retail, you have to be willing to be what the employer wants.

In my day, you didn’t have to know anything to be hired or to stay in retail. It didn’t matter then, but it certainly matters now.

Why?

It’s still true that retailers recognize that some employees may be short-term but they still demand an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. But now the retail world is much more competitive now than ever before.

If you are looking for a job in retail, or if are already working there, you need to understand you can’t get away with being just a warm body any more. You need to see what you can give rather than get from your retail job. Continue reading Retail Jobs:10 Things You Need To Know To Get And Keep »

Retailers: Meditation Provides You A Key To More Sales

I used to pride myself on how busy I was when I worked retail. Four Cokes, a couple of iced teas, and a couple of sugary snacks kept me pumping sales. I was the bomb.

I kept this up for most of my professional life, whether I was speaking in front of thousands of retailers, counseling a franchisee, or doing a business makeover – activity meant productivity.

And then one day…

I was driving home. There was a large SUV in front of me stopped for no apparent reason. I waited. It seemed as if the driver was talking to someone on the curb. In a hurry to get home, I was about to angrily floor it and go around when…

I noticed her… Continue reading Retailers: Meditation Provides You A Key To More Sales »

Why Retailers Should Support The Marketplace Fairness Act

Marketplace Fairness Act

This post is the result of a retailer note on the Retail Doc Facebook page: “I’m having a difficult time understanding where your support for this is coming from and what that belief is rooted in. I respect you in so many ways…I just don’t get it.”

The Marketplace Fairness Act has just been approved by the U.S. Senate by a 69-27 vote and is on it’s way to the House of Representatives where the debate is bound to get ugly. In the circus atmosphere of a polarized Congress, where you are either a savior of the people or the devil himself, I expect a lot of sermons from both sides.

What it is

The Marketplace Fairness Act will authorize online retail sellers not qualifying for a small-seller exemption (under $1 million in online revenues) to collect and remit sales and use taxes for other states.

Why some oppose it

Some feel this undermines an individual state’s rights by making them collect taxes for another state. Some feel it is a new tax. Some feel it will be a nightmare to track the various state and local taxes and the Act will place an undue burden on small businesses. Some feel it undermines a state’s competitive advantage because they have lower or no sales taxes, which draws customers. Continue reading Why Retailers Should Support The Marketplace Fairness Act »

50 Things Retail Employees Can Do When They’re Not Busy

What to do when your retail employees are standing around and your store is not busy…

You probably don’t mind them taking a well-deserved break after a stressful customer or clearing their mind after finishing a task.

But there’s a line between a break and just being lazy, and a good manager knows when it’s been crossed. If you let them just wait for customers, the entire energy in your store will suffer.

You hope your sales team wants to keep busy but if they aren’t willing to find constructive ways to fill extra time, then you have to assign tasks. Here’s a caveat…These tasks shouldn’t be thought of as busywork as many of them can only happen when your store is empty.

It’s best to find ways for employees to work together, but if you can’t do that because one needs to be in the storefront, both can still be busy, but busy separately. Continue reading 50 Things Retail Employees Can Do When They’re Not Busy »

Why It Must Take Longer To Train A Retail Employee

Turning a browsing shopper into a paying buyer is the most important aspect of retailing—yet it’s often entrusted to a retail employee with poor retail sales training and little experience.

When a customer walks into your store, they’re already thinking about buying something. Your employee’s primary job is to convince those customers to buy from you that day.

Getting the most out of your sales team and maximizing your profits, requires comprehensive retail sales training like my SalesRX system. And that takes time…

Employees can’t learn how to create an exceptional experience for a customer from a one-time exposure or detailed employee manual for several reasons: