Are you feeling a bit stuck in your retail sales training plan? Maybe it feels like you’ve hit a roadblock, and nothing is getting better. Or maybe you stopped altogether. I get it—planning for the future can be taxing.
Here's the good news...
Restarting something you didn’t complete yields better results. It is easy to become discouraged when things don’t go as planned, but with a little bit of effort, you can start again with much more clarity and enthusiasm than before.
The most obvious way in which restarting yields better results is that you gain a clearer perspective of what went wrong the first time. You can critically assess your efforts in hindsight and identify any errors that may have been made or changes that could have been made to improve the outcome.
Did you put the wrong person in charge? Did you try to do your way instead of how the program was laid out? Did you fail to hold your retail team accountable?
By recognizing where mistakes were made, you can take steps to ensure they aren’t repeated in the future. This makes restarting much less likely to fail, which can save countless hours of wasted effort.
Another benefit of restarting is that it allows you to build on what has gone before, arriving at a result far better. The experience gained from prior attempts gives you invaluable insight into what worked best and what didn’t.
Finally, the act of restarting itself has psychological benefits such as increased confidence and motivation. No matter how many times something doesn’t work out as expected, starting over rules out failure and regret.
By taking a fresh approach when you start over, you stay focused on your individual goals rather than carrying around the burden of knowing you stopped.
With these seven tips on how to revitalize your retail plan, you’ll be back on track before long.
- Picture the results: Why do we need to get back on track with it?
- Find the Time: How to make the most of your available time to complete the training.
- Be Honest: The importance of being honest about your struggles and what changes you need to make to become successful.
- Get Someone To Hold You Accountable: Benefits of finding an accountability partner who can help you stay motivated and on track with your goals.
- Set Clear Expectations: How setting expectations for yourself and others can help you stay focused on completing the training.
- Break Down Your Goals Into Manageable Steps: Tips for breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable steps that are more achievable and less overwhelming.
- Reward Yourself When You Meet Your Goals: Celebrating your successes will keep you motivated and help you stay on track with completing your retail sales training!
Picture the results: Why do we need to get back on track with it?
You originally saw the opportunities you were missing out on, so look at sales reports, conversion rates, and average checks. You’re known more for your compromises than your successes, so prioritize employee development over task completion. Make sure your schedule has a priority for training and your crew has support, so they aren’t alone.
Additionally, it’s important to invest in interactive training that interrupts the brain rather than just watching a bunch of videos. It's important for managers and shift leads to provide feedback after holding mock sessions to confirm comprehension. After all, knowing doesn’t equal doing.
By investing in employee development and providing regular feedback sessions, managers can help make sure their staff has the necessary skill set to succeed in their roles.
Find the Time: How to make the most of your available time to complete the training.
Time is a precious commodity, and it's essential to make the most of the available time to complete the training. The first step is to create a plan and training schedule. You can’t just wing it or wait until it’s slow. Training has to be a priority because, let’s face it, no one wants to learn as it represents change. Having a regular training day that is non-negotiable can help you better manage your expectations and prepare for any potential roadblocks along the way.
Once a plan has been made, setting goals can ensure that progress is made efficiently. Create both short-term and long-term goals so that it’s easier to measure progress over time. A mindshift change has to be made to go from “we need everyone to get through the training” to “we need everyone to not only complete the training but use it on the sales floor.” Remember you wanted increased sales, not checking a box.
Decide on rewards for meeting these goals and use them as motivation to stay on track with completing the training. A leaderboard can be helpful so everyone sees it as a group effort.
Staying focused is key to completing the training promptly. Find a comfortable workspace free from distractions off the sales floor – turn off notifications or put your phone away so you can remain focused on the task at hand without external influences taking you off track. Additionally, don’t allow binge-watching. The brain can only learn so much, so use short lessons that not only teach but give time to reflect on what they learned and connect to what they have experienced.
Creating a plan, setting achievable goals, staying focused, and scheduling time for the completion of the training will help ensure that you can make the most of your available time to complete it successfully.
Be Honest: The importance of being honest about your struggles and what changes you need to make to become successful.
Being honest about the struggles you had and the changes you need to make to be successful. Honesty helps identify weaknesses, create realistic goals, and take steps towards erasing a failed past. It also creates a sense of accountability that keeps you focused on reaching your goals.
When it comes to being honest about your struggles, be as detailed as possible. It’s also key to be honest about the changes you need to make to be successful personally. This includes understanding you’ll need to move outside of your comfort zone.
Let’s be honest; the reason you didn’t complete the first time was, in part, because it was more comfortable to be stuck. Whether this means you’ll need to take some time away from social media or put a reminder on your smartphone, you should have an accurate idea of what changes are necessary. Honesty is the key here—if something isn’t working for you, acknowledge that and think of ways to push past that, so it does work for you.
Being honest can feel uncomfortable because it involves admitting failure or shortcomings, but it’s one of the most important components for achieving success. It allows us to gain perspective on our strengths and weaknesses, identify growth opportunities, and devise plans for improvement that will bring us closer to achieving our desired outcome: selling more in your store!
Get Someone To Hold You Accountable: Benefits of finding an accountability partner who can help you stay motivated and on track with your goals.
Having an accountability partner to help you stay motivated and on track with your goals is crucial. Especially if willpower isn’t your strong suit. Not only will they be able to provide objective feedback and advice, but their presence can also help to keep you accountable and focused on the task at hand. Having someone in your corner who not only understands your goals but also encourages them can give you the extra push needed to achieve success.
But understand your pattern of how you meet expectations. As Gretchen Rubin shares in her work about expectations, there are four types of people:
- Upholders respond readily to outer and inner expectations—“Discipline is my freedom”
- Questioners question all expectations; they’ll meet an expectation if they think it makes sense; essentially, they make all expectations into inner expectations—“I’ll comply—if you convince me why”
- Obligers meet outer expectations but struggle to meet expectations they impose on themselves—“You can count on me, and I’m counting on you to count on me”
- Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike—“You can’t make me, and neither can I”
Your accountability partner can remind you of any goals that may have slipped through the cracks and keep an eye on whether or not you are making progress toward them.
Most importantly, an accountability partner will be honest with you – they won’t tell you what they think you want to hear to make themselves look good.
If anything, their nudging could be just what is needed for growth and development. Having someone who genuinely cares about your progress can be a great motivator when things start feeling difficult.
Set Clear Expectations: How setting expectations for yourself and others can help you stay focused on completing the training.
Setting expectations for yourself and others can help you stay focused on completing the training. Maybe when you tried before, you thought the training would run on auto-pilot. Nothing runs on auto-pilot. Everything needs supervision – especially retail employees who have so many demands coming at them at once.
It is also important to set expectations for those who are helping with your training. Tell them how much time they must dedicate to this process. Meet with them with all relevant materials and get all their questions answered before you start so that they can support your training plan.
When everyone is aware of the expectations, it creates a positive environment that encourages learning. When there is clarity around roles and responsibilities, everyone involved can stay focused on completing the training together.
Break Down Your Goals Into Manageable Steps: Tips for breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable steps that are more achievable and less overwhelming.
When it comes to breaking down large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, the best approach is to focus on the end goal. In my online sales training platform, SalesRX.com, we have done this work for you with a complete playbook. If you are using something else, start by visualizing what success looks like and then break the task down into small chunks.
Identify the specific weekly goals that must be achieved to reach the desired outcome. Once these smaller goals are identified, create a timeline for each one and assign deadlines. This will help keep you focused and motivated while working through each step of the process.
In addition to breaking it into smaller steps, it is also important to identify any potential obstacles that may arise along the way and plan accordingly. Who do you just know will give pushback? What events are coming up that could derail you again? What will you say when such things occur? Plan now.
Smaller parts are easier to manage because they allow you to measure progress as you go along better. That gives a greater sense of accomplishment and motivation as you move closer to completing the task at hand.
Reward Yourself When You Meet Your Goals: Celebrating your successes will keep you motivated and help you stay on track with completing your retail sales training
Rewarding yourself for meeting your goals is a great way to stay motivated and on track with completing your retail sales training. Same for your crew.
Being able to recognize when you have achieved something special and taking time out to celebrate that success can be just the boost you need to push through and reach even more of your goals. But don’t make it about completing the training but doing the training.
This could be anything from buying a treat or an extra-special coffee to taking some time away from work. Taking the time to stop and appreciate what you have achieved is an important part of being successful – it’s not only about reaching goals but also enjoying the journey along the way. Reward yourself with small treats or bigger breaks as needed, but make sure you’re celebrating your successes.
Remember, restarting is worth it
The act of restarting itself will unleash increased confidence and motivation. No matter how many times something doesn’t work out as expected, starting over rules out failure by giving us another opportunity at success without having to face regret.
By taking a fresh approach, you measure your progress against your improvements rather than someone else’s expectations. This helps you stay focused on your individual goals rather than worrying about how others will judge us for them.
And if you’re looking to restart your retail sales training, I encourage you to check out SalesRX, my online retail sales training for the complete manager and associate training to boost sales and morale and limit turnover.
