The Retail Doctor's Blog

Spring is when conferences are being planned and manufacturers, distributors and associations are inviting you to come together.

If you are planning a trip to a trade expo, your local merchandise mart or other buying show I have six tips for you:

1) Prepare - know your numbers. Not your macro numbers like how we did for the month but the micro numbers. What are your top five categories in gross sales and if you can access it, in terms of profitability. Some businesses use lots of loss-leaders which may sell a lot but actually cost them money. That's not what you want. Look at all of your categories and find your top five to seven. Then find your bottom five to ten.