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Four Tips to Help You Plan For a Great Year

Bio on Dave Richardson:
Dynamic and compelling as Speaker Dave Richardson shares his secrets for presenting and selling high-ticket jewelry items with confidence and easy-to-use closing techniques to drive the increased profits you are looking for. Highly sought after, he has been featured speaker at every jewelry industry national, regional, and state trade association convention, as well as every English-speaking country in the world, as well as several countries were his message has been translated. His continuing jewelry sales and management education materials which include CDs, manuals, and workbooks have helped jewelers worldwide to significantly increase their sales. Jewelers around the world use these educational materials to supplement the training of top-notch salespeople.

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Article Written by David Richardson:
The New Year is an excellent time to ask . . . what have you done and what will you be doing as you set forth your plans in today’s challenging economy?

Consider the four ideas listed below. Perhaps they can make the rewards of your efforts more enjoyable.

1. We must plan for the future – we cannot use the strategies of the past.
In years gone by, a stern motivational locker room talk from the coach was enough to stimulate the team to victory. Today the eloquent verbal skills are accompanied by films, video tapes from 16 different angles, computerized scouting reports, etc. And all this just to win one game.

We are all in a similar arena . . . continually planning, organizing, and strategizing for the ongoing game. Gone are the days when the customer had no place else to go . . . gone are the days when one store could monopolize the specific needs of the consumer. For example, look at how many of us own foreign cars today. Why? Compare price, quality, economy, you name it. Quite frankly, the American automobile industry simply took the consumer too lightly and failed to meet his needs at a very important juncture in life. The American consumer is no dummy . . . he went elsewhere and with good success.

Ignore the customer and he will go away . . . it is as simple as that. Walk into a large clothing store . . . see how many people jump to wait on you. I travel all over the United States and Canada. During this time I have probably stayed overnight in at least 1,000 hotels. How many times do you think the hotel clerk has inquired as to whether I might want to upgrade my reservation? Just once. One person in a thousand had the care and concern for his business to suggest that I might want to upgrade. How many times do our people try to trade the customer up (it’s always easier to trade down)? How many times do they suggest a second sale?

I walked into my bank one day to deposit money. I counted nine employees; yet only one person was available to service a line of eight customers. And just how important do you think they feel the customer is?

Today’s customer has a lot of options when it comes to deciding how to spend his hard earned dollars. Take the time to observe your people very carefully. What kind of “treatment” is your customer getting? The real tragedy would be to develop such a magnificent plan involving fixturing, windows, advertising, etc., only to have customers not genuinely enjoy the fruits of your labors. Work your strategies out with the help and support of all your people. Set your goals now . . . TO’s per person per day, one second sale, one trade-up per day. Set the plan in motion and make it work.

2. Discipline yourself to be consistent every day.
Good managers are predictable . . . their employees always know what to expect . . . do a job well and get praised for it; do it poorly and prepare for a reprimand. There should be no surprises in managing people.

Start becoming more consistent by looking for tasks which employees have done well. As Ken Blanchard said in his highly popular book, The One Minute Manager, catch people doing something right.

Pause for a brief moment and ask yourself how many times you actually try to catch someone doing something right. Don’t we all too often spend our time trying to catch people doing something wrong?

I used to work for a gentleman whose philosophy of management was, “If you don’t hear anything from me, you can assume you are doing a good job. I will only talk with you when your performance is below standard.” This was not effective for me, nor is it effective with 80% of the people we supervise today. People want and need to feel good about their jobs and especially the quality of their work. There is no substitute for good solid recognition.

People are smart . . . they can spot a phony a mile away.

Consider, if you will, the manager who says,

“John, you did a fantastic job . . . you are simply the greatest salesperson in the store!” Now, if I am John, I’m going to follow up those platitudes and accolades by asking for a raise . . . after all, the manager just told me I was “the best.”

Recognition should be more specific and less flamboyant. Point out what you specifically like about the sales presentation; be specific and encourage more of the same. Also try to refrain from referring to someone as the “the best salesperson.” After all, if one is the best, there is only one way to go . . . down.

Don’t be a manager who gives the recognition for a job well done, but then takes it away. How many times have you heard this . . . or, rather, being honest with yourself, how many times have you actually done this with an employee? “John, you did a nice job of presenting and selling that piece, but if you had only thought about it, you could have sold this companion piece with it.”

Now, what does John hear? Everything after the word “but.” In essence, it is not a praising but a mini reprimand. Give good solid recognition . . . and let people feel how “good” feels . . . then watch how they strive to excel.

Think about the people who work for you and in the next 48 hours strive to catch each of them doing something right, or something almost right in the case of a new employee, and give them the recognition they deserve.

3. You must wear different hats.
As managers of people we all wear different hats every hour and every minute of the day. We must be more flexible and less rigid in dealing with our people. After all, as managers we are counselors, advisors, salespeople, educators, listeners, motivators, leaders, followers, parents, lovers, spouses, friends, bosses, etc.

Look at the many roles you play in your life. If you mishandle any single role, your overall effectiveness as a manager will certainly suffer.

Reread each of the above roles we play, add the ones that are not listed, and rate yourself on a scale of 1-10. A score of 8, 9, or 10 indicates a good deal of comfort on your part with that particular role. A score of 7 or less means your goals in this area may need to be refined.

Remember to try and play each role well because not only are we “role players,” we are also “role models” for others.

4. Become more involved in your community.
I speak with so many excellent merchants who tell me they just don’t have the time to get involved in community affairs. This is unfortunate; in today’s world the customers are not going to visit us “just because we are there.”

Not only should you join a business leader’s club or organization but, moreover, you should seek opportunities to address these community groups as a luncheon speaker. Put together an informative speech that would be of interest to the group and let your availability be known. Don’t use the platform as a forum to hawk you wares . . . instead use it to genuinely inform business people about a subject of mutual interest.

At the conclusion of the presentation ask for questions and hand out (exchange) business cards. How many business cards do you hand out each day? Experts say if you don’t hand out a minimum of 10 business cards per day you are not networking your business effectively.

You never know where business will come from. As a direct result of a business card I left with my dry cleaners, I received a booking for a keynote speech. It seems that another customer of the dry cleaning establishment was looking for a speaker and the proprietor was able to present him with my card. Business does come in strange ways.

As you plan for the future and the exciting challenges ahead of you, I hope you will consider using these four points to maximize your business success.

Written by: David Richardson