If Men Are From Mars and Woman Are From Venus, Then My Boss Must be on Jupiter!

Sometimes talking to the boss is like talking to an alien 👽 from another planet.  If Men are from Mars and Woman from Venus, then the boss must be from Jupiter. 
 
There seems like the communication between the home office and store is delayed because  of the light years in distance between them.

I watched as the local supermarket chain remodeled its stores.  Had a grand reopening.  Then changed  aisles back the way they were.     The store associates shaking their heads saying, we knew they were making mistakes but no one would listen. 

The home office on the other hand make decisions based on the analytics.   In theory what changes they made make sense.   But these people don't have any practical experience.    They cut costs by making cookie cutter decisions.   They don't realize people's buying habits are very local things.   You don't sell Matzo ball soup in Chinatown!

Local store employees know what their customers want, because they interact with them every day.   Yet, no one asks them.  The home office employees spends less than 24 hours a year working in a store.  Yet, they think they know best.

In the end they realize sales dropped because categories were removed.  Things the employees were as saying all along.   Now they have to hope they didn't lose any customers.

All this could of been avoided had the boss come to Earth in peace, used a universal translator when talking to the store associates.  Instead they spent extra time and money undoing mistakes they made. 

The store employees are now running around preparing the store for the grand reopening. Not to impress the customers.  But, worried because the "BIG BOSS" was coming!

I know the boss has no idea what the employees are thinking. Just like I know the employees have know idea what management is thinking.  Why,  because I've talked to them both, I've worked both for both sides. 

Why is it they can't talk to each other?  The employees are scared of upper management.  Some are known to hide when they come to the store.   They see the big boss tour the store usually ignoring everyone around them.

I love watching undercover boss.  I like most when the boss realizes he doesn't really know what's going on in his business.    😟

Somewhere in the trip from Jupiter to Earth the Boss forgot what it was like work in a Retail store.  Or worse, they never did!

I remember 2 experiences while starting my career in retail management.  In first job a Regional Vice-president who knew I was afraid of him told me, "You don't have to like everyone you work for."  How true, but, was this the right thing to say to me?   

The second, just after and not unsurprisingly, that company went out of business. In my very next job a store manager told me to "Remember that the boss isn't special, He puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us.  Don't be afraid to talk to him. "

In that company I got my first promotion to store manager!  And that company through mergers is now one of the largest retail drugstore chains in the Nation.

5 Low Cost Things You Can Do Now That Will Increase Sales!

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FREE SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE !
 

5 Low Cost Things You Can Do Now That Will Increase Sales!

1. Clean up the store 

• Get garbage off the floor, if your merchandising keep  it neat.
• Ladders and carts not being used should be put away.
• Floors should be  swept and washed.
• Shelves are straightened.

2. Re-merchandise the shelves.

•  Customers like it always looking fresh and new.  Move sections from one place to another. Pull them forward, make it look full neat and new.
• Customers will see items they didn't notice before. 
• Customers will stop shopping a store if they feel its going to have the same old thing. 

3. Use in store signs.

• Show the value to the customer even if its the everyday price.
• Just pointing it out pushes sales.

4. Good Customer Service.

• Be friendly and helpful, not pushy and annoying.

5. Get the word out

• Word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertising. 
• Have a good logo and make it visible outside your store.
• Use free website and social media.


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MANAGING A RETAIL BUSINESS IS LIKE DRIVING A BUS

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What Makes a good retail organization?

When everything is working properly, you have a well oiled machine that doesn’t break down.

Each division , such as Home Office, Field Personnel , District Managers, Store Managers, right down to the stock clerk, have their place in getting the bus (business) to its finial destinations. Every year the destination is the same, making a profit.

It is the Bus Depots (Upper Managements) job to make sure they hire the right driver (Managers) for the job. They should train him/her how to drive for both safety and performance. The driver should know how each parts of the bus works and how to fuel and maintain it. Should the bus run out of gas it might not reach its destination on time.

The Depot may have many buses out there each driving a route all the same goal of reaching the final destination. Its important to have GPS to keep track of each driver so they don’t get lost.

It is the depots job to make sure the driver keeps to his schedule and understands the route they must take.

It is the drivers job to inspect the bus daily and make sure each part is working properly. If just one part (employee) stops working the whole bus could slow down or come to a screeching halt.

Its important to rotate your tires from time to time to make sure they ware down evenly. You wouldn’t want to a have a blow out and be stuck on the side of the road waiting for a replacement part (new employee), because you didn’t have a spare ready to go.

The Driver is in charge of steering the bus along its daily course. Picking up passengers (customers) along the way.
If the Driver falls asleep at the wheel or makes a wrong turn, the passengers might go a different route and bus next time.

Some times Drivers think they can take a short cut . Steer the bus down the wrong path, you could find yourself on a bumpy road with more detours than it’s worth. Staying on right path is usually best to reach the final destination on time or even ahead of schedule.

The depot should not assume the driver knows where he is going and isn’t wondering aimlessly while passengers are yelling at him.

Bad drivers are surprised when the bus crashes. If they had stayed on course, worn their seat belts and not gone down a bumpy road, they wouldn’t have been thrown under the bus.

During the yearly inspection are the inspectors looking for everything they should. A lot of things are overlooked as long as the bus gets to is destination.

Just because the bus is still running doesn’t mean it will keep working for much longer. Many inspectors miss the duct tape and rubber bands holding parts in place. They are surprised when parts start to fall off because no one thought to take care of them. The bus falls behind schedule and has a hard time catching up. If the bus breaks down for any reason the passengers will be stranded, they might find a different more reliable bus company next time.

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Why has higher sales become more important than higher profits?

Answer is easy, bonuses.   When companies give higher and higher bonuses for higher sales,  they forgot you have to make a profit to pay for the bonus.  Many companies have gone out of business all because they forgot the golden rule.  You have to make a profit.   There are people spending too much in expenses just to help them make higher sales and get a bonus.  Problem is the sales aren't always high enough to cover the added costs.

Bonuses should be based on increase in profits and not sales.   There are a lot of badly run businesses out there that could increase their profits while actually decreasing their sales.

Control expenses and you control your business.  Payroll is one of the biggest expenses any business can have.  A lot of managers cut payroll first because it is the easiest thing to do.  Cutting payroll gives you big cuts fast.  It also can ruin a store.  No employees no sales.  

I suggest before you cut payroll you take a good look at how your spending it..   Do you have the right ratio of sales to man hour.  Do you have the man hours evenly scheduled.  Or do you have more sales associates on on busy times and less when its slow.   Are people standing around with nothing to do?

You need to Question your business all the time.  Plan Plan and Plan some more. 

Fail to plan and your just planning to fail.

Are your managers following up on their associates.  Are they out on the sales floor or in the office?  Do you know what people are doing or are you just waisting payroll?  Do department managers spend more time in meetings than they do making sure the job gets done?  

In a Retail store Money is made on the sales floor, not on the phone or in the office.  Not at meetings and not at the home office.  It happens in your store on the sales floor with customer service. The bottom line is if your cutting payroll you better know which employee hours are expendable and which aren't. 

On Saturday afternoon you don't need a bookkeeper doing sales reports that can wait to Monday.  You need all hands on deck helping customers. 

Have you ever gone into a supermarket and couldn't find anyone to help you after 5pm except a cashier?  Imagine if you did?  what if someone was there to help you find your favorite items.   I imagine more sales.

Think like a Customer and you will know how your Customers think!

How to Increase Retail Store Profits Without Increasing new Customers

Other than increasing retail store sales  by increasing customer flow there are things a good business person can do to increase profits.

Every little bit added together can make a dramatic increase to store profits when sales are not increasing.

1. Increase the gross margin of each sale. That means buying items at a better price and selling them for a higher retail profits. Shop around and get the best deals possible. Look at the bottom line price that includes discounts for cash payments, and shipping costs. These costs adding in can bring margins up or down.
2. Control Shrink. Shrink can bring a store to its knees and force it to close. Control Shrink and watch you store's profits climb.
3. Payroll expenses. Don't tell your employees but payroll is one of the largest expenses any business will have. You must have the right balance in man hours to run a store correctly. Too few and there is no to do the work. Too many and your just wasting money. Salaries need to stay competitive. You get what you pay for. Finding the right people you pay less and train can save much on payroll.
4. Getting the right location is very important. You want the lowest possible rent with the highest possible customer flow. With a unique retail store people may travel anywhere to get to you. If you have an average store you need street traffic to pull people in the door.
5. Other expenses. Keep good records. If you don't know what your spending on things you cant control them. Keep spread sheets with all your expenses. You should have a column for current expense, last years expense and plan budget. Break it down month and year. Constantly review them to see where improvements need to be made. These expenses include everything you spend money on broken down by category. Some expenses include: Travel, insurance, office supplies, cleaning supplies, services, phone, electric, repairs and maintenance, banking, garbage, etc.
6. Good Customer Service. Keeping your current customers spending the same amount is as important as increasing your sales. The last thing any retail store wants is for sales to decrease. Keep your current customers happy and your customer base will increase by word of mouth. Bad Customer Service and watch your sales drop.

You would think at looking at all these things that increasing profits would be hard to do.  But just a little change in each area will increase your profits.

 Every little bit adds up to a sizable increase.  

Here's an example.

Today: Sales $250,000

cost of goods $145,000 = 42% gross margin

Payroll 40,000

Rent 30,000 = 12 months @ $2500

Shrink 5,000 = 2% of sales

Utilities 7,200

Supplies 1,500

maint. 1,500

other 1,000

Profits $18,800

Get better pricing on goods, sell more items per customer, better customer service, cut back on man hours, control shrink, recycle, cut back on off hour lighting, add power saving light bulbs, change to an online phone provider, save on bank fees and supplies, Negotiate lower rent, fix things yourself etc..

Plan : Sales $250,000  ( no increase in sales)

Cost of Goods 137,500 = 45% gross margin

Payroll 39,000

Rent 28,800 = 12 months @ $2400

Shrink 4,500 = 1.8% of sales

Utilities 6,000

Supplies 1,200

Maintenance 1,200

other 1,500

Profits $30,300 = 61% increase

Increase Sales by 4% or $10,000 and Profits go up to $34,800. Its important to note that these numbers aren't real and yours will be different. But it shows how with a little effect in all areas of business you can make a big difference to the bottom line.

Why is RETAIL STORE PLANNING IMPORTANT?

PLANNING

 IS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT THING

 A MANAGER CAN DO!

The most important thing is making the plan happen with ease.  Plan for everything.  I can't say that enough.  Retail store planning is important to more than just sales.  Want to know why employees say the boss doesn't care about them?  Don't plan for their needs just once and see what happens.  Biggest mistake a retail store manager can make is they don't think ahead.  I see it all the time from the main office to the local store.   People scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. 

 
Fail to Plan then your Planning to Fail!

Imagine  coming to work and your cashier didn't show up for work.   You give them a call to find out why.  Your cashier says it was their birthday and you told them they could have the day off.  But,  you forgot to plan ahead and get someone to work for them.   Now  the cashier thinks you didn't care enough to remember about them.  All the people you call to cover, think your hassling them because you forgot to do your job and plan ahead.  Even the nice employee who comes in every time you need them thinks you don't plan.   They come in because they can't afford to turn down extra money.  But that doesn't mean their happy to be woken up to come to work at the last minute. 

Plan ahead don't put yourself in this position!

This week I heard complaints from employees who's schedules was changed at the last minute.   Because of a holiday the stores  business pattern changed.  It was busy on a different day of the week then usual and closed in the middle of the week.  

The Store Managers forgot to plan ahead for the holiday business.  We all knew it was coming.  But they scheduled  help for a normal week.  So at the last minute people were asked to change their work schedule.   Everyone was upset! 

Unhappy Employees can make all the difference in good customer service and sale. 

The reason sales are down can be directly related to the managers not planning ahead for upcoming events!


So always think ahead.  Plan weeks in advance.  Planned changes may not always work out for everyone.  But,  everyone will know you thought about them and tried your best to make it work. 

Here are some tips to keeping your store running smoothly.

• Keep a list of employee day off requests.  Make sure everyone knows in advance that even though you will do your best, their request may not be met.  Example would be everyone wants the same day off. 
• Keep a list of when employees can and can't work on a regular basis and  keep up with the changes.   There's nothing worse than your employee not showing up for work becasue they had school.  
• Plan for scheduling changes for every holiday including days closed, days business may be slow or busier than usual.
• Plan for days schools out, you may be busier than usual. 
• Plan for known large deliveries.  You need to have help to unload a 400 case truck by hand. 
• Plan your schedule a month in advance and post it two weeks in advance.  This gives you time to adjust to problems and not fix them at the last minute.
• Keep track of business trends.  Your need to know how many employees you need and when.
• Re-order supplies and merchandise in advance so not to ever run out.   Have you ever gone into a resturant and were told they didn't have Coke or Vanilla Ice Cream.  I have, and I've never been back!  Don't ever use garbage bags in place of large shopping bags.  Its just wrong.
• Keep a clipboard hanging on the office wall with a check off list of things that need to be done  every week and make sure someone has done them. 
• Keep a list of need supplies to the person doing the order knows to order them. 

Don't post employee schedules on Thursday when the work week begins the following Sunday!  Thats rude to your employees and shows you don't care.  You would'nt like it done to you so don't do it to others. 

Fail to Plan then your Planning to Fail!

Plan for every event!
What's the worse that could happen?

 Plan for it too!

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Ways to Increase Retail Store Profits.

Follow @Kogward Simply putting a little effort in each of the following areas will bring back big increases in your bottom line.  Focus on all areas, giving a little extra to those that are tougher for you.

1. Increase you customer count.  Easiest way to increase profits is to increase sales.  There are lots of  ways to get more customers into your store.
2. Increase your ave transaction.  Increasing the amount each customer spends in your store takes really good sales and customer service skills.  You don't need any advertising although good signage and merchandise presentation helps. 
3. Decreasing Expenses.  I think this speaks for itself.  Keep good records, knowing what your spending is the first step in controlling it.  Reduce Shrink!
4. Increasing Gross Margin.  Margin is the amount of money you make before expenses.  Or simply put Gross Margin = Sales - cost of goods.    If you buy a book for $1.00 and Sell it for $2.00 then gross margin would be $1.00 or 50% of every dollar.   Now find items that cost you less and sell them so you can make more than 50% . 

Here's an example:

100 customers spending $8.00 each = Daily Sales of $800  , $5600 a week,  $291,200 a year
margin 50% = $145,600 - expenses of $70,600 = $75,000 Profit .

Increase 10 more customers per day spending $1 more = daily sales of $990.  or $373,550 yearly sales.
increase margin by 2 cents on the dollar or 52% and decrease expenses by less than $15 a day to $65,610.  Total Profit is now $122,000 an increase of $47,000 or 62%.

You can easily see that doing a little can compound into a big profit increase on your bottom line.

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