Take a hot minute to figure out why you don’t have enough time!

Warning! This blog contains tough love.

When you tell me “I don’t have time,” I get a little nuts.

I don’t have time to implement new ideas.

I don’t have time to study my POS reports.

I don’t have time to map out a social media strategy.  

I don’t have time to run my business correctly!

WTH?

I’m not completely insensitive. I get that you’re busy. And overwhelmed. And perhaps confused about which step to take first.  So here are my best pieces of advice to help you dig out of the time spiral.  

1.  Put on your CEO hat.

Remember, you are the only one with the power – and the responsibility – to turn your business into everything you want it to be.

If you’re inundated with details and non-revenue producing tasks, it’s time to recalibrate.  Your job is to steer the high- level thinking that produces maximum sales results. This is a non-negotiable.

2.  Stop.

Now, take a hot minute and figure out how you are spending your time. Keep a running daily calendar of tasks for about a week.  How much time are you on the sales floor? Doing administrative work? Ordering? Paying bills? Scheduling? Training? What is eating up your time? (BTW, serving your customers shouldn’t be considered a time suck. That’s kind of why you’re in business, isn’t it?)

3.  Figure out what you like doing.

What made you want to get into business in the first place?  You are, after all the CEO of your company and running it shouldn’t be torture. You should be able to do the things you like and enjoy — and are good at!

4.  Get creative about finding help.

How can you offload operational tasks and the duties you hate or aren’t great at when you can’t afford extra help?

Utilize current employees.
Most stores and restaurants have slow times and you can schedule certain tasks during those hours. Get your employees on board with a list of operational duties. Just 30 minutes per employee each week can make a huge difference! They can do everything from prepare weekly schedules to taking photos for social media posts to merchandising and reviewing POS reports for trends and opportunities.

If you need more help and can’t afford it, start small.
For example, maybe you can’t afford a social media consultant or visual designer, but you can afford to give one of your employees an extra two hours on the schedule each week to free up your time to do this. Use the time to attend a networking breakfast, plan your marketing for the next quarter or create your social media posts. That’s certain worth an extra $20 or $30!

Hire a virtual assistant
For about $25 an hour, you can have a remote assistant a couple of hours per week to handle routine and recurring tasks. 

Even if money is tight, don’t let a $50 or $100 investment get in the way of  moving your business forward. You have to shake the tree a bit to create change.

Small expenditures can have a domino effect – to help increase sales and then, in turn, afford additional help.

5.  Calendar essential tasks

Now that you’re paying for some help, take full advantage of that extra time.  Paying an employee an extra two hours? Be sure to calendar those hours for yourself. Use them to work on the CEO tasks you’ve identified. Make that commitment so you don’t get sucked into the menial again, defeating the purpose.

6. Commit to making the short term sacrifices.

If your business is failing or flailing, you have to work right now, this minute, to improve it. There is no time to waste or complain about not having time! Doing the same thing over and over again isn’t going to affect change!

Make that full court press to improve business…and do it quickly. It may take a few sleepless nights or some really busy weeks, but the results will be worth it.  Not prepared to make the sacrifice? Well, then you should probably reevaluate being a business owner because there will always be cycles of ups and downs that will make extraordinary demands on you.  It’s the nature of the beast.

7.  Ask yourself every day, “What did I do today to move my business forward?”

When you look at your daily ”to do” list, start with the items that have the potential to improve your business. It’s that simple. At the end of the day, as long as you’ve done something that builds on your business potential, you’re good!

Owning a business is hard work.  So now you have two choices. The first is to make the time to dig in and get it done. The second choice is far less appealing.  

Until next time remember,
You can do this!

Angel

The bottom line is the bottom line in retail

A successful retail store or restaurant is dependent on selling so it’s imperative that you create a sales culture. I’m a firm believer salespeople should be rewarded for selling. Hire people who are motivated to reap the financial rewards of meeting and exceeding goals. I have found quite a bit of resistance about this from owners who think a commission-based program will encourage staff to become too aggressive and competitive. They fear it will create an unpleasant experience for customers.

Let’s be clear. You are not training staff to be used car salesmen. You are training them to sell which, quite simply, is providing the information a customer needs to make a buying decision. Selling is inviting prospects to participate in the opportunity you bring to the table. With proper training and a solid reward system, you can cultivate a great sales team as well as a great customer experience.

So whether you decide to implement a commission program or a monthly bonus program, create a reward system that will help you meet your goals. Rewards can be in the form of gift cards, merchandise or commissions. Just be sure the reward is commensurate with your product or service and the level of sales skill required.

Setting up a commission program

I have seen all types of commission programs in the retail world. They sometimes pay on meeting daily goals and sometimes just pay – regardless of whether an end goal is met. Neither of these structures help elevate sales levels and definitely don’t inspire employees. Creating a goal and commission plan takes a bit of creativity and strategic thinking. There are three key elements for setting up a successful incentive program:

1. Create monthly goals. I don’t believe in daily goals. They are almost impossible to meet and a good rain storm could wipe out an employee’s bonus potential and discourage them.

2. Be sure the total of the employee goals is more than the actual monthly revenue number you want to achieve.

3. Offer larger incentives for exceeding goals. How does this play out? Let’s use this scenario for the month of April. The commissions used in these scenarios are just an example. The actual commission percentages you will pay should be based on your own store profitability and employee status.

Assume
Your sales staff includes: 1 full time manager and 2 part time sales people

Last year’s April revenues:
Manager’s sales $28,000
Part time staff #1 $ 5,000
Part time staff #2 $ 7,000
Total – last April $40,000
Note: Just count employee sales in this number – don’t count your own.

Your goal for this April $48,000 (20% increase)
This year’s April goals by employee:
Manager’s sales $35,000
Part time staff #1 $ 6,250
Part time staff #2 $ 8,750
Total sales goals $50,000
The total of employee goals exceeds the actual April revenue goal of $48,000.

Commission Structure
Manager
2% on all sales up to goal ($35,000)
5% on sales of $35,001 and above
$250 for team hitting store sales goal of $50,000

Sales staff
$100 bonus each for meeting sales goal
An additional $100 each if they exceed goal by 20% or more

In this scenario you are paying the manager a regular commission on what she sells, and more importantly, incentivizing her to exceed her goal AND to motivate the staff to meet and exceed their goals as well.

Let’s say the total sales for this April play out like this:

Scenario 1                      Scenario 2

Manager sales       $32,500                          $37,500
Staff # 1                $ 3,500                           $ 6,000
Staff #2                 $ 8,750                           $10,500
 TOTAL                      $44,750                         $54,000

Scenario 1
Total revenue is less than the actual revenue goal of $48,000 but still represents an 8 percent increase over last April.

The manager would earn 2% X $32,500 = $650
Staff # 1 no bonus
Staff # 2 $100
Total commissions and bonuses paid $750

Scenario 2
Total revenue exceeds the actual revenue goal of $48,000 and the employee revenue goal of $50,000.

The manager would earn $1200
2% X 35,000 = $700
5% of $4999= $250
Bonus for achieving store goal $250
Staff # 1 no bonus
Staff # 2 $200
Total commissions and bonuses paid $1,475

In scenario 2, you have paid $1,475 in commission to achieve a 35 percent increase in sales ($14,000) over last year. That’s quite a deal! Plus, your employees feel more empowered because they had the opportunity to pad their paychecks!

Sales contests
You can choose to deliver rewards via a monthly contest, structured in a number of ways:

• Reward only the highest achieving employee
• Reward each individual who achieves their goal
• Reward each individual who achieves their goal ONLY if the overall monthly revenue goal is made

It’s important to create a spirit of team competition to make this work. Track each employee’s progress on a chart and be the head cheerleader in acknowledging progress on a regular basis. Be sure your contests or incentives are in line with your goals. For example, if you run a hair salon and have made a deal with a particular manufacturer for special pricing on shampoo, the contests should center around the sales of that shampoo. Alternatively, if you have an underperforming item, create an incentive around it.

Commission and rewards aren’t simply a way to pay staff if they happen to meet goals. They are tools to insure that your staff’s performance helps you achieve your goals. As you begin a reward program, give it a few months to let everyone get used to the system, get the proper training and work out the kinks. Let them know you are serious and they will we judged on their sales performance monthly. Once you pull the trigger, meet with each staff member at the end of every month to review performance and assign goals for the next month. Conduct a debrief session. Don’t focus on what went wrong. Ask them what they think they did correctly and what they might have done differently or better. These are great learning opportunities.

Pay special attention to those employees who do not meet their goals and provide additional training to help them. If an employee is consistently underachieving (let’s say 3 months running) and your efforts and training have not paid off, it’s time to find someone new.

 Until next time remember,
You can do this!

Angel

7 Tips for Keeping Your Sanity as a Business Owner

As CEO of your business, you will need to manage your own education, information flow, inspiration and passion. Being an effective leader means keeping yourself at the top of your game, not just in business but in spirit as well

The key to success is sustainability. What can you do to maintain high levels of passion for your business? First, take ownership of the fact that you are responsible for maintaining your passion. If you don’t nurture yourself, it won’t be hard to let employees, clients or colleagues suck you dry.

Make “What if?” your favorite question

What if I hired a different person to do that job? What if I bundled my products differently? What if I changed my work flow? Consistent questioning of your concept and processes will lead you to new and better solutions.

Don’t work in a vacuum

Studies show adults produce 65 to 93 percent more ideas in groups. So find passion partners – (no, not that kind) or form an informal advisory board by identifying friends and colleagues who are, in your opinion, passionately curious. Preferably, they will come from different industries and backgrounds. Arrange to meet with them on a regular basis and use these meetings as forums where participants are invited to throw out the biggest, best and dumbest ideas. No judgments allowed. You’ll all share tremendous energy and inspiration.

Allow yourself time away from the day-to-day minutia

The biggest killer of big thinking is the mundane. If you can, delegate some of the daily chores. If you can’t, schedule time to get away from them. Even if you take an hour a week to think quietly and create, you will reap the rewards.

Manage your expectations

Few things are more detrimental to success than expecting more than is realistically possible at a given moment in time. I have worked with owners who were doing quite well for their particular stage in business, but because they had such lofty expectations, always felt defeated.

Self-motivation and inspiration

There’s a certain amount of isolation that goes along with being a business owner. You and you alone are responsible for the majority of the decision making and certainly the hard work of leading by example. It can lead to burn out. Business ownership is draining. You have to constantly replenish your soul with information and inspiration. Whether it’s through reading, keeping a journal, practicing yoga or trying new experiments with your business, keep a constant flow of new information and experiences going that will help trigger ideas, creative energy and new perspectives. Create your touchstone by envisioning what your life will feel like when you have reached your business goals.

Get out of your store

Successful retail ownership requires a 360 degree view of the world. Since retail requires to you spend many hours in the store, it may prevent you from benefiting from different perspectives. So get out. Network. Join a community group. Go on field trips. See what the rest of the world looks like and use that new information to help grow your business.

Treat yourself with respect

You are, after all, the CEO. Treat yourself as well as you would someone who works for you. Be kind. Be complimentary. Be appreciative of all the things you do. Being the top dog doesn’t mean working like one. Commit to doing what it takes to keep your head clear and your passions ignited. No one wants to work for a crazy person. Least of all, you.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

8 ways to romance your customers on Valentine’s Day

8 ways to romance your customers on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day can be a gold mine for retail and restaurants.  While traditional fine dining and romantic gifts still rank high, there are opportunities to generate sales for every type of business.  Plan now to get your fair share.

1.  Valentine’s Day bonus or contest
Put together a bundle of products or services with your shopping center neighbors. It could be dinner, movie tickets, a massage and flowers. You can all offer the same bundle at a discount or create a lead generating contest and award the package to one lucky winner.

2.  Love yourself
Eleven percent of Valentine’s consumers are showing love by buying something special for themselves. Market directly to this segment with a “show yourself some love” promotion that encourages them to gift themselves this Valentine’s.

3.  Show your customers  love and appreciation
Valentine’s Day is a great time to express your love and appreciation for your customers. Consider a special party or discount for VIP customers. Perhaps a free drink or champagne toast during Valentine’s week – no strings attached.  Or a box of candy as a gift with purchase.

4.  Galentine’s Day

The official date of this unofficial holiday is February 13th and the intent is for women to celebrate their female friendships. Every type of business can host a Galentine’s day party! Group makeovers at a salons, cooking classes at restaurants, girls workout event or even a “how-to” event at a craft store. Encourage women to bring their friends and provide special touches they can enjoy. Be sure to stock up on the rose’

5.  Just say no
For as many people who love Valentine’s Day, there’s a group that pretty much hates the holiday and everything it stands for. Have fun with this market segment by hosting an anti-Valentine’s party could include everything from black balloons, a free viewing of the movie Love Stinks and cookies with anti-love sentiments written on them. Restaurants can offer a “fries before guys” special along with a signature Stupid Cupid cocktail. While this may seem a little dour, it can be great fun and will be appreciated by many.

6.  Pets
No matter what a person’s relationship status, their love of pets is a constant and powerful force in life. People do buy their pets presents on Valentine’s

On Valentine's Day, those ages 25 to 34 are expected to spend $12.70 each on pet presents! Just because you don’t own a pet store doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of pet love. Host a “love your pet” event that can include anything from a photo station for people/pet photos, a pet adoption event or even a pet/owner look alike contest.  Consider giving a portion of all proceeds raised during the event to a pet adoption organization as an added attraction.

7.  Social Media

Invite your social media followers to post their love stories or a photo of them and their significant others. The post with the most likes wins a romantic prize.

8.  Think red
February is also Heart Health Month and offers a great tie-in for Valentine’s.  You can do something as simple as offering a donation to the American Heart Association for everyone who wears red to your business on a certain day or posts of photo of themselves in red on your social media with a specific hash tag. It’s an easy way to get people engaged and make a contribution to the awareness of heart health.

Whichever promotion you choose, be sure to promote in-store, via email and social media and on your website. Decorate your store or restaurant and provide those extra décor touches that express your intention to show the love!

Until next time remember,
You can do this!

 Angel

The Debrief

One of the most powerful and effective management tools is the debrief. It is an important way to end a particular program or sales cycle by analyzing performance and brainstorming opportunities to improve.

As you end the Christmas sales season, this is the perfect time to debrief while the nuances of the season are still fresh in your mind. In the future, you may want to schedule debrief sessions monthly or as often as once a week, depending on the type of business you run.

Gather your staff together for an undisturbed hour or so and review the different aspects of your business over the holiday season, i.e. customer service, product mix, customer satisfaction, sales goals, marketing effectiveness, etc.

Ask the basic questions about each area:

What did we do right?
What could we have done better?

In the debrief process, there is no “wrong.” The key is for everyone feel safe enough to be honest about their perspectives and learn from the experience.

Here are some of the questions for discussion:

Did we meet our goal If so, what elements of our plan helped us get there? If not, what prevented us from hitting those numbers?

Was our marketing effective? Did we see an increase in customers, sales, foot traffic, average sale?

Did we properly track and monitor these efforts? Which programs worked best?  Whichever programs we decide to keep, how will we modify and or improve them next year? Are there any new programs we to add to the mix next year?

Did we have the right product? The right price? Did customers seem put off by any particular items or category of items? Suggestions for purchasing next year? What do we need more of? Less?

Did everyone meet their sales goals? For those who did, what do you think were the reasons behind that achievement? For those who didn’t, what obstacles prevented you from reaching the goal? What can we do to better train or help the staff to meet and exceed goals in 2020?

The purpose of the debrief is not punitive. It is to get honest input, to gather information from everyone’s perspective to help you make better/improved decisions next year.

The key to a successful debrief is for everyone to get as specific as possible with their feedback. They can’t just say “We didn’t reach our goal because there wasn’t enough traffic.” If they think there wasn’t enough traffic, encourage everyone to dig deeper. For example, did our marketing efforts drive traffic? If not, what could we do better? Was our conversion rate up?  If average sale was down, is that an opportunity to adjust your pricing strategy.

Be sure to write everything down in detail so you can revisit the suggestions as you plan for 2022.

Commit to the debrief process to gain feedback that will improve performance not just next holiday season but year round.

Until next time remember,
You can do this!

Angel

Use your loyalty program to increase sales and build goodwill this holiday season

If your loyalty program is feeling a little stale, breath some life into it with these two twists, perfect for the holiday season.

Points for charity

During the holidays we are bombarded with requests for charitable giving. You can break through that clutter by offering your loyalty members an easy way to be altruistic while getting them reinvested in your program. Simply invite them to donate their points to charity. This one simple promotion can get rewards points off your books and create a ton of goodwill with your customers and your community.

Here’s how it works:

Determine a monetary value for reward points
Decide what are you willing to and able to ultimately contribute through this program. Then determine how much your points should be worth. (It doesn’t have to be the same as the rewards ratio you give away i.e. $1 per point)

Rather than focusing on straight dollar- for- point value, I think it’s better to work with a local charity to create a more tangible and heartfelt gift, like “feed a family of 4 Thanksgiving dinner” for every 100 points redeemed. Or for every 100 points you donate, we’ll give a bag of pet food to the local shelter.

Choose the length of time for the promotion.
Will it run for a day, week or the entire holiday season?

Select a local charity
Work with that charity to create an offer as described above and determine what your contribution will look like.

Work out the logistics with your POS/train your staff
Make sure all your technology for redemption is seamless and your staff is meticulously trained in processing the promotion – and talking it up with customers.

Promote
Use all your assets to get the word out: website, email, social media, flyers, in-store signage and as part of any traditional advertising you may be doing.

Ask your charitable partner to help you promote.

Don’t forget the follow up
Send thank you notes to participating program members.

Acknowledge and thank participating loyalty members on social media, in-store and on your website.

Take photos of the check presentation to the charity for use in your marketing as well as a press release for local media.

Add a few twists if you like
Add double points opportunities on certain days to encourage program sign up and additional sales from existing customers.

Tip – be sure to give the program a catchy name and create a promotional graphic. Make it the centerpiece of your holiday marketing strategy.

Points to Enter

This idea gives loyalty members the opportunity to redeem points to enter a contest. For example, they receive one entry for every 100 points redeemed.

Now, the key here is the prize has to be significant and buzz worthy! It can be merchandise from your store, or you can work with your retail/restaurant neighbors to create a package of prizes that will appeal to your target market. For example, if you own a women’s boutique, create a makeover package that include clothes, hair, nails, spa, etc. worth $1000. Think about your customer avatar and what’s important to them. A vacation? A room makeover? A luxury car rental for a week? Don’t be ordinary!

A promotion like this should run longer term with lots of promotion from you and any partner companies you are working with. It will spark interest in your loyalty program and encourage membership, especially with the promise of holding these types of contests on a regular basis.

Inventive uses of points as a marketing tool doesn’t cost much and is suitable for every type of retail and restaurant. So break out of the mold and use your loyalty program as an additional way to surprise and delight your customers – and gain new ones!

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

How to get your staff excited to sell more this holiday season

Looking for ways to get your staff pumped this holiday season?  I know one surefire way to light a fire under them….and that’s pay them!

Even if money is tight, there are ways to incentivize your staff to sell more without it being a drain on cashflow or margins.

Even if you don’t ordinarily have a bonus program, there’s no reason not to implement one this holiday season.

Most retailers earn 20-30 percent- or more- of their annual revenue during the holidays.  This is the time of year you want to maximize every single sales opportunity! And incentives are a great way to motivate staff.

Here are some DO’S and DONT’S for setting up a successful bonus program.

DO
Understand what motivates your staff. What makes them drool? Depending on their age and tenure, it might be time off or perks like gifts or gift certificates. It doesn’t always have to be money.  

DON’T
Just offer a reward on a blanket sales goal.  A bonus program needs to work on both sides. That means your employees get incentivized for meeting their goals – and yours!

Let’s say for example, last year your sales were $100,000 during the holiday season and your goal is to increase that number by 20 percent this year to $120k. Your staff incentives would be based on achieving or exceeding this year’s goal. That way any additional commission or bonus you’re awarding is coming out of new revenue.

DO
Consider segmenting. Let’s say you’d like to grow sales for a new line or service. Perhaps you’d like to increase average sale. You can create a bonus program around any specific segment of business or goal you’d like!

DO
Tier the bonus structure. Add an even more delicious opportunity for your staff after they’ve hit the goal. Using the example above with a goal of $120k, add an additional incentive if you reach $130k. In sales, we call that a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal.) You’d be amazed at the enthusiasm you can generate around a big, fat opportunity.

DO
Train. Train. Train.
Just implementing a program isn’t enough. You need to host regular training to you’re your staff achieve their goals.

DON’T
Be afraid to instill a little competition among your staff. Most owners I work with are afraid that competition is divisive but it can create a ton of energy and ultimately, great results!

DO
Make sure your goals are reasonable and achievable. Goals should be a stretch but not so stratospheric that they can’t possibly be met. If your goals are excessive, it will have the opposite effect of motivating your staff…it will discourage them.

Good luck in putting together your bonus program! If you have any questions, email me at success@angelcicerone.com

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

Can a small business make premium loyalty work?

A recent study by Clarus Commerce makes a strong case for premium or paid loyalty programs,

According to their 2021 Premium Loyalty Data Study:

79% of consumers say they don’t want to accumulate points anymore and retailers’ loyalty programs should provide immediate benefits to maintain their loyalty.  

81% of traditional loyalty members say they would join a premium loyalty program at their favorite retailer, assuming that the benefits were valuable. 

90% of consumers say they’re likely to choose a retailer where they’re a premium loyalty member over another one offering a lower price

What exactly is premium loyalty?

Premium or fee-based loyalty offers members immediate or ongoing benefits without having to wait to accumulate points.  Even though they are paying a fee to join, customers perceive enough value from membership that they are encouraged to sign up. Further, having made that “investment” in a business by paying to join, they are compelled to continue to patronize that business.

Examples of some of the most popular premium loyalty programs are:

Amazon Prime is the mother of all premium loyalty programs in which customers pay an annual fee to receive unlimited free 2-day delivery.

Barnes and Noble offers 40 percent off pricing on hardcover bestsellers, 10 percent off almost all other purchases and free express shipping on all online purchases for $25 year.

Bed Bath and Beyond charges $29 a year, to receive 20 percent off each full purchase plus free shipping.

Based on the Clarus survey, it appears consumers are very open to premium loyalty and there is certainly proof of concept that this type of program is working for large brick and mortar and online retailers. But does it translate to your small business?  The answering is a resounding yes IF the benefits, product and customer behaviors align.

Take a look at your product/service  and how customers buy when evaluating whether or not a premium
program would work for you. What would appeal to them and add value? What would give you a fierce competitive edge? Would an automatic and ongoing discount encourage greater frequency of purchase or a broadening beyond typical purchase categories?  Perhaps adding a premium service like free shipping, or wardrobe styling would work. What about VIP events and opportunities to make members feel like they were receiving special treatment?

Can you offer an immediate and equivalent upfront reward that would eliminate any risk of joining?   For example, LuLuLemon is testing a premium program for $100 per year that awards members a free pair of leggings of approximately the same value upon joining.  Absolutely no risk!

If you’re worried about the cost of these rewards, structure your fees so the upfront membership cost allows you to fund the initial benefits.

It’s important to remember this type of program won’t appeal to all customers. But it might be an opportunity to add a VIP tier to your existing loyalty program and appeal to your top customers, especially those who appreciate status and exclusivity.  This elite tier would appreciate benefits like “early release,” educational opportunities or exclusive invitations.

Another advantage of a premium loyalty program is the opportunity to really drill down to the needs and wants of members and offer more personalized and relevant offers.

If you’re thinking giving your loyalty program an upgrade, consider the following:   

Will you offer a one-time fee or a renewable annual membership?

What is the value proposition you’ll be offering that your customers will find irresistible? 

When promoting, highlight the ideas of instant gratification and status. Start using your benefits today! Become one of our elite customers!

Promote regularly to members after they join not just to keep awareness high, but to remind them they are part of a special club. Adopt a tone of community and inclusion.

Change/add rewards regularly to help maintain member excitement and engagement.

Research your POS capabilities to administer the program.

Do you need to appoint a staff ambassador or create a special email address to service members?

If you think a premium program might work for your business, run a trial membership campaign to a portion of your customer base or customer survey to test response. It won’t cost  you anything and will give you a reasonable basis for making a decision on whether or not to move forward.

Loyalty rewards are high on a consumer’s list of reasons for choosing which stores and restaurants to patronize. Even if you decide against a premium option, be sure to keep your loyalty program fresh, monitor metrics frequently and train your staff to promote consistently.

Creating a manageable charitable donation program

You’ve probably been approached hundreds of times to participate with local charities and asked to do everything from donate merchandise for silent auctions to springing for sponsorship dollars, organizing walking teams and buying tables at banquets.

Before you spend another dollar, take a minute to think about how you give your money, merchandise and time.

There are two ways to approach charitable giving. The first is altruistic. If you have a cause or passion in which you want to participate because it’s meaningful to you, by all means, do so. This is not a business decision, it’s one that comes from the heart.

The second is using charitable involvement as a business builder. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll talk about the latter.

Let’s start with merchandise and gift card donations.

I highly recommend creating an annual budget and formal process for giving donations. This allows you to handle your giving gracefully and without creating bad feelings. You certainly don’t want to offend representatives of local organizations by having them think you are snubbing them or don’t take your community participation seriously. After all, they may be potential customers.

To avoid an uncomfortable situation, create a charitable donation request form for the organization to complete including their charity name, contact person, reason for the donation (i.e. silent auction, raffle, etc.), purpose of the charity, how long in business and their 501(c)3 number which a legitimate nonprofit must have and finally, what type of recognition you will receive for your donation, i.e. logo on all event marketing, signage at event, etc.

Explain to them:

•      As a small business, you have an annual budget for charitable giving

•      All requests must be submitted in writing

•      You evaluate all requests monthly, make your choices and will notify them of your decision at that time.

Be sure to review these forms on a regular, predetermined timetable and notify all applicants of your decision.

The formal process will help mitigate bad feelings from the rejected parties and help you make the most of your charitable contributions.

Get Creative
There’s no law that says you need to give money or merchandise to support your local non-profits.  Think about:

Volunteering

Can your staff help at an event or fundraiser?

Create an experience
How about a free wardrobe styling or haircut?  A cupcake baking or pizza making lesson? These experiences have great perceived value and help to build a one-on-one relationship with potential customers.

After the giving

Keep the momentum going by continuing to promote yourself and your selected charities. Post signage in your store about upcoming events that you’re involved in. Promote them on your website and social media as well. At the end of the year, compile a list of your selected charities and encourage customers to include them in their charitable giving.

Bottom line

Take a few minutes to create a process and through in a couple of creative ideas. It will save time, make your store or restaurant stand out from the fray of ordinary gift cards givers and establish your business as a valuable member of your community

Until next time remember,
You can do this!

Angel

Employee training. How to create an easy annual plan.

TRAIN THEM TO SUCCEED

Even the best structured reward plan, the most inventive career path or the most enthusiastic motivation won’t give you the desired results unless your employees are well trained.  This goes far beyond onboarding. It’s about consistent, meaningful and measurable education.  Formal training is a touchstone of almost every other industry. Why not retail?

When staff is well trained, they perform better. When they perform better, they have greater job satisfaction which ultimately leads to increased tenure. It’s another win-win.

You’ve heard the expression, hire for personality, train for skill.  Training can create a significant improvement in staff attitude and performance but only if you believe in it as well. To half-heartedly deploy a program even the best training programs won’t if you don’t believe in them.  And by training, I don’t mean just how to use the POS or what the store policies are, I mean sales training, customer service training and product training as well.

Think it’s too much work?  I’m going to give you a 4-time per month sales training program outline right here that you can use as the basis of your annual plan.  You can probably outline your entire years’ worth of training in about an hour. Each session should be about 30 to 45 minutes.

Week one
Sales and customer service training
Choose one micro topic per week, i.e., greetings, upselling, asking for emails, active listening, etc. Introduce the topic and policies/procedures for how you’d like it handled. Some weeks, add a real-life scenario and have employees role play the different ways to handle that scenario and agree on the best solution for future use in the same situation. Other weeks, host brainstorming sessions and engage the entire staff in creating new ideas, solutions and more efficient procedures for your business.

Week Two
Product knowledge
Choose one line or one group of products and discuss their benefits to your target audience and their advantages over competitors.  Invite vendor sales reps to come in once a month to discuss their specific product lines and give additional insight into features and benefits.

Week Three
Retail discussion – led by one or more team members
Delegate one session each month to your employees.  Supply them with a list of books, online webinars, trade publications or business books. Ask them to present key points at staff meetings. The purpose of this type of training session is to expose your team to the various aspects of your business, including trends, existing and potential competitors, demographics, key metrics, marketing and promotion, etc. so they have a more complete picture of what it takes to run a small business. Make these assignments in a timely manner, giving the team member enough time to complete the project.

Week Four
Practical tasks
Devote one week of the month to the practical aspects of your business, properly and efficiently running the POS, new merchandising ideas, cleanliness, checking in inventory, etc.

Information on training and retail is widely available online, often for free. Your POS manufacturer likely has a blog filled with valuable information to help you plan your training sessions.

A couple of tips for running a great training session

Focus on a small tidbit each week, not broad topics
Offer small rewards occasionally for active and enthusiastic participation, especially
new ideas

Be consistent and make participation mandatory

Make it fun

Explain the “why” behind each lesson

Video tape each session for future use and reference

Take it a step farther
Organize a list of online courses for extracurricular learning. There are a near infinite number of free webinars on sales, marketing and business as well as courses on platforms like Udemy.com for as little as $15. Give team members a list of approved courses or webinars and create a reward system for completion.

When your employees understand your business, they become true assets.

Until next time remember,
You can do this.

Angel

Create a career path for your employees

One of the biggest perks missing for most retail and restaurant employees is the opportunity for advancement. Even part time and younger workers who have no intention of making  retail a forever career are well-served by receiving recognition and promotions for a job well done.  And a satisfied and proud employee is better for your business.

Good people react favorably to advancement.  You can easily structure a program of acknowledgement for performance and achievement that inspires employees by implementing a milestone ladder.   For example:

Apprentice
Junior associate
Senior associate
Team Leader
Management

Create a set of criteria for each level of advancement to include any or all of the following:

Minimum hours worked to reach the next level
Meeting performance goals
Positive customer reviews
Increased average sale
Leading staff training sessions, completion of approved online courses or trade knowledge
(provide a list of approved reading materials and courses including courses on how retail and restaurants work, including KPIs, management, inventory, etc.
Consistency in being on time and not calling out

Tailor the levels to your own business and the desired behavior.

Each level of advancement can carry with it a small raise, a gift card, a certificate of completion, a staff party or other public acknowledgement.

One recognition that costs pennies is providing a name badge with the new titles. And what about business cards?  We rarely see this except in high end but when an associate is able to offer a customer that level of credibility or the opportunity to request that clerk or server when they return shows you have faith in that employee and builds credibility for you and your shop as well.

I recently ate at a restaurant where the waiter offered his business card with the check and said I hope you enjoyed your service and please request to be seated in my section when you return. That’s powerful!

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

The lowest hanging fruit is the sweetest! How a bowl of edamame changed a restaurant's future!

Simple upselling techniques can be easily trained and quickly implemented - benefitting staff and business owner!

A pandemic success story!

You've probably heard many stories of business owners finding ways to grow their businesses in spite of the pandemic. But this one is a real eye opener!

Listen to Monica Moreland, owner of the Movement Studio. She is a personal trainer who, after being furloughed from her job, built s following for her free fitness videos that she converted to paying customers by opening a gym with a unique hybrid membership program.

7 Tips for Celebrating Mom and Pop Business Owners Day, March 29th

One of the biggest advantages of owning  a local business – is being a local business! There’s a beauty and charm about mom and pop enterprises that consumers crave.  Plus, the shop local movement has gained such momentum, especially during the pandemic, people are now making a conscious decision to seek out local mom and pops.

So take advantage of your stature and prepare for a successful celebration of National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. Here are seven tips for owning the day!

1. Start posting photos (and videos!) of yourself on social media. Identify yourself as the owner and give your posts a conversational tone. If it’s a family business, be sure to include everyone in the project. Let people know that you are not just trying to sell them something; let them know you’re vested in the community!

2. Redo the “About Us” page on your website by beefing up your back story.  Include family photos and your history within your community. People love to hear multi-generation stories and sentimental tales of how you got the original idea for your business from your grandmother.

3. Create a prominent sign for inside your store, “Proud to be a locally-owned business.” You can even add the organizations you support.  Then use that tag wherever you can: on receipts, in your newsletter, on your website – even on your price tags.

4. Identify a local community organization and create a partnership. It can be a school, a charity or other non-profit serving your community.  As part of the Mom and Pop Business Owners Day celebration,  hold a fundraiser (it can even be virtual on social media), host an event, or promote them through your newsletter or blog. Let customers know you are a contributing member of your community.

5. Pitch a story about your business to a local business or community blogger.

6. Hold a “Mom and Pop Business Owners Day” promotion, sale, event or giveaway. Invite your community partners, local influencers and guests to come celebrate ---you!  

Plan to make this a real celebration this year!

Until next time remember, 
You can do this!
Angel

Generate new leads and sales with Nextdoor in minutes!

Are you using Nextdoor? If not, you’re missing a great opportunity to build business right in your neighborhood - easily and for free! Watch the video to find out how. For information on how to use Nextdoor’s paid business ad platform, listen to my podcast at https://www.angelcicerone.com/easyretailtechpodcast/nextdoor

Market to the Level of Fear

Depending on where you are in the country, people are still experiencing high levels of fear and trepidation about going to stores, gyms, restaurants and salons. While you may feel comfortable about your safety standards and ability to keep customers safe, that message and the options you offer to customers based on their fear levels are critical for improving business.  This has nothing to do with discounting and often, offers the opportunity to charge premium pricing which customers will be willing to pay in order to feel safe. Here are some examples.

GYMS

Even with limited capacity, gyms are finding it difficult to fill their classes. One successful initiative is to create “pod classes” in which people can bring their own pod of friends and family to work out. You can charge a premium price for these classes and book them during off peak times.  Premium priced private sessions are also resonating with customers who desire a workout without the risk of strangers in the class.  Offer these options to non-members for the time being to add revenue and introduce new potential members into your pipeline.

SALONS

The same principle applies to salons. Create a certain amount of solo appointment slots, in which only the stylists and the customer are in the salon. This is a great way to fill in slower times and again, charge premium pricing.  Alternatively, if you have the ability to set up a private room for appointments, you can book these at a higher price as well.

RESTAURANTS

Even if you are permitted to open for indoor dining, there are many patrons who simply will not eat indoors for the time being. No specials, no discounts and no marketing will entice them to do so. Restaurants have the ability to offer multiple options that cater to all levels of fear; curbside, delivery and outdoor dining. Outdoor dining, even in cold weather, is the only option for many people.  However, the experience you provide needs to be enjoyable as well as safe. Add speakers with music, candles and pillows to optimize the experience.   There are also multiple options for outdoor dining, including open air and igloos for those who are comfortable with that environment.  I have seen restaurants that offer all these options, but charge a premium for the private and warm igloo.  Offering a unique outdoor experience will give you a huge advantage over competitors.

STORES

If you own a retail store, your ability to sell virtually or online is not an option now.  The only way to introduce certain customers to your merchandise will be through private virtual shopping appointments and selling through social media platforms and emailsif you don’t have an ecommerce site.  Private in-store shopping appointments are another option.

From the virtual perspective, you can host watch parties and Zoom coffee shops that build a sense of community as well as a shopping opportunity.

Remember, we are only entering the recovery stage which is very different than a return to normal. This is a time to be creative while being empathetic to consumer fears.  People are actively looking to support local business. It’s your job to create the environment in which they feel comfortable doing so.

Until next time remember,
you can do this!
Angel

Dry Cleaners - think you have to wait for people to go back to work to increase sales? Think again.

Looking for ways to increase business and differentiate your dry cleaning store from others in your community? Here’s an idea that you can initiate in its simplest form or take it up a couple of notches.

Simplest
Become a collection site for clothing donations. Pick a day or week and extend an invitation to the community to drop off clothing for donations. For each pound of clothing, offer a dollar amount off the contributors’ next dry cleaning or offer a straight percentage discount. Identify a not-for-profit partner that needs and will distribute the clothing and may even help in the collection.

Amp it up
Perhaps you’ve heard of the term upcycle which means taking used items and re-creating them into new and exciting pieces of fashion. You can capitalize on the popularity of this trend to create a new revenue stream by selling upcycled items created from selected clothing you collected. There are two ways to do this. The first is to use the talents of your on-site tailor if they are creative and open to the project. If not, you can reach out to local designers and designer want-to-be’s to select items and return the transformed items to sell in your shop. You can share in the revenue with your tailor or the local designer so everyone wins.

Take lots of before and after photos and use social media to promote. You might even get the not-for-profit to whom you donated the bulk of the clothing to promote this as well.

By offering upcycled items for sale on a regular basis you give people another reason to visit your store even while the demand for dry cleaning is down. Regardless of the impact of the pandemic or any other event that may cause business to drop, having a new revenue stream and a unique component to your business will provide ongoing insurance against downturns

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel

An amazing pandemic success story - Water's End Brewery

Water's End Brewery owner, Zach Mote, knew he had to find a way to sell beer even in a lockdown. Learn about his clever solution and how it helped him increase year-over-year revenues by over 30 percent!

How Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations fought back during the pandemic...and won!

Monica Gonzales, owner of Monica's Quilt & Bead Creations, turned to Facebook lives to quickly reinvent and pull her business out of the pandemic!

Monica Gonzales, owner of Monica’s Quilt and Bead Creations

How to create a nano influencer program in 2 easy steps!

Wouldn’t you love an easy way to use social media to increase exposure, followers and even sales? Then look no further than the nano influencers on social media.

You’ve heard of influencers before, people who have amassed huge followings in every aspect of life  in fashion and beauty, health and wellness, food,  pets, crafting and more. These folks have, whether f through their celebrity, creativity or talent, found a way to resonate with a million or more followers who look forward to their daily musings.  Much like any other media, influencers will promote a product for a price, a high one. Kylie Jenner tops the list at $1.2 million per post and it’s not unheard of for a popular influencer to get one hundred thousand a pop. Most are probably earning a very nice living selling posts in the five to ten thousand dollar range.

While this is probably well beyond your budget, local business owner, you can still garner the benefits of this type of promotional opportunity by utilizing a segment of the market called nano influencers.

A nano -influencer is someone that has between 100 to 1000 followers, primarily local and focused on a niche, h who very actively engaged. These audiences are small but mighty and can have a big impact on your business by forming a paid or unpaid partnership in which the nano influencer promotes your product or service.

How to set  up your nano influencer program

Step 1
Find and select your influencers

You goal is to find influencers who share a demographic similar to your ideal customer avatar. For example, if you own a boutique, you don’t necessarily need a fashion influencer but rather one who represents other aspects of your customers’ lives like health and wellness or home décor or even books and reading.  If you own a gym with a membership of primarily millennials, you might look for influencers on topics of veganism and social consciousness. Remember, customers are multi-dimensional and you are looking to meet up with them in their other life interests.  A nano influencer could be a self-self-proclaimed foodie, a community activist,  a mom who posts about raising happy kids, a DIY’er,  a local realtor, doctor, vet or a photographer.

Start your search for influencers by looking within your own fan base. People who are already following you on social media or are good customers are fantastic prospects  because they already know, like and trust you.

Search pertinent hashtags, i.e. #pizza, #yourcity

Do a Google search for local bloggers on specific topics

Mine the followers of your competitors

Step 2
Create the partnership

There are many ways to strike a partnership with an influencer. You can offer to pay a fee for posts or use gift cards or trade as payment.  For example, I worked with a quick service restaurant that offered $15 gift cards one time per month so the influencer could eat and post about their meal.  You can go a step further by offering an additional incentive like a gift card for the influencer to give away to any followers who comment and also like your page.  It increases engagement on all sides! Or the influencer can make the post shoppable with links to a landing page specific to them and pay a commission on any sales from that page.  

Note: here’s a general benchmark for the value of posts on an influencer’s page:

Facebook $25 / 1000 followers

Instagram $10 / 1000 followers

Twitter $2 / 1000 followers

YouTube $20 / 1000 subscribers

Key tips
Don’t judge the quality of a nano influencer by the size of their audience but by their engagement. The higher the engagement, the greater likelihood your sponsored post will be seen.

Allow the influencer to post in their authentic voice.

Make sure the efforts are trackable and evaluate results regularly.

Let me be clear. If you decide to adopt nano influencers as part of your marketing strategy, you ll  likely be in previously unoccupied space and way ahead of your local competition.  

Until next time remember,
You can do this!
Angel