Creating a High Performance Retail Sales Team

1. Creating a High Performance Retail Sales Team PARA May, 2005 Elly S. Valas Valas Consulting Group, LLC ellysv@msn.com

2. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

3. How Does Your Team Rate?On a Scale of 1 to 5 • Do I know what is expected of me at work? • Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? • At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? • In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? Valas Consulting Group, LLC

4. How Does Your Team Rate?On a Scale of 1 to 5 • Is there someone at work who encourages my development? • Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? • At work, do my opinions seem to count? • Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? Valas Consulting Group, LLC

5. How Does Your Team Rate?On a Scale of 1 – 5 9.Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? • Do I have a best friend at work? • In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? • This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow? --Marcus Buckingham “First Break All the Rules” Valas Consulting Group, LLC

6. Qualities of Top Performers • Do not take “no” personally • Accept responsibility for results • Above-average ambition • High levels of empathy • Intensely goal oriented • Above-average will power • Impeccably honest • Ability to approach strangers --Harvard Business School Valas Consulting Group, LLC

7. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. • Make sure they know what their jobs are. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

8. Job Description • Basic Function • Duties and Responsibilities • Relationships • Minimum Qualifications • “And other responsibilities that may be assigned by management when required.” Valas Consulting Group, LLC

9. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. • Make sure they know what their jobs are. • Make sure they know how to do their jobs. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

10. Training Doesn’t Cost…It Pays • The military spends up to 80% of each enlisted person’s time training for action they hope never to see. • Independent retailers spend less than 2% of their staff’s time training for action they desperately hope to see! Valas Consulting Group, LLC

11. Training Doesn’t Cost…It Pays! “The Container Store invests 235 hours of formal training in every first year employee…..the retail industry average is a measly seven.” “…for an industry that suffers from an annual employee turnover rate of 120 percent a year, retailers of every stripe could learn a thing or two from a company that enjoys an 8 percent turnover rate among full-time employees and 20 percent among part-time workers.” --HFN 1/13/2003 Valas Consulting Group, LLC

12. Adult Learning • Must recognize and utilize the life experiences of the learners as part of the curriculum. • Must be based on desired outcomes and goals. • Must be participatory. • Is best conducted in short, frequent modules. • Must meet the needs of the participants more than the needs of the trainer. • Must help them succeed as outlined in their job descriptions. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

13. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. • Make sure they know what their jobs are. • Make sure they know how to do their jobs. • Get out of their way and let them do their jobs. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

14. Motivation for Results • Show staff members you really care. • Make employees feel important. • Know the power of recognition. • Give positive feedback. • Know each employee’s hot button. • Give employees personal attention. • Be a leader. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

15. Measuring Sales Potential What do your team members control? • Store Traffic • Closing Rate • Average Sale • Number of Items on each Ticket Valas Consulting Group, LLC

16. Your Store Sales Report Valas Consulting Group, LLC

17. Increasing Average Sale • Add features and benefits to step up. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

18. Valas Consulting Group, LLC “Now this baby can hold up to five hundred magnets.”

19. Increasing Average Sale • Add features and benefits to step up. • Step up one model. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

20. DVD Player Valas Consulting Group, LLC “This DVD player costs less than players selling for twice as much.”

21. Increasing Average Sale • Add features and benefits to step up. • Step up one model. • Sell the package. • Add cables and connectors. • Add additional speakers. • Add accessories. • Add remote. • Add furniture. • Add audio. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

22. Your Store Sales Report Valas Consulting Group, LLC

23. Plan for Improvement • Accurately track ups. • Compute closing ratio regularly. • Set new closing goals. • View each sale as an opportunity to increase average sale. • Learn about product benefits. • Know each customer. • Evaluate each opportunity. • Follow-up every prospect. • Value ongoing sales training. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

24. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. • Make sure they know what their jobs are. • Make sure they know how to do their jobs. • Get out of their way and let them do their jobs. • Evaluate and coach. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

25. Holding Up the Mirror • Give ongoing feedback. • Review past performance briefly. • Shift focus to the future and how the employee could be more productive. • Give feedback privately, one on one. --First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham Valas Consulting Group, LLC

26. The One Minute Manager* “Catch your team members doing something right!” *The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard Valas Consulting Group, LLC

27. Job of the Manager • Have the right people. • Make sure they know what their jobs are. • Make sure they know how to do their jobs. • Get out of their way and let them do their jobs. • Evaluate and coach. • Praise generously. • Retrain when necessary. Valas Consulting Group, LLC

28. REWARDING PEOPLE Rule: What gets measured, gets done. Rule: What gets done, should be rewarded. Rule: Behavior rewarded, gets repeated. Valas Consulting Group, LLC