The first day of middle school.
New school. New teacher. New classmates.
It's a minefield of trials. Like how to pick the right location for your desk. You don't want to get it wrong like I did. I thought I'd picked the right seat. Not too far back. Not too close to the teacher. And the boy who sat down next to me seemed OK. At first.
His name was Ross. He never seemed to have any school supplies. No pencils. No pencil crayons. No erasers. After he started borrowing mine, it became clear. He chewed up pencils and erasers. Until they were gone.
I was horrified! After losing a few shiny new supplies, I learned my lesson. I spent the rest of the year anxiously protecting my pencils and checking them for teeth marks.
You can be sure I was more careful about my desk location choice the next fall! It's a critical decision that can affect your entire year.
Like choosing the right desk location, choosing the right display location is crucial. The wrong choice means that instead of losing pencils, you can lose potential sales.
How do you pick the right location for displays?
A display has an important role in the store. It needs to attract attention, convey a message and maintain interest. A display can only do those things if it is in a key location in the store. The display needs to be in a place where it can get attention. It's not going to get attention off in a corner.
There are two key components of a good display location. It has to have high traffic, and high visibility. That means each major display needs to be in a place where all customers are going to see it.
What are some examples of high traffic and high visibility locations?
You will have displays throughout the store. Right now we're just going to discuss three key display locations. Besides store windows, these locations have the most shoppers passing by.
Three key locations for displays include:
1) Entrance
2) Ends of aisles
3) Cash desk
1) Entrance
Just inside the store is a prime location for displays. Be sure to leave space for the customer to walk in and look around. Don't put a display smack in front of the door. A few feet inside, or off to the right hand side are great spots. These are feature locations that shoppers may see from outside, or as soon as they enter.
A display just inside the door is a great place to feature new products or seasonal items. As you lead shoppers into the store, there are more opportunities to feature merchandise.
2) Ends of aisles
The end display on an aisle is often referred to as an end cap. These are highly visible, and attract the shoppers' attention. The end of the aisle usually faces onto a main traffic area.
Most large grocery stores are examples of effective displays on the ends of the aisles. These end caps tend to feature seasonal promotions, sales or new products. Sometimes the retailer has just decided to feature a particular product.
The end caps often have a large quantity of only 2 or 3 products. Repetition of the same product on several shelves creates a strong visual impact, attracting shoppers' attention.
Feature displays are also useful at the end of the in-store buying experience.
3) Cash desk
The cash desk provides a great opportunity for add on sales. All the buying customers go to the cash desk. They stand and wait. While they wait, customers look at everything in the area. Shoppers have already made a decision to buy, and are standing with payment in hand. These shoppers are the most likely to buy more.
The cash area is where you need to be very careful. This is the location that is most likely to be filled with too many messages, mixed together without a plan. Instead of crowding the desk with too many competing impulse items, plan counter displays carefully and rotate them regularly.
For an example of effective cash desk display, visit a Starbucks. Starbucks is merchandised masterfully. Many products, from sandwiches and drinks, to gift cards and mints, are presented in that small space around the cash registers. The planned, organized presentation keeps the display from being overwhelming and chaotic.
Location is critical
Displays help drive sales. But only if they are in the right location. If you do not have displays in these three key areas, you are losing potential sales. These locations are prime selling zones in your store. It is up to you to make the most of them.
Summary
The best locations in the store have two things in common: high traffic and high visibility. The three key locations that have these two qualities are the entrance, the ends of aisles and the cash desk.
Placing key displays in these three locations is even more critical than picking the right desk when you were in school. You won't have any regrets about choosing these locations for displays.
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How Sales Information Can Increase Profits
You know you need to increase sales.
You need money to buy new inventory.
To pay your staff. Or invest in new equipment.
How much more money do you want to make?
Let's pull a number out of a hat.
Let's say you want to increase your sales by $50,000.
How are you going to do that?
Imagine you've decided to run a marathon
You know you need to train and practice running before you can run an entire marathon. You go get some new running shoes. And go for a run. You run until you're tired, then head home. The next day you do it again.
What's wrong with this picture?
You aren't measuring how you're doing. You haven't set any real goals. How far are you going to run each day? How long are you going to run? When will you run the marathon? There's no plan, and no way to keep track of progress.
Saying you want to increase sales is a lot like saying you'll run a marathon someday. You won't achieve that goal unless you use some specific methods of measuring your progress.
A runner tracks progress by measuring the time spent running, or the distance covered. He sets small incremental goals to gradually increase how far and how fast he can run.
How do you measure your progress?
You can measure sales with three basic types of information. You might already use some of this information. But maybe you don't use it in your planning and tracking as often as you could. The more you use this information to set goals and track progress carefully, the more successful you'll be.
What are the three basic types of sales information?
1) Sales Dollars
2) Average Sale
3) Units Per Transaction
Let's look at each of these in more detail.
1) Sales Dollars
You probably already know how much you sell in a year. Or a month. Or a week. Probably even each day.
But are you setting goals to increase this number steadily? What would happen to your sales if you set a goal to sell $50, $100 or $150 more each day? Just $140 each day would increase your sales by $50,000 this year.
For a small store with slow traffic, that might be a big challenge. You can break that $140 goal down even further. Can you sell an extra $20 per hour? Instead of assuming it's too hard, imagine it might be possible. Brainstorm how you might be able to sell an extra $20 more each hour.
The next two types of sales tracking information can help you reach that goal.
2) Average Sale
The average sale is the total sales for the day divided by the number of sales transactions that day. If you are using a computerized point-of-sale system, it probably calculates this for you. If not, you can calculate it by hand fairly quickly, or enter the information into a simple spreadsheet.
Why is the size of the average sale important?
The average sale tells you how much customers tend to buy at one time. One of the easiest ways to increase sales is to increase how much each customer buys. It is easier and less costly to increase the amount you sell to one customer, than to sell to more customers.
The size of the average sale goes hand in hand with the number of items sold.
3) Units per Transaction
One of the easiest ways to increase the size of each sale is to increase the number of items in each sale. As a rule of thumb, set a goal to sell three items to every customer. All you have to do is suggest coordinating items to the customer. A top and belt to go with a pair of pants. An ottoman and a throw with a chair or sofa. Often these are items the customer would want, but doesn't think of, or notice in your store.
Another easy way to increase the number of items sold, is simply to display coordinating merchandise together. For example, if you sell laptops, put one on display with a laptop stand, a set of speakers and a mouse.
Once you get in the habit of suggesting and displaying coordinating merchandise, it becomes easier to increase sales. When your sales increase, hopefully your profit will too.
Summary
A runner whose sights are set on finishing a marathon, sets incremental goals and measures his progress. By measuring and tracking your sales dollars, average sales and the number units sold in each transaction, you move towards your goals in the same way. Before you know it, you'll have achieved that sales increase, and are ready for a new goal.
Want more? Subscribe to the Retail Tips email newsletter (Fill in your details in the subscribe form) Don’t forget: To share the article via twitter, facebook, email, blog or your newsletter
You need money to buy new inventory.
To pay your staff. Or invest in new equipment.
How much more money do you want to make?
Let's pull a number out of a hat.
Let's say you want to increase your sales by $50,000.
How are you going to do that?
Imagine you've decided to run a marathon
You know you need to train and practice running before you can run an entire marathon. You go get some new running shoes. And go for a run. You run until you're tired, then head home. The next day you do it again.
What's wrong with this picture?
You aren't measuring how you're doing. You haven't set any real goals. How far are you going to run each day? How long are you going to run? When will you run the marathon? There's no plan, and no way to keep track of progress.
Saying you want to increase sales is a lot like saying you'll run a marathon someday. You won't achieve that goal unless you use some specific methods of measuring your progress.
A runner tracks progress by measuring the time spent running, or the distance covered. He sets small incremental goals to gradually increase how far and how fast he can run.
How do you measure your progress?
You can measure sales with three basic types of information. You might already use some of this information. But maybe you don't use it in your planning and tracking as often as you could. The more you use this information to set goals and track progress carefully, the more successful you'll be.
What are the three basic types of sales information?
1) Sales Dollars
2) Average Sale
3) Units Per Transaction
Let's look at each of these in more detail.
1) Sales Dollars
You probably already know how much you sell in a year. Or a month. Or a week. Probably even each day.
But are you setting goals to increase this number steadily? What would happen to your sales if you set a goal to sell $50, $100 or $150 more each day? Just $140 each day would increase your sales by $50,000 this year.
For a small store with slow traffic, that might be a big challenge. You can break that $140 goal down even further. Can you sell an extra $20 per hour? Instead of assuming it's too hard, imagine it might be possible. Brainstorm how you might be able to sell an extra $20 more each hour.
The next two types of sales tracking information can help you reach that goal.
2) Average Sale
The average sale is the total sales for the day divided by the number of sales transactions that day. If you are using a computerized point-of-sale system, it probably calculates this for you. If not, you can calculate it by hand fairly quickly, or enter the information into a simple spreadsheet.
Why is the size of the average sale important?
The average sale tells you how much customers tend to buy at one time. One of the easiest ways to increase sales is to increase how much each customer buys. It is easier and less costly to increase the amount you sell to one customer, than to sell to more customers.
The size of the average sale goes hand in hand with the number of items sold.
3) Units per Transaction
One of the easiest ways to increase the size of each sale is to increase the number of items in each sale. As a rule of thumb, set a goal to sell three items to every customer. All you have to do is suggest coordinating items to the customer. A top and belt to go with a pair of pants. An ottoman and a throw with a chair or sofa. Often these are items the customer would want, but doesn't think of, or notice in your store.
Another easy way to increase the number of items sold, is simply to display coordinating merchandise together. For example, if you sell laptops, put one on display with a laptop stand, a set of speakers and a mouse.
Once you get in the habit of suggesting and displaying coordinating merchandise, it becomes easier to increase sales. When your sales increase, hopefully your profit will too.
Summary
A runner whose sights are set on finishing a marathon, sets incremental goals and measures his progress. By measuring and tracking your sales dollars, average sales and the number units sold in each transaction, you move towards your goals in the same way. Before you know it, you'll have achieved that sales increase, and are ready for a new goal.
Want more? Subscribe to the Retail Tips email newsletter (Fill in your details in the subscribe form) Don’t forget: To share the article via twitter, facebook, email, blog or your newsletter
How to Discover Customer Secrets That Help You Sell
Nancy sells trendy printed graphic T-shirts. She offers the highest quality T-shirts available. She is certain her target market of 15-25 year olds would love these fashionable brands.
But the T-shirts aren't selling. They're sitting on the shelves. Nancy is desperate to figure out how to sell all these T-shirts.
What's the secret to selling more?
Customers have the secret. Customers have the information that Nancy, and you, need to uncover. Customers will help you figure out why products aren't selling. They'll help you figure out how to improve sales.
Customers will help you discover problems, so that you can find solutions. It sounds crazy, but it's not.
The first problem is that you don't know the problem.
Say what?
There could be one of many different problems. Or maybe there's more than one problem.
Maybe the people you believe are your target market aren't shopping in your store. Perhaps you're attracting other customers instead.
Maybe customers think your products are too expensive.
Maybe customers don't like the new products.
Or maybe the customers just walked right by the items and didn't see them.
Each of these problems has a different solution.
Until you uncover the problem, any attempt to improve sales is a guessing game. There's more chance of picking the wrong solution, than the right one.
So, how do you get customers to reveal the problem?
There are three things you can do to uncover your customers secrets.
Well, at least the secrets that relate to your business.
1. Watch
2. Ask
3. Listen
1. Watch your customers.
Pay attention to the customers who visit the store. Do you attract your target customers? Watch who shops with them. Watch where they walk, what they touch, what they walk past. You'll discover what is working by noticing what customers pay attention to. And you'll get clues to where the problems are, when you notice what customers ignore.
2. Ask your customers questions.
Find more about your customers, and about what they think. Find out if they live or work nearby. Ask about their personal style and tastes. Inquire about their opinions of some of your products.
Questions help you get to know your customers better. You start to learn who they are and what they are looking for.
3. Listen to what customers say.
Of course you need to listen to the answers customers give to your questions. But listen for other things as well. Listen for objections. Pay attention to comments about price, fit, and style. Make note of questions customers ask. Write them down so you don't forget.
Customer objections and questions are a goldmine of information. These are clues to how you can improve your business. They are also opportunities to explain and demonstrate your product. They're opportunities to sell.
What should Nancy do to sell her T-shirts?
Nancy needs to get out on the sales floor. She needs to start by watching her customers. In one day, how many customers visit that fit her target market? How many other customers visit?
She needs to ask about the T-shirts. In a conversational way, she can say, “We got these T-shirts in recently. What do you think of them?”
She needs to let customers know why these are the best quality T-shirts available. And listen carefully for questions and objections.
At the end of the day, Nancy will have discovered some secrets about her customers. And maybe she'll have sold some T's in the process.
You can do it too.
--
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But the T-shirts aren't selling. They're sitting on the shelves. Nancy is desperate to figure out how to sell all these T-shirts.
What's the secret to selling more?
Customers have the secret. Customers have the information that Nancy, and you, need to uncover. Customers will help you figure out why products aren't selling. They'll help you figure out how to improve sales.
Customers will help you discover problems, so that you can find solutions. It sounds crazy, but it's not.
The first problem is that you don't know the problem.
Say what?
There could be one of many different problems. Or maybe there's more than one problem.
Maybe the people you believe are your target market aren't shopping in your store. Perhaps you're attracting other customers instead.
Maybe customers think your products are too expensive.
Maybe customers don't like the new products.
Or maybe the customers just walked right by the items and didn't see them.
Each of these problems has a different solution.
Until you uncover the problem, any attempt to improve sales is a guessing game. There's more chance of picking the wrong solution, than the right one.
So, how do you get customers to reveal the problem?
There are three things you can do to uncover your customers secrets.
Well, at least the secrets that relate to your business.
1. Watch
2. Ask
3. Listen
1. Watch your customers.
Pay attention to the customers who visit the store. Do you attract your target customers? Watch who shops with them. Watch where they walk, what they touch, what they walk past. You'll discover what is working by noticing what customers pay attention to. And you'll get clues to where the problems are, when you notice what customers ignore.
2. Ask your customers questions.
Find more about your customers, and about what they think. Find out if they live or work nearby. Ask about their personal style and tastes. Inquire about their opinions of some of your products.
Questions help you get to know your customers better. You start to learn who they are and what they are looking for.
3. Listen to what customers say.
Of course you need to listen to the answers customers give to your questions. But listen for other things as well. Listen for objections. Pay attention to comments about price, fit, and style. Make note of questions customers ask. Write them down so you don't forget.
Customer objections and questions are a goldmine of information. These are clues to how you can improve your business. They are also opportunities to explain and demonstrate your product. They're opportunities to sell.
What should Nancy do to sell her T-shirts?
Nancy needs to get out on the sales floor. She needs to start by watching her customers. In one day, how many customers visit that fit her target market? How many other customers visit?
She needs to ask about the T-shirts. In a conversational way, she can say, “We got these T-shirts in recently. What do you think of them?”
She needs to let customers know why these are the best quality T-shirts available. And listen carefully for questions and objections.
At the end of the day, Nancy will have discovered some secrets about her customers. And maybe she'll have sold some T's in the process.
You can do it too.
--
Want more? Subscribe to the Retail Tips email newsletter (Fill in your details in the subscribe form) Don’t forget: To share the article via twitter, facebook, email, blog or your newsletter
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