10 Ways to Grow Your Storefront Sales and Profits

Everything from attitude to procedures can affect your sales. Here's a short list of things you can do to see immediate improvement.
Dec 17, 2007

By Doug Fleener

1. Call it coincidence, call it karma, call it whatever you like, but the better my attitude is, the happier my customers are.

2. The more the store manager focuses on the staff's engagement and selling skills, the more often the store hits its sales target.

3. The more you recommend products to the customer instead of just showing them, the more likely it is that the customer will make a purchase.

4. While most people make their list of things to do at the start of the day, I find I'm more productive if I make my list at the end of the day before. That way I know exactly what I want to focus on when I start my day.

5. Don't take unhappy customers personally. Do your best to make them happy and then move on. The worst thing you can do is let them ruin your day and influence how you treat your next customer, your staff, or your friends and family.

6. There isn't a single reason a manager shouldn't be following the same processes and procedures as the rest of the staff. "Do as I say, not as I do" is a bad way to manage.

7. Never forget that the best way to reduce store shrink is to keep honest people honest. That means following and maintaining your inventory and store processes and procedures.

8. If you haven't conducted a store training in the past 30 days, you're missing the chance to grow your sales and profits.

9. Unless your store sells wireless products, I don't see any reason an employee should have his cell phone on his person while he's working the sales floor. I was in two different stores last week where the staff was clearly "sneaking" either instant messages or emails with their friends.

10. There's a difference between posting a daily sales goal and focusing the staff on achieving a daily sales goal.

Doug Fleener is president and managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group, a Lexington, Mass., retail consulting firm dedicated to helping retailers boost their sales and profits. A veteran retailer with more than 25 years of hands-on retail experience with world-class retailers including Bose Corp. and The Sharper Image, he also has owned and operated his own specialty stores. Fleener is the author of the book "The Profitable Retailer: 56 Surprisingly Simple and Effective Lessons to Boost Your Sales and Profits." Contact him at (781) 861-7803 or visit dynamicexperiencesgroup.com.

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