Managing the Sales Floor in a Box Store

One of the most difficult things to do is to manage the sales floor of a large box store, especially when the corporate office keeps cutting your staff, apparently to cut costs and increase profits. Yet when a Box Store is understaffed you need to work a lot harder and this is not always as easy as it seems. Why? Well it is human nature when one person is talking to a sales clerk asking a question, that someone else will think to themselves; Maybe they can answer my questions too, I have been looking around for over 5 minutes.

Are You Running Too Many Poor Or Non-Productive Meetings?

One of the common complaints of many employees (including managers) is how many meetings are held that are a waste of time, energy and company resources. Most meetings generally take too long, cover too little, end without specific plans, objectives or outcomes and waste time, money and resources. I believe that “meeting” is an important business function. Meetings get people together to share information, ideas, problems, activities, solutions and feelings.

How to Keep Your Prospects On Track

Following are some simple guidelines to keep your speech and verbal packaging on the right track.

How to Manage a Sales Team at a Regional Bike Shop

In many parts of the country there are bicycle shops, which clearly have the lion's share of the business. Often this is due to longevity in location or having multiple locations. Often it is also due to sponsoring races, rides and bike clubs. Smart regional bike shops often have professional riders and give classes on riding, bike maintenance and bicycle gear

How To Find and Manage Likeable Sales People

Managing sales people is a lot like managing a group of Top Gun Hot Dog Fighter Pilots in that famous movie with Tom Cruise. Indeed, sales people are a different breed, especially the egomaniac hard charging type. Nevertheless if you sales department is going to cut the mustard you better learn how to deal with these types, as you are sure to get a few in every group of sale people.

Internal Pressure Is the Secret

Most of us feel more harmony in our lives when everything is consistent: our jobs, our homes, our habits, even our soft drinks. Consistency is the glue that holds everything in our lives together, thereby allowing us to cope with the world.

High Expectations Lead to Great Results

The expectations we create for others often become reality. This can have interesting effects when applied out in the real world. Expectations have changed the lives and persuaded the behavior of other individuals.

Pacing and Leading

Pacing involves establishing rapport and making persuasive communication easier; leading involves steering your prospect toward your point of view. Pacing and leading will enable you to direct a person's thoughts so they tend to move in your direction.

Environmental Expectations

Your environment and the expectations of that environment should be persuasive. In a theory they call the Broken Window Theory, James Wilson and George Kelling suggest that a building full of broken windows will cause people to assume that no one cares for the building or its appearance. This in turn will spur more vandalism. In other words, the environment's condition gives suggestions that lead people to hold certain assumptions, and people then act on those assumptions.

Are You in the Car Business? Stop Fixing the Same Problems

It's always about selling more cars and making more gross, isn't it? Fix the problem the first time.

Managing Salespeople at a Christmas Tree Lot

For those who have ever run a Christmas Tree Lot you know that if those people leave without buying a tree they may not come back and this is why sales are so critical indeed. Sales management, staffing and careful scrutinizing can make the difference.

Sales Force: What is the Optimum Size

In the early years of the company there is a tendency to hire large workforce. Every management wants to hit the ground running and gain maximum market share.

Sales Management Neglect...the Real Cost

Have you ever wondered what the real cost of mediocrity within your organization might be? Has there ever been a time when a mess-up by someone internally, proved to be quite costly in both money/resources and time/energy? Has there been a time when a mess-up by someone in your organization caused a huge toll on an outsider, i.e. supplier or customer?