You Never Know!

As a retailer, you never know who might drop into your store to shop.

When Victoria Beckham goes shopping with her kids, the body guard goes along. I have to wonder if his instructions are coming from her or from a husband that wants to control her spending.

I’m guessing it’s her that is calling the shots.

For a closer look, click on the photo, and then click on your back button to return to the blog.

Violet Anderson

We are proud to have Hawaiian Brian’s as a long time client using the Morning Report. This is not your typical “Pool Hall”.

I snapped this photo of owner Violet Anderson at last nights “Taste of Hawaiian Brian’s” event.

115 people were there for this private affair honoring long time customers and friends. We were proud to be among the attendees.

This is the place to take the entire family for fun and games.

For a closer look, click on the photo, and then click on your back button to return to the blog.

And, good food too…

While Jim and Polly Douglas are in Hawaii they took time to have dinner at Roy’s, Waikiki with Masae and me. We enjoyed great food and some lively conversation about salesperson excellence.

Jim is the national training director for Hearts on Fire; the worlds most perfectly cut diamond. He will be working with the Wedding Ring Shop later this week. They are the only store in Hawaii offering this diamond.

For a closer look, click on the photo, and then click on your back button to return to the blog.

Are you passionate about what you do?

If you are, then the passion needed for success will come out effortlessly. You will become more and more successful at whatever that is.

On the other hand, if you are “going through the motions”, watching the clock waiting for the time to go home, you are destined for a life of mediocrity.

To set yourself apart from the masses, arrive early, leave late and do the things you don’t have to do. Start your day with an unbridled level of energy not seen in the “eight to five Johnny Lunch Buckets” that drag their behinds through the day and dread Monday morning.

Monday morning arrives for everybody. Welcome It!

“Please call me back.”

Matt Muccio, CEO of Techniques Hawaii says, “I never leave a message”.
I thought a lot about that one. How many times have you left a message that was not returned? To add insult to injury you are hesitant to call back for fear of appearing pushy, disbelieving or too anxious.

I shared Matt’s thinking with Bob today and he sent me this list of reasons for not leaving a message as posted on a blog by Jacques Werth.

Prospective customers might react in one of the following ways, none of them positive!

1. Prospects may hear your name and company, and, not recognizing either, delete your voice message without listening to the rest of it.

2. Prospects may hear your pitch and delete it, because they are too busy to think about your offer now.

3. Prospects may hear your one-way communication and get frustrated, because there is no opportunity to ask any questions. They then hit “delete,” and click to the next message without trying to call you back.

4. Prospects may not like the sound of your voice, and immediately delete your message.

5. Prospects may listen to your voice message and be interested, but too busy to call you back. Eventually, they become frustrated and/or annoyed that you did not call again, or be faced with a potential phone tag scenario.

6. Prospects may listen to your voice message, stop what they are doing, and call you immediately. Approximately 1 out of 120 voice messages (to a prospect) will result in a call back, and an average of 1/3 of them will result in a new customer. Therefore, without actually talking with them, salespeople that leave voice messages alienate the other 119 prospects.

A better way to go would be to make a note of the attempted call and schedule the next one. Doing that keeps you in control.

How are you doing?

Wouldn’t you like to know the answer to that one?
Too many times supervisors and managers hold back on the criticism so as to not hurt someone’s feelings, and in the end hurt their careers.

It’s hard to look at yourself and see where you might be going wrong. Some people live their entire lives in self-denial, thus the need for some external feedback at times.

When that time comes, how you handle it will determine the value you get from the lesson. In SUCCESS MADE EASY, I say, “Just say thank you”. Just saying that lightens the load for everyone and buys you some reflective time before you react emotionally. Try It!

Windward Mall

Skin Industries owners Paul and Stacy Clayton welcome a huge crowd at the grand opening of their new store in Windward Mall.

Ultimate Fight Championship President Dana White was on hand to meet people and sign autographs.

Click on the photo to see a close up of the long line awaiting the chance to get Dana’s autograph. Click on your back button to return to the blog.

Shoppers Do Want Help!

A recent USA Today Poll asked shoppers what annoyed them the most.

The results were:
Too little attention 24%
Too much attention 15%
Pressure to buy products 12%
Difficulty with returns 11%
Being treated rudely 10%

Following my Pro-Active, No-Pressure Selling System will prevent customer annoyance.
RETAIL SELLING MADE EASY gives you this system in 9 “easy” steps.

She is alive and well at Hawaiian Tel

I called Hawaiian Tel this morning to put a block on a nuisance fax number that is calling me repeatedly. As I listened to the variety of options to select, none of them seemed to be the one I needed. I have learned that the best thing to do when stuck in “electronic prison” is to press zero. I did and got a nice message asking me to either wait for a representative or leave my number. I chose to wait, and listen to the music while I did other things.

Finally I got a human voice that began asking me questions about my account. Once through that I explained my problem and was then told that I had the wrong department. I was then transferred to someone that once again grilled me about my account. He then explained that they could offer me a “block service” for free to block out any numbers that were non-registered. I told him that I don’t want to throw the “baby out with the bathwater”, just block one number. He told me that service would cost $4 a month. I said, “Fine. Let’s do it”. He gave me a confirmation number and told me that my request would be handled in a few days, and that I could block as many as 12 numbers for the $4 a-month.

I hung up and immediately received another nuisance call from the same company, but with a different number. So I called Hawaiian Tel again and started over. I explained that I had just set up the “block service” and need to add another number. I was then told that is something that I must program from my end. I insisted on talking with the same person I had spoken with earlier. He then took down the new number and confirmed that I do indeed need to do the blocking myself by calling *60 and following the instructions.
I hung up and Googled the name of the company that was calling me. I went to their web site and called the legal department. Carol answered, listened to my problem and then called me back as I was still writing this post to tell me that she had tracked it down and solved the problem. I’m sending her a gift.

Ooops, I spoke to soon, I just got another call from that same number. What to do now???

Bring back the good old days when people “talking” to people rather than to machines.

It’s Not Too Early

There was a day when it was considered sacrilegious to even mention Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Well, like it or not, those days are over. Malls are decorated for Christmas long before the Thanksgiving feast begins.

Retailers that wait until Thanksgiving miss the opportunity to help their customers get a good jump on their shopping “chore”. No, it shouldn’t be seen as a “chore”, but the longer it is put off the more of a chore it becomes.

-Last minute shoppers face these challenges:
-The malls are crowded.
-The weather is bad.
-The merchandise is picked over.
-The prices are inflated.

People on the average have 20 people to shop for. The sooner they get started the more enjoyable it will be. Here are some things that you can do NOW to get the customers to start their Christmas shopping in your store TODAY.

-Make a countdown sign which changes daily. Say, “There is ONLY 76 Shopping Days left before Christmas.”
-Provide a wrapping station with paper, ribbons and cards.
-Start the Christmas music playing.
-Start decorating now; small at first, and then go all out after Thanksgiving.
-Provide printed shopping list to help people remember who they are going to be shopping for.

If you are in Hawaii remind customers that a gift from Hawaii will be the most unique gift under the tree.

Remember what they say about the early bird.