Take Full Advantage of the Christmas Selling Season
People who have never been in your store(s) before will walk into them during the upcoming holiday season. These new "potential customers" present an opportunity to you: Not only to build sales during the holidays, but also to build a "relationship" that generates sales well into the future. Will they know what they are looking for? Will they even know what merchandise and services you offer?  Will they know what merchandise is on sale, what is being featured or highlighted, or will they leave without purchasing any merchandise at all? Here are some "Top Tips for the Season" that will help keep our minds fresh!

Top Tip for the Season #1
The holiday season is a great time to put a greeter at the front of your store(s) to welcome customers and give them a map of the store on one side and some "specials" or featured items on the other side. If a greeter is not possible at all times because of payroll constraints, leave a stack of the "map side" and one of the "features" side up near the front of the store/close to the actual merchandise.  In most surveys done in the retail industry, one of the most common reasons customers give for not purchasing is their inability to find specific merchandise or departments in stores. Providing your customers with a map of where your main categories and departments are will help you and your team not to fall into this trap!

Top Tip for the Season #2
Offer your customers a one of a kind shopping experience!  It’s a great time during the final weeks of the year to provide unique services for your holiday shoppers. Some stores offer gift wrapping, personal gift delivery and personal shopper services-- when a customer makes a purchase in excess of a predetermined dollar amount.  Unique services make your store stand out from the "sameness" that customers experience at "chain stores".

Top Tip for the Season #3
Teach your employees the utter, unbelievable importance of great service to your holiday shoppers!!! The level of customer service, even in the best stores often slips during the holiday season.  Sales associates, cashiers, and even managers can be overwhelmed by the number of customers that they must help -- all at the same time.  With so much activity happening within your store, emphasize and "model" comprehensive customer service with each and every customer.  It may be your 100th customer of the day, but it is their only shopping experience in your store!

Top Tip for the Season #4
Establish sales performance standards during the holidays.  It’s my belief that sales associates should always know what their sales goals are for an evening, a day, a week, a month, etc.  If we are hiring the right kind of associates, they will be motivated by the challenge.  And there is no time and greater opportunity to achieve a large sales goal than the upcoming selling season.  Performance standards can increase sales performance effectively if they are communicated properly and geared to the individual, the hours they work, etc.  Review them frequently with the various members of your team to see how you can help to bring out the best in each of them.

We can't just hope that sales will be better this holiday season than they were last year.  We need to get together with our staff members and brainstorm as to what tactics we can use this year to make it a stronger season.  Hopefully, these "tips" will be a good start as you all work together to make this a banner holiday season.

-Mark Zobrosky has held several Senior Retail positions.  He served as Vice President of Operations at Family Christian Stores, Vice President of Operations and Real Estate at National Book Warehouse, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Gibson Greetings Retail Division as well as Vice President of Electronic Commerce for OnePlace, Ltd. You can reach Mark for Retail consulting via e-mail at markzobrosky@aol.com  or via telephone 336-327-7594.