How to Motivate High Potential Employees

I recently received an email from a jewelry store outside of Los Angeles.

The owner posed an interesting question that she suggested would be a wonderful discussion question for my readers. I agreed that it would be a great question and I would get as many opinions as possible. So here goes:

Dear Rick,

I have an employee who has worked for me for 3 years. I own a smaller jewelry store outside of Los Angeles and employ 14 people who all work part-time. The business was originally started by my husband who passed away 9 years ago. I have been running it alone by myself since then. My children have graduated from college and have no interest in entering the business (one is an accountant, the other is an electrical engineer). Tracy, who is in her early 30’s is one of the most talented employees I have ever had. She outsells everyone in the store, including me, all of the other employees love working with her, and customers call to find out when she will be in.

Tracy is also one of the most honest and trustworthy people I know. So, what could be wrong? She really doesn’t want to work, and I don’t know what I have to do to motivate her. Most people are probably thinking by now that she doesn’t need the money. WRONG! She is a single mom with more debt than you can imagine. In her defense, her husband ran up a bunch of credit cards and took off. She has made payment arrangements with most of the credit card companies but she needs to honor her commitments. She has one 12 year old son.

Having said all of that, maybe you can start to share my frustration when I tell you she calls in sick or has an excuse why she cannot come in more than any other employee I have ever had. I can’t depend on her. We tell customers that she is scheduled to work on a specific day. They come in with pieces to have redesigned and/or buy something new, and Tracy is not there. I am particularly frustrated today because one poor couple have now come in three different times and left because she wasn’t there to take care of them. They will not return. I am guessing now, but it was probably a $5,000 lost sale.

Now to make matters worse. When I confronted Tracy, she felt terrible about her actions, and promised that she will make it up to me. And she did. They day I confronted her with this she felt so bad she made four $3,000 sales; one $12,000 sale, and helped two other people to have sales over $2,500 each.

The irony is the fact that the store wasn’t even busy that day. It’s as if she has the ability to just manufacture sales. She also refused to take her normal commission on $5,000 of those sales because of the sale that was lost.

The next day after she had $24,000 in sales, she felt so bad and apologized that it would never happen again. But she didn’t show up for work until 1:00 when she was scheduled to open at 10:00. At least she did call me to open and said she was running a little late. I have offered her more money, bigger bonuses, a flexible schedule, health insurance, and have even looked into help with her child. Rick, I just don’t know what to do. I really would love to sell her the business, and although I have mentioned it a few times, she has never responded to my suggestions. She is a combination of a daughter, sister, friend, colleague and business partner. I could never dream of firing her because I couldn’t do it.

I know she has a very active social life, but we don’t talk about it while sometimes I think I should. It is not as if she has even setting a bad example to the other employees because she openly admits she is wrong. Rick, what should I do? I am at my wit’s end. PLEASE HELP!

Sincerely,
Eunice K.

Eunice, I feel your frustration. I had a similar situation happen to me many years ago. Unfortunately, this employee left the store, but I always wondered what might have been.

Now here’s the challenge.

Write in at rick@ricksegel.com or coment below and share your opinion with any possible suggestions to make Eunice’s life less stressful and to help Tracy reach her full potential. I will leave you with just one idea, and I will be working on ideas all week long. And that would be to sit down with Tracy and draw up an agreement of do’s and don’ts or some type of contract between the two of them. I look forward to your responses and let’s see if we can help Eunice out.

Have a great week.

Seven Ways to Get Your Retail Website to Pop

Websites today can become exciting with simple techniques.  Having said that, we are focusing on the look of the site, the graphics as opposed to  the backend technical navigation and “mumbo jumbo” which is still the backbone to every website. It still amazes us that relatively basic looking sites can do exceptionally well because technically they work. The bottom line is we need the fun and exciting stuff along with the basics. 

1. Think USA Today: The reason for the success of USA Today is because it has lots of headlines, short stories with short paragraphs and graphics that support the story. This sounds simple enough to do and yet as you surf he web, you will see site after site with long paragraphs that no one will ever read.  
2. Think Headlines: Although we just mentioned the use of headlines when we refer to USA Today, spend some time writing a captivating headline that people want to learn more about.  
3. It’s About the Reader Not You: So many times when people write their websites, it is I, I, I or it is just focused on your company or yourself. Think in terms of benefits to the reader. Think in terms of the website that says “we have been in business a hundred years”. The owner of the business is very proud of that and uses the argument that because we have been in business, we must be good. The reader reads that and says “what does all that mean to me”.
4. Make it Personal: Always have an about us section and share pictures and your personal philosophy. On an award winning website, the owner of the company is pictured sitting on a stool, holding a beagle and beside that is a short message to the reader that has a script signature to make it appear as if it is a personalized signature. Within the body of the owner’s message, there is a click through to send her an email.  
5. The Use of Fonts: Generally speaking, homemade websites or less professional looking websites have a tendency of using overused fonts such as Arial or Times Roman. Select the font that you like which has the same feel and look of your company and stick with it. One of the biggest errors people make is they go font crazy and they begin to put three of four different fonts on the same page. You can use the same font but use the italicized version of it and/or all capitals.  
6. Color Contrast: So many times we will see sites that use colors that are beautiful but unfortunately not readable. I recently reviewed a site that was in gray with a darker gray lettering. I couldn’t read the site.  Mauve and gray are great for a living room, but not for a home page. Businesses that use all black backgrounds must be careful with the use of the color red. Red is a great accent color on a black and white site, but don’t use a red font consistently.  
7. The Convenience Factor: Websites are about convenience.  They allow us to save time and money by truly letting our fingers do the shopping. We block the convenience factor when we have Flash openings with words or images flying in from every direction and music blaring in the background. All of these sites have a button that says “skip intro”. 93% of the people who go to these sites, hit “skip intro”. That stuff is not necessary or as I like to put it, it is the graphic designer having an orgasm.  
8. The Bonus: I said the 7 steps, but I am giving more than expected. Make sure on your website you give more than the viewer expects. In New Orleans, they just call it “lagniappe”. What it means is a small gift to the customer by a merchant, such as the thirteenth donut. My extra point is this - use small graphic calls to action to interest your reader to stay on this site longer. After all, isn’t that what I did to have you read this?

What’s The Story Behind That Product?

Increase the Perceived Value by Sharing the Why of The Buy

Have you ever gone to a store, looked at a piece of merchandise, and not bought it because you thought it might be an inferior product?  That just happened to me.  I was shopping at a store in the Boston area that is known for everyday bargains.  It is the type of store that people rarely go to for a specific item.  It’s the type of store that you end up buying a bunch of stuff that you never knew you needed.  Their prices are extremely low and their advertising slogan is “don’t you just love a bargain?”

I affectionately refer to this store as an old fashioned five and dime store on steroids.  They sell lots of party products, kitchen items, gift items, books, packaged foods, cosmetics and probably another thousand categories.  It is a chain of 20 plus stores that is not necessarily the neatest and most organized, but no one really expects it to be either.  You get the feeling you are getting a great deal on everything you buy.

One of the reasons for some of the great values that they offer is that many of the time dated products will have closer expiration dates, which is perfectly OK as long as you aware of that.  The majority of the items are not this way.  What I am saying is you are looking for reasons why something might be such a great deal.  That was the case with me.  Let me explain.

Again, remember I went into the store not looking for anything in particular and just killing some time.  I did, however, have a shopping cart which I was filling up with a bunch of useless items I had to buy.  Then I came to the men’s personal item area and picked up a can of shaving cream and noticed a razor from Gillette.  I had never heard of this type of razor; it was a Fusion ProGlide Power Razor that was only $8.99 which seemed cheap enough to make me buy it.  BUT where I had never heard of this razor, I was afraid that it might be a discontinued item that Gillette had experimented with, didn’t work out, and were dumping the balance of the products into this discount store.  That was OK because I go through a lot of razors since I travel so much and I have a tendency of leaving them somewhere.  So, I figured since I probably wouldn’t be able to get the blades for this in the future, I would purchase the 8-pack of blades.  I was a bit surprised that the 8-pack of blades sold for $26.99, but I happened to need a razor so I bought it.  I want you to know I did have buyer’s remorse because I felt I had bought a discontinued product.  The reason why I felt that way is because these razors and blades were thrown into a bin.  Then two things happened to me.

First, I used the razor.  It was the most unbelievable shave I have ever received and with a bald head this is an area I am expert at.  I am still believing and questioning why they would be discontinuing such a great razor.

Then, I went to CVS to pick up a prescription where right there in front of me was this beautiful display on an end cap announcing the newest and greatest razor by Gillette, the Fusion ProGlide Power Razor.  It was selling for $12.99 and the blades were $29.99.  It is not a huge discount, but it is still a substantial discount, especially on a brand new product.  Here is the interesting part.  I happened to ask the cashier, who I believed was some type of manager or assistant, how those new Power Glide Razors were selling?  Her comment was “we keep them in stock”.

I will go as far as saying that CVS is doing a far superior job on selling these products than the store that is known for lower prices.  There is an old expression that says “its worth is what it looks like it’s worth”.  CVS increased the perceived value of the product by featuring it, signing it and supporting it with professionally prepared displays by the vendor.  The discount store didn’t even have a hand written 3 x 5 card saying “new product” or “great buy”.  It got so bad that even though I purchased the item, I actually considered returning it.

Are you doing the same thing in your store?  Are you making it easier for the customer to understand the products you are selling?  I was at an airport shop the other day that sold art by the artist, BRITTO.  The products were posters, framed art, t-shirts and ceramic pieces.  It was OK, however, the value of those products skyrocketed when I saw the artist pictured with various world leaders, including President Clinton and an announcement that he was selected to create a new stamp for the United Nations.  That’s credibility!  That’s the story behind the product.  Share the story and you will increase the value of your products.  Try it, it works!

The Three Types of Sales Associates

Which One Do You Employ?

I am sure there are more than three types of sales associates, but for the sake of discussion I have always looked at three main categories - the Weak Sales Associate, the Average Sales Associate and the Superstar. Let’s first define each of these categories.

The Weak Sales Associate: This employee can have many different attributes from being not trained and not knowledgeable to having a destructive attitude. Either way you look at it, both of these qualities can kill your business. The interesting aspect of this is that it’s not always that employee’s fault, but rather fault of management.

The weak sales associate: This category of sales associates is one who is not trained and knowledgeable is the easiest to improve. Duh! They require training and knowledge. The question is how are you going to train and make them more knowledgeable. There are many stores that have long detailed training programs for new employees, some of them are as simple as a two to five day training session. The topics which should be covered would be the history of the business, the philosophy of the business, a discussion of the mission or vision statement a business might have and all of this would come under a category that might be referred to as a new employee’s indoctrination. What you are attempting to do here is to start to have the employee understand why you do what you do.

The other two areas that you want to cover in the initial training would be product knowledge and why you buy what you buy and sell what you sell. The last section of any training program should be what the employee is expected to do and how to do it. In other words, we are going to teach them about our products, tell them what your expectations are and how to sell them.

The danger that many of us have in training employees is that we will assign an employee to follow another employee. That’s a great way of doing it, however, don’t just have the new employee follow just one person, rotate them. You don’t want an employee to pick up all of the bad habits from one. One last word on training, it is a constant and ongoing commitment. Understand that the new employee with a wonderful attitude who doesn’t understand the business, the products or how to perform is just as bad as the employee with the destructive behavior. Let’s talk about the employee with the destructive behavior. Generally speaking when we talk about bad behavior, it always comes down to they have a BAD ATTITUDE.

Attitude is comprised of three elements:

1. Facial expressions -- looks
2. Body language
3. Tone of their voice

All of these elements are easy to recognize and we seem to get a quick image when we mention any one of these factors with a bad attitude. Can’t you just picture the person who rolls their eyes or looks disgusted and you just know what their body language is going to be like. And don’t we all know the tone of their voice? One of the exercises that I will do in a live seminar is to ask people to say the phrase “good morning” but say it as if they are disgusted, aggravated, annoyed and then have them contrast it to happy, excited and positive. The facial expressions and the body language go with it naturally.

The bottom line, make your employees aware of what a bad attitude is, ways to improve it and if they do not, they must be terminated. It just flat hurts you and your business.

The Average Sales Associate: This is a category where the majority of our employees fall. What they do is whatever is asked of them, they generally have good attitudes, they are pleasant with customers and they will make a sale when the customer wants to buy. In short, the average salesperson rarely hears the expression “I had no intentions of buying, I just stopped in to say hello”.

The average sales associate are many times referred to as just an order taker. They rarely suggest multiple items and their Units Per Transaction will always be close to 1; as opposed to the superstar who will have Units Per Transaction of 3, 4, 5 or more. This average employee will have some customers request them, but not often. This associate can feel secure about their job, but should always worry about being compared to stronger employees. This is the employee who we should work with to improve their skills and encourage multiple sale transactions.

The Superstar: I believe there are two parts to the superstar. First, they are engaging with the customer, they have a belief that they are there to service the customer and help them to buy what they want and need. They don’t necessarily look at themselves as salespeople. Many times people get confused and think that the strongest salespeople are the most outgoing with a bubbly personality. That’s just not so. Many of these superstars do have outgoing personalities, but the one thing they all have in common is that they ask the customer questions and listen to their answers.

That is the reason why customers relate so well to them because the superstar is focused on that customer. I recently had a friend who went to Chico’s and raved about her experience because the salesperson befriended her by listening to her needs and wants and made suggestions that fulfilled those needs and wants and made maintained the attitude that “this is what we should do” as if to say “I am on your team”. That is why my friend bought more than she expected, spent more than she planned, left happy but realized when she got home she didn’t need a couple of the minor accessory pieces. Then felt so bad about returning it and didn’t want to return it when her superstar was there because she didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

BINGO! Guilt is a wonderful thing. Logically, she does not need those accessory pieces. Emotionally, she will probably keep them. The best part is she will go back to the store and ask for this superstar by name and even call in advance to make sure she is there.

Now the bad or dark side of the superstar -- many times they know it. The true superstar is NOT a prima Donna. They are team players, they help out weaker sales associates and they don’t ask for special favors. You can be as friendly to this employee as possible, but never at the risk or health of the business. True superstars don’t put management in comprising positions. They don’t ask for special favors and their focus is always in the best interest of the store first. Sales ability is great but sales ability with a strong team attitude makes the true superstars. That’s why every NBA team wants LeBron James because not only can he perform, he is a consummate team player and natural leader. Let’s learn something from basketball, when you find people like that go after them, recruit them and watch your business grow.