Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Track Shoes.

Written by Bob Phibbs,

She sat in her chair eating the ice cream cone while telling me how her doctor is making her take her insulin before dinner, not after. She took another lick. She had swelled up over the years from a lack of activity, an increase in sitting watching TV and a general boredom that food could help fill.

As I looked at my relative it hit me how many business owners tend to do something similar; telling a sales rep how dead it is in their store while customer mill about unattended. Or when you ask them how their average ticket is doing they look back at you like you just passed gas. Or when there is less money for payroll they blame the economy while leaving to pick up their daughter at 2pm – leaving the store with one employee for the rest of the day.

So many speakers and consultants use sports analogies for a reason. Winning. Competition. Cultivating a team. One reason I like it is there are markers to your success. You know if you hit the 100 yard line and no one is next to you, you’re in the lead. Likewise if you are watching everyone pass you and are dead last, you have a visible marker of your place in the race.

When we don’t look at tracking our progress anything is bound to happen with no markers to say when we are in trouble or what we need to do to get back in the game.

How to correct it? Begin with your financials – increasing marketing without increasing sales training is assuming there is nothing you can do to drive sales in your store, it will be through new customers. The danger is that you believe that and continue to lick the ice cream cone by buying more product and possibly reducing staff.

You want to compete? You want to get some traction? Track your progress both good and bad. Then you can clearly see how far you need to go to win the race, instead of being sidelined.

Learn more about how to compete with You Can Compete: Double Sales Without Discounting. http://www.retaildoc.com/products/youcompete.htm

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Bob Phibbs is the Retail Doctor, a small business expert, speaker, blogger, trainer and author of the book, You Can Compete. Get more free tips at http://www.retaildoc.com

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