Focus: The Business of Your Business
MUST DO THIS WEEK:
- Watch the video “The Business of Your Business”. Yes, from beginning to end.
- Even if you’ve seen it before, it’s been a long time since you reviewed it. Let’s face it … there’s a lot to cover in this episode.
Understanding how retail works, from a numbers perspective, allows you to make better decisions as a Manager. Digging into some simple formulas, ratios and metrics makes you a strong Leader.
Below, you’ll find a list of various activities, projects, reflections and discussions to have, all of which are designed to help you get better at leading your team. From the list below, pick 2 to 3 items that you’ll commit to completing this week. Get started on them. And, be prepared to share your progress with your District Manager / Owner (you know they’ll be asking!).
Dig Into Your Numbers
Now’s the time to get on the phone and ask for as much information as possible about your store’s performance. Look for sales trends, margin results, wage cost numbers, shrinkage and more. (Note: your company may only share some info with you … that’s ok) It all begins by knowing what your numbers actually are.
Wage Cost Review
Now that you know how critical controlling wage cost is, it’s time to dig into it. Look for ways that you can optimize your schedule. Are the hours being used on the right days, at the right times? Where are you able to maintain the efficiency of the store, and at the same time reduce some hours?
Control Shrinkage
Pick up the phone and talk to your LP department. Open the manual and look up LP procedures. Discover the 10 most important things you can do to control shrink in your store and make sure you put them into place.
Full Price Challenge
We all know selling markdown items is the easy way to go. But, to boost margin, selling full price items is where it’s at. Build a strategy with your team to show full price items more consistently to your customers. Get everyone on board.
Driving Sales Challenge
Here’s your challenge: Come up with a great list of 25 things you can do in your store within the next 48 hours to drive sales. Post it. Share it with your staff and your DM. Now, get to work on putting them into place.