13 Lessons I Learned In School That Make You A Better Retailer

By Rich Gordon a.k.a. RetailRich

1.  Do Your Homework.

Whether it was a simple overnight assignment or a weeklong prep for a big test, I learned fast that there was only one way to make decent grades and move on to the next grade: Do my homework.  In business, you’ve got homework, too.

You’ve got to know:

•    your competition,

•    your market,

•    your customer;

•    what’s selling and

•    where your pricing needs to be.

Before you launch into a new location or a new line, you’ve got to know why it will work – and what the pluses and minuses are.

If you haven’t done the homework, you won’t move ahead.

2.  Keep your style up to date.

No kid in elementary, middle or high school wants to show up to school with the wrong clothes, the wrong colors, or in a style that says mom picked my outfit.

In retail, you’ve got to keep your style current, too.  That’s obvious if you’re selling selling fashion, but too many retailers outside fashion forget the look of their stores. But the look of your store sends messages to your customers – about the way you think and about how you see the world. And mostly, what you think about them. Make sure those messages are the ones you mean to send. As a design professor might put it, make everything in your store look intentional.   Does your store look like it opened in the 70s, or does it look fresh and new?  Are you stocking merchandise you like, or are you stocking what customers are looking for now? Does your storefront look the same way it did ten years ago? Or does it always feature something customers haven’t seen before – something unexpected?

If you want customers to keep coming back, you’ve got to be today’s place to go. And not yesterday’s news!

3.  Rebels & Leaders.

When I went to school, there were two types of students who were always popular with the other kids. There were those who always seemed to be the club presidents, the cheerleaders, the sports jocks or the student council people – the obviously popular types.

Then there were the rebels – the ones who always commanded attention, because they were funny, in trouble or outrageous. Everyone generally liked the class clown. . .the one who showed no respect for the establishment.

It’s the same way in retail: you’ve got to be a leader, an innovator, rebel – in some way or other, a store that totally separates itself from the competition. These are the stores people want to shop in – partly because you get people’s attention enough for them to remember who you are, and partly because when you stand out, you give people a little taste of the experience they’ll get in your store or with your personality.

For example:

•    Mrs. Field opened cookie stores back when everyone told her they wouldn’t work.

•    Apple Computer opened their own computer stores when they couldn’t get other retail stores to sell their products.

•    When Robert Wood couldn’t get his employer, Montgomery Ward, to move from the catalogue business into retailing, he went to Sears and talked to their  catalogue people. He persuaded them that retailing was the place to be.

•    And Sam Walton couldn’t convince Ben Franklin’s 5 and 10¢ stores to open a discount store, he went and did it on his own.

Be a rebel.

4.  Put Your Best Stuff Out for Open House.

In elementary school, when the teacher announced that open house was coming up, there was also generally a special project (or even two!) to prepare for the big night’s visit from mom and dad. You and the teacher put up your best drawing.  She did a whole presentation on the most important class project. And you had other things you wanted to make sure mom and dad saw, too. For starters, the classroom got cleaned up, and everything straightened. Some of the old stuff on the walls got taken down.

And, again, retailing has its own version of those rituals. Everyone wants to look good for the grand opening, but it’s easy for retailers to forget that every promotion, and every sale, is kind of an open house too.

you’ve chosen a special event – or made it up – and now you’re bringing people in.  Is your store really ready?  Is it well stocked with current inventory – that’s relevant to YOUR customer?  Is the checkout area neat and organized, ready to spur impulse buys?  Or is it cluttered with junk that’s been sitting around and behind the counter for months . . . or worse yet. . .years?    How old are some of your signs?  How old are some of your displays?  When was the last time you rearranged and re-merchandised your store?  For that matter, when’s the last time you had the store painted?

Bottom line: there should always be something new you want mom and dad – or someone – to see!  Because in retailing, every day is Open House.

5.  Hygiene Habits: Discovering Body Odor.

Somewhere along the line in middle school or even high school, you learned that kids talked about body odor.  You didn’t want to be the kid everyone made jokes about.  If you were a guy, you might have felt compelled to start taking more showers.  You started wearing deodorant. If you were a girl, you started worrying about your hair or your nails more.

The fact is, you didn’t want anyone to see you as the class pig.

In retail, you don’t want to be the class pig either. Yet lots of small stores are and don’t even know it, just like the guy who smelled in class but somehow never seemed to pay any attention.  Take a look at your store the way your customers look at it. What do you walk by every day that you never notice (or smell)? Then develop a regular program for cleaning windows, doors, counters and corners – and for dusting.  Every night, someone needs to take responsibility for re-straightening the store from the day’s activity.

6.  Showing Off.

School was a time of growing up –  of learning, trying new things, failing, being embarrassed  - yet trying more new things . . . over and over again. We were all searching for that one thing we were good at – the thing we were better at than anyone else, that would define us and give us our special place in the world. And when we found it, we wanted to show off!

Retailers need to do the same thing – you need to find your place in the market. Or, in business terms, you need to find your niche, whatever it is – the thing you do better, smarter or with more style than any other retailer. (You might be able to do some things more cheaply, but that’s a very hard game to play. Presumably, you’re in business to make a profit. And that means selling for more than you pay for your merchandise. Doing that, and still being cheaper than anyone, is a big player’s game. Are you really that big a player, or will you just go broke trying?)

And when you find your niche – the thing that makes you special – that give customers a reason to come in to your store: For goodness’ sake, don’t keep it a secret. SHOW OFF!

7.  Tests and Pop Quizzes.

In school, if you weren’t keeping up with the teacher in class or reading the assignments every night, you’d be in trouble when the teacher announced the inevitable pop quiz. Then there was the issue of being ready for the big test. Just how well did you know the material? Cramming worked well for some, but not for most.  Still, one way or another, if you were going to get through the grading period, you had to figure out how to do well on all the tests – big and little.

If you own a business, the business world and your customers are going to be testing you a lot, too. There will be big tests and there will be daily pop quizzes.  And you’ll need to be mentally and physically ready for all of them.  The pop quiz might come in the form of someone calling in sick, the computer going down or the electricity going off.  It might be an unhappy customer in your store, or just a sudden shortage of register tape, holding up your customers at the checkout.

The big test might come in the form of a recession – or a competitor moving in on you. The better you can prepare for all of them, by studying similar situations ahead of time and having a plan of action for when the reality hits, the better your state of mind will be in a crisis – and the better you’ll perform in business overall. In business, we actually do have report cards: they’re called monthly sales and monthly bills. And the big one is called your profit-and-loss statement.

8.  Protect What’s Yours.

You always had to be careful what you took to school.  When you were little, Mom was always worried about what wouldn’t come back home.  You’d lose a sweater.  You’d lose a key. You’d lose your lunch. Some days you were allowed to take something special to school, and there was always the threat hanging over you: what would happen if you lost it?

In middle school and high school, you had school lockers. Sometimes you had to worry about who you shared your locker with. Today, kids lose iPods and cell phones at school – along with just about anything else:  sometimes it’s lost. Sometimes it’s stolen. Somewhere along the line, you learn your schoolmates can’t always be trusted.

In small business and in retail especially, you have to worry about theft.

You will never stop it completely.  All you can do is minimize it.  But you must give it your continuous attention, just to keep it to a minimum.

Start with these questions: Who will steal from me next?  How am I making it easy to for them?  How do I make it tempting?  Where am I most vulnerable?  What must I protect, come hell or high water?

When you lose something at your store, you can’t go running back to mom or dad.

9.  Extracurricular Activities.

The kids who seemed to do better at school also generally seemed to be involved in some type of club or outside activity. That was my impression, and education research bears it out – higher-performing kids actually ARE more involved.

Likewise, business owners who get involved in local organizations also generally do better.  They build their networks as they get to know more people in the community. And they make friends, which is just plain fun – and good for their health. If they join business organizations, they learn from other people’s experiences and mistakes. If they join service organizations, their body produces more endorphins from doing the community service (Really! There’s research that shows it.) And while they’re out getting high (okay, maybe just a little happy) they’re also building reputations as selfless givers instead of the thrill-seeking takers they may really be. (Maybe we should all get in on this community-service thing . . .)

10.  Try New Things.

During our school years, we generally weren’t afraid of much – except our friends, of course.  Yes, there was peer pressure.  Maybe there was a teacher or two, or possibly a principal, who made us a little nervous, but overall, the world was ours to take.  My parents encouraged me to try new clubs and activities.  Try new sports.  Meet new people.  Make new friends.  Meet new girls. When I was younger, it was always, “don’t be afraid to taste something new”.  Over the years we were in school, we also tried new hobbies, new ways of dressing and certainly new music.

It’s the same thing with business, and especially in retailing.  Customers expect you to have new merchandise. Likewise, you should also be open to new approaches. Fresh ways of looking at problems. And new concepts for your whole business.  Try new procedures, and challenge both yourself and your people to come up with better ways of doing things. While you may not actually try them all, you should always be looking at them.  There is almost ALWAYS a better way of doing something So FIND IT!

11.  Don’t Let Your Buddies Down.

Remember how, in school, you never wanted to let your buddies down?

You never wanted to be the one to snitch.  If you promised to meet someone at the game on Friday night, you were there. If you told your buddies you’d have the car on Saturday night, you knew you had to come through.

In small business, your buddies are your employees.  So – on the one hand, take care of them.  Keep your promises. On the other, you’re the group leader.  You need to set the rules – and the example for professional behavior.  So if you expect them to follow one standard – keep consistent hours, serve customers well, cover these tasks and so on – and then you prance in at noon, leave at four and don’t get done the three tasks someone needs to do their job – don’t be surprised when your people start talking behind your back and looking for the first offer your competition will make them. But if you’ll stand by them and work as a team . . . show you respect what they know and can do, and offer a path for real advancement as your business grows, you’ll find they reward you with their loyalty and so much more.

12.  Build Credit with Those Who Can Lend You Money.

Did you ever ask your friend in school to lend you  a dollar . . . or five or ten? Didn’t you always know who you could ask for that loan – and who you couldn’t?

Did you ever ask your mom or dad to lend you some money for a car, a date or some item you just had to have?  Remember how important it was to you at the time?  If your parents or your friends were reasonably smart, they learned quickly whether you were someone who paid back their debts.

In business, you need to know where you can go when you finally need a loan. You may have no one in mind right now. But you must work to build credit in advance with the people who can lend you money when it’s needed, because I assure you: when you need it in business, it WILL be important.  Borrow money once in a while even when you don’t need it, then pay it back ahead of time. Pay your bills on time with your suppliers. If or when the day comes that you need them to cut you some slack, you will be glad you have proven yourself worthy.

13.  Stay Organized

Remember the kids in school who had their homework but couldn’t find it.  They also needed a pen or a pencil.  They always seemed to be surprised by tests.  They were the ones when asked to bring something from home who always forgot it.  They were the ones who forgot the combination to their locker.  They didn’t have their lunch money or they forgot their permission slip.  If you are still this kid, you probably shouldn’t be running a business.

In small business, time is money and becoming more effective at using your resources wisely will both help cut down on costs. The less time that you and your employees spend on wasting tasks that are caused by your lack of organization, the more time you can spend on profitable activities.  Invest your time where it is the most valuable and most needed.  Keep your records and tax files organized and up to date, or find someone that can do it for you.  Are you ordering supplies and merchandise before it’s critical?  Is everything where you can find it?  Are you living by a calendar?  What does your desk look like?

©2011 Retail Redefined and retailrichez.com. All rights reserved.