Q. Daniel writes, 

I am a regional sales manager for a large retail chain.  A high rate of product returns in my region have been a concern for years.  In some of my stores, returns routinely exceed 20% of total sales. What can I do to reduce the number of returns in our stores?

A. Dear Daniel,

High rates of product returns signal a problem in customer service and/or your staff’s product knowledge in my experience.  Your staff are either not properly qualifying the customer where the selection of their items are concerned or they are not sufficiently assisting the customer, leaving the customer to make uninformed product selections.  In either case, it seems your staff would benefit from additional training opportunities both where customer service and product qualification are concerned.

Please read more about solving such issues by implementing a version of our The Personal Shopping Day Program.

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Q. Dominic writes, 

As a sales manager for a busy retail store, I find it very challenging to perform my duties properly when I spend most of my time on the sales floor solving customer issues and putting out fires. How can I get my paperwork and human resources work done while ensuring I’m present on the floor when needed?

A. Dear Dominic,

I would suggest you focus a little more on coaching and empowering your employees to deal with common customer service issues such as returns, exchanges et cetera on their own. Your coaching should also include leading by example. Meaning, when you are solving any customers’ issues insure the associates involved in the issue are present to learn your way of doing business. Doing so will not only free up a great deal of your time, it will also

likely increase sales because of the dynamic combination of empowerment and skills’ development. Employees who are given these sorts of opportunities to rise to the occasion and challenge themselves typically have increased confidence on the sales floor which will show itself in your bottom line all while freeing up much of your time.

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Q. Michael writes,

I have 5 salespeople in my department and I have tried everything I can think of to elevate their performance (i.e. raise their daily targets, provide incentives, take away privileges), but I have been unsuccessful. What should I do?

A. Dear Michael,

Pushing your people beyond their natural limits will not increase their performance, but rather often leads to what you are experiencing now. Continuing to do so will result in what the business community calls a multiple variation. This is just a fancy term for the idea that your staff will be more concerned about keeping their jobs, which is to satisfy you as their supervisor rather than focusing on their customers’ satisfaction. Sales, especially in these challenging financial times, is strongly linked to customer loyalty.  Loyalty is built through repeated good shopping experiences, and thus having pushy and nervous salespeople eager only not to be fired will not achieve your long-term goals.

There are two possible reasons for your salespeople’s lack of performance. These two possible reasons are either: a) your expectations are unreasonably high or b) you have hired the wrong people. In order to find out which of these two reasons is applicable to your situation, you need to set a sales target. If 70% of your employees are able to achieve it, it means that your expectations are reasonable. In this case, those who did not reach the target are where your problems lie and they need to be put on an Exit Strategy and/or trained. Some say success is contagious so if you pair them up with those who achieved the target, it may boost their performance.

If less than 70% of your employees were able to achieve your sales target, I would suggest it is probably too high and needs to be lowered to make it attainable.

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Q. Sarah writes: 

I’m a store manager for a well-known retailer and my main concern over the past few months has been a steep decline in sales. I cannot remember the last time my team achieved their targets. Any advice?  

A. Dear Sarah, 

I would suggest that you look into your store’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, or the SWOT analysis.  Your SWOT analysis may look something like this: 

*   Your business’ strengths are most likely things like your location, your trusted brand name and/or your well-trained employees.
*   Potential weaknesses could be, operationally speaking, a non customer-centric return or service-after-sales policy or a lack of accountability throughout the service chain.
*   Where opportunities for your business are concerned, it is important to remember that no matter how well trained our employees are, there is always room for improvement.  Providing development opportunities for your staff might include inspiring their passion for customer service, increasing their product knowledge, and/or encouraging teamwork.
*   Threats for well-known retailers are almost always other well-known retailers.  Understanding how, what and why your competition is doing what they are doing is key to facing this threat head-on.  Do we know how our rivals are doing?  Do our benchmarks consider their operations as opposed to or as well as their targets?  What else could we do to entice our competition’s customers to shop with us instead?  These are some questions you could be asking yourself. 

For a practical example of the SWOT analysis, please see our Consultancy Report section.

Last but not least, I always encourage managers to lead by example.  Managers, especially nowadays, need to be seen on the sales floor more often for two crucial reasons: a) to solve customers’ issues as immediately as possible to avoid escalation and time wasting, and b) to see your people in action and to provide them with frequent learning opportunities and personalized coaching. 

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Q. Mike writes, 

I run a store where employees are compensated primarily by commission on sales, and because of the stiff competition, the atmosphere at our store is tense, unfriendly and frankly, is off-putting to customers.  This human resources issue is now taking a noticeable toll on our overall sales. Can you give me some ideas that would help us to build teamwork and to restore our bottom line and service levels?  

A. Dear Mike, 

The purpose of providing a commission-based salary is to motivate staff to better serve the customer.  That said many employees focus too much on how this structure benefits them, forgetting that the happier the customer is the better they do! To help staff understand this concept better, I always suggest that managers spend some time educating employees on the purpose of the commission they earn ensuring they touch on the fact that when it is done right, all involved (company, customer and employees) are intended to benefit. Such training is best delivered through the provision of practical and tangible examples. Further, there needs to be a system in place that encourages and rewards teamwork and cooperation.  Perhaps consider doing some team building exercises together outside of work time.  When chosen well, these exercises can be immensely helpful. Please see our While You Were Away Program for more practical ideas in terms of teamwork.

Accountability is also crucial in tense work environments. Those who refuse to embrace the change need to be placed on an Exit Strategy that begins with extra training and clear expectations for future conduct. Lastly, please read more about The Fun Factor in implementing your policies and encouraging teamwork, it is a great tool to foster a better working environment and a stronger bottom line.