Jeweller - November 2020

MARKETING & PR
BEST OF BUSINESS
Selling
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People are at the foundation of every great
business. In order for a team to achieve
the business vision, that team must be
surrounded with truly great people from top
to bottom.
Leadership teams know this but some aren’t
aligned on how to achieve it. Things get
muddy when it comes to deciding on the
correct actions and right time to successfully
execute those actions.
In a survey of business owners, 82 per cent
cited ‘people issues’ as their number one
frustration. That’s because teams don’t take
the time to define what it means to be a
great person within their team. If they have a
general idea of what a great person looks like
then the next challenge is to be consistent in
applying that definition to every role in the
company.
Business owners and managers who don’t
do this could find they have 22 different
people December issues at any is a given critical moment, month which for retailers – and even more so this year. With four weeks to go, now is the perfect time
is an extremely overwhelming feeling. To
to assess your store’s readiness – particularly if you have been closed or limited trading, writes DAVID BROWN.
overcome this, leaders must understand that
there are only two people issues, not 22.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six
RIGHT PERSON, WRONG SEAT
hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend
The term ‘right person’ means an employee
the first four sharpening the axe.”
who fits into the culture and who truly cares
about By the what same the token, business a successful cares about. On
the December other hand, trading ‘wrong period seat’ can means depend that an
employee
as much on
doesn’t
the actions
match
you take before
the
December
role for which
1 as the
he
results
or she was
you
selected.
achieve
during December.
Maybe it was a good fit at one time but
This not only applies to the product
something has changed. Perhaps the role
you buy in but the other actions you
has grown or adapted in some way where it
take to prepare for your busiest month
now requires different skills and abilities than
of the year.
it did before. Now that an employee may
not Indeed, be able there to understand are multiple what different the business
needs, elements he or of she your may business no longer that want need the to
position be evaluated or perhaps and optimised lacks the skills in order to do what
is to required. make the imost of the holiday
shopping season.
None of this is news, of course. Yet
many retailers still seem to arrive at
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Your December trading starts now
December almost by accident.
The pressing demands of running a
business – particularly in an unusual
and challenging year, full of unexpected
hurdles and changing regulations – can
result in many decisions being made
only at the point of no return.
That is, when things ‘must’ be done,
rather than ahead of time when they
can be dealt with most effectively.
Often, the strategy can be implemented
too late to gain the full benefit that
earlier decision-making and planning
would have provided.
Hopefully you’ve put much of your
planning into place – but if not, here’s
a checklist of things that you should
deal with now before time starts to work
against you.
Abraham
Lincoln once
said, ‘Give me
six hours to
chop down a
tree and I’ll
spend the first
four sharpening
the axe’
Product
• Inventory levels – How much product
will you need to operate effectively over
this period?
• Deadlines – What is the cut-off date for
reorders and special customer orders?
• Spares – What extras will you need of
fast selling product so you don’t run out?
• Merchandising – How will the store
look over the holiday season? What
product will be placed where? When
will you change it?
• Pricing – Do you need to reprice any
product to reflect current replacement cost
given the increase in gold and silver prices?
People DAVID BROWN is
co-founder and business
• Roster – Have mentor you with determined Retail Edge who will
be working when? Consultants. Do you Learn have More:
retailedgeconsultants.com
56 56 Jeweller | November September 2020 2018