“To really excite and delight customers there has to be
something unique and special about what you deliver,” writes John Hoerner at
the end of How To Sell: Recipes For Retail, his brilliant book on everything he
has learned in a stellar 50 year retail career. Put this book on your Christmas
list.
Hired from the US in 1987 to run Debenhams Hoerner was so
successful he ended up running the Arcadia group until he retired in 2000. A
year later Tesco recruited him to develop its clothing business. This book is
organised as a series of recipes for success. He argues that his lessons will
work for any retail business and I think he is correct.
While convenience stores are not in the business of
markdowns or as exposed to not buying the latest fashion must-haves, they still
have to get the basics right and then find the magic ingredient that makes
their shop special.
“When you get it right for customers, almost EVERYTHING ELSE
works…when you don’t get it right for customers, almost NOTHING else works!” is
his first sentence in huge print taking up the first page.
There are around 1.4 billion people in this world who
survive on £1 a day, he explains. “What this means is that in the normal
context of retailing as we know it customers don’t really NEED anything that
they buy from you.
“They only buy what they think they need or want. This
means emotion and personality enter into the transaction – both theirs and
yours.
“The second thing to remember is that not only do they not
NEED anything they are buying from you, even if the WANT is strong, there are
lots of other places they can get it.”
The book then speeds off with lots of ideas and supporting
evidence on subjects like customer loyalty (which does not exist), how to
“squeeze” your range, that you must make sure you never sell bad quality goods,
and 10 basic principles of how to make customers want to buy from you.
Investing in people is vital, he says. Too many companies
get their sums wrong. Most big retailers underestimate what a big factor store
staff can be in their success. In making this point he also recommends that you
measure selling cost by calculating sales per hour worked by day and time.
“This will result in the lowest cost!”
Most of the benefit of refitting a store comes from remixing
the business – not from the cosmetic appearance, he advises. Plan for this.
While some of the book is filled with dense tables that you
can copy and think about, the real excitement comes in short bursts like this:
“Be the first, be the best or be the cheapest is an old
retailing adage. I say: Be second, be really good and be the best value.”
And like this: “Poor buyers don’t plan. Average buyers plan
carefully what they are going to buy. Good buyers plan carefully what they’re
going to sell, when and at what price, and then buy what is necessary to
support their sales plan. Great buyers add in sales promotional plans, visual
presentation and sales associate training, and negotiate to ensure the
profitability.
“Genius buyers do all the above except they start with what
they want to achieve in the store and work backwards. Which are you?”
Read and absorb How To Sell: Recipes For Retail before your
competition does. There are even some free recipes in the appendix so you can
cook up a storm to celebrate your success. Tried and tested!
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