An Open Letter (on Apparel) to Specialty Running Store Owners… Dear Owners of American Run Shops, Many of you have asked me how to sell more apparel. Rather than get back to each of you individually, I’m blasting off this form letter with my thoughts on an ever-present topic of frustration in specialty run. Forgive my generalizations and take my comments with a grain of … Continue reading Reframe Your Apparel Category
Stop looking for the credit—we’re supposed to take care of each other. -Prince Sometimes I get so caught up in my day-to-day that I miss the small things most responsible for my happiness. Right now is one of those times. Early summer is a busy time in retail. And in my world as a consultant/trainer, it marks the beginning of my “season” — the span … Continue reading 5 Minutes of Gratitude
If retail’s your thing, like engineering’s an engineer’s thing or fixing cars is a mechanic’s thing, then most days your nine-to-five is pretty easy. There may be aspects of your job that make people see what you do as tricky or adventurous, but to you, for the most part, it’s a cake walk. Various reasons make you the right person for the job. To try … Continue reading YOU Are the Action Plan
You want to sell more apparel, don’t you? But selling apparel is not about selling apparel. Let me explain… Odds are you have a certain category in your shop that brings home the bacon. Your marketing alludes to it, you mention it during interviews, it’s the grand focus of new hire training, and it ultimately is what everyone’s most excited about. It’s good to have … Continue reading Wanna Sell Apparel? Do This…
14 Ways to Sell More Today (Let Feeling Be Your Guide) You probably think products or services are what you sell. Bikes, shoes, software, tents, beer, americanos, refurbished axes, therapy sessions, or whatever. Sure, all day long you trade these things for pieces of green paper, but these goods are not the most important thing in your inventory. Your fastest turner is not what carries the weight … Continue reading 14 Ways to Sell More Today
The traditional model of brick and mortar is taking a beating from well-executed e-commerce. This comes as no surprise. You saw it coming. Probably even lost sleep about its eventual arrival. Well, here it is. So stop complaining and get used to it. The internet is (at least partially) responsible for a decrease in sales and for the lack of customers through the door. Still, … Continue reading Things and Feelings: Retail Innovation
AUDIO OF THIS BLOG POST: What do you want to do every day until you die? Do you want to write books? Teach kindergarten? Hike the Mongolian steppe? Do you want to lead bike tours? Collect Care Bears? Make short films in México City? Photograph steaming cups of espresso in the American midwest? Seriously, what’s your thing? That one thing that, if you did it, would … Continue reading Your Thing
AUDIO OF THIS BLOG POST Not too long ago my girlfriend and I went to a local pizza joint in Carrboro called Pizzeria Mercato. It’s been in town for about a year now, and on any weekend night there’s a line out the door. We’ve been there maybe a half-dozen times, and each visit has been a better-than-average experience. And I’m not just talking about … Continue reading Gorgeous and Beautiful
AUDIO OF THIS BLOG POST I’m not a big fan of business books. I read them on occasion, but generally find them to be a couple hundred pages of stories and anecdotes used to reinforce a few main ideas, at most. I’ve currently got my nose in a couple, and they’re doozies (Reinventing You and Little Bets). But frankly, I’m zipping through them so I can … Continue reading Minor Inspirations
Tom Griffen 