Sales deal management for Retail Trade

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are you thinking of opening a retail store congratulations welcome aboard there's never been a better time to open a retail store the future of retail is so bright but let me tell you no one dreams of starting or running a struggling store do they so stay tuned while i give you the tips and tools and strategies you need to have retail success from the very beginning right now [Music] hi there i'm kathy donovan wagner founder of retail mavens and mother of america's most fun family my mission is to help independent retailers like you get more profit and better sleep if you haven't already make sure you hit subscribe below and click the bell so that you'll get all the notifications when i share more retail tips and strategies with you ones that you can take action on to have an impact in your business right away i'm so passionate about the retail industry that i've dedicated years to helping brand new retailers set up successful retail stores right from the very start as well as helping struggling retailers to turn their business around i have a track record of showing startup retailers how to have positive cash flow their first year don't believe that lie that you can't make money your first year because you should expect to and i can show you how to do it 99 of the stories that we've helped open have had a positive cash flow the first year including paying the owner from the get-go and paying down their startup loans but there is no doubt that retail can be a big challenge i learned that firsthand with my own three stores i was almost bankrupt twice and so i've learned a lot about what it takes to be successful and it's especially hard if you don't have the specific skills that you need to succeed so let's dig into what you need to know to have a successful retail business in today's climate the first most important thing is that you've got to start out with your why why are you opening this door what is it you really want is it that you want freedom is it that you want money another good reason you deserve to be paid well for what you do do you want to impact change do you want to take what you're passionate about and share it with other people and impact their lives and create this ripple effect be very clear and what it is that you want to achieve most the next thing is you've got to know your numbers you have to know your numbers you don't want to just break even we don't teach people to break even because that's crazy so often what people don't do is include paying themselves in that and you deserve to be paid for what you do for all the time and energy and effort you're going to put into this you want to make a profit and you deserve to do so from the very beginning we help retailers do that all day long you can do it but you've got to pay attention to your numbers what happens to so many people is that they start their store because of the passion that they have but then they find out that their passion doesn't pay the bills so you've got to make sure that you're paying attention to your numbers you have to know who you are and who your ideal customer is don't make the mistake that i did i had a kids store and so i just assumed that everybody knew a kid or had a kid therefore everybody was my customer that's so not true and you'll waste so much time and energy and money i have a great video right here that you can check out that'll walk you through this process it's so critical once you've gone through this process and determined who you are and who your ideal customer is it makes so many decisions so much easier because it helps clarify the who the when the why and the how of your marketing it helps determine the way your store will look the way it'll feel the way you'll merchandise it determines the products that you'll carry it determines the way your website will look no matter what kind of retail business you have it makes everything so much easier when you're super clear about this speaking of which you also have to be willing to sell online if you're planning on just being a local brick and mortar store you still have to have a website one that looks like you one that feels like you one that is appealing to your ideal customer your online store is really its own business and a big mistake people make they kind of don't pay enough attention to it they just put it up there and then just leave it alone but you can't do that it's marketing people now shop online they'll go online and look at your website to determine if you're the kind of store that they want to shop in so it's important to make sure that you run it like it is a separate business you've got to set aside dedicated time every single week to re-merchandise it just like you do your brick and mortar store you have to update the hero image you have to change the navigation to reflect what's going on in the store all of that is so important to make sure that you're putting your best foot forward and attracting your ideal customer if you're opening a physical location you know for sure that location is key when you're in a high traffic area you can spend less on marketing and vice versa if you're in a low traffic area you'll have to spend more on advertising and marketing and this comes back to knowing your numbers you'll also need a lawyer to help with the lease don't try and do it on your own i've seen so many people make a mistake one other thing that people say about retail is that there's so many hats to wear there's so much to do at any one time another thing that i wish i had learned to do and committed to taking action on earlier is planning i can see you nodding your head oh yeah yeah i know about that why do i know that you're doing that because i did the same thing i'd be sitting there taking notes and someone would mention that i'd be oh yeah for sure yep planning yep got that down but did i actually create time in my calendar for it no i didn't and you've got to do that planning creates time and it's hard to stop and do it because there's a million things to do on your list right but when you stop and organize things and prioritize it and really are intentional about how you're going to take action it makes your action that much more powerful i used to just operate from the standpoint of action move forward move forward at all costs i spun my wheels so many times you can grow faster by intentionally planning your time and creating intentional action moving forward you've got to set up a planning routine that helps you stay focused on what we call high impact and high income reducing activities hip-hop this is a key strategy to attaining the success that you were looking for make sure to commit to building a retail team i've got a video right here on how to do that so often people will want to do it all themselves they want to save money on payroll plus they know how to do it best right and it's going to take time and energy and money to teach someone else how to do it i get all that but it's just not sustainable to do it all on your own in order to achieve the success you want you need help along the way you'll have failures you'll make mistakes you'll do an event that won't work out at all and you've got to be willing to learn from your mistakes remember that truly there is no such thing as failure what does fail stand for first attempt in learning and whenever you're starting something new you're going to fail a lot think of a toddler starting to walk they fall down all the time but they bounce right back up and that is what you've got to think of you've got to put aside your ego you've got to put aside you have to let all that go i've done events that no one has shown up for and you're like oh my gosh it's so hard not to take it personally i threw a party and no one came nobody likes me you guys let it go let it go it's okay to feel bad for a little bit but boy you want to turn that around and start your next thing because you're in this for the long haul right you're in this to truly have freedom or make money or impact people and so commit to keep moving forward and learning from your mistakes and being coachable the question i always get is about inventory how much to start out with and as you can imagine there are so many variables that impact this the amount of rent that you have how you're financing the store the size of your space it's a brick and mortar your financial goals the kind of merchandise you want to carry that matters too and i'm here to tell you that you don't have to do it alone you can use a guide like myself who's been there and made hundreds of thousands of dollars of mistakes so you don't have to don't hesitate to reach out for help as i shared in the beginning 99 of the stores i've helped open over the last couple decades have had positive success their first year and so many of them came to me saying yeah listen i don't expect to make any money my first year some of them said my first three years i've heard you can't make money your first three years don't accept that that is not true you can make it happen but right it's faster if you get help it's what changed everything for me i was nearly bankrupt and i resourced up i hired a coach i was able to save my stores from bankruptcy open more stores and now to do this now to have retail mavens i'll put a link below you can reach out to us i'd be happy to jump on a call with you which leads me to another thing is that the biggest mistake that people make is that they plan on starting small they're like well i just found a little space it's so cute it's so adorable i'm just gonna dip my foot into retail that is a huge mistake and often i've talked people out of it because they've realized it's not the right thing for them that's fine right i mean that's that's the beauty of talking to an expert about it you see the thing is you can't make enough money to be sustainable if your store is too small i mean physically too small or if you don't have enough inventory and that applies to online or brick and mortar in order to reach your financial goals so reach out because this is a mistake we can keep you from making another great place to start is our retail success quiz it'll help you find your strengths and see the biggest potential for growth that you have i'll put the link below and you'll have an opportunity to book on one-on-one call after that too if you'd like this is exciting and it's a big decision i get it you're going to be investing a lot of time and energy and money into this dream do you have any other questions about starting your retail store if so leave them in the comments below i'd love to help you and if you're inspired to learn more next i'll put a couple videos on my screen that are great next steps for you to take a look at and don't forget to subscribe with the bell so that you can get all the upcoming tips and tools and strategies to help you improve your profits and get better sleep and become a richer retailer that's what our goal is for all of you thank you so very much [Music] you