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Managing Retail Sales

How do retail managers learn to be effective? Unlike managers in some other industries, comparatively few retail managers have degrees in management. Nevertheless, they face a variety of challenges in a fast-paced, competitive environment.

Key Challenges for Retail Managers
A retail manager’s goal is to maximize productivity. This is tough. Store staffs likely include inexperienced, part-time or seasonal employees. Retail hours are long. Sales targets may seem unreachable. Yet, in this setting, good retail managers thrive. They are skilled in four primary areas.

• Managing time.

• Recruiting and supervising staff.

• Building skilled and motivated sales and service teams.

• Managing change.

No manager can be effective in just one of these areas. They are interrelated and interdependent.

Time: A Fixed Resource
Tight budgets. Lean staff. Information overload. It’s never been harder for retail managers. Those who manage time well can do these things:

• Know when to solve a problem immediately, when to put something off and when to delegate.

• Eliminate time wasters.

• Handle interruptions.

• Say “no” to unreasonable demands.

How to Lead, Not Just Manage, Staff
Effective retail managers encourage and facilitate self-management among their personnel. They do this by:

• Communicating and evaluating performance standards by focusing on specific behaviors and outcomes.

• Using appropriate reinforcement techniques.

• Gaining commitment to performance goals.

• Maintaining an atmosphere that values sharing information in downward, upward and peer-to-peer directions.

• Coaching for results.

• Setting realistic goals and follow-up dates.

Teamwork Lightens the Load…

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