I’m taking the liberty to call all of you friends as some of you have taken the liberty to give me a new name when I checked out at your store. But before I tell you about that let’s begin at the beginning of my visit and work to the end.

As I shop this spring it is obvious that one of the biggest opportunities you have is to sell more stuff to the customers in your store right now. So what’s getting in the way of that?

Just the same as in previous years, I walk through stores from front to back and then back to the front and repeat the process. I am NEVER (okay, rarely) spoken to even though there are plenty of employees that I walk by as they are busy adding more stuff apparently for someone else who arrives after I leave to buy.

Instead of selling more of what you already have to customers already in your store, everyone is focused on adding more stuff that won’t be bought by the customers who are already there.

In my estimation, the lost opportunity from this lack of proper focus is in the 15-25% range. Can you really afford to miss that much? Are you confident that enough customers will keep on coming in to make up for what you’re missing now?

When you’re really busy you can’t have enough people to help every customer. I get that. Still, there is opportunity, but you’ll have to stop making it harder for the customers already in your store to shop. As I fight to get my cart through your stores I have to think that it might be better if you saved some room for me to get through to see more of less stuff. Think about it.

When I do manage to buy something and go to the checkout I am essentially ignored there too. The most recognition I get is to have my apparently new name printed on the receipt – “Cash Customer”. Since this is my last impression of your store, it is the most recent impression. If it is underwhelming I am highly unlikely to return soon, much less to excitedly tell friends why they should come to you.

So, what are you going to do about it?

Why is this salmon more expensive than others?

Salmon became one of my favorite foods over 20 years ago on my first business trip to the Pacific Northwest. The high benchmark was set back then with the Alder Smoked Salmon at the original McCormick & Schmick’s  restaurant in Portland Oregon. A pursuit of the perfect salmon occasionally comes close but has never matched the perfection of that meal, even on return trips to McCormick & Schmick’s.

Once I discovered the secret to better tasting salmon the pursuit became more intense. Dayton, Ohio’s Dorothy Lane Market provided the education, and inspiration to invest in a better fish. Lots of grocers sell pricy salmon but never before was there an explanation of why the price was higher when the flavor was often not exceptional. I came to the conclusion that the prices were higher because the store was expensive. Then the email newsletter from my friends at DLM gave me a real reason to pay more for their Honestly Better® Wild Alaska Copper River King Salmon. You may also want to know why (some) salmon costs more than others. Here’s a short story from my most reacent Fresh News from DLM.

Honestly Better® Wild Alaska Copper River King Salmon has Arrived at DLM!

This run of the Chinook Salmon (the King Salmon) is one of the most sought-after fish for those who appreciate the best of the best. The reason for its prized flavor is its high omega-3 oil content. The fish must build up such a large fat content in order to give them the energy to travel the long spawning journey up the Copper River. Fighting tidal currents through the sandbars of the delta, raging rivers from the mountain snow melt, and a never-ending line of bears dining at the salmon buffet, these fish deserve a break! So, plan on inviting one over for dinner. With the rich flavor this fish has, we recommend a little Vera Jane’s Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, kosher or sea salt, and fresh dill as the only seasoning needed to grill or broil. This is one of the most regulated fisheries in the world, so the supply and price are market driven (In other words

Moral of the Story

If we try to sell better stuff it should actually be better. We should invest the time to tell the story explaining specifically why it is better and how it got to be that way. The tasty salmon’s pursuit of the spawning grounds up the Copper River make it the best of the best salmon – well worth the $$$$. Are your products and services better? How? Why is that important?

Bill Calkins

Virtually Prepared for Spring

Guest Article from Flourish, by Bill Calkins – Business Manager, Independent Garden Centers for Ball Horticultural Company

77% of the U.S. uses the Internet.
http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm

68% of U.S. households garden.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/25/us-fitness-gardening-idUSTRE73O30620110425

There’s bound to be A LOT of crossover!

It’s time to pay close attention to this new customer and the gardening tools they use. Besides shovels, wheelbarrows, hoses and trowels, they use an array of devices and digital resources to get the job done. Right now, there are 195 iPhone apps and 52 iPad apps related to gardening and the list grows all the time.

It’s time to pay close attention to this new customer and the gardening tools they use. Besides  wheelbarrows, shovels, hoses and trowels, they use an array of devices and digital resources to get the job done.

As for finding a garden center, a quick search for the term garden center and a Zip code quickly get plenty of results.

It’s really as simple as that. This new consumer finds most products and services that way. Scanning reviews and checking out the store’s Facebook page are generally part of the process, as well. It’s going to be interesting to watch these gardeners over the next few years as their shopping styles and preferences shape the industry!

Click HERE to subscribe FREE to Bill Calkin’s Flourish

Click Image for Larger Readable Version

“No one else sells this anymore.”

“People come in our store looking for stuff like this.”

“You can’t buy stuff like this anywhere else.”

“I might need that someday.”

These are all famous last words of hoarders. I know YOU are not one, in the extreme sense of those portrayed on the A&E hit television show. But are you a hoarder of a different kind?

There’s never been a better time to get rid of stuff you thought you’d need someday. Chances are high that while you might need your junk some day you could probably use the cash tied up in it to do things you could and should do now. If you’re just saving stuff until you get around to it, I have a gift for you. It’s the Round Tuit pictured above. Click on it, print it out, and put it up there on the wall. Now you have your Round Tuit and there is no need to wait any longer to get rid of the stuff you’ve been waiting to get around to.

Just Don’t Want To? Consider This: Cash is King

This is about turning the stuff you’ve been saving for “someday” into cash – cash that you can invest in making money to do what you really want to do. What do you really want to do?  Are you unsure of what you’re trying to accomplish? Lack of a motive for doing something is the root cause of keeping stuff around. The stuff provides a comfort zone from which we do not care to escape, until we discover something else we really want to do. Something we’re motivated to do. It’s not about initiative. It’s not about taking responsibility. It’s about being motivated to do something. Find your motivation. Until then, turn that crap to cash so you will have the money to invest to get started doing what you really want to do.

May I suggest? If you don’t know what you want to do, invest to grow what you have.

If you don’t have other plans for the cash you get from your crap consider investing it  in more marketing of your business in the ways you KNOW work, or that are track-able and accountable. Don’t take risks, do more of what you know works already. Or do something that has a feedback loop that lets you know if it is working or not.

We all have crap. What is Crap?

Crap is anything you don’t need for a current project.

Crap can be leftover stuff from a previous project.

Crap can be the entire previous project itself.

Crap can be starter stuff for a future project that you still have not started, and realistically speaking, probably won’t start anytime soon.

Crap is stuff that is getting in the way of doing other things that need to be or should be done. It is in the way physically, financially, or mentally as a crutch keeping you from moving forward in a meaningful pursuit. If you can just turn that crap to cash you’ll eliminate one of the common reasons for not doing what you really want to do – “I don’t have the money to get started.”

A Crap To Cash Strategy

As usual, the first step is the hardest.

Deciding that you are better off with the money than with the stuff is the critical first of only two steps of the wise liquidator.

Step One – Decide.

Step Two – Liquidate

Yes, it can be that easy. Just turn the crap over to someone else, get out of their way, and stay out of their way. Go do something you enjoy doing that will absorb your mind and distract you from what’s going on. Delegate for once. You can do it.

Okay so you’re going to be stubborn and get rid of your own crap. Here are some outlets to think about. None of them are new, but you could probably use a refresher.

1. Have a sale. If you have your own customers and place of doing business (including the Internet) then just have a sale. Have your sale when you have the most customers traffic so the odds are with you. Price it like you want it to go away and it will. If you’re stingy about it you aren’t really serious about this are you?
2. Try non-traditional advertising. Craigs List is a wonderful way to get rid of stuff and advertising there is completely FREE except for the time it takes for you to list your items and to handle the sale. Admittedly that can be more time than you should put into it and if so, you should consider another way.  Take a look at the other ads there and you’ll figure out the best techniques for listing. eBay is another great outlet, especially if your item can be shipped long distances. Resist the urge to buy someone else’s crap unless it will help you do what you really want to do. I have personally sold a car and a tractor, and bought a mini-van using Craig’s list. You don’t actually sell or buy “on” Craig’s list. You just use it to be found or locate items. Believe it or not, the mini-van was parked two blocks from my house on the same street. I would not have known it was for sale if it hadn’t been listed on Craig’s List.
3. Donate. The joy of watching someone else benefit from something you’ve been just watching can be very uplifting and motivating.

What crap will you turn to cash?

Need help? Just ask your significant other, or your kids. I’m sure you know what they’ll say though.

Leave a Reply or Comment

Tell the world what crap you have committed to turning to cash. Tell us what you will do with the cash.

Get a Bigger Slice

So many businesses are trying so hard to be all things to all people these days. Do we just need to decide who we’re trying to serve? What would happen if we could confidently, and happily focus on one market segment? Could we be happy there if we did? Would our customers be happy if we did?This is not a small business problem. Large businesses do the same thing. The pull of Wall Street on growth and profit causes them to take their eye off their ball leading them to make decisions they shouldn’t have made. Take Walmart for example. Several years ago when our economy was booming they got greedy and went after the affluent customer they thought they wanted. Turns out they already had them and all they had to do was be satisfied if they came to buy their toilet paper, paper towels, milk, and eggs. and whatever they happened to graze upon along the way. But no, they had to go change the whole store around and lose the favor of their core customer – the masses that earn less than $70k household income per year. It seemed like such a good idea, and to some degree it was. Did they just take it too far? Time will tell as they backtrack stuffing their stores with lots more cheap stuff, a dizzying store environment and focus on everyday low prices just like their core customer found in the rapidly expanding dollar store format.

Brandchannel says this:

In short, Walmart realized that its core customers – those Americans with household incomes between $30,000 and $70,000 a year – liked the feel of stores so full of attractively priced merchandise that it could barely be contained on the shelves. A couple of years ago, under Project Impact, Walmart had stripped selection and focused on a clean-store look in an effort to attract upscale shoppers. But that group proved a fickle lot.

So where did the fickle lot of higher income folks go? Did their spending play out with the economy as they made do with fewer luxuries? Are they attracted back where they shopped previously as they escape frugal fatigue? Are upscale businesses ready for them to come back, or are they out chasing after a slice of great big Walmart pie with low prices?

Everyone wants a bigger slice of a bigger pie. A bigger slice of a smaller pie is often all we can handle.