POSSESSED AND OBSESSED: How To Escape the Retail Trap

– Don Capman, President, J.D. Associates

Don’t you find it refreshing when you think about something other than retail? Most of us live, eat and drink retail all the time. Yes, we love it, but, at times we can become obsessed with it. When we are obsessed with something, we can get so preoccupied that we end up shutting everything else out. Our thinking can get cloudy; we forget our priorities; relationships can suffer; and we begin to lose energy. Ever hear the statement that “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? Well, not only can Jack be dull, but he can be less and less effective the more he buries himself in his business and shuts out the rest of his world. I know, you don’t have time to add anything else to your hectic schedule. But think of it this way, if you are becoming less and less effective, you must make time for something different. Volunteer work can be a great diversion.

We’re All in Sales: Four Keys for Sales Success

– Doug Fleener

The other day a reader unsubscribed to my newsletter because, as she put it, “We don’t sell in our store so quite a bit of what you write about doesn’t pertain to us.” She doesn’t sell? Well, if she doesn’t she’s not going to be in business much longer. The only way a customer can buy products from a retailer is if the store is selling those products. The fact is that we’re all in sales.

The Power of Trending

– Steve Pruitt

Trends come and go and sometimes it’s hard to get a handle on how they apply to your business. You may feel disconnected from general market changes as you concentrate on day-to-day operations.

What you may not realize is that trends are at the very heart of your business. The trend cycles you see in your company are directly related to trends in your industry and in the overall market.

You can take advantage of these trends if you know how to interpret them. When you spot a major market trend, you need to determine how that trend will play out in the segment of the market that you live in. Then you look at your own business to see if and how you can benefit from the trend.

Let’s look at an example in the apparel sector.
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