Dan McCarthy - The Balance

Dan McCarthy - The BalanceDan McCarthy - The Balance

How to Become a Top Performing Retail Employee

How to Become a Top Performing Retail EmployeeHow to Become a Top Performing Retail EmployeeMy first job out of college was in retail, and it was a humbling experience for me. As a confident new grad with my fancy bachelors degree, I didnt expect to find myself folding sweaters full-time. But I ended up gaining a lot of skills during my time in the retail world. I uncovered the abilities that I needed to succeed in my role as a front-line retail worker, which are valuable to any occupation and position. Whether youre a student going back to school and looking for a part-time or seasonal retail job, or youre already a retail employee trying to get promoted, these are the essential habits of top-performing retail employees.Keep on top of product knowledge If theres one skill you need in retail, its a thorough understanding of product knowledge. How can you sell something you know bedrngnishing about? Remembering products, their materials, qualities, store availability, alternative prod ucts and complementary products is essential. Many sales associates are assigned to a section, division or type of product. Study the products you sell. This not only makes your job easier, but it boosts confidence with customers who ask you for help. It bodes well with management, too. If you can market your products well, it says that you are knowledgeable and hold yourself accountable.Use your tech savvinessWe are no longer in the Stone Age. Today the average retail worker is equipped with many tools, from walkie-talkies to the point-of-sale system to the inventory software program. Learning these technologies makes you both an efficient employee and a well-rounded one. You present yourself as reliable for a variety of tasks, from ringing up customers to assisting the store manager with inventory management. What is the best way to get promoted? Go above and beyond to learn all the tools.Keep track of the schedule Its foolish for a student or working professional to not keep a ca lendar of deadlines and top priorities. The retail employee would be careless to ignore store events and company announcements such as the introduction of new products, inventory deliveries and layout changes. You may not be involved in all of the store changes, but you want to be aware of them. Knowing what happens around your store allows you to understand where products are or have moved to, what promotions are happening or have expired, the stock levels for various items and when to expect new inventory. Tracking store happenings makes it easier to know your priorities as well as serve your customers.Read and react to customer behavior Body language, expressions and tone of voice are all indicators of what your customers are thinking. If you can decipher these clues you can know your customers. Youll know which ones dont want to be helped or which dont mind assistance when offered. Youll be able to identify which can be upsold and which cant. Look at your customers body language and pay attention to the tone of their voice when they speak to you. Attention to body language also can prevent a situation from escalating.Keep up appearancesIm not just referring to proper attire and hygiene. Its about serving that customer who insists that you check the inventory for an out-of-season item. If theres one thing a customer cant forgive, its poor customer service. Even if you know that a color is no longer in stock, or if youre positive that store policies state no refunds without a receipt, you still want to go through the motions as if youre going to check the stock room or confirm the policy with the retail supervisor. If a customer doesnt see you take action on a request then they assume you dont care. So put your attitude away and replace it with a smile. If you can win customers over, you can win extra points on your evaluation.

3 Questions Smart People Ask Before Starting a Side Hustle

3 Questions Smart People Ask Before Starting a Side Hustle3 Questions Smart People Ask Before Starting a Side HustleEvery side hustle starts with an idea. And your first step to pulling off a successful one is to find the right ideas. They may leid be obvious at first, but if you look closely, youll find no shortage of ideas that can be converted into money available for the taking.Before we go on, take note of an important fact about hustle ideas Not all of them are created equal. In fact, theres a tremendous sortiment of potential profit among them.Still, almost every one thats worth pursuing will make you nod your head yes to the questions below1. Is Your Idea Feasible?Your goal is to start a project in a short period of time that earns money outside your day job. If any of these pieces of the equation arent immediately evident in the idea youre considering, you dont have a feasible idea.Lets break down what feasible meansAnd lets break that down even moreExcited to Start a Projec t Youre actually going to do this, not just think about it. When you think about an idea, do you feel excited? Can you envision your next steps? If not, abandon the idea. Potential to Earn Money Remember A side hustle isnt a hobby- it produces income. If you dont see a clear way to get paid, abandon the idea. In a Short Period of Time If your idea requires three years to get going, abandon the idea.A feasible idea is one that you can turn into reality using the skills, time, and resources you already have. Even if you dont know every step of the way, you must be able to see a pathway from idea to launch. 2. Is Your Idea Profitable?Youre not looking for an idea that merely sounds interesting, youre looking for a profitable one. To make sure you understand the difference, consider two examples of entirely different ideas. Heres the first, from a personal chef with a love for high-quality dessertsI want to start an ice-cream-of-the-month club that delivers artisanal flavors to offices. The service is marketed to HR managers and small business CEOs as a way to increase morale and bring employees together for regular social experiences.In this example, theres a clear target market. Sure, the logistics of storing and delivering all that ice cream could get a little complicated, but it might be worth exploring if you knew how to source the ingredients and who your initial clients would be. This idea is at least potentially profitable.Now, consider another idea from a college graduate beginning the slow climb at a consulting firmId like to create an app that introduces a new form of payment for people who dont like credit cards or cash.Is that idea interesting? Sure, maybe. But how would you even begin to build and market it? It would be an enormous, expensive undertaking, even if you had a hintergrund in both information technology and finance. And even if you could easily build it, how would you go about making it stand out from all the other payment apps on the mar ket? At best, its a grandiose vision that would require a great deal of dedication and struggle. Thats not what a side hustle is about.Heres another quick test If you have a hard time explaining the primary benefit of your concept in more than a sentence or two, you may need to rethink the idea. If the primary benefit is unclear to potential customers, you wont convert many of them into paying customers.3. Is Your Idea Persuasive?Theres one more factor to consider as you brainstorm- and eventually select- your idea. Its not enough to have a good idea, even one thats potentially very profitable. Your idea has to arrive at the right time, and be so persuasive that its hard for customers to say no to.I recently went to an event where the parking cost $25. Normally, it costs $5 to park in this lot, but for the special event the price had increased 500% overnight. Was I happy about paying $25 for something that usually costs $5? Nope. Did I pay it? Yep. Supply and demand ensured that the parking lot owner was providing a service that was very persuasive on that day.Sometimes, youll have ideas that just arent ready yet. Thats okay you can hold on to them for later. Better to focus your current efforts on ideas thatre persuasive now. To be successful, you want the right idea at the right time.Lets sum this all up into a short checklistCan you describe how to turn your idea into action in one sentence?Is there an obvious way to make money with this idea?Does this idea solve a schwierigkeit for someone?Can you figure out how to make this idea happen quickly?Is it relatively low maintenance?Can you get paid more than once for this idea?The more yes answers you have to these questions, the more potential your idea has. And the more potential it has, the faster you should get to work. This excerpt was adapted from Side Hustle From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau, which came out September 2017. It has been republished here with permission.