Four tips for turning around a bad day
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from Retail Contrarian, the blog of the Dynamic Experiences Group.
The bad day. It inevitably happens every now and again in every store. You know, the kind of day that seems destined to fall far short of goal. I hope you don't have too many of these days, but when you do, here's how you, as a leader, can turn them around.
Change the narrative. A day only becomes a bad day when the staff labels it as such. The minute you do that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. All of a sudden "nobody is buying," or "customers are cranky today." Don't let a slow day turn into a bad day. It's just today, and it can still be a great day.
Identify what actions the staff can take. People always blame bad days on the customers or circumstances. Here's the problem with that: The minute you blame external forces you no longer have the power to change the dynamic.
The minute a day starts going south, gather the team and ask, "What actions can we take right now to turn our day around." Maybe call some customers? Show two additional products? There's always something that can be done, because we own it.
Turn it around with the next customer. Once a day goes bad, it's all too easy to subconsciously change our approach. Instead of passionately engaging the next customer, we figure they're just another "looker" or "time waster." Too bad, since it only takes one customer to turn a day around, and that one customer could very well be the next person who walks through your door. Challenge your team to do something different with the next customer and turn the day around.
Practice/Role play with the team when they are not with a customer. Baseball teams often take extra batting or fielding practice when they are losing. You can do the same thing.
When it seems all customers are "just looking," it's a perfect time to practice/role play not causing that response. When "nobody is buying" you can practice/role play how to build value in a product. Remember, when the day isn't going well, it is up to us, not the customers, to change it.