Helen Masters of Pudding Lingerie let Underlines have an exclusive behind the scenes look at a WOW Factor Day in store with Lissie Lingerie.
BEFORE THE DAY:
- Initial desk based analysis & benchmarking of your business results & KPIs to identify where you are versus best in class/good/ average performers and spot opportunities for improvement
ON THE DAY:
- Meet the owner – understand challenges and goals – what would a good result from today be?
- Meat the team, get to know them, hear their ideas and challenges; observe team & individual strengths, development areas and motivations
- Observe and experience the bra fitting service – is it a WOW? Is it leading to maximum sales? Is it leveraging high end service & expertise as opposed to pushy selling? Is it efficient on bang for buck?
- Observe the customer engagement and sales process
- Analyse the sales funnel , identify missed opportunities to sell or upsell and document these with specific examples & reasons for missing the opportunity
- Review store operations: layout, ordering process, marketing tactics, customer database, stock and sales systems
- Review the range – brands, price points, styles, colours , sizes & quantities held – identify opportunities to sell more , clear slow sellers and free up cash to invest in the most profitable lines
- Identify solutions to implement NOW – from when a prospect walks in to when she leaves, step by step – to improve sales and profits
- Hand over a tailored action plan for immediate implementation spanning operations (marketing, merchandising, resourcing), sales & service model (sales techniques and bra fitting expertise) and range & stock management.
The observations:
What a great store & a great team – it was wonderful to see a young, ambitious team doing so many things well and with lots of opportunities to grow further. I came away with a bikini I couldn’t help buying – they came away with an action plan to implement from the next day. There are far too many actions on there to share in one article but here are some snippets…
FITTING PROCESS:
- Focus on delivering a wow with the first bra, then moving into showing the full ‘lingerie drawer’ …finding lots of things the customer loves, building a wish list, identifying several options needed now and in future
- Be more proactive in adjusting people into bras to get the right fit; don’t be afraid to use sister sizes
SALES:
- A one page of ‘key lines’ e.g. to engage/overcome objections
- Broader KPI set (track bra fittings / sales /average sale/details capture) and a daily/weekly/monthly dashboard
- Show the briefs assumptively; link swimwear in to conversation & SHOW IT
- Record all customers on the database; always agree a reason to recontact and DO IT
PRODUCT RANGE:
- Active stock management plan : track sales per week v plan and take action as needed with 4 lists: Keep & Grow, Keep & Modify, Push Harder, Drop
- Increase depth on core lines to drive sales
- Drive sales from Last Chance rail & Sale Rail
- Consider higher price points
- Implement an automated buying process – for better decisions, quicker: analyse sales by size/range/colour and set target stock levels that will deliver an average stock turn of 4
STORE OPERATIONS:
- Consider Good, Better, Best and End Use signposting
Use Customer database to generate lists for follow up contacts to drive sales (post fitting check; new items in sale) to use in quiet times
WHAT THE TEAM SAID:
‘I haven’t had any previous experience in Retail and up until this point we have just kind of made it up as we’ve gone along and it has worked to a point but now I feel like where going to operate on a completely different level my mind has been opened to so many different things that that I wasn’t even aware of so I’m feeling really excited to start implementing everything and actually just see what we can do we want with what we’ve learned so I’m buzzing. I feel so much more confident unlike it’s giving a different level of professionalism to what we do here which is amazing. I’m very, very excited.’ Owner Melissa
‘I feel far more confident after today -I feel far more confident in the Fitting Room.’ New team member, Cheryl.
‘I’ve had a fantastic day. I really appreciate having this time invested in us you’ve been great Helen and I’ve learned lots and lots.’ Experienced team member, Elaine
‘It was amazing. I feel really good. I feel like I’m a lot more confident now and I’ve still got room to grow and I’m excited about that.’ New Team member, Becky
‘I’m an experienced fitter, but I thought it was amazing. There’s loads of things I’ve learned today that I’ve not picked up before and I really enjoyed it‘. Experienced team member, Claire.
The results:
The best bit? The message I got at the end of that day; ‘Finished up on our best day ever and had our best sale ever – Not a coincidence… thank you again!’
And – even better – it wasn’t a fluke! The team went on to have their best ever month and I got this end of month message: ‘Best month ever sales wise, average order value up and staff all really happy and confident.’ It’s a WOW!
So if your business needs a boost – reach out – it might just lead to your best day ever.
