Set Clear Goals
According to a study cited in Inc Magazine, 63 percent of employees reported that they wasted time at work because they weren’t aware of what work was a priority. As a leader, make sure staff knows what your key goals are heading into the holiday season: Is it to reach new customers, take really good care of your VIPs, hit aggressive new sales targets? Everyone should have no doubts.
Prep a Flu Kit
Flu activity typically starts to pick up around now. This year, be prepared with a “wellness” box in the store. A small business medicine kit might include: EmergenC, cough drops, Vitamin C drops, pain medicine, alcohol wipes, Lysol and more.
Stop at Five
In an era when we overshare information and data, here’s a bracing email policy to live by from Tim Ferriss: Limit all email responses “regardless of recipient or subject” to five sentences or less. The rationale, he explained in his weekly bulletin: “It forces me to be concise, to choose only the essentials of what I want to say, and limits the time I spend replying to email. Keep them short, but powerful.”
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We’re All Early Birds Now
With all the emphasis in recent years on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumers have learned that deals don’t get any better as the season progresses and the selection dwindles. What to do? Be ready for them now, says management consultant Kate Peterson, CEO of Performance Concepts, “with a system of refreshing best sellers and calling attention to gift items through placement and signage.”
Personalize Cards
If you’re sending holiday cards this year, do not send a greeting with nothing but your signature. Frankly, sending nothing works better, says Harry Beckwith, author of What Clients Love. Instead, write a short note — how about “Thinking about one of my favorite customers as the holidays approach …” or even “Happy, happy holidays to you…”
Fun Up Meetings
In the coming weeks, your sales meetings should be getting longer and more intense as you prepare for the holidays. Alexi Venneri, author of Balls! 6 Rules For Winning Today’s Business Game, suggests lightening the mood by having a bit of fun. For one meeting, you might ask staff members to bring in high-school yearbook photos. For another, bring in a guest speaker. Or have staff write down five or so of their favorite things … and let the others guess who created each list.
