COMMUNICATIONPick Up the Phone
In almost no time at all, the phone call seems to have become the technological equivalent of an intrusive, unexpected knock at the door. But while texting gives you more control over your time, there are still situations when it’s better to pick up the phone — like during the holidays. “It’s a much more efficient way to communicate,” says Catherine Blyth, author of On Time: Finding Your Pace in a World Addicted to Fast. It goes double for communicating emotions: “When in doubt, pick up the phone. If the emotion is complex, be in doubt,” she says.
SALES FLOORSimplify Choices More
Everyone knows booze helps the sales process — because alcohol narrows the range of complicating factors we can hold in our heads at once. Outside of events, it’s difficult to ply your customers with wine or beer. But it’s worth noting that tiredness has a similar effect. When shoppers are in this state, they want simple choices when it comes to buying things, otherwise they give up quickly, noted a roundup of holiday-season retailing strategies in the Economist magazine.
EMOTIONSHit the Clear Button
Feel your stress levels rising? Short your nervous system with a quick squeeze of your palm. In Mystic Cool: A Proven Approach to Transcend Stress, Achieve Optimal Brain Function, and Maximize Your Creative Intelligence, Don Joseph Goewey provides a tool — he calls the Clear Button — to thwart fearful thoughts and stop escalating stress. This 10-second strategy works because it creates a distraction from the primitive brain where fear lives. The next time you feel your cortisol levels rising uncontrollably, do the following:
- Imagine there is a button in the middle of your left palm that when pressed sends a signal to your brain to stop the fearful thinking.
- Press the button with your right thumb while simultaneously focusing on your breathing.
- Take three easy breaths, counting them out.
- Imagine a different color — maybe red, orange, green — for each number.
- As you exhale, relax in the present moment. Meltdown averted.
SALES FLOORTell ’Em They’re Special
Want to make a customer feel special? It’s not that hard. In an experiment conducted by Santa Clara University researchers, participants were given the chance to buy a discounted coffee mug. Those who were told they had been randomly selected to get the discount were three times more likely to want to buy than those who believed everyone got the discount. The researchers concluded such “special” opportunities may be appealing because people’s self-esteem is tied to things that distinguish them from the crowd.
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PHOTOGRAPHY“3-2-1 Smile!”
Taking a staff photo for a Christmas email this year? Or snapping customers at a store event? If the group is larger than five, it’s almost guaranteed that one or more of your targets will have their eyes shut. To avoid this, start by telling everyone to close their eyes, says Scott Kelby, author of Digital Photography. And then on the count of three have them all open their eyes and smile. Wait one more count and then take your shot. So, it’s “3-2-1. Smile!” Wait. Shoot! Success.
CUSTOMER SERVICEEmbrace Your First
The staff at jeweler Mark Loren Designs in Fort Myers, FL, felt their first customer each morning wasn’t really getting their best, because the person would either walk into the store’s morning meeting or simply because the staff had yet to shake off its morning rust (“No one has had coffee yet or got their smile ready to go,” owner Mark Loren explained to INVISION’s sister magazine INSTORE.) Their answer was to give that customer a Mark Loren Designs coffee mug. “We ask if they would like it filled with coffee or empty to go,” says Loren. “It has gone a long way towards making that first person in the door fun and starting the day off by exceeding the customer’s expectations.” And at only a couple bucks a mug with the bonus of getting the store’s name in customers’ hands each day, it’s been well worth it, he says.
IN-STORESpruce Up the Loo
When the holidays are at their most hectic, a bathroom with a little ambiance can offer a welcome refuge. Get your rest room in the holiday spirit with a few extra touches, such as a portable lamp with a colored shade, holiday towels and a scented candle, says Rick Wiedemer, president of Hinkley Lighting.
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