WEEK 1 / JULY 4-8
MARKETING Back-to-school
shopping will start soon. For the
next six weeks, hammer home
the importance of annual vision
checkups to guarantee better
academic performance as well as
cool new eyewear for that extra
bit of social confidence.
MANAGEMENT Now that half
the year’s behind us, review your
year-end meeting notes. Were
plans made, goals set? Compose
a “state of the union” email to
your staff reminding them of the
group’s direction and how far
they’ve come thus far.
SECURITY More than 40 states
have passed laws that make business
owners liable for protecting
sensitive personal information,
such as Social Security, driver
license or financial account
numbers. If you don’t have a plan
in place, get cracking.
WEEK 2 / JULY 11-15
EVENT PLANNING Now’s the
time to start planning a fall trunk
show. Preliminary steps include
determining which frame reps to
invite, setting a date, and working
on a PR strategy.
MANAGEMENT Change your
furniture, change your perspective.
Move your desk to a different
spot in your office. Sounds
silly, but it will encourage you to
review the status quo.
TRAINING Improve your staff’s
question-asking skills with the
Probing Game. Staff stands
in a line, facing your manager
who kicks things off with the
statement, “I’ve been looking for
something for (insert occasion).”
The first salesperson must ask a
probing question about the customer’s
needs, wants and desires.
Fail to come up with one, and
she must sit down. Questions must be open-ended (who, what,
when, where, how, why or tell me
about …). Yes/no questions result
in immediate expulsion. Winner
is last person standing.
WEEK 3 / JULY 18-22
IN-HOUSE Review your business’s
traffic patterns. Ask some
friends or relatives to walk
through your business taking
photos with their smartphones
of anything that catches their eye.
These shots will identify points
of attraction and dead space,
and show you how people move
within your business.
STAFF Business can wind down
in the summer months, which
can be a perfect time for a field
trip to your favorite local lab.
Work with their manager to coordinate
a tour, Q&A, and maybe a
surprise stop for ice cream on the
way back!
MARKETING Make a list of the
top five media outlets you feel
your business would benefit
most from a mention or feature.
Research. Follow them on Twitter,
read their archived stories,
and reach out to them to introduce
yourself.
WEEK 4 / JULY 25-29
IN-STORE Are your walls a little
bland? Coordinate with local artists
to host new, original artwork
on a rotating basis.
SYSTEMS Work on your systems.
Write scripts for greeting
customers, what to show them,
getting contact information, etc.
PLANNING What’s the best
month to change your life? It’s
just ahead: August. Unlike the
stressful New Year period, in August
the kids are in school, people
have returned from vacation and
it’s easy to establish a routine that
supports your new goals.
This article originally appeared in the June 2016 edition of INVISION.