Manager’s To-Do List: March/April 2014
Published in the March/April 2014 issue
MARKETING Put together a selection of fun green frames and highlight them on your website and social media as St. Patrick’s Day Specials.
SALES Training session: Priorities your salespeople should adopt.
STAFF It’s time for your twiceyearly employee reviews. You’ll do them again in September.
WEBSITE Create a “30-second infomercial” to use at networking events or post on your website. Draft a statement that: 1. describes what you do; 2. shows that you love it; 3. shows how you can solve people’s problems, and most of all; 4. makes people say “Tell me more!”
INVENTORY Time to stock up at Vision Expo East. Mike Rolih says to follow the rule of three by buying every frame in three colors — two basic colors and one that’s pretty out there. The out-there colors will add life to your board, and if the basic colors end up selling first, you can always show customers the remaining boldly-colored frame and tell them you can order it in different hues.
SALES Training session: Spontaneous, creative salesmanship. It sounds contradictory, but it can be planned
EDUCATION Grab the notes you took during all those educational sessions at Vision Expo East and start implementing some of the great ideas you learned.
NETWORKING Try networking with other eyecare professionals. Join online groups such as ODs on Facebook and Optiboard.com to see how your fellow professionals are faring elsewhere in the country.
MARKETING Consider a “mother-daughter” social media contest for the week of Mother’s Day. Best photo of a mother and daughter in their glasses wins a eyewear makeover.
SALES Training session: Show and sell higher-ticket items.
WEBSITE Visitors to your site won’t have much patience if pages don’t open quickly. Check your download time.
EMPLOYEES Make sure that all your employees get their summer vacation requests in on time. And while you’re working on a roster, book some time off for yourself.
NETWORKING Contact any churches, synagogues or business groups in your area. Tell them you’ll speak for free about eye health and eyewear at their meetings.
SALES Training session: How to handle price objections
MARKETING Dust off your old marketing files, revisit past promotions and reconsider ideas that deserve a second look. Then get some new ideas in this issue’s cover story.
STRATEGY Find a category of your business you want to improve — such as children’s eyewear or low-vision services — and draft an action plan to start making it happen