1/3 FESTIVAL OF SLEEP DAY is always held on Jan. 3 to allow you to get serious about racking up some quality sleep after the obligatory partying is out of the way. In fact, add this one to your list of resolutions: Get seven to eight hours sleep a night. Schedule your bedtime and start winding down at least 45 minutes before. Even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a dramatic toll on our ability to think creatively, work at a high level and keep our emotions in check.
DECEMBER
12/6 It’s a movie cliché when the donut-munching NYPD officer grumbles, “Nobody wants a cop around unless they’re in trouble.” The same could be said of a salesperson. During the holidays, when customers are desperate to find the right gift, it is the associate’s chance to perform heroics and make clients for life. On NATIONAL SALESPERSON’S DAY, let your sales staff know the whole country is depending on them to come through.
12/9 Misplaced your holiday spirit? On OFFICIAL LOST AND FOUND DAY, start the morning with a random act of kindness. “The results, and the smiles, will amaze you,” says sales trainer Jeffrey Gitomer, explaining that buoyed by such good vibes, you’re bound to focus on why things can happen, not why they may not.
12/21
There’s an old joke that the best way to abbreviate winter is to borrow some money due in spring. As the shortest day of the year signals chilly days ahead, remind your customers of the financing options you offer.
12/31 Farewell 2016. NEW YEAR’S EVE means resolutions and Scottish traditions. So while you’re singing Auld Lang Syne and waiting for a dark-haired stranger holding a lump of coal, shortbread or whiskey to show up, think of the great new behaviors you’re implementing in 2017: No more delays in cross-training staff, no more buying stock on a whim, no more missing INVISION’s Brain Squad surveys …
JANUARY
January is not only the start of a new year, it’s also National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Prepare a social media calendar to remind patients that the best way to avoid glaucoma is regular visits to see you.
1/18 The 135th BIRTHDAY OF A.A. MILNE gives us a chance to roll out our favorite Winnie the Pooh quote: “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, What about lunch?” In the world of customer service, that means something like: “I can solve that for you.”
1/20
CLEAN OUT YOUR INBOX DAY is held in January to take advantage of your focus on resolutions, and also because your inbox is likely filled with online shopping junk. Move everything more than a month old to an “Archive” folder you can search later. Then be aggressive in filtering every new email. We want you to see those Brain Squad survey invitations.
1/28
As positive-thinking guru Dale Carnegie noted, people rarely succeed unless they’re having fun. That goes double for retail: Who wants to shop where the staff is so serious and somber? Celebrate FUN AT WORK DAY by introducing a ceremony to celebrate big sales. And don’t forget to tell customers how much fun you had helping them.
More December and January Holidays/Events
Dec. 24-31 Retail theory says that when Hanukkah arrives late, as it does this year, expect a lot of late holiday customers. Prepare!
Dec. 26 Returns Week begins. Welcome those customers with a smile!
Jan. 1 January is Personal Self Defense Awareness Month. Before you book an MMA class, remember that 90 percent of self-defense comes down to awareness and risk reduction.
Jan. 8 Show and Tell Day at Work. Give your staff an assignment: pick out a pair of their favorite glasses and explain what make them so cool.
Jan. 23 On Better Business Communication Day, commit these four Cs to memory: be Clear, Consistent, Convenient and Compelling.
BUSINESS ANNIVERSARY
Art of Optiks
Wayzata, MN
Husband and wife team Stephanie Haenes and Dr. Timothy Haupert met while working for the same optical company back in 1995. They jointly managed several different luxury practices before opening Art of Optiks on Dec. 17, 2001. Both a luxury optical and an advanced eyecare model, Art of Optiks will mark 15 years with an anniversary party on Dec. 17 which will include a pet adoption event with Secondhand Hounds and an evening cocktail party at the store.
This article originally appeared in the November 2016 edition of INVISION.