We have again reached the time of year when distractions become more commonplace. If one is not disciplined, it’s easy to spend all day at the workplace, yet accomplish very little. Even though December is not traditionally a booming month for flooring sales, important tasks still remain to be accomplished. In my experience, one of…
Close your eyes, relax, breathe deep – and spend some money. Retailers have long known that less-stressed shoppers are likely to browse longer, but there’s also evidence that they’ll also be more receptive to higher prices. A recent study in the “Journal of Marketing Research” found that relaxed shoppers were willing to pay up to…
We’ve all heard the axiom that “it’s not always what you say… rather it’s how you say it”. I believe this to be absolutely true. The way that you deliver your message has a direct impact on the perceived content of the message. Just today I hung up the phone and commented to an acquaintance…
A successful team is made up of many parts. There are role players, “glue” guys and stars. It’s sometimes easy to recognize the stars and forget the other players. Each individual that works for you should be providing an important and necessary function to the success of your team. True, some of those players possess…
Frequent readers know that I am constantly stating that we learn our best marketing lessons when we look outside our own industry. I was reminded of this again this week when reading of the passing of Allen Bernstein, former CEO of Morton’s Steakhouse. He was the chief architect of their expansion from one Chicago location…
One great benefit of being in the training field is that I come in contact with many successful business owners and managers. Some of their stories are truly remarkable. To reach the levels of both sales volume and longevity that their firms have attained, they have obviously done a great deal of things well in…
In many flooring businesses, it seems that sales personnel are too often operating without knowing where the “goal line” is. Imagine a football player who is running with the ball down the side line not knowing how far he has to advance to score a touchdown. As he runs by the coach he might hear…
There is a saying “if written directions alone would suffice, the library wouldn’t need to have the rest of the school attached”. This should serve as a clear reminder to all in management who are guilty of directing novice staff members with comments such as “it’s in your manual” or “the information is online”. While…
There is a saying that one should “never confuse activity with results”. We all know someone who is just “busy, busy, busy” all day long, but at the end of the day they never seem to have gotten much accomplished. As I often say, “they were majoring in minors”. If the saying “perfect practice makes…
When my daughter was young, my wife insisted that she eat at least three bites of everything that she was served for dinner. She did this partially out of principle, but largely to ensure that she was getting a balanced diet. I particularly remember one night when she finally ate three spoonfuls of by then…
One of the perils of traveling frequently is that you are constantly exposed to others who can make you sick. They won’t infect you in the typical way with their germs, but rather with their bad attitudes. If you spend much time at airports, hotels and restaurants you will be exposed to enough indifference, phony…
As I write this on the Tenth Anniversary of the 9/11 tragedies, it seems impossible not to feel patriotic. How sad is it that most of us are moved to feel this way only when reminded of one horrific Tuesday morning. Why can’t we show the unity and patriotism that was exhibited in the days…