By David Turgeon, EVP Client Services
Yes, yes, I know! It’s not even the end of June and JCK is barely over, but the trick that all successful jewelers know is that planning for your 4th Quarter begins now! Christmas in July is really a “planning thing”… and here are a few do’s and don'ts that I have found to be helpful when planning for the upcoming balance of 2024:
DO’S
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Plan your work, and work your plan - Take a couple of days off, get out of the office and your regular routine and invest time to review your year thus far and 2023’s performance. Analyze your sales by category and price point carefully - the good, the bad and the ugly. Reflect on what 4th Quarter 2023 events brought you and what the wins and misses can teach you. Focus clearly on where you want to be at this time next year. It’s amazing what can happen when you develop a plan that is informed by data, quiet reflection and driven by a clear vision!
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Commit to simplicity – In 2024 simple is beautiful… and very powerful! Ironically, keeping things simple will probably be the most complicated thing you do in preparation for the coming 5 months; but, the rewards will be substantial as your debt is reduced and your cash reserves begin to increase.
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Take a long hard look at your inventory - As your single largest financial asset, it is amazing how little most of us know about it! Review what has sold in the past year by category, vendor, price point and gross profit performance. Examine your current inventory from the perspective of GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Investment)… if this just sounded like greek to you, seek out the assistance of someone who can teach you how to optimize and monitor your inventory performance. A well-managed inventory and strategically timed vendor deliveries will ultimately equate to cash in the bank. Now is the time to review any orders made at JCK and make the necessary changes to better reflect your needs.
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Commit to client development – In addition to setting challenging yet achievable sales goals, think about setting “New Client Acquisition Goals" and develop tactics to support your staff in developing relationships with new customers. In the age of social media and WOM (Word of Mouth), new clients are acquired through referrals, authentic interaction and follow up; one never knows when you will encounter a potential new client so engage your staff in an ongoing conversation on what they need to share with potential clients to market your business with their social networks and community.
- Be your customer’s “easy button” - Review your in-store experience from the perspective of how interacting with your business can make your client’s life easier and less complicated. You know how busy they all are!
DON’Ts
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Don’t forget to have fun and laugh… a lot! We have the privilege of working in a business that allows us to help our clients celebrate significant moments in their lives; we work with beautiful things and the underlying language of all we do is love… what better job could one ask for!? 😊
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Don’t forget that everything (even the bad stuff) is time limited – The upsets of today will, inevitably, come and go… so use your time wisely and understand that even if things go off the rails, tomorrow is another day and an opportunity to do things better!
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Don’t forget to learn from today’s misses – Remember that rail from #2 that we just fell off? Well this bears repeating
– commit to making things right and setting an environment where everyone on your team is encouraged to learn from mistakes – all innovation comes from making mistakes and learning from them!
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Don’t forget to capture client information and use it! Occasion dates, e-mail addresses and mobile phone information can translate into thousands of dollars in new sales every week!
- Don’t forget to engage your staff in a short pre-opening “huddle” every day! Quickly recap the day’s activities and goals from their perspective, provide clear direction, listen to staff as they share their challenges and obstacles and offer them perspective and guidance. This brief daily habit will ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction and has the support they need to be successful and get the day’s (and season’s) job done.
Enjoy your time spent planning… there is nothing like the energy created when, as my Austrian boss used to say, “every broom has its hook.”
