A Full Look at Store Visits and How You Can Positively Impact Your Store Before and After
Two of the most popular articles on the Effective Retail Leader website have been about how to have a successful store visit. I thought I would reshare both as a double article - allowing you to read through getting ready for a store visit as well as what to do after the visit to make a positive difference in your store.
Store Visit: Be Ready to Tell Your Story
One of the realities of retail are visits from District Managers, Regional Managers, or Corporate Support Partners. In most case, these visits are designed to help the store be more successful. I understand that it may not always feel that way, but if you have good leaders in place, that is the intent. Really. I have been a part of these visits many times on both sides of the equation. I have been a part of good visits as well as visits that you wish you could forget. Again, on both sides. One of the things that I have taken away from this over the years is that nervousness can really get in the way of a good visit, especially on the part of the Store Manager. It is completely understandable to be nervous, but don't forget that it’s your store. This is your opportunity to tell your story. Assistant Managers, Supervisors, and every associate should see this as an opportunity to get to know the leaders of the Company and share what they contribute. Again, if you have good leaders in place, that is exactly what they want to see and hear. Sharing the real-life stories of your team and customers can really make a difference both for the individuals as well as for the Company. There should be learning for everyone involved.From the nervousness, you tend to see three outcomes.1) The over talker. Someone that just continues to talk and talk past the point of relevancy. Be concise and make your point.2) Blank Brain. Somehow the most basic of information begins to elude you. You forget your story and the exciting things you want to share. You begin to question what you have to share. Just spit it out. Once it’s out, the discussion can start from there.3) Shut Down. You become paralyzed from the experience and you try to fade into the background. Unfortunately, this is the toughest one because it can really stifle the learning that can come from the time. Saying nothing and disengaging leaves little room for conversation around what may be impacting your business or where you can use some support to help you, your team, or business grow.Here are three tips that can help you overcome any of those and enjoy the visit experience with your leaders.
Know Your Business
Regardless of your position within the store, know what is happening in your business. Know your key metrics and how your location is doing. It is OK to have a cheat sheet to keep track of everything but be able to speak to how the business is progressing in your store. Also, know what factors may be impacting your location. Finally, explain what you are doing to make a difference for your team and customers. Set up your story by knowing the in and outs of your business.
Tell Your Story Concisely
What is your location’s story? What are the fun and exciting things you and your team are doing? What gives your store its personality? And, yes a location does have a personality. Talk about your team, talk about your customers. Weave in what you are doing in your leadership role to make a difference for both. It’s OK to share opportunity areas; in fact, I encourage that. Provide the situation, the struggles, and the pieces you are working on. Remember, this is a learning event for everyone involved. And, everyone there wants the team and the business to be successful. Keep your story on point and concise. Plan ahead some of the key wins or opportunities you want to speak to and then work those in as the discussion progresses naturally. This opens the door for the most important part: the conversation.
Engage in Two Way Dialogue
Share your story and be ready to capture feedback and ideas that can help you. Push back on things you don't understand or need more information on. As ideas come forward, build on them with your own thoughts. This should not be a one-sided conversation or feel like just a 'report out' from you to your leaders. You are a key player on both sides of the conversation. Everyone learns when there is two-way dialogue. This can be one of the hardest parts, but trust me, good leadership wants to engage at all levels and have that dialogue. By being fully present and open to the learning, it will become a rewarding experience that you will look back on favorably. I still remember some of my visits from many years ago and the ones that stick out are the ones where everyone was fully engaged in the conversations.Visits are a part of the business, but they can be something to look forward to instead of dread. Remember that everyone wants the team and the business to be successful. Using that as the starting point, frame what you communicate around that thought and you will have a more positive experience and learn more throughout the visit. It’s your location, and you know more about it than anyone. Tell your story and convey the personality of your store. Be fully engaged in the discussion that ensues. Combine all of those to set yourself up for a fantastic visit.What will your story be for your next visit? Click here or on the comments button above to share your visit story.
After Your Store Visit - 3 Things You Can Do to Take the Most From It
Store visits are the reality of life in retail. As I wrote in the last post, Store Visit: Be Ready to Tell Your Story, there are things you can do to prepare yourself for a visit in your store. Keep in mind, I believe few people, especially good leaders, ever want to go into a location and have a bad visit. They want to help, share experiences and push the bar higher for the benefit of the team, the customer, and the Company. Whether you have a good store visit or a bad store visit, a long list or a short list, there are positives that can come from the experience. The learning from any visit is completely up to you.Knowledge transfer should always occur during a visit. Both ways. Keep an open mind to shared ideas throughout your visit. They see a lot of locations, talk to a lot of people, and likely have information that is not broadly available yet. Listen objectively and assume positive intentions. After the visit is completed there are a few things you can do to ensure you get as much from the visit as possible, regardless of how you perceived the outcome.
Reflect
Replay the visit in your mind. What was said, what information was provided? What challenges were created? Justifications aside, can you approach some of the discussion from a new perspective? Remove the emotion and ask yourself, what is the take away from this or what can I do differently based on what I learned today? Take time to think about what was said and what praise or challenges were provided. Reflect on the conversations and output.
React
One way or the other you need to react to the visit. The best leaders take the information and share with their team and build a plan for what the next steps are. Even from a very positive visit, there is a reaction that comes from it. Share the praise. Share the recognition. There are likely some opportunities that can help to make you and the team even better at what you are doing. Take advantage of this. Avoid reacting in a punitive way. There may be some actions and behaviors that need to be addressed, but those were there before the visit. You need to address those anyway. Do not use the visit as the excuse to finally take action on those as that only serves to diminish your credibility as a leader. Take action on the information that was shared with you. Put it to good use to help make everyone better.
Re-engage
Sometimes after a visit, there is a period of relief or in some cases denial or frustration. You need to get back in the saddle again, immediately. There can be no letdown. Take time to complete the first two steps, but then get back to your routine and what you stand for. As I said before, everyone has a bad visit or two in their careers. It is not the end of the world. Your Supervisor has a lot invested in you and will want to help you succeed.Your team and customers need you. Your attitude about anything, but especially a location visit, will ultimately determine where you go from this point. If you take the ideas from above and apply them objectively and unemotionally, you can move yourself and your team forward setting the stage for a better experience and improved results.How was your last visit? What were your actions on the backside of the visit? Click here or on the comments button above to share your thoughts. Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!No spam ever - just leadership goodness.