Today one of our readers commented on the post about our merchandising makeover.

Here's what she said:

I'm a new shop owner, never worked retail before in my life. I look around my store and while I've made improvements it's just not there yet. I've thought of paying a designer consultant to give me tips. What do you think? - Shannon, Primrose Lane, Owner

I think bringing in a visual merchandiser (at least once) is a phenomenal idea for every store owner. Strong visuals are absolutely critical: the better your store looks, the more you'll sell—it's that simple!

Why you might ask? I believe the answer can be broken down to three reasons:

You have 20 seconds to sell customers on shopping your store.
The first 20 seconds is the time frame in which consumers decide if they'll step in your store and if they'll stay to shop. What does this mean for you? You need strong store sigange, excellent window displays and a fresh and cohesive look inside so you can get a potential customer to come in and keep shopping.

Strong visuals give your customers ideas on how products can be displayed in their home
I can't tell you how many times I've purchased an item in a store because the product display inspired me to want to duplicate the setup in my home. At the makeover the store owner had set up a faux fireplace and I ended up purchasing several items from her mantle to duplicate the display on my mantle.

Strong visuals showcase your fabulous products.
How many times have you walked into a store only to find you're lost in the clutter? Where should you look first? Up, down, left, right? Instead of figuring it out, you leave. A great visual merchandising plan helps you organize your store and ensures the customer focus stays on the products.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about how excited I was about the merchandising makeover we were doing for an adorable gift shop in Rhode Island. The goal of the project was to help a gift shop owner re-merchandise their store using only $500. Well we completed the project, and it exceeded all of our expectations (see the fall issue of GIFT SHOP in a week to preview the full results)!

I'd like to give a special thanks to our makeover sponsor One Coast, to our visual merchandiser Donna Kent and to the store owner Donna Trottier of Blue Hydrangea in Wickford, RI.

Here are five things I learned from doing this project:

Color makes a big statement on the walls
I have always loved the use of vibrant color in a store, but I didn't think that dark colors would always work, especially in a smaller space. However, the use of a rich chocolate brown on an accent wall truly transformed the space, making it cozy and upscale. I would encourage you to add some bold color to your store, even if it's only on one wall.

Consignment shops are a great source for creative store fixtures
The store owner and merchandiser for our makeover found some great shutters (used to cover an ugly electrical panel) at a local consignment shop. Over the years the store owner has purchased some really amazing display pieces there and checks the consignment shop in her area once a week. Turn to consignment shops for fantastic props, fixtures and creative display pieces. Don't like the color? It's easy to paint the piece to give it new life.

Simple is sometimes more sophisticated
The merchandiser swapped out one of Donna's store rugs with intricate designs for a basic sisal rug with a brown border. It was amazing how the products popped when your eye was no longer drawn to the floor.

Don't forget to add height to your displays
We all know that adding height to any display can make a big difference, but it's an easy design element to forget. Our designer cleverly added height in one area by stacking a smaller table on the top of a display table. In another display she used some antique boxes to stack loads of wooden pumpkins.

Look at your store with fresh eyes
Our merchandiser suggested that our store owner walk through her store every season and look at it, pretending she's never seen it before. Ask yourself questions: what's working here, what's not, and what should I change. Don't be afraid to try working with a merchandiser to get some fresh new ideas!

Our makeover was a great success and I can't wait to do the next one!

I received an email this morning from a college student who's working on a business plan to open a cart.

Here's what he wrote:

I am a college student at Grove City College. I am an entrepreneurship major, and I am currently taking business planning as a class. For the class, I am writing a business plan for a mall cart business. I am writing to find out if you have information regarding the size of the cart/kiosk industry, and how the industry is structured. As the specialty retail expert, I thought you would be able to provide the help I'm looking for.

–Eric

In a recent issue of Specialty Retail Report, we stated that the cart and kiosk industry does about $12 billion per year. Most malls across the US accept some form of specialty retailers, including cart, kiosk, or temporary inline store tenants. The major differentiating factor between permanent stores and temporary ones is that temporary tenants typically sign a month-to-month license agreement (it's not called a lease because the term of a lease is one year or more). Most malls allow temporary tenants to decide every month (January-October) if they want to continue operating (and some do sign a lease for a one year term). The tremendous benefit of being a temporary cart or kiosk merchant is that you're not committed to long term leases or expensive store build outs (i.e., renovations to make the space work for your retail location).

The average rents during the non-holiday season range from $1500-$4000 per month depending on the location. The holiday season is two months (November-December) and rents do change during this season, typically from $7500-$30000 based on the location. However, depending on the products you're selling, the increase in mall traffic more than makes up for it.

Many malls charge a base rent plus a percentage of sales if you make over a certain amount (aka, overage). For example, a mall might charge $3500 in base rent, plus 10% over $5000 per week in sales. So for the sake of this scenario, let's say you grossed $7500 in sales for the week. You would owe the mall 10% of $2500, so $250 (you would pay the percentage of rent on the amount over $5000). The overage is calculated on a weekly basis.

Operating a cart gives you the ability to run your retail business in the middle of a mall, or other high traffic venue such as an airport, and some of those have access to more than 1,000,000 shoppers per year. Many successful entrepreneurs have started retail businesses from a cart to test the market and grow into permanent stores. Our industry not only attracts entrepreneurs interested in opening their first retail location, but also business owners who use carts as a way to market their business, including realtors, restaurants, service providers and loads of other local businesses who recognize the power of promoting their business from a cart.

Eric, I hope I was able to give you a brief overview of the industry. Best of luck with your class and business plan. Perhaps after writing your plan, you'll end up opening a cart once you see the potential!

I had a comment on the previous staffing post and since my response is long (and it's a universal question), I'm posting my response up here.

The question was: "I am ready to interview my first manager on Monday, and need 10 good questions to ask."

Most employers like to ask behavioral interview questions. Questions like these tap into your job candidate's previous behavior and performance, rather than questions that focus on what the interviewee might do in the future. Most companies have adopted a behavioral interviewing strategy because people's past performance tends to be the best indicators for their future performance.

Also, an important part of our interviewing strategy is not just developing the right questions to ask, but also creating a list of adjectives that describes the traits you're looking for in the position (some of your interview questions should tap into making sure you're hiring the right person for the right position). For example, if I was hiring a store manager, these are some of the traits I'd be looking for: honesty/integrity, ability to manage people/leadership skills, creativity, strong communication skills, confidence, resourcefulness and organizational skills.

Here are 12 behavioral/trait-based interview questions for you to ask your candidate, and a few things to keep in mind as you listen to the anwers:

Question 1: What would motivate you to optimal performance?
Answer: Not only should you be looking for the candidate to be motivated by money (especially if you're offering a bonus program which I highly suggest), but also get a sense that the candidate really loves managing people and making customers happy.

Question 2: Can you tell me about a time at work when you faced a difficult situation and how you worked to resolve it?
Answer: You're looking for an answer that ensures your candidate is resourceful and/or can handle a tough situation.

Question 3: How would you measure the success of this position?
Answer: You're looking for an answer that focuses on hitting the (sales) goals for the store while doing a great job managing the team. From my perspective, a great store manager is not only goal-oriented, but also loves working on a team.

Question 4: Can you tell me about a time that you handled a tough customer situation, what happened and how did you resolve it?
Answer: You're looking to make sure that the candidate has strong customer service skills.

Question 5: Have you ever had to use your creativity/resourcefulness to solve a problem, what was the situation and how did you resolve it?
Answer: Again, this question addresses resourcefulness and creativity. A variety of answers are acceptable as long as the candidate is referring to past examples instead of what they would do in the future.

Question 6: What would you do if you suspected that an employee was stealing?
Answer: You're looking for the manager to come to you, or investigate the situation. This question taps into their integrity and ethics.

Question 7: Are you the type of person for whom things never seem to fall through the cracks?
Answer: The candidate shows a strong sense of ownership and organization and gives specific examples.

Question 8: How do you feel about making a tough decision?
Anwer: The candidate indicates that they are very comfortable and provides a specific example of doing so in the past. This question may also tap into their leadership skills as well.

Question 9: What principles guide your conduct?
Answer: Candidate stresses honesty, integrity, and truthfulness.

Question 10: What role do you believe relationships play in making a sale?
Annswer: Indicates relationships are very important to making a sale and in creating repeat customers.

Question 11: What do you use to develop a quick rapport with customers? Do you use any special techniques?
Answer: Identifies specific techniques for developing a rapport/connecting with customers.

Question 12: How important is it for you to develop a strong rapport with your employees? Why is that?
Answer: Emphasizes the importance creating a relationship with staff so they are happy and feel motivated to perform.

Good luck. Interviews are always challenging for everyone involved. I'd love to hear about the results.

I talked a couple of months ago about how important I think it is to have a few laughs in the office (or your retail location). As I mentioned before, studies have shown that levity can lead to increased productivity in the workplace. With research supporting a few chuckles a day, I try to bring a joke or funny story into the office regularly. Our staff has followed suit and we have quite a few jokers here.

This morning my husband decided to circulate an image of two squirrels—one was giving the other one a back massage—along with a message that suggested we use the attached image in an email marketing piece. He sent the email out to six or seven employees, and in a matter of minutes everyone was screaming that the image shouldn't be used because it wasn't professional.

He then proceeded to email everyone and let them in on the joke. It caused quite a few laughs when everyone realized he wasn't losing it and it was a great way to start the day.

I encourage you to incorporate humor where you work… share a joke at your next sales meeting or post a joke of the day in a store journal.

If you've implemented this idea already, let us know.

I get asked frequently if I have any suggestions for hiring new employees, and in particular, sales people. Because not only do you need a sales person who is energetic and motivated, but they also must have impeccable people skills AND get along with the team you already have in place.

So far my top two strategies have been:

Employee Referral Program… Your top employees can be a tremendous asset in recommending new hires. They know firsthand if the person would fit on the team and if they possess the skills necessary to be a top sales person (what I call a "power seller"). You might want to consider implementing a bonus/reward program for employees who are able to help you find new people. Once the new hire has been signed (or has been there 90 days), the employee who recommended them gets a gift card or perhaps a couple extra paid days off.

Let Your Customers Know You're Hiring… Sometimes customers make the best new employees because they're interested in (maybe even passionate about) what you're selling. I've heard stories about customers who have been loyal shoppers for 10+ years at a store and were quite excited about the opportunity to work at their favorite shopping destination. To attract customers to apply for a position, create professional signage touting some of the benefits of working for your company, such as flexible hours, great pay and the attractive store discount, or consider promoting the opening in a store newsletter, on your website, or through an email blast.

Since I strongly believe that your customers can make the best employees, I wanted to post that we have an opening in our ad sales department for a full-time national account manager. I encourage motivated and ambitious candidates to email a resume to: hr@specialtyretail.com. If it's not you we're looking for, feel free to pass this information along if you know someone who'd be perfect for us!

I've been wanting to illustrate that you can make a big difference on a limited budget, so in the next issue of GIFT SHOP, we're running an article on a store makeover we're doing for $500.

We worked with our visual merchandiser and the store owner to plan the changes, and it was fun to figure out how we could create the most impact. We'll be adding a splash of bold color on an accent wall, painting fixtures, re-organizing and creating a centerpiece table, among other things.

The makeover is taking place next week in Rhode Island and I'm really excited to watch the changes. Now that this is almost through, I feel very inspired to roll out other merchandising projects (so stay tuned!).

Have you ever done a store makeover? Any tips to share?