Come prepared by polling your sales team
By Gordon Hecht, YSN
It was 90 years ago that the American Institute of Public Opinion was founded by George Gallup. His goal was to gather and tabulate a nonpartisan measurement of U.S. politics and the mood of the nation.
His first presidential poll in 1936 showed that the country favored the re-election of Franklin Roosevelt despite the press favoring Alf Landon.
It takes a miniscule sample of key demographics to get an accurate read of the pulse of the populace. Most presidential political polls use a sample of 1,500 people, more or less, and normally come within three or four points of the actual results.
Do Your Homework
You have an opportunity to conduct your own poll. With AVB’s 2025 Summit one week away, it’s a good time to get the opinions of your staff and selling team. By asking a few key questions you can find out what’s working, what merchandise and programs your store is lacking and their thoughts on how to drive more traffic.
Let’s call it a pre-Summit survey. No fancy electronics needed, just good old-fashioned pen and paper. And while George Gallup limited his survey participants, you will want 100% response from the employees and managers. Your goal is to be able to effectively and efficiently shop the show and attend the trainings that are most important to your team.
The questions you ask will be specific to your shop and its market. Let everyone know that answers are anonymous. Five to eight questions should get you ample info. Here are a few suggestions:
What is your favorite brand (or product) to sell? Why is that? Salespeople love to show the easy-to-sell products first. Next to that is the highest paying products. Often retail sales associates (RSAs) control the merchandise items that your shopper will see. Find out what the hot spots are and shop the Summit to get more of those.
What brand (or product) do you never show or sell? Why is that? Every slot on your display floor is valuable. Yet most stores follow Pareto’s Rule of 80/20. Meaning 80% of your sales come from 20% of your display items. Somewhere in the 80% that rarely sells are items that never sell. Find out what they are and why they are ignored. Cross any items off your list that follow that pattern.
Side Note: Your vendor partners also need to know what doesn’t sell so they can guide you in replacing them.
What items are shoppers asking for that we don’t have? It’s a changing marketplace with new items and price points evolving to match customer demands. RSAs can often give you one-off requests. But if you see the same item show up on multiple surveys, it’s probably a profitable idea to add it to your mix.
What is the highest price (item) we can sell? The greatest opportunity for your shop is adding luxury-priced goods, but only if your team thinks they can sell them. You may break this question up into categories: most expensive sofa, recliner, laundry duo, mattress. You need to build your average sale in 2025. Understanding your RSAs’ threshold for pricing nosebleed will help you achieve that.
What is your honest opinion of our website? What needs to be improved? All the advertising you do drives people to your website. If your site’s boring, out of date or incomplete, they scratch your company off their shopping list. Give your team the opportunity to rate its quality. Most likely your RSAs see your competitors’ sites. This question allows them to make you aware of the deficiencies and opportunities for improvement. Bring that info to Summit to get immediate help from the folks at AVB Marketing.
What do we need to promote more or promote less? The job of advertising is to draw shoppers to your store. The job of salespeople is to convert those shoppers into customers. But some promotions work better at bringing buyers willing to spend. This question could feature a line listing of promotional offers to which your team can give a thumbs up or down.
Offers could include extended financing, low-price merchandise, gift with purchase, package pricing, no-credit check offers or luxury items. Arming yourself with the results can help you work with product and service vendors at Summit.
We are considering adding [blank] to our product mix in 2025. Would you support that addition? Many specialty retailers are looking to add the next hot merchandise category to their shop. Mattress stores want recliners. Furniture stores want outdoor furniture. Appliance stores want mattresses. Everyone else wants premium grills. Adding those items to your mix can be an exercise in futility if your staff won’t show and sell the goods.
A Winning Record
In the 17 presidential elections between 1936 and 2004, Gallup polling predicted the winner 14 times. Asking your team the right questions and using the results can make you a winner at Summit and all through 2025.
Gordon Hecht is a BrandSource advisor and YSN columnist with over four decades in retail and manufacturing and more than 500 industry newsletters and articles under his belt. His award-winning experience includes tenured time with Ashley Furniture and Serta Simmons, with progressive responsibility for large and small retailers. Got questions about your business? Contact him at (614) 537-5997 or gordon.hecht@aol.com.
