BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading small business management expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

The article for May is "They went that a
way". It is a story about an often overlooked
aspect of customer service:

They went that a way

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We also want to remind you of a neat book
that you should consider reading in your continued
efforts to improve yourself and your business.
"Stop talking, start doing retail branding" by
John Torella. If you have already read this book,
take a look at the current list of suggestions on
our website.

Book Referral List

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Each month we share with you a promotional idea
that a successful merchant has shared with us.
Try a "Dutch Auction" to get ride of old merchandise.
Take the items you want to get rid of, clean
them up, and put a new full price sticker on
each of the items. Place all of the items on
a table in a prominent place in your business.

If you did this sale this month, the sign would
read something like this:

10% off all items on this table. Any merchandise
left on the table as of May 9 will be 20% off.
Any merchandise left on this table as of May 16
will be 30% and merchandise remaining as of May
23 will be 40% off.

This promotion can really clear out any old
merchandise you have.

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We also have a sales tip that will work for many
of the items you sell. When the sale has been
made, ask the customer, "Is one enough, or
would two be better?"

There are many items you sell that this subtle
suggestion/question will push the customer to
say, "I will take two".

When you have your next staff meeting, suggest
that everyone try this on as many of their
sales as applicable. You will likely see a
success rate of 10% to 15% and that represents
a lot of sales increases.

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Got a question? Click on the link and
send us your question or comment.

The upper left corner of this page has a link for subscribing to the newsletter.

If you want to call or fax us, here are our
numbers:

The phone is 727-823-7205
The fax is 727-898-3179

Thanks for your time. See you in June.

Tom Shay

 

MAY 2024
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Small Business

AdvisorieS

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.

Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.

BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.


Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.