This Too Shall Pass

How do you cap-off the achievement of a really daunting goal like publishing 300 blog posts in one year?  Well, since we’re approaching a new calendar year, maybe some thoughts about turning the calendar over to a fresh new start.

I’ll share with you a bible verse that has kept me both humble and motivated.  It comes from Matthew 13:53, which states “And it came to pass …”  Did you have an off-year this year?  Don’t worry, it will pass.  Did you have a great year?  This too shall pass.  (This message was borrowed from comedian Mark Lowry) 

We can’t control the results of our past efforts.  We did what we did and we got what we got.  Because we are in a business where so much of our success comes from the final part of the calendar year it makes sense to join the masses in reflecting on the past year and making plans for the new year now rather than at your fiscal year-end.  So go ahead.  Give yourself a kick-in-the-butt or a pat-on-the-back.  Make resolutions.  Don’t forget to announce your resolutions to people who care about you.  It will help you to keep them.

If you’re not big on making resolutions, here’s a great way to start the New Year.  Write yourself a job description.  Start with the phrase, “If I were training someone to take over my job, and I received a royalty from their performance, here’s what I’d tell them to do…”  Then staple it to the file where you put your pay-stubs or some other locale that you have to look at on a regular basis.

I’ll end with a nice story about a jeweller who on December 6^th had an SUV drive right through his store, and with a positive attitude, managed to make the best of it.  Click HERE to read the JCK Online story.

Happy New Year!

Blog post #300 with a 2012 tally of 88,054 words.

Wearability

Ahhhh, boxing day!  My favorite time of year to join the hordes looking for unparalleled deals.  Boxing week is proof that if the price is low enough, consumers will sacrifice their quality standards.  What I like to call wearability (my spell checker doesn’t recognize the word) is a combination of durability and universal appeal.

A nice piece of jewellery can stand-up to daily wear and goes with many things.  But on boxing day, a person might buy a piece of costume jewellery with maybe 10 wearings in it before it starts crumbling if the deal is good enough.  A person might buy a piece of jewellery with an odd combination of colored gemstones if the deal is good enough. 

Besides the electronics stores, who had the biggest line-ups on boxing day?  Old Navy, and Wall-Mart.  Wearability?  Well, neither of these are the place to go for long-wearing clothing.  Fashionable?  Well, whatever is left-over is what is discounted, so items voted the least appealing before Christmas are blown-out after.  Simple formula.  Good business.

Your job?  If you’re one of my typical store owners, your job is to put an attractive incentive on older merchandise in order to get rid of it.  If you’re a sales associate, I charge you with selling the best wearable merchandise that your clients will buy.  If they’ve got money burning a hole in their pockets, show them the good stuff and see if they will start a layaway on something awesome rather than walking out with cheapo left-overs.  As always focus on the good stuff, and work your way down to the best they are willing to purchase.

Happy Christmas

To the tune of John & Yoko’s “Happy Christmas”

“A Very Merry Christmas, without NHL Cheers

We’ll spend their $3 Billion on Diamonds and Beers.”

I hope you all are turning the corner this morning to focus on family, friends and if you’re Christian, the birth of our Saviour.  It’s been a fabulous year.  I’ve learned so much from all of you.  Having done a lot of writing, I’ve learned what issues my readers feel passionately about.  I’ve been corrected and redirected by you when I’m off-base.  I’ve enjoyed some accolades when I’ve correctly reflected things that are important to you. 

This represents my 298^th blog post of 2012.  If I survive Christmas with the in-laws, a couple of boxing day shopping rants, and 300 will be “in the bag.”

If you’re a hockey fan, check-out my latest music video featuring NHL lock-out related parodies of Christmas songs.

From my home to yours,  Merry Christmas!

Old Guys Rule!

Just when you thought that the smart-phone toting, Justin Bieber adoring, generation-next was going to take over the world, a glimmer of hope arises.  One of the two reality TV shows that are my guilty pleasure is Simon Cowell’s mixed-genre talent show; The X-Factor.  Last night’s final show-down was between 3 finalists.  First was an uber-talented 13 year old Carly Rose Sonneneclaire.  Second was a group of 5 young-ladies who were assembled out of solo-auditionists called Fifth Harmony.  The third finalist was from the “over 30” category of contestants, named Tate Stevens; a married 42 year old road-construction worker with two teenage kids.

Talent has no age limit.  Here’s the thing though.  This show has a huge audience, but who do you think is registering votes on-line and through their cel-phones.  I think the rules were that you could vote up to 10 times on your cel-phone and 10- times on your computer each week.  Who’s got time like that?  The younger, Justin Bieber adoring, cel-phone addicted generation-next seems to text in their sleep.  I assumed that they were going to skew “Americas choice” towards one of the two younger pop-acts.  To make a long story short, a humble, good-hearted, no frills, hard-working 42 year old, down-to-earth country singer managed to win The X-Factor, earning a $5 Million recording contract. 

Now tell me, is it only the younger generation that you can reach and gain loyalty from via social media marketing?  I think the results of last night’s X-Factor signals a turning point in on-line responsiveness.

Now get out there and enjoy this fancy new high-tech world that even the smarty-pants Mayan’s couldn’t envision.

Shaving Cream

Wow, are you kidding me?  Here I am laying low, and not sending-out daily blog-posts because I know how busy you are (also because I’m extremely close to accomplishing my 300 blogs in 2013.)  Here’s what I’m seeing.  Due to a new product line with a time-limited offer, I’ve made a couple of sales pitches during the busiest month of the year and got timely responses back.  I’ve also received many thoughtful responses to some of my blog posts.  Is it that slow out there?  Nope.  Reports are pretty good so far.

I always wondered how long a can of shaving cream would last if I always used the small (but entirely sufficient) amount that I squeezed-out for the last couple of shaves before starting a new one.  In the same way I wonder how much we could accomplish if we worked as efficiently as we HAVE to in December.

This December, make sure you take just a few moments to observe how quickly product gets tagged and put into the showcase.  How much time it really takes to wipe-down the counters.  Note the urgency to call people when repairs or special orders are ready.  There’s no dilly-dallying.  No lolli-gagging, and certainly no shilly-shallying.  Now get back to work and enjoy the hustle (and the bustle!)

Smoked Meat on Rye!

When I was doing a lot of jewellery-insurance claim work in Edmonton, my office was right around the corner from Mansfield Importers.  This was an old-school store just off Jasper Avenue where luggage, kitchen accessories, hardware and other treasures could be found just beyond the jewellery counters.  Since the owner Mike Mann had been buying-up close-out merchandise and he bought kilos of Italian chain, I often was able to find a Seiko Lassalle or just the chain I needed to complete an insurance claim. 

Every December, when I would go in there for a visit (if Mike wasn’t on the phone loudly negotiating a real-estate or stock transaction) he would come over, shake my hand, look way up into my eyes and say, “It’s good to see you my friend.  HEY, SHERRI, TAKE TODD UP STAIRS AND GET HIM A NICE SMOKED MEAT SANDWICH.”

This was the way it was at Mansfield’s in December.  He brought in a special shipment of smoked meat from a deli in Montreal.  Along with rye bread from his favorite kosher bakery, it was a delicious and familiar way to treat customers.  It was hospitality.  It was tradition.  It was part of his Jewish culture.  It made going into Mansfields something special.

For you it might be over-the-top decorations.  It might be live music.  It could be “special” egg-nog, home-baking or a free Christmas decoration.  Think about the best received Christmas treat and imagine 365 days, 730 days and 995 days from now what kind of experience your clients can enjoy through your hospitable traditions.

Not all Joy

I’m all about joy at Christmas.  This is the time of year when joy should be at it’s fullest.  For those who are suffering through Christmas without a lost loved one, their grief might be at its’ fullest.

If you meet a lady shopping for herself at this time of year, it may be more than just self-indulgence.  It could be the fulfillment of a promise made by someone who is no longer able to follow-through.  It might even be the turning point in accepting the loss of a parent or spouse, or even a divorce.

Exuberance is understandable at Christmastime, but you might add more joy to just one person’s season by respectfully and compassionately helping them commemorate a somber occasion.