Marc Weiss, Principal at Management One, recognized that those odd 5 toed shoes from Vibram were becoming a hot trend.  He quickly advised all of us consultants about it so that our clients could jump on it.  At our national conference, he shared the story that one of those clients had taken action and had generated over $1,000,000 in sales! That store tried the line, sold it through well, placed a large reorder and then proceeded to take a lion’s share of the local market share.  They crushed the competition.  What puzzled Marc was why more clients didn’t go for it.  Why would they walk away from that business?  More importantly, why did other stores not even try it?

Their culture stopped them from success.

They threw up many excuses for why they couldn’t take action on the advice.  “They weren’t right for my store.”  “I meant to look into them.  I didn’t have time.”  “I know my customers won’t like them.”  Those excuses cost them money.  It wouldn’t have cost them much time or money to have taken a small risk.

What is the culture in your store?  Are you willing to try new things?  Do you have a culture that embraces newness?  In retail, game changers come along and you have to be ready to invest time and energy into exploring them or you will be stopped in your tracks.

“I have made a career out of being a quick 2nd.”  Margaret Ann Anderson from Spanners, said this about her own career.  It completely applies to ALL retailers.

You don’t have to be the first to grab onto a trend.  You do have to be a QUICK second.

In order to be successful, you must have a culture that welcomes new ideas.  You must be willing to seize the moment and then take the action to explode your business.

The last thing a store owner says before they go out of business is… “That will NEVER work for my store.”

Do you have a culture of success?  Are you ready to be a quick second?  What idea should you be taking action on?  Click here and let me know on Facebook!