Maximum Retail 2013 Presented by SBDC

Maximum Retail 2013 is an interactive course that meets for two hours, once a week, over a five week period. These sessions will help you enhance sales and profitability by helping you to refine all areas of your dynamic retail business.

Bricks-and-mortar sales are currently influenced by on-line search four times more often than e-commercial sales. Today's retailer and sales staff need to be informed, personable, tech-connected and always transparent. Over a five week period, the Maximum Retail Series covers discussion on how to effectively manage the sales processes and keeps your customer in the sales loop. The learning atmosphere includes both peer and facilitated learning methods providing valuable feedback and insight into the challenges other business owners face as you face today's market demands. Modules include:

Week 1: Know Your Customer!
Who is your primary customer? What are the most effective ways to engage them? Week 1 will cover topics to help fine tune a strategy that addresses seasonal trends and customer buying preferences. Discussion will also include customer retention and acquisition strategies.

Week 2: Sales & Service -Start to Finish-How to Generate and Close a Sale
The 2nd week discussion topics will cover sales techniques that develop custom loyalty. Learn how to increase customer traffic and manage customer relationships.

Week 3: Online Marketing - OmniChannel, Showrooming & Brand Development
Session 3 will focus on the Retail supply channel and focuses on sustainability in today's marketplace. Topics for discussion will include the OmniChannel concept, Showrooming and building top-of-mind awareness. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the power and importance of fully equipping yourself and sales staff on your unique selling point and branding.

Week 4: Profitability
This interactive session focuses on increasing profits by controlling costs, understanding pricing and margins and learning how to develop a financial forecast based on different pricing scenarios. Profitability is the measured outcome between income and expenses generated from business activity. Discussion will concentrate on how to create and maintain a healthy financial strategy which is key to business success.

Week 5: Delivering Your Retail Strategy
Participants will have developed a Retail Strategy for their business and analyzed the effect of implementing a number of changes to their current approach. In this session, participants will discuss strategies they plan to implement including pricing for profit, use of online tools that includes bricks and mortar collective strategy and finally, changes to their current sales techniques.