I never get the level of exercise I need - time and travel conspire to work against me.
On the odd occasion in the past, I’ve been disciplined enough to get some personal training. I’ve always been drawn to a repeated message that a certain trainer would give me.
This trainer often talked about the importance of the core – the muscles around the central body area that provide you with the support that allows the rest of the body to function at its optimal level.
The further away your muscles are from the core, the more support they need from the core. Try holding a weight at arm’s length and notice how hard your stomach muscles need to work!
I was explaining this concept and its application to a friend recently, who is a fan of soccer and he related it back to a team’s performance.
The players up the centre of the pitch – your striker, central midfield or holding midfielder, your centre backs, and your goalkeeper, are the core that the rest of the team can rely upon.
Keep this area solid and the team can play well; let this area lose its shape and the rest of the structure falls apart.
By now you’ll realise that I am leading this back to business!
Your store also has a solid core – which consists of various aspects from which all other activities and results can function.
Keep this core solid and sustained and the business will function well.
Lose this core and sales will become increasingly difficult to secure.
Specifics
So, what makes up this core?
Product: In the same way that a small number of muscles are used repeatedly, a small number of jewellery pieces will perform much of the ‘heavy lifting’ that constitutes your sales.
You need to protect and sustain this core product. If you allow it to weaken your sales will suffer.
Personnel: Watch a game of soccer and you’ll notice how much of the play goes through a handful of key players.
You’ll often find one midfielder who is be responsible for creating many of the goals for others. There’s usually one key striker who will score more goals than their teammates.
The same is true with your staff. Chances are, one or two key employees will be responsible for driving much of your sales.
These core personnel need to be supported.
As is the case with stomach muscles, if you neglect them, they will start to weaken and become less effective.
Customers: The importance of the core applies to your customers as well.
Your business will have several loyal customers responsible for driving a significant percentage of your sales, and responsible for advocating your business to others.
Neglect these customers at your peril! They will slowly dwindle away and by the time you realise it will be too late.
Marketing channels: One or two key channels are likely to be responsible for most of the sales you produce with advertising and marketing efforts.
One or two key product offers will be responsible for a sizable percentage of your sales. Recognise their importance to your performance.
I’ve seen many new owners purchase a successful store and then promptly change the marketing strategy without any study into which methods have already contributed to the store’s success. This is a big mistake.
Merchandising: One or two key areas of your store will attract the most foot traffic.
Your staff should be aware of which section of the stores this is, and you should always ensure that these areas are always presentable.
Get to work
As is always the case, self-reflection is vital to benefiting from your understanding of this knowledge.
Start the exercise by identifying your core in each of these areas. What are your core products?
Who are your core staff members? What about your core customers?
What channel and what message brings in the most customers? Where do your customers spend most of their time in-store?
Identify these cores of your business and then you can prepare a plan to sustain and build on them.
Make these cores bigger and better and your business will reap the benefits. Neglect their sustenance and you will pay a price for your oversight.
More reading:
The secrets to selling jewellery to women
How do you respond to a negative review?
Turn your negative reviews into positive experiences
Networking for small business owners is crucial to relationship building
Simple ways to improve your selling mindset when you're swimming against the tide
Diving deep into the personality traits of great business leaders
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