Best Buy Can't Keep Up With the Holidays

Best Buy was not prepared for the holidays. Best Buy decided to give free shipping on all online holiday orders, with no minimum requirements. As expected, Best Buy got many customers. But, according to “Best Buy cancels some online orders” by Marisa Taylor of MSNBC.com, Best Buy can’t keep up with the demand of their own promotion. They have decided to cancel some orders. Best Buy released this statement:

“Due to overwhelming demand of hot product offerings on BestBuy.com during the November and December time period, we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our online orders. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and we have notified the affected customers”

Let that sink in for a moment. Some Best Buy customers may have recently been informed that the holiday present(s) they purchased has been canceled. The purpose of purchasing products days to months before the holidays is to avoid last minute shopping. Best Buy not only is causing inconveniences but essentially pushing customers away.

Best Buy should have a research and inventory department that advised the company that they couldn’t live up to the promotion. All in all, the free shipping promotion means little if they lose customers and gain bad publicity. 

Developing a Sales Mindset

I came across “How to Adopt a Sales Mindset” by Harvey Mackay on Entreneur.com. I read the article for my boyfriend who works in sales and I ended the article with tips and straightforward quotes that can apply to almost anyone in a work environment. I’ve been feeling stressed and frustrated from my job lately and dealing with a dilemma with a solution I felt would not relieve my frustration. I have read many quotes on positivity and shaping one’s energy in order to change their outlook on life, but this article is a great refresher on the power of the mind.

I’m going to give those 13 rules on getting a “sales mindset” and a quoted sentence or two from each rule.  I only fully quoted 3 rules (3,9, and 12) because I felt they were very powerful; for the full wording of the rules please refer to the article. According to the article, the rules are an “adapted excerpt from The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World by Harvey Mackey. “

1. "Stay hungry. Every good salesperson I’ve ever encountered is driven. They have a strong work ethic and a high energy level”
2. "Never compromise your integrity. When customers trust salespeople, they buy from them”
3. "Stay Positive. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. Success is 90 percent mental. You can alter your life by altering your mind. In tough economies, it may not be your fault for being down, but it is certainly your fault for not getting up. You have to be a believer to be an achiever” 
4. "Be authoritative. Sales superstars know their products backward and forward.”
5.  "Get prepared". Self explanatory.
6.  "Mind your reputation. You can’t buy a good reputation – you must earn it."
7.  "Be genuine. Likability matters”
8. "Put you best foot forward. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression."
9. "Set goals. Winners set goal; losers make excuses. Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day. They must be measurable, identifiable, obtainable, specific – and put them in writing.”
10. "Become a customer-service fanatic. Take care of the customers you’ve got, and they’ll take care of you.”
11. "Remember to listen. Listening is a two-way process. Yes, you need to be heard, but you also need to hear others’ ideas, questions and objections.”
12.  "Keep it all in perspective. It is impossible to underrate the importance of a sense of humor. When there are inevitable setbacks along the way, learn to laugh about them.”
13. "Develop a thirst of self-improvement. Sales superstars are constantly working to become better.”

Remember, you don’t have to be in sales to take away some lessons from the list. What I take from this is that I can’t control everything in my work environment. For those things I can change, I will and for those I can’t, I have to not attach so much frustration and just laugh it off as the article suggests. 

To Recover Revenue Lost to eBooks Some Booksellers are Charging for Events

The bookstore industry has it rough; they’ve been hit by the success of eBooks and online booksellers and the state of the economy.  According to “Come Meet the Author, but Open Your Wallet” by Julie Bosman and Matt Richtel of NYTimes.com, one of the strategies to raise money is to charge admission to author events, which is unusual.  Typically, author events are free, with attendees having to already have purchased the book to speak to the author or get an item signed.  But to attend the event and hear the author speak is free.

According to some of the independent booksellers in the article, they are trying to prevent the bookstore from becoming a library. As Nancy Salmon from Kepler’s stated: “They type titles into their iPhones and go home… We know what they’re doing, and it has tested my patience”.  Some of the prices mentioned in the article range from $5 to $10 or the price of the author’s book.

While the strategy makes sense for booksellers, it conflicts with authors and their publishers. The purpose of an event is to reach the author’s audience, including those who choose to buy the eBook or from an online retailer. Neither author nor publisher cares from where the book is legally purchased. Pricing an author event could leave some fans left out and could interfere with the success of a book. Author Eleanor Henderson’s reaction to pricing events:

“I’m not sure that charging readers would be a) useful or b) friendly. While I understand the need for bookstores to make money, I don’t think they should discourage readers.”

Gap Clothing Partners with Diane Von Furstenberg Hoping to Increase Sales

A month after Gap, Inc fired their head designer, Patrick Robinson, they have partnered with Diane von Furstenberg. According to “Gap Fights Fashion Slump with von Furstenberg Deal” by Allstair Barr of Reuters.com, von Furstenberg, famous for women’s clothing, will work with Gap to revamp the baby and kids clothes.

“The collection should be ready by March 2012, and the clothes will be sold through GapKids and babyGap stores in almost 30 countries, including United States, China, and Japan…They will also be available online in 75 countries…”

The article reports Gap is still looking for a lead designer. The inspiration behind the partnership with von Furstenberg is that Gap missed out on the current colorful fashion trend, sticking with neutrals, and von Furstenberg is known for “print, optimistic color and femininity”. The key goal is to boast sales.

I’m a little confused. If Gap believes their lack of sales is due to missing out on a fashion trend in women’s clothing, how will von Furstenberg working in baby and kids clothing solve the problem? Von Furstenberg is known internationally for women’s clothing; why is she not working in this department?

Gap Fires Head Designer

Gap has been and is experiencing some issues. Like most companies attempting to solve their problems, Gap, Inc. looked towards their executives. The first place they attacked was merchandising; “Gap Dismisses Design Chief as Brand’s Slow Sales Persist” reports “three months ago… [The Gap] fired the top business-side executive overseeing its Gap division”. Now, with sale recovery being slow, Gap fired Patrick Robinson, its head designer.

Robinson has an impressive design history. According to the article, he’s “designed for Paco Rabanne, Perry Ellis, Giorgio Armani, and Anne Klein, and had been nominated for a Council of Fashion Designers of America award, the industry’s equivalent of an Oscar.” The assumption was a designer with this history could turn around Gap. He joined in 2007 at a time in which the Gap became a lost brand amongst the other basic, young, trendy, competitive brands.

According to the article, Robinson did a good job at creating single popular clothing pieces but didn’t do a good job at creating complementary pieces into an outfit. “But tops never seemed to go with bottoms, and dresses and outerwear were puzzling, too.”

Bid for Warner Music Group Surprises Many Who Believe the Music Industry is Dead

“Could a record company still be a good investment?” this is the opening question posed by Ben Sisario in “Bids for Warner Suggest Faith in Industry’s Future”. The question is prompted by the generous offers for Warner Music Group. So far, the article reports bids for company are around $3 billion. This surprises analysts because 1. They believe $3 billion is too high and 2. the music industry has suffered in CD sales. According to the article,

“Global revenue from recorded music has fallen 42 percent since its peak in 1999, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Digital sales have grown steadily, but not enough to stem the losses from CD sales”. 

A possible ending to this bidding is a merger of Warner Music Group with another label becoming 1 of 3 major record companies in the world. With big bids the article is suggesting that many still have faith in the industry. The article doesn’t state the music industry is done but it reports the overall tone concerning the industry is it isn’t a good investment and these bidders are being impractical. But then the question must be asked: If the belief is the music industry is over, doesn’t the industry benefit from MP3 sales and who would represent artists?

MP3 sales are quickly equal the amount of CD sales because CD sales also suffered from illegal downloading. With venues for illegal downloading closing or being seized, MP3 sales are increasing. They will continue to increase because almost everyone can get an MP3 player or use their phone as one. The change and availability of modern music technology guarantees that music will sell, just in a different format. So this means, the music industry has lost money but they have to adapt to changing technology.

Entrepreneur.com: Last Day of 2 Weeks to Startup Series

This is the last day on “Two Weeks to Startup” Series. To recap, Kimberly Stansell has written 9 articles so far for 9 days of preparation for building a startup. I have written summations of the articles in four posts.

“Let Entrepreneur.com Guide You to Your Startup” (Days 1 & 2)

“Entrepreneur.com: Their Guide to Your Startup” (Days 3 & 4)

“Entrepreneur.com: Their Guide to Your Startup – Days 5 & 6”

“Entrepreneur.com: Their Guide to Your Startup, Days 7 to 9”

Now for the last day “Two Weeks to Startup: Day 10. Hand Out Your Shingle and Sell”

This article is all about selling. Prepare a plan on the ways in which to sell your product or service to prospects. The plan should include aspects of your business the customer should know as they are being pitched. The two important points of the article are to understand any and all problems prospects have with the product/service and to be passionate about the product/service no matter the struggles. Acknowledging problems indentified by customers can help you understand your product/service from their perspective and will teach you to tailor the sales pitch.

Passion has to do with exciting your customer. Think about Steve Jobs and the way he presents an Apple product. He does it will full passion and confidence in the product; most can’t help but to be excited with him. Customers can’t ignite passion in you and will not push a product for you.

As usual, read the series on Entrepreneur.com. I think the articles are a good resource for entrepreneurs with not much of an idea or guide on starting up. Clearly, the information I sum up and the actual articles are guides, meaning that entrepreneurs should take the time to do vital research. In no way does the article or my posts serve as the entire information needed for a start up. Entrepreneur.com also has many other resources for entrepreneurs. 

Economy Got You Thinking about Direct Sales?

In this tough economic climate or, at any time, in which you felt light pockets, direct sales may have crossed your mind. Maybe not that exact term, but you might think of someone who sells Avon, Mary Kay, or any other product which is sold door to door, through personal contact, and/ or sell “parties”. Direct sales have a mystery to it. On one hand, those recruiting sellers boast the flexibility and lucrative income. On the other hand, some direct sellers do it as extra income, which questions if it is lucrative enough to be the main source of income. Michelle Goodman peeled back a little of the mystery in her article “Direct Sales: Golden Opportunity or Hype?” on Entrepreneur.com.

The article starts with a profile of direct salesman, Elvi Valenzuela who, within two years of joining his mother in direct sales, makes $12,000 a month.  Success? Well, according to the article, Valenzuela works 40 hours a week and just started to make the income he reported. Amy Robinson, spokesperson for Direct Sales Association states: “the median income for direct sellers is about $2,400 a year” or $200 a month.

Goodman gives three guidelines to think about when concerning direct sales:

Be Realistic about Sales

Set Your Own Hours

Weed Out the Scams

The conclusion about direct sales: it is hard work and will take time to build towards a lucrative income, if one is possible. There is no legal magic product that will give you the income often thought of for direct sellers. So, if you plan on venturing into the field and want to successful, plan on staying for a while.