Six Steps to a Great Christmas

1. EVENTS ARE ESSENTIAL: Customers need a reason to visit your store. Plan on having at least one major and two minor in-store events every week in November and December. Our new e-book, Jingle Bells... Christmas Sells! will provide you with a wealth of ideas to grow your sales, plus plenty of templates you can customize for your store.

2. ROTATION DEVICES: Work your lake front property! Move the displays and fixtures at the front of your store at least once a week so customers are continually exposed to new products. This will keep your store associates on their toes and it will help you sell more merchandise.

3. MAKE A LIST OF GREAT GIFTS: Create a "Top 10 List of Holiday Gifts". Have copies to hand out, feature the items on your web site and Facebook page, in your advertisements and promotions, and make sure staff know them off-by-heart. Go even further and create a Top 10 List for men, women, and kids of various age groups.

4. THE BUDDY SYSTEM: Pair each new hire and temporary staffer with a veteran who can mentor them throughout their holiday employment. Encourage new hires to read product labels and they'll be pros in no time at all!

5. POLICY DECISIONS
Post your return and exchange policy behind the counter, on your web site and on any promotion materials. Write it in a friendly voice: "Returns and exchanges are accepted up to 30 days of purchase. Your receipt guarantees it." You will also want to decide where holiday returns will be processed: at the checkout or at a separate table.

6. A MARKDOWN MANNER: Plan now for your post-holiday markdowns. Determine how much each item will be marked down, what signage you'll use and how and where it will be displayed.

Join Jingle Bells... Christmas Sells on Facebook and watch our Retail Adventures Blog for strategies, tactics, tips and techniques to help you make the most of Holiday 2011.

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