Selling

As a prospective employer, you should have quickly come to some conclusions through my resume, Linked In profile and blog - the most important conclusion you should have reached is that I truly love selling as well as coaching others to increase their sales. Here are a couple of excerpts discussing basic selling techniques from a sales manual I wrote for a small, luxury boutique:

"discuss features and benefits (not product knowledge)
integral to serving your customer’s needs, but secondary to your ability to connect with and build trust with your clients. as a retail professional, you sell yourself first and your product second. please remember that features and benefits is NOT the same as product knowledge. the following is product knowledge: 100% cotton with silk lining a-line floor length eyelet dress with adjustable straps, small bow at bust. the features and benefits will depend upon the client. if i want a cool summer dress, the feature important to me is that is that it is cotton with silk lining so it will breathe well in the heat. buyers do not want an education, they want answers. they want solutions to their problems, not a sales pitch. find the feature that applies to their need and explain the benefit (ie cotton/silk (feature) breathes well in heat (benefit)). discussing features and benefits is integral to being able to lead/direct the sale and then close it. if you are asking the appropriate questions (open-ended questions) to qualify your client's needs you will be directly guided to the product that will best suit them. then, while confidently explaining why "this is the ____ that they need", simply state, "is this what you'd like to go with?" and more than likely you have closed your sale."

"showing
showing merchandise can not only create conversation, but creates interest in an item, allows the sales associate to show an item that they feel would appeal to a particular customer (customer walks in with blingy t, we show them a blingy t that WE carry), and can be the beginning of a relationship. it can be an “in”. it can be an ice-breaker. it can be an opportunity to show the client you just might know what they like and be knowledgeable. if a client is “just looking” or unresponsive to questions or conversation starters, this is another approach and should always be implemented. this can be a continuous way to attempt to approach a client. never stop showing - give it a few minutes in between, but keep it up. “we just got these great new woven shirts in - i absolutely love the piping, don’t you? they’re perfect for fall, and only $129...” “these little brown belts have been selling SO fast!” “this jean would be perfect for your straight body type...(be careful here, only do if seasoned)” “don’t you just love that skirt? we only have a couple left...” the list can go on and on and on....
“if your prospect is not interested, it is because you were not interesting”. the little red book of selling."

Ann Geraghty, 2012 ©

 

Customer Service vs. Relationship Building

As a hiring manager you may often hear about a candidates communication and relationship building skills with their customers...however, are they going to be able to translate those relationships into profit-building sales? Can they coach their staff to maximize each relationship through sales techniques? If you truly want a manager that can increase your profits by maximizing sales through building customer relationships, then all of your candidates should be able to give you a detailed approach to sales techniques. There are many retailers in the Midwest that train their managers on "customer service". Relationship building however, and how to sell through relationship building, is an entirely different concept. The video below shows a Hugo Boss (I managed the Hugo Boss at Short Hills) stylist discussing shirt and tie choices, which is a process involving qualifying the client, explaining features and benefits (not product knowledge), probably smoking out objectives and definitely directing the sale - all while building a relationship that will lead to future sales. Customer service versus relationship building - which concept do you require your future manager or district manager to implement?

Nani Nalu Director of Sales - Letters of Recommendation

 During my time at Nani Nalu I had many great accomplishments and I felt great pride in leaving this boutique in a profitable and sustainable position upon my departure, which is what I had set out to do. These five letters of recommendation attest to my ultimate success in accomplishing this objective. 

 

Visual Merchandising Skills

I definitely enjoy switching gears from time to time and being creative on the visual end of store operations. I love mixing textures and picking a color story, and using my displays to sell a particular group or outfit that allows for choices. Often I incorporate a front table display into sales contests or a push to sell a particular item or group of items. I like my color stories to show opposites - pink and green (with a touch of turq) is my absolute favorite (along with yellow, red and white/natural). I am diligent about incorporating different heights and textures into each display. Here are just a few examples of visual merchandising techniques used at previous employers...
 

KIDShow - To market with butters&beans organics...

Taking butters&beans organics to market was an amazing learning experience as well as an opportunity to present the brand on a national level. I chose to attend KIDShow as it was held in Las Vegas at the same time as Magic, which is one of the largest markets in the US. I took this opportunity to network with other designers, attain accounts and create relationships with media. I learned about buyer patterns, industry standards and market trends. I also learned about market and tradeshow setup, how to attract buyers at market and what supplies and fixtures are needed to set up a booth.

Booth setup at KIDShow

Social Media

Social media is a great marketing tool if utilized effectively. This means knowing your target market and knowing your "insights" - meaning what days and times they are online, where they are, what they are using to get online (ie PC, Mac, iPhone) and what types of posts get the biggest response. When I ran social media at butters&beans, I mainly focused on Facebook as that was the form of social media that my target age group used the vast majority of the time. We have 712 current fans on Facebook, often with an interaction rate of 60%+. We also have 540 Twitter followers, as Twitter has the second highest social media popularity within our target market. For a small specialty business that is highly local, this is quite a high following. Most of this following was built in a year via this very data-centric initiative.
I took much care in analyzing the data and doing research surrounding usage and set up a schedule that I utilized on a weekly basis. My schedule was as follows:
Monday: I referred to this as "Monday-Funday". Every Monday I did a giveaway of a small item with a cost under $5. I would pose a question to my fans, and those who answered it in the comment field were entered to win the item shown in the giveaway.
Tuesday: A link to an article with interesting information regarding parenting or children.
Wednesday: A picture of an entire outfit I put together from the store including accessories, or a baby shower gift basket picture...something in that genre.
Thursday: A quote about children. I typically picked a funny quote.
Friday: Celebrity baby or pregnant mama sightings to talk about what they were wearing.
Saturday: Pose a question as "Like this status if....." so all they had to do is either click on or not click on the "like" button.
Sunday: A deal of the week. Most often it was 10% off a particular item if the client mentioned Facebook.

Here are some screen shots (click to enlarge for clarity of text):

A giveaway in the right column

In the left column, a fan posts a picture of her son modeling for us...

Shows 32 people talking about us, even on June 24 of 2012, months after close of business. This is because I still have relationships with my clients, and I still communicate with them via Facebook.

Detailing recommendations on Facebook written by clients - there were more, but only three fit on screenshot.

Keeping our clients updated as to store happenings at all times...like when the reindeer arrived before the Holiday party!

The welcome page that all fans are directed to as opposed to the wall before they "like" our page. I had to teach myself new coding (FBML) to be able to create this.

Fashion Design

Design Responsibilities:
I drew up most of the designs myself. I had patternmakers, cutters and seamstresses to put the pieces together as well as another designer (sometimes two) that I would bounce ideas off of, or they could tell me constructually what would and would not work.
Well, these are a few of my favorite things...   :)

All organic - The linen Lucy dress

All organic - The linen Lucy dress and Lucy pants, with blue City T

Full length multi-color tutu, Creamsicle petti-tutu

Cayenne petti-tutu (above), Popsicle tutu (left), Rose tutu (right)

All organic - natural City T with organic Henry pant

All organic - Elliot blanket, organic knit cap

All organic - pink b&b logo onesie with Abby pant

All organic - Tate blanket with blue b&b logo onesie

All organic - Elliot blanket, Elliot pant, natural b&b logo onesie

All organic - Elliot dress (with organic sateen ruffle trim)

All organic - Emma pant and matching bib with sherpa lining and blue b&b logo onesie (left), Tate pant and matching absorbent reversible batted bib with pink b&b logo onesie (right), Tate blanket

All organic - Elliot pant with natural b&b logo onesie

All organic - Blue b&b logo onesie and brown knit cap

All organic - Elliot pant with red sateen cuff and pocket and matching batted absorbent reversible bib and natural b&b logo onesie

Popsicle tutu

Popsicle tutu

These next three were a few pieces from of our newest collection that did not make it past sample stages...which was unfortunate do to overwhelming response to initial pics!

Organic hemp/silk blend bubble dress with sash neck halter

All tutu pics courtesy of Journey Photography (www.journeyphotomn.com)
All clothing pics courtesy of Teryn Glenn Photography