June Pro Shop: Retail Tips

Are you too Busy for Business?

 

In our Spring series, ‘XPOS Unwrapped’, we’ve been looking at ways in which your sales and stock management solutions can make your life as a retailer easier, more efficient and, above all, more profitable.  In this third, and final part, we uncover the retail basics most likely to be overlooked during a Summer season and look at ways that XPOS can help.

Golf is booming and there’s no end in sight to the resurgent levels of play we’ve witnessed since the end of the first lockdown last year.  While this is great news, PGA Professionals responsible for growing their pro shop may be struggling to keep their eye on the ball.

Retail success is not only about how much you sell and the margin you make, but how efficient you are at managing your time.  However, maintaining productivity during the busy Summer months is far from easy, with long days, managing staff and keeping customers happy being just a few things to complicate the mix.

When you’re busy on the range or in the studio, neglecting key tasks in the shop will, ultimately, cost you money.

The answer? Setting daily goals, making lists and delegating to team members will help enormously. In addition, your XPOS system is bursting with tools to help you stay on top of the shop.  Avoid a ‘Winter of discontent’  and take advantage of the XPOS features at your fingertips.

 

1. Don’t Drop the Stock Takes

Even though stock taking is an essential retail task that enables you to see the true picture of shop sales, it’s still THE number one task to be pushed aside during busy months. Larger shops will find it easier to delegate to staff members but smaller stores can struggle to allocate time.

Whether you’re an experienced retail owner manager, or part time assistant, it’s too easy to get pulled in multiple directions when you’re in the middle of a stock take.

Top Tip: Forget about doing a stock take for the whole shop at any one time. Break it down into groups and only start what you think you can finish. If you’ve got 30 minutes, focus on shoes or Women’s tops and don’t open that box of tees!

Top tip: Use the XPOS App for stock taking with our next generation Bluetooth scanner to get the job done in no time at all.

 

2. Stay on the Money

With warnings of potential stock shortages this year, it’s more important than ever to be on top of your business. What’s more, it takes more than a quick glance around the shop to understand what’s selling, and what isn’t.  A regular look at your key reports will give you an accurate picture and enable you to spot any warning signs before it’s too late.

Top Tip: The XPOS Performance Dashboard was designed to give time-short retailers an instant, real-time view of shop sales. What’s more, performance stats are highlighted in red, amber or green, letting you know what’s going well or areas of concern.

Top Tip: Whether you’re on the range or on the beach, retailers can get to grips to key reports using the online Hub. Just go to hub.crossovertec.co.uk on any device to find all your key reports.

 

3. Keep Customers Happy

One of the most common complaints from retailers at this time of year is the lack of time to look after customers, follow up after a sale or answer queries around stock availability or account balances.  Maintaining those all-essential relationships and continuing to build loyalty to the pro shop has to be a priority, no matter how busy you are. But we know that’s easier said than done.

Top Tip: This is where the new XPOS Caddie app comes into its own. While you’re busy with coaching, the app can provide customers with real-time stock information and a view of their account balance. In addition, users are now enjoying the convenience of booking golf lessons via the app, topping up their account balance and buying gift vouchers for loved ones.

Top Tip: XMAIL is the customer communication tool that will automatically email customers after a purchase to thank them. XMAIL also prompts customers to book a regripping service at the right time, and follow up on a warranty expiry following a shoe sale. Emails are short, personal and relevant, and proven to keep customers coming back to the pro shop.

 

 

Clive Bonner is Head PGA Professional, Bramshaw Golf Club, Hampshire

We’re only a small team at Bramshaw so delegating is hard when we’re all busy. I’d like to recruit another member of staff for the shop but I haven’t had time to focus on that yet. I’m coaching and fitting all day during the Summer months and some of the jobs I know we should be doing in the shop fall by the wayside.

Stock taking is something that does get left out.  I have a Bluetooth scanner, which is brilliant, but you can guarantee a customer will come in and need some help, or I might have an appointment with a Rep.  We rarely get chance to finish the job.

There are still certain things I will do every day, including checking reports, which I do in the Hub. I like to make sure the lights are mostly green on the Performance Dashboard, check my margins and attend to anything that looks worrying.

XMAIL keeps me in touch with customers that I may not even see, which is great.  The open rate for my XMAIL emails is very high so I know members and visitors are engaging with me every day in a personal way.

 

Michael Kanev, Head PGA Professional, Kingsknowe Golf Club, Edinburgh

The Summer months are always the busiest for the professional team.  Running the shop business alongside managing competitions, coaching and doing the admin for the Club is difficult.

Stock taking definitely falls down the list of priorities because the shop is so busy. It’s even hard to find time to do simple things such as tidying up or clearing behind the counter.

Having used other EPOS systems in my career, I switched to XPOS 5 months ago.  I’ve already seen many of the time saving benefits in terms of product management, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to manage my time more efficiently this year.

I adopted the XPOS Caddie app straight away to show the members what the new system could do. Members often ask about their accounts and I’m now able to point them in the direction of the app. Being able to view their account themselves, and keep track of past purchases, has given them more control.  I also had my first sale within 2 days of launching the app, which was very positive.

I’m just getting started with the online golf booking lessons in the XPOS Caddie app and am really looking forward to this as it will transform my day-to-day life.  On my annual leave recently, I had calls from 6 customers in one day, who wanted to book lessons and I had to use screenshots of the sheet in the pro shop to book them in. People expect to be able to manage their lives online now and it’s also the way forward for golf lessons.  If they can do this themselves, it’s more convenient for them, and a great time saver for me.