George Whalin Programs: Keynote & Seminar Topics

Great Store Managers Make Great Stores

To succeed in today's highly-competitive markets, retail businesses must get extraordinary effort from everyone in the company, they must always try to hire people with a burning desire to be successful, and they must employ the most talented people they can possibly find in every position. This is especially true when it comes to the position of store manager. In every area of the business, from supermarkets to specialty stores, the most successful retail organizations share the common characteristic of having talented, dedicated store managers.

The store manager has a great deal of control over the attitude, tempo, feeling, and ultimately the success of the store.

In this high-energy presentation, George Whalin reveals the most common skills, attributes, attitudes, and characteristics of great store managers--hard-working, talented, dedicated people who get things done and know how to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!

Looking To The Future!
Powerful Trends That Are Changing What People Buy, How They Buy, and Where They Buy!

In the last five years the consumer marketplace has gone through a period of sweeping change. And if the next five years are anything like the last, the future will be very different. Consumers will continue to have more choices than ever. There will be more new and different kinds of stores, more and more massive superstores, and there will be new ways and places to shop.

And consumers themselves will continue to change. They will be even more ethnically, economically, and socially diverse. They will be even more savvy, and they will want more, expect more, and, yes, demand more from retailers and consumer product companies.

Merchants and manufacturers who understand how to do business in the marketplace of the future will thrive and grow. The rest will languish and disappear.

Competition 2000!
High-Impact Strategies for Doing Business in the Most Competitive Marketplace in History!

Today, the nation's top 200 retail chains operate in excess of 43,000 storefronts. According to Standard & Poor's, there is now 19-square-feet of retail space for every single American. This number is even higher than it was during the mall building boom of the middle to late 1980s.

Competition for customer attention and dollars has become so fierce that retailing is now considered America's most competitive industry! And the retail climate won't get any easier in the next five years... it probably will be even more competitive.

To survive, retailers must do everything possible to distinguish their stores from the competition. They must be better merchants and marketers. They must provide customers with a truly memorable shopping experience. And they must manage their businesses as if their very existence depended upon it... because it does!

OK, So You Got The Customers Into Your Stores - NOW What Are You Going To Do?

Everything retailers do to control, manage, and shape the customer's shopping experience means more sales and repeat visits. What kind of experience do customers have in your stores? Are your people always friendly and attentive? Are policies and procedures customer responsive? Is the shopping experience in your stores so memorable customers can't wait to come back again and again?

Here's an entertaining, humorous, motivational, inspirational, eye-opening keynote on the state of customer service in America's stores.

Finding, Hiring, and Keeping the Best Retail Employees

The changes taking place in America's workforce are forcing retailers everywhere to take a new look at how they hire and what they do to keep good people. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by the year 2000, the number of retail sales jobs will increase by 34%. At the same time, the pool of available workers is expected to decrease by nearly 16%.

Why should you continue hiring and training new employees only to have them leave in a few short weeks? Program content focuses on the most effective, proven techniques for dealing with this very complex and challenging problem. This seminar will give you the tools not only to keep the best people but to create a motivational climate where good people work best. Whether you hire full-time or part-time employees, this practical "how to" seminar is for you.

Retailing on the Internet

There's a technological revolution taking place right now that will change the way some categories of merchandise are sold. A technological revolution that will impact virtually every retailer and consumer products manufacturer in America. A technological revolution that's creating some remarkable opportunities. Are you ready to take advantage of the opportunities?

In the last year, more than 100,000 retailers--from the nation's largest chains to forward-thinking single-store merchants--have established a presence on the Internet. In just the last few months some of those online retailers have begun to sell a lot of merchandise. I'd like to tell you about those companies and what they are doing to capture the attention of and sell merchandise to online shoppers.

This presentation shows independent retailers and small chains how to develop a marketing strategy that maximizes every marketing effort. In this program, George shows retailers how to build their business with proven ways to use cost-effective print, radio, TV, and direct-mail advertising-to get more customers into the store and keep them coming back again and again.

Participants learn: How to aim marketing messages directly at prospective customers, how to use direct marketing to keep regular customers coming back again and againŠand buying more, how to keep new customers coming through your door every month of the year, how to develop and produce low-cost, highimpact direct marketing campaigns.

Today's customers want and expect more than ever before from stores and salespeople. When they enter your store they want to deal with friendly, pleasant people who know what they are doing. They expect accurate information about the merchandise. And they want to buy from a salesperson who provides guidance to help them make an informed buying decision.

Otherwise they will go elsewhere to buy!

Consumers have so many places to shop they no longer have to deal with stores and salespeople who aren't interested in or capable of serving their needs. There is one way to be absolutely certain your customers won't go elsewhere but will buy from you and come back again and again to buy more: Make sure your customers always get what they want! When customers get what they want, everyone wins!

Customer Focused Selling is about finding out what the customer wants and expects and satisfying those needs. It is a simple concept that is anything but simple to accomplish. Giving customers what they want is the best way for a store and a salesperson to stand out in today's competitive retail marketplace.

To engage George Whalin for your next conference or seminar, contact:

Retail Management Consultants
1635 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rd., Suite 206
San Marcos, CA 92069

Phone: Toll Free: 800-766-1908
Phone: 760-471-0207
FAX: 760-471-0263
E-MAIL: [email protected]