Shop Talk

Illustrations of two cartoon business people talking
Gerry Morris
To sell more, stop selling

Jill Konrath’s thoughts on selling can seem puzzling until you stop to make sense of them Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series on improving sales. This month we look at how paradoxical principles can help you sell more. Sometime back, I ran across an article titled The

Fresh Eyes
Mary Frye
Fresh eyes… when you’ve seen it all

Operating a decades-old home furnishings business is similar to having seniority on an association staff. There’s little satisfaction in bragging rights when your years on the job sound as much like a liability as they do an asset. When the Home Furnishings Association was formed from the merger of three

Businesswoman holding hands out to stop someone
Jonathan Schulman
Breaking away from the same old, same old

Your customers won’t try something new? How do you know? As I write this column it’s a Thursday, so I’m participating in #tbt (Throwback Thursday) and flashing back to 2010 when I was at my first market as a rep. It was winter in Las Vegas and the wind was

Young boy in a business suit
Wayne Rivers
Why merit increasingly beats nepotism in family businesses

In our agrarian past, every farmer wanted 10 sons because all that free labor meant he could have a much bigger farm. The patriarch not only controlled the family business, he also generally controlled the career choices his children were allowed to make. That trend has persisted in modern family

Grand Opening
Ginny Gaylor
Grand Opening: Thinking of opening a second store?

Knowing when to grow is a tough call. HFA members offer tips to help make the decision. Opening a furniture store can be a difficult decision. Opening a second, third, or fourth can be just as difficult. If you’ve been thinking about adding a new location, there are a lot

Sign that says we love our customers
Home Furnishings Association
10 Ways to Win Over Consumers in 2017

The NPD Group (a leading consumer market research company) recently released a list of 10 ways to win consumers hearts this year, based on their examination of retail sales data and industry trends and looking ahead to where retail is headed. Here’s 6 of the tips that apply to the furniture

Bored business woman
Rieva Lesonsky
Slow day at the store?

Here are 8 ways to put you in the fast lane with customers This can be a tough time for home furnishings retailers. Folks are still paying off their holiday bills and spring can sometimes bring fickle weather. Bad weather in most of the country (even in Southern California where

Dictionary definition of Core Competency
Jeff Giagnocavo
Stop Outsourcing Your Core Competencies

Own your service and customer relationships As we ease into 2017’s second quarter, I want to give you something important to think about and, more importantly, consider your own retail business and how you can improve it. In my retail business, Gardner’s Mattress & More, we have a company culture

Front of the Boston Interiors store
Home Furnishings Association
Boston Interiors to open store in New Hampshire

Longtime HFA member Boston Interiors is taking its act on the road. Store officials have announced the company is expanding and will be opening its first store outside of Massachusetts this summer in Bedford, New Hampshire this year. Boston Interiors opened its first store in 1979, and added six more

Money in a vice
Home Furnishings Association
5 Things to Do When Your Store Hits a Cash Flow Crunch

Even the best and most profitable home furnishings stores can encounter a sudden cash flow crisis. It’s how they deal with it that separates the winners from the losers. As a responsible entrepreneur, you naturally forecast your cash flow carefully, but even then an unexpected bill or late payment can

You might also like

See the latest

More From The HFA

Evaluating the Cost of Delivery - HFA Webinar

Evaluating the Cost of Delivery Join leading industry experts who will share insights on key cost drivers, efficiency measures, technology usage, and outsourcing options for

Register To Attend
Empower Your Delivery Team For Customer Excellence_HFA Webinar

Empower Your Delivery Team For Customer Excellence Learn to exceed customer expectations and safeguard your brand’s reputation by mastering the delivery process. Discover best practices

Register To Attend