For years golf and business have gone hand in hand. There’s something about two people getting to know one another on a golf course. After all, you’re only hitting the ball for small amount of time for the four hours you’re on a course. You might as well talk about
The more “musts” you can muster, the better your chance at converting browsers into buyers. I’m often asked, “How can you spot good customers?” My answer always is, “They’re the ones who come into your store.” People do not go into stores that sell things they don’t need, don’t want
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
Just because someone can sell a sofa doesn’t mean they’re right for your team. I used to play hockey on Saturday nights in an adult league with a bunch of great guys. It was awesome! One summer, a few of us took time off to take vacations, attend markets, etc.
…and what it takes to be a winner Remember this year’s Super Bowl? Remember how it only took the New England Patriots 20 minutes to transform themselves from the most hated professional football team to comeback darlings and heroes for the ages? Midway through the third quarter, with the Atlanta
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
The residents of Altus, Okla., expect big-city service from their retailers. Every day Charlene Firth and H&H Furniture deliver. Some people are born into the home furnishings business. Some find their way in through marriage. Still others start out at the bottom and slowly work their way up to signing
Home furnishings retailers can use insights about their customer base gleaned from consumer data to help their stores change and evolve their business models. At the National Retail Federation’s Big Show earlier this year, leading retail executives and analysts implored retailers across industries to take advantage of the information at
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
The Sofa Store: To stand out, keep it simple. Good branding communicates what you stand for as a business. That branding can be communicated verbally or visually. Retail designer Martin Roberts’ series on logo design’s he’s helped recreate for home furnishings retailers ends this week with The Sofa Store in
In the recruitment and executive search world, we often hear requests for the “Purple Squirrel,” that so-called mythical candidate who
The home furnishings industry faces significant challenges rooted in the global trade landscape. As American retailers and importers honor stringent
How to spot consultative salespeople who listen, build trust, and follow through — before they ever set foot on your
What if the biggest threat to revenue isn’t the customer who walks away? What if it’s the customer who stays?
The home furnishings shopper no longer follows a simple path to purchase. Consumers often spend weeks researching before ever setting
Men and women often bring different priorities to their jobs, and the companies that understand those differences build stronger teams, deeper loyalty, and better business
The competition for talent, from sales floor to delivery to leadership, keeps intensifying, and the retailers winning it are thinking beyond compensation. Join the Home
