Waste not, want not

Glamazon Shoes has been in business for 6 months now, and to say it’s been a steep learning curve is a massive understatement. There have been some fantastic lessons learnt along the way. Then there have also been some quite painful and expensive ones. No matter what your experience, it’s fair to say that there is an element of trial and error with anything new, particularly in the area of marketing. It’s not as simple as just placing an ad in the paper or sitting back and waiting for word of mouth to kick in. These days marketing strategies and tactics can be quite complex and entail a lot of different activities. Print advertising, radio, TV (if the budget allows), leaflet drops and of course, social media, which is a world in itself. It can be difficult to know where to spend the money, particularly with a limited budget as a startup. That’s where the trial and error part comes in. You spend the dollars in a particular medium and then review how effective it was and how much ‘bang for your buck’ the business received. Obviously the ideal is spending as little as possible and getting a heap of publicity in return. Glamazon has already seen both sides of that particular coin. A big win for us back in June was a free plug – with photo – in one of Melbourne’s biggest newspapers, the Sunday Herald-Sun. The response was phenomenal and sales skyrocketed in the weeks afterwards before coming back to earth. Then there was our very unfortunate experience with a boutique PR agency. They were great on the sales pitch and in taking a 5 figure sum for their ‘work’ but only managed to deliver a brief write-up in an online shopping directory. That particular experience certainly hurt, but has it turned me off PR? Not in the least. I still firmly believe that deployment of a good PR strategy by someone that knows what they’re doing, can be incredible in kick-starting a business. How to pick the right one….. well, that’s the million dollar question. Hopefully it doesn’t end up costing as much.

Power in numbers

Glamazon Shoes is an independent retailer, which has its good and not always so good bits. Good in that we’re not constrained by any corporate higher power telling us what to do, how to do it etc. Not always so good in that it can be a little isolating and overwhelming at times, and we certainly can’t compete with the big shoe businesses and chain stores out there. Recently I was invited by another footwear retailer that’s part of an association of independent footwear shops. The group meets informally once a month over dinner to discuss business, how things are going, how sales have been, any particular issues affecting them, especially in relation to mutual suppliers etc. I attended my first meeting the other night and was made to feel incredibly welcome, something you’re not quite sure you’re going to get from people that may be your competitors. The individuals were extremely warm, friendly and quite open in sharing experiences. Some of what they were saying was quite daunting, but I left with a general feeling of optimism and solidarity, which when you’re a sole operator, can be priceless.

On a personal level, I consider myself more of a ‘people person’, meaning that I often draw bursts of energy from people around me. One of the biggest challenges I face as a sole operator is to maintain the positive energy, particularly on flat days which we can all understand. This is when it becomes critical to seek out and get involved in forums, associations, networking events etc. in order to mix with others in similar situations. The support you give each other and the learnings you undertake go a long way in helping you keep the faith and give you the impetus to keep going through the tough times. Don’t get me wrong. I have an extraordinary belief and passion in the concept behind Glamazon Shoes and providing beautiful shoes in large sizes for women and girls. That doesn’t change. But the reality behind realising the dream of running a business day to day can at times get difficult and even overwhelming. These are the times when networking and sharing with others in the same boat gives you the necessary boost to continue and keep the dream alive.

Sell, sell, sell – or not?

There are a multitude of business books out there, all professing to teach you the art of selling. But is this something that can be taught by rote simply by reading a book? Can you learn to be a good salesperson from a book? Is it an art? Can anyone learn to be a really good salesperson? Is a good salesperson just about selling maximum amount of product to as many people as possible that walk through the door? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, no, absolutely not. But then, what would I know about sales? The closest I got was a stint as a checkout chick at KFC whilst at uni a few years ago (ok, it was more like a few decades ago). Sales has always been an area that I’ve avoided like the plague as it has always conjured up images of smarmy, slick types heaping on the bullshit. Regardless of what they were trying to sell. I guess I’m pretty typical of most Aussies in that our crap detectors are set reasonably high and we begin retreating at the first hint of a sales pitch. For anything.

So how can someone who has never really worked as a salesperson be expected to a) enjoy and b) be effective in a role that is all about selling to customers?

Unsurprisingly to myself, I’ve absolutely loved this new incarnation as a ‘sales chick’. It helps that I’m working with products I’m very passionate about and promoting a concept – beautiful shoes for bigger feet – that I’ve been obsessed with since I was a teenager with size 11 feet. When I’m talking to or assisting customers, it doesn’t feel like selling, particularly when they’re over a size 10. To be honest, it feels more like a community service for women. I find that the products generally sell themselves. My job, as I see it is to try and connect with the customer, help them figure out what they want/need, and then provide it. I will not try and convince them to buy something they don’t want. If you’ve managed to make a connection with a customer, then it will be fairly obvious how they feel about the shoes they’re trying on. In fact, there have been times that I’ve advised against a purchase as I can see in their faces that the shoes don’t quite fit properly or they’re not 100% happy with them. I don’t consider it a lost sale if they walk out empty handed, as often I know they’ll be back.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about connecting with people and forging relationships. The sales will come naturally.