Retail Training
Helping You Sell More Through Your Staff

Getting better staff performance is very, very achievable. It takes a comprehensive solution to make it happen; one that looks at every aspect of how you hire, train and manage your store teams. Whether its improving how you hire staff, train them on their jobs, teach them how to sell, coach them on the sales floor or beyond, its what we do at Graff Retail. We’ll challenge you find a better way, and in the process help you sell more of what you sell through your staff.

The Graff Fully-Integrated Solution

SALES AND SERVICE TRAINING SYSTEMS

The worlds of ‘selling’ and ‘customer service’ almost always intersect and collide in our projects, resulting in a combined approach to training that drives both revenue and customer satisfaction.

Our sales and service training systems work because:
1. The program content (the “how to” sell and serve) is always customized to your products, service model, and culture.  Your staff will discover an approach to selling and service that is non-threatening, easy to use, and highly enjoyable to put into practice.
   
   
2. The Implementation Strategy (the process for actually training your front line staff) will fit the realities of their world.  Since classroom training isn’t always the best or most realistic approach for training your full and part time staff, a manager led, self-directed, online or blended model are all possible.  You’ll get a practical process for training your new and existing staff that will work both today and in the future.
   
   
3. Your training isn’t a ‘one shot deal’.   We’ll create and implement a Reinforcement Strategy that will keep your sales and service program alive in your stores for months and years to come.  It will become part of the daily fabric of your store operations.
   
   
4. We design Selling Systems … not selling programs.  What’s the difference?  It’s simple.  In the past you’ve probably offered a lot of training ‘programs’ that produced what we call the “48 hour effect”.  Meaning, behaviours changed for about 48 hours, and then reverted back to what they were in the first place.  A program is a one shot deal, a flavour of the month initiative that rarely gets results.
   



A Selling System is very, very different.  Of course you’ll have the have the heart of the ‘program’ that teaches staff the right behaviours but more importantly, we’ll create a system that integrates the Selling program into daily store operations and into every other significant training initiative that already exists in your company.  Your new selling system will become a way of life in your stores that never, ever fades away.

We’ve won awards for our approach to Sales and Service Training. Are you ready to sell more? Call us today.

COACHING SKILLS AND SYSTEMS FOR STORE MANAGERS

Every manager is a coach. Yet, very few managers have the background or ability to properly coach their employees. Creating sustainable performance improvements requires that Store Managers become effective, powerful coaches. They need more than just the skills; they need a system that guides their activities every day, week and month.

Experience has shown that managers who effectively coach their employees achieve:
• Greater sales
• Less turnover
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Higher levels of employee morale

This coaching system provides a specific, practical approach to getting improved results from your management team.  This is not a theoretical approach to management.  It is a system that focuses on the real life issues in your stores. 

We integrate coaching into the daily and weekly operations of your stores.  Your managers will not only know how to coach, they’ll have a specific framework for when and what to coach that ensures they are doing it consistently and effectively.

And, your coaching system will integrate with your sales and service training program, while incorporating your sales management metrics too.  Suddenly, you’ll have a proven system for coaching and staff development that works … every day.

That's why we created it. That's why it works!

SALES MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS

Get Graff to work with you to design and implement an effective Sales Management and Accountability System.  We will provide your organization with the systems and skills to significantly improve every employee's sales performance.

You’ll first learn to identify and reward your stars.  Then, you’ll pinpoint those employees whose performance requires specific coaching so that long-term performance problems don't "slip through the cracks".  You can improve every employee's effort on the sales floor.

This system focuses on:
• Implementing and managing an effective sales goal process – monthly, weekly, daily and hourly.
• Objective evaluation of both individual and team performance, based on key retail sales statistics that are available for every store.
• Clearly defining expectations for all employees and holding them accountable for achieving success.
• Strategies for identifying individual training needs.
• Solutions for poor sales performance.

We’ve proven time and again that by tracking the right metrics and integrating them into the store’s coaching systems, that you can drive results. 

If you want to be in the game, you need a proper Sales Management and Accountability System.

HIRE THE BEST…IN THE FIRST PLACE

Looking for a store-level hiring system designed specifically for retail that virtually eliminates bad hiring decisions?

Ask yourself these questions:

1.   Does the success of your stores lie in your ability to hire the right staff?	_Yes  _No
2.   Are you losing sales and customers as a result of "bad hires"?	_Yes  _No
3.   Do you need to better determine which candidates are most likely to succeed?	_Yes  _No
4.   Are you prepared to invest as little as $20 to hire better staff?	_Yes  _No

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, give us a call.
We'll show you how our HIRE THE BEST System is designed to help you get the results you need from your staff selection process.

HIRE THE BEST is a comprehensive system that includes:
• Defining your ideal candidate profile
• An objective screening process for resumés and applications
• Tailored interview formats that pull the right information
• Personality profiling of all candidates
• Proficiency testing
• Customer Sensitivity testing
• Sales Aptitude testing
• Candidate rating scales
• A comprehensive reference check system
• A guide to interpreting candidate responses

Proper hiring of staff results in lower staff turnover rates, better service and greater sales.  Give your stores the support they need to run more effective interviews and evaluate candidates more objectively.

Hire better staff.  Get better results.  Period.

GRAFF ON DEMAND – E-LEARING TRAINING SYSTEM

COMING THIS SPRING…GRAFF ON DEMAND e-training system!

This breakthrough learning system from Graff Retail is a powerful, cost-effective Store training program available anytime, anywhere. Now you can provide a world-class, comprehensive retail education for your entire store team without the need for extensive program development, travel or downtime.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GRAFF ON DEMAND
(Mon – Fri: 9am to 5pm EST)

SMART ORIENTATION

It's a fact: Employees who receive the proper training from the very beginning are far more likely to succeed in their new position, and stay with your organization.

Our Smart Orientation programs are built from the ground up . . . inside your company. No two retailers are the same. As a result, the knowledge required by Sales Associates, MIT's, Assistant Managers and Store Managers is completely different from one retailer to the next.

Our fully customized Smart Orientation Programs provide:
• A Certification Process for each position within your stores.
• A step by step Training Plan that ensures every employee is provided with all the knowledge required to perform her job successfully.
• Comprehensive Training Checklists that detail every area of Responsibility.
• Multiple Assessments to validate "proof of learning".
• An in-store training process customized to each employee's personal learning style.
• A tracking system to ensure compliance.
• An On-the-Job Training Manual to guide the leader through the Orientation Program, and provide her with the required skills.
• Qualification Interviews to determine the ability of each employee.

In addition, our Smart Orientation Programs provide the basis for all employee development and advancement.  Imagine never having to go outside your company to hire a new Store Manager or Assistant Manager.

Developed internally through the Smart Orientation Program, your employees will have the necessary knowledge and skills to assume greater levels of responsibility ... when you need them to!

BALANCED SCORECARDS

When we started designing and implementing Balanced Scorecards several years ago for our clients, we unleashed a new way for retailers to evaluate and improve total store performance.  Harvard University has been ‘in love’ with Balanced Scorecards for years, and now retailers everywhere are beginning to understand why with the help of Graff Retail.

Imagine being able to truly focus your store management teams on all of the right areas of their business – the areas they have the most control over.  In the process, you’ll succeed at driving up compliance rates on your core systems and programs.  Your stores will actually run the way they are supposed to.  Imagine!

With Balanced Scorecards, you’ll be providing your District Managers and Store Management Teams with the tool they need to make a measurable difference in performance.  You’ll demystify what it means to be a successful manager. 

Best of all, they are easy to understand, simple to use and … they never ever go away!  Your Balanced Scorecard will become your most important report to objectively evaluate how your store teams are performing.

SMART MULTI STORE MANAGEMENT

Managing a retail territory is not for the feint of heart. Territory Managers are continually faced with challenges that test not only their skills and experience, but also their resolve to succeed.

Smart Multi Store Management is a customized training program that aims to gives your Territory Managers the edge they need to properly manage their territories. It is built on the fundamental belief that driving sales and developing staff is the core responsibility of each supervisor.   Fully customized to the realities of your business, the program often includes the following modules:

Fully customized to the realities of your business, the program often includes the following modules:
• Priority Management
• Influence Strategies That Work
• Conducting Effective Store Visits
• Establishing Standards and Achieving Compliance
• Recruiting your Management Teams
• Performance Coaching
• Executing Plans Effectively
• Leading for Passion
• Your Personal Brand

This is typically offered as a two or three day workshop.

District Managers everywhere are always amazed and delighted when they attend this program.   Our knowledge and experience, paired with our in-depth research into the realities of your business, make this a winning program every time.

PASSIONWORKS!

PassionWorks! evolved as a response to some deep, nagging questions that just wouldn’t go away: What is passion at work? Is there more to it than being excited and dynamic? Why are organizations increasingly interested in recruiting passionate people? Why is passion appearing in performance measurement systems? If I want to be passionate do I have to turn my hobbies into a job? How can I control and ignite my own passion at work? How can I help the people and organizations I lead to be more passionate? Why are some people passionate in their jobs while others aren’t? Is it possible to be passionate at work all the time? Do the benefits of passion at work outweigh the dangers? Is it possible to be too passionate at work? If I’m not passionate at work, then what am I?

The experts at PassionWorks! found authentic answers to these important questions and as a PassionWorks! affiliate, at Graff Retail, we feel a responsibility to share what we have learned.  We know you are searching for the same thing.

CUSTOMIZED TRAINING SOLUTIONS

In addition to the Training Solutions outlined on this site, our clients continually entrust us to develop additional customized solutions for their organizations.  As a solution based provider, we excel at getting to know your business, and learning what it takes to achieve the desired results.

In the past few years, we have developed competency models, performance management systems, succession planning models, call centre training and more.

Graff Retail will drive a thorough research and design process that gets to the heart of your challenges, issues and company culture.  The expert retailers at Graff will create a solution that is right for you, a solution guaranteed to produce measurable results.

SPEAK TO A GRAFF EXPERT  
(Mon – Fri: 9am to 5pm EST)