Posts by Michael Patrick
6 Questions Retail Leadership Should Ask to Maximize Training ROI
When we’re working with a client who is charged with implementing retail sales training or other learning initiatives, one of the early questions we like to ask is, “What is the role of senior managers in developing their people?” What comes next is not always encouraging. While many understand the importance of what happens back…
Read More4 Qualities of Successful Retail Multi-Unit Managers
There are a number of pitfalls that store managers frequently encounter as they try to make the move to multi-unit management. One of the most common is trying to run a district or region the same way you ran your single store. It’s only natural to build on past successes and the practices that got…
Read MoreWe’re Moving!
We’ve been in Ridgewood, NJ for almost 25 years and at this location for about half for that time. When you make a decision to move, whether personally or professionally, it’s an opportunity to reflect and purge! Our files are filled with examples of challenging problems we have solved and situations we’ve improved through our…
Read More3 Steps to Turning Retail Salespeople into Trusted Advisors
It seems the death of retail stores in the wake of growing digital technology and e-commerce has been a little exaggerated. But what isn’t an exaggeration is the fact that digital technology is transforming the industry—and customer expectations. Retailers are recognizing this. One of the most common phrases I hear now is “trusted advisor.” How…
Read MoreBeing there…
Whether you’re trying to negotiate or influence another person or just motivate them to do something more or differently, at some point you’re going to need to stop talking and hear their side of the issue. You can’t learn if you’re talking. And it’s next to impossible to force new behavior or agreement without engaging…
Read MoreDemand MORE!
A few years ago we asked several clients to speak at one of our national MOHR internal meetings. When asked “Why did you to choose to work with MOHR?” a client, one of the largest retailers on the planet, said it was because ‘you add value to what we do’. Another client we have worked…
Read MoreCorporate Values? Add this one…
Recently a participant in one of our sessions said that she learned as much from all the mistakes she’s made on the job as she has from doing things right. That got me thinking. She’d been in the organization, a national retailer with 1,000s of stores, for a long time and was recently promoted to…
Read MoreConducting training for something other than training
We’re a training AND consulting firm. We often get retailer requests to help a client clarify their objectives as well as to recommend specific solutions. Most of the types of requests are to meet a specific skill gap with training. But more and more our clients are also coming to us to talk through how…
Read MoreEngagement: The next level
We work with more than a hundred different retailers each year and train thousands of retail store associates, managers, and DMs. One of the words that retailers are using now is “engagement”. The focus is clearly shifting, especially regarding customer experience, toward ways to more fully engage the customer. Clients are looking for skills and…
Read MoreWe love your 2-day program…can we do it in 2 hours?!
Every retailer has constraints; budget, timing, agenda topics, etc. Our learning design guarantees behavior change. If we don’t think we can deliver on that promise we don’t agree to the slicing and dicing that is requested sometimes. All of our programs whether leadership, negotiation, sales, or service begin with foundational insights, best practices, and skills. …
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