End of Sales date for XP - January 31, 2009

Microsoft will soon discontinue selling Windows XP through their sales channels. In industry terms this is called "End-Of-Sales" (EOS). The last day Microsoft Authorized OEM Distributors can purchase Windows XP from Microsoft will be January 31, 2009. For major PC manufacturers, this EOS date was June 30, 2008. OEM Distributors can continue to sell Windows XP to their system builder customers subsequent to January 31, 2009, while they work through their existing inventory.

Top Twelve Things Every Successful Retailer Must Do In 2009

1. Treat every single person who comes into your store with the love, respect, and honor they deserve as your customer! A customer in your store is like gold... even platinum. Come up with new and better ways to show them how much you care.
2. Start a short, personal, regularly scheduled e-mail newsletter. Make sure your emails are not merely product pitches or sale notifications. They should deliver interesting or valuable content to your customers tips, checklists, patterns, ideas, how-dos, articles, recipes, jokes, stories, where-to-go suggestions, and so many more possibilities.
3. Start a loyalty / frequent buyer program. The program alone will increase loyalty and make you more money. In addition, a good program makes it super-simple to get your customers contact information, especially their e-mail address.
4. Fill up your promotional calendar! Contests (lots), sales (only a couple), customer appreciation parties, classes, lectures, trunk shows the list goes on and on. Give your customers a good reason to come in and shop with you.
5. Train your staff to sell. This relatively easy-to-do task delivers a double whammy benefit. Employees who know how to sell CORRECTLY give much better customer service and at the same time will increase your sales dramatically. Happier customers, more money in the register... yeah, that'll work.
6. Keep customer-friendly store hours. This means the same hours as your local mall and big box stores. One of the biggest reasons your customers don't shop with you? You're closed when they want to buy. These days you really can't afford to put any barriers between your customers and your cash register - and a locked door is a big barrier.
7. Clean your store from top to bottom. A spanky clean store is the easiest (and cheapest way) to set yourself apart from the competition. A clean, fresh, well-cared for store looks and feels prosperous. It'll be good for your mood, as well as your customers.
8. Make a commitment to coaching your staff. The people on your staff are face to face with your customers bringing, or failing to bring, money into your register. Like a pro-sports coach, one of your most important jobs is to motivate your team and keep them performing at peak levels. Catch them doing things right and praise them. If you see problems, nip them in the bud.
9. Get a great recruiting and interviewing process in place now - before you need it. Hire only the best people. You can't afford to have mediocre or (heaven forbid) poor performers on your floor working with your customers.
10. If you don't have a POS system, get one. If you do have one, make sure you're using it to its fullest effect. This tool can make you more darn money but not if you're merely using it as an electronic cigar box.
11. Put an open to buy plan in place and run it. Managing expenses in the upcoming year is going to be a make-it-or-break-it activity for most retailers, and your inventory is probably your biggest expense. That makes running an open to buy plan a critical success activity.
12. Make a commitment to your professional education. Read, listen to tapes, talk to your colleagues Engage your brain! Retailers that learn new skills and take action will make it through 2009 stronger, better, and ready for explosive success.

by: Bob and Susan NegenWhizBang! Training, Phone: 616-842-4237, http://www.whizbangtraining.com/

How to Properly Utilize Categories and Get the Most from Your POS Software

- By Jeff Haefner

Your first tip is a very simple, yet very powerful method to increase profits. And it's something you need to start doing right away! Let me explain...When you first start using your POS software, you need to add your inventory. Right? You take each piece of merchandise and enter the item number, cost, selling price and other pertinent information into your POS system. Then when you sell those items, the software remembers the details of each transaction -- so you can pull up a variety of reports at a later date. For example, you can pull up a report that shows how many XYZ widgets you sold yesterday. Now this is powerful in itself, but there's a much more powerful way to utilize your POS software. (read more)

For more information: Factor One or Microsoft Dynamics RMS

What is Open to Buy Planning?

The goal of good inventory management is to maintain an appropriate level of inventory for the amount of sales that you are generating. You want to have adequate assortments when sales are slow so that you don’t miss possible sales, but not so much that you drain your cash flow. When sales pick up (read more)


By Bob and Susan Negen, WhizBang! Training, http://www.whizbangtraining.com/

For more information: Factor One or Microsoft Dynamics RMS