Professional, well-trained staff are crucial to the success of any retailer. Sharon Southcott, founder of Strategic Professionals, explains how the right training can boost sales, efficiency and profitability.

In the competitive world of KBB retail, there is a multitude of factors that lead to a successful and profitable business. However, understanding that success comes not only from the sale of your products and services, but also from the strength of your team, is critical. This is where the right kind of training comes in.

Effective training is the key to unlocking the potential of employees and growing your business. By investing in the development of your staff, you can boost efficiency, build on branding and ultimately create a more profitable business.

When considering training, organisations can fall victim to preconceived ideas of what it typically entails – short courses that have little connection to real-life scenarios and no long-term impact. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Training can take on numerous forms, including workshops, mentoring, e-learning and observations. All these methods have a multitude of benefits and are suitable for different types of people, businesses and structures. To maximise the return-on-investment, you must consider individual learning needs and desired outcomes for employees. This will lead to the right type of training to get the most out of your teams.

Wide Variety

Let’s start with sales training. This type of training empowers employees with effective techniques to enable them to successfully up-sell and cross-sell products. By understanding customers’ needs and preferences, sales staff can provide more personalised recommendations, which in turn, improves the customer experience.

Another way in which you can boost your sales is through customer service training. Understanding customers is the foundation of any successful business. By understanding the customer journey and the impact you can have on consumer behaviour, you can improve their experience. Outstanding customer service can set businesses apart from competitors and increase customer loyalty.

Leadership training is another method to help your business thrive and increase sales. As well as professional development, leadership and management training will lead to a successful workplace and the retention of staff. It’s also crucial to have a training plan for employees at all levels, as
this enhances skills development, increases performance and profitability. This type of skills development also ensures that employees stay up-to date with recent trends and provides insights into the wider industry, which is invaluable as the market becomes increasingly turbulent.

Training can also pave the way for increased innovation within the workforce and help your teams become more receptive to new ideas. However, training is not a ‘one-off’ activity, it’s an ongoing investment that gives you and your team the opportunity to reflect on practices and improve standards. Having a refresher course is a good idea, as it often leads to increased efficiency, as employees can build on their skills, making processes run smoothly.