Episode 2: A Guide to Succession Plans We’re breaking taboos and talking about every owner’s least favorite topic: succession. We turn the nightmare into a dream as we delve into the myriad options for planning your exit (or entrance), including internal and external buyouts, ESOPs, and inheritance.
Episode 1: Meet Manndatory Listening In our very first podcast, we introduce the who, why, and when of Manndatory Listening and share Dan Mann’s top tips for managers.
Episode 3: Rock/Creek: Succession Squared Jonathan Scott of Rock/Creek is a leader in the outdoor industry, but it’s his unique experience in and perspective on succession planning—having bought and sold a business he’s been with for a lengthy career—that’s the subject of our podcast.
ESOPs aren’t for everyone, and Peter and Tom Henry considered other options before choosing that path for their business seven years ago. In this episode, the brothers share the growing pains and rewards (including customer reactions!) of being an ESOP.
Here’s a fact: the negative interactions your employees have with your customers directly and adversely affect your sales results. So how do you fix it? Define the specific actions and experiences that create a great customer experience in your business and create a strategy to implement them.
Hank, Kent, and Dan Mann make the argument that it’s the small things—not logistical shifts or technological advances—that make a customer experience positively memorable and, as a result, your business profitable. It’s a trainable skillset, but more than that, it’s a culture. So what are the small things, and how do you teach them?
Interbike, the largest bike show in the country, is just weeks away. We sat down with interim director Justin Gottlieb to discuss the current state of the cycling industry, retailers’ prevailing problems, and what to expect at this year’s expo and market week (including our special Mann U course!).
Treat every customer like they’re your next regular. So says Uriah Standish of our local favorite The Chop Shop Butchery. We sat down with the customer experience guru who proffered this and other gems (including some of the best advice for hiring we’ve ever heard) for this week’s episode. The best part? He’s just 19 years old.
Millennials are on the cusp of becoming the majority of America’s workforce, which means you literally can’t live without them. In this episode, Dan & Kent break down why that’s not a bad thing, and how to engage your millennial employees through transparency and real authenticity.
By 2020, millennials will have a collective spending power of $1.4 trillion dollars, which means that retailers have to adapt to their market. Glean some insights straight from the source: Dan Mann sat down with three Mann Group millennials to play a game of true-or-false about their spending habits. You might be surprised to hear why they buy.
We sat down with Dave Hanson of Jax Bicycle Centers at Interbike to talk about the Net Promoter Score methodology, and how he uses it in his store to build lasting relationships with his customers—or, more appropriately, his clients (he tells how to distinguish between the two).
Corporate retailers dictate their day-to-day actions by payroll ratios and sales predictions, but it’s a strategy that’s not adaptable on the ground level. Without a leader present at the store to make real-time decisions, the retailer misses
Harry Paul (you might know him as Harry the Fish Guy) knows a lot about cultivating an excellent customer experience. Dan and Kent sat down with the guru to discuss creating a culture of excellence, employees as ambassadors, and the manager’s supporting role.
Managers, gather ‘round. Vice President of Strategy Leslie Cunningham riffs with regular Kent Mann on everything from intentionality to vulnerability in this episode. Their core message? Cultivating a welcoming retail environment where customers feel comfortable is integral to the future of brick and mortar retail success.
We sat down with Brenda DiVincenzo to talk about the photo and printing industry, which capitalizes on modern-day nostalgia, in-store education, and service packages or VIP programs to get folks in the store (lessons we could all stand to learn). We also dive into the pros (no cons) of a collaborative purchasing experience.
“The building of great teams starts with the leader.” Ryan Hawk, founder, and host of the Learning Leader Show would know. He brings his own extensive leadership experience and insight he’s gleaned from more than 280 conversations with a breadth of leaders to this episode, covering topics from building a great team (including firing) to effective rewards (it’s all about family).
Your customers are stressed, your days are long, and the Christmas music is on loop—but this can still be the most wonderful time of the year for you retailers! We’ve got six tips—including easy ones like asking every customer “Who else is on your list?”—to make this the best holiday season ever.
The music retailers play sets the scene for customer’s interactions, including their purchasing decisions (did you know that 30-40% of folks surveyed would negatively respond—ie, leave—a store with no music?). We sat down with Brian Hawkins of Fixture Lab to discuss the importance—and legalities—of your preferred tunes.
We’re back with Manndatory Listening Season Two, and we’re starting with a subject that’s near and dear to our hearts: ORBiT, or Optimized Reality Behavior Training. ORBiT is a methodology that turns leaders into influencers and employees into eager students—listen in to learn how (and why it matters).
We have the key to passionate, knowledgeable, dedicated employees: decent compensation, and 40 hours of it. Kent and Dan outline the detrimental effects of minimum wage on the specialty retail industry, advocate for a change in payroll structure, and even talk about the other C-word: commission.