[Biz] Q4 has officially arrived and here are some things you should be aligning on to ensure a successful peak season in your stores
Six things to include in your Q4 kick off planning
Q4 is officially here and the biggest chunk of your sales forecast for 2023 will have to be met in the next 3 months.
Maybe you’re ahead of budget and you have a stretch goal to run after and ensure that you meet the 120% mark of revenue for your company scorecard.
Or maybe you didn’t do so well in the previous quarters that you need to add a little extra to your already bulked up sales targets for the reminder of the year.
Whatever your situation is make sure you and your team are ready for the busy season by:
Aligning all your Q4 priorities cross functionally by ensuring that all function heads know what your goal is and how they can each support you in achieving it. Where possible foster a ‘retail first’ mentality by getting the most support from your head office team into the sales floor when the shopping season peaks.
Getting your retail team ready for the busiest season by ensuring they know the importance of the last 3 months for the year for the health of your business and that they also know how to feel at their best to better support the achieving of those goals - and asking for help when needed.
Crunching those gigantic - and, at times, intimidating - sales targets into milestones and KPI’s so you know how to set the right expectations to your retail leaders - and ensure that they know how to cascade it down to their sales team.
Perhaps running an efficiency training focused on a faster pace store environment and customer service while still having customer experience as a priority. Remember this is when you host most of your return clientele and is exposed to the majority of your new customers, so you need to ensure your service level is at its best to keep them coming back in the new year (comment below if you'd like to get my Q4 kick-off meeting structure)
Which might also mean hiring your seasonal staff so you have sufficient time to train them before Black Friday - if that’s your thing
Ensure your team is trained and cared for, celebrate the small wins and milestones, and as your prep gets checked off, just enjoying the ride and support the floor - pulling up your sleeves to help on the sales floor during the weekend on festive season is likely your best opportunity to show gratitude and support to your team.
Wishing you all an amazingly productive Q4.