Staging Shows How An Item Will Look
Customers want to see how an item will look in their own home. Or see how an outfit will look on them. Creating visual displays, or staging, answers these questions for your customers. Arrange displays in such a way that people can identify and envision that sofa group in their own home, or wearing that beautiful […]
Maximizing Your Prime Real Estate
Just as there is prime real estate for the location of your store, there is prime real estate on your sales floor as well. Examples of prime real estate on the sales floor include … Front entryway Cash wrap Front display tables End caps Tops of tables for sale These are key areas to create […]
Making It Automatic
There is a list of actions I do automatically. They take no thought because they are ingrained in my mind. For example, take tying my shoes. My son must consciously think through creating a tree, circling around it before going through the hole to make the knot. For me, it’s automatic. Typing is another example. […]
Employee Evaluations on a Schedule
A regular evaluation is essential to developing and keeping an employee. And as each employee grows, so does the success of the organization. Evaluations consider job performance as well as consider his or her fit within the culture of the organization. Using 90 Day and Annual Evaluations, management can communicate expectations and observations in a […]
Clutter-Free Spaces Provide Cash-Filled Registers
In a recent post at PickUpMyDonation.com, we shared with donors helpful hints on how to remove the clutter from their home during the moving process. Whether it’s moving or just cleaning out, everyone seeks out the peace that comes from a clutter-free space. To this point, thousands of dollars are spent annually helping individuals get […]
The Lifetime Value of a Donor (3 of 3)
In Receiving a Donation, we make the case for why receiving a donation well is vitally important. In Creating a Great Donation Experience, we share how you can begin putting all the pieces together for your thrift operation. Now, we want to discuss the payoff, the lifetime value of a donor. Calculating the Value The value […]
Creating a Great Donation Experience (2 of 3)
In Receiving a Donation, we mentioned three components needed in a great donation experience. A Clean and Uncluttered Receiving Area One of the biggest challenges in thrift is to keep the back door free of clutter. The higher the donation volume, the bigger the challenge. In part 1 of the video series, 3 Steps to […]
Receiving a Donation (1 of 3)
Receiving a donation at a typical thrift store is a benign transaction, at best. The donor drives up and drops off their stuff. He or she is thanked (maybe) and a receipt offered as the donor drives away. Often times, we never learn the donor’s name. This event takes place hundreds of times across thousands […]
Coaching Individual Employees for Needed Change
Retaining a great team is critical to the success of every thrift operation. Unfortunately, there are occasions when team members need to be corrected for not meeting the expectations set forth in the job description. Having a tool and well-defined process for critical feedback and effective instruction goes a long way to keeping the right […]
Look Inside!
If you have spent any time with the team at SMCo Thrift – be it in person, reading a newsletter or blog, or watching a video – you know we are 110% focused on asking for donations when it comes to advertising and exterior signage. We invest our limited dollars to reach the donor since his […]