Sales Tools & Advice



Business 101 | How To Sell Advice | Merchandising Know-How | Mystery Shopping | PR / Marketing Know-How | Sales Know-How | The Ooops Files |

Business 101

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Article Thumbnail Think About It: OIWC asks, what is the best way to get what you want?
Jun 17, 2009
How can people be more successful at getting what they want? Good communication skills go a long way, but we've laid out six effective tactics to help you negotiate or persuade someone to accept your point of view -- whether it's getting your project approved or finagling a pay raise.
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Article Thumbnail You are more important than “just a….”
Jun 17, 2009
"Lately, in the course of phone calls to various companies and in emails, I have had folks respond to a question I’ve asked with, “I’m just a…” (fill in the blank e.g. intern, receptionist, sales rep, warehouse employee, stocker, cashier, delivery person, etc.)“I am just a…” What does that mean, really?
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Article Thumbnail SNEWS Mini-Survey gives glimpse at how stores view customer buying motivation
Jun 15, 2009
The SNEWS® Mini Survey that ended June 15, 2009 asked, “What do you feel most motivates your customers to buy from your store?” We asked retailers to select from a list of 20 categories the top five motivating factors they believed drove customers to buy from them and not elsewhere. We were happy to see that 85 percent chose “customer service.”
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Article Thumbnail Think About It: OIWC asks, what can a mentor do for you?
May 15, 2009
When you take stock of the business relationships in your life, do any of them qualify as mentors? For some businesswomen, influential mentors seem to flow seamlessly in and out of their lives. For some, however, the appearance of mentors has been infrequent at best throughout their careers. Are they missing out? Perhaps.
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Article Thumbnail Hey Skubedo…what are you?
May 6, 2009
With apologies to the cartoon, Skubedo is no treat-loving mutt. Rather, it is an online solution that while pronounced the same as Scooby-Doo is focused on helping manufacturers, reps and retailers solve the problem of workbooks. Let's face it -- even the SNEWS® team ducks workbooks at trade shows because they are so heavy and, more often than not, they are outdated nearly by the time the show ends.
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How To Sell Advice

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Article Thumbnail Fitness How To Sell Article Finder
Feb 11, 2009
At SNEWS® want to make life easier for our retail friends, so we've developed this handy article-finder chart for our numerous Fitness How To Sell articles published since 2003. With a quick glance, you can scan the chart to find the subject matter that fits your immediate training need. Also, you can read a summary to make sure that the article provides the info you need for the job at hand. Simply click on the article headline link to access any article.
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Article Thumbnail How to sell: kettlebells
Aug 14, 2008
Kettlebells, those cast iron cannonball-like things with handles and a flat bottom, aren't exactly new. In fact, the Romans were swinging them around their bodies in training many centuries ago, and the Russians still have "girya," or kettlebell, competitions that date back to at least the turn of the century. A former Soviet Secret Services trainer and agent, Pavel Tsatsouline, who was also a nationally ranked "girya" competitor there, has been credited with introducing kettlebells and training to the United States on a broad scale.
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Article Thumbnail How to sell: medicine balls
Jul 14, 2008
The medicine ball – basically a weighted ball -- is quite simple and one of the oldest fitness training aids in the world. It is a very versatile piece of strength-training equipment, especially useful for core training as well as plyometric training and can be used in everything from football-style exercises to games to sit-ups.
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Article Thumbnail How to sell: home gyms
Jun 16, 2008
Home gyms have come a long way since the original multi-station setups of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. When customers come into your store, many may not even realize the possibilities in styles, configurations and options. You’ll need to devote time and attention to learning your customers’ needs and space requirements, while also educating them about what’s available.
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Article Thumbnail How to sell: rubber resistance
Jun 11, 2008
Originally used in hospitals and rehabilitation, rubber resistance tubing -- like many physical therapy products -- started spreading to fitness programs and health clubs in the early 1980s. It wasn't long before fitness professionals saw the benefits of a lightweight, inexpensive and compact item that could be adapted to so many different goals, settings and abilities. Today, rubber resistance tubing is used in health clubs worldwide in group exercise classes, as well as in training studios, medical and rehab facilities and in sports and recreation programs. Plus, you'll likely find them in suitcases and living rooms around the globe.
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Merchandising Know-How

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Article Thumbnail Psychology of Shopping -- Do you really understand why that customer is coming into your store to buy?
May 20, 2009
“It isn’t so much a traffic issue as it is a sales issue. You need to do a better job with the people already in your store.” —Ron Hornbaker, vice president of Retail Minds, citing ShopperTrak data showing that 70 to 80 percent of people walk out of stores without spending money. Specialty retailers trying to wheedle sales from consumers who are afraid of losing their jobs or life savings are coming to terms with a harsh reality: The marketing tactics that worked in previous downturns aren’t as effective in this current storm, which is proving to be wider, deeper and more intractable than many economists anticipated...
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Article Thumbnail Merchandising Know-How: Enhancing your store appearance with appropriate fixture and product placement
Feb 16, 2009
The key to creating a visually compelling store appearance is appropriate fixture and product placement. Even with limited fixture budget, improved results are easily achievable through better product placement. Making product more visible and providing easy accessibility to that product immediately impacts sales and improves the overall customer experience.
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Article Thumbnail SNEWS Merchandising Know-How Article Finder
Feb 6, 2009
It's frustrating to scrounge around a disorderly toolbox. You can waste valuable time and energy fumbling for that one critical item. We at SNEWS want to make life easier for you, so we've developed this handy chart for our Merchandising articles. With a quick glance, you can scan the chart to find the subject matter that fits your immediate need. Also, you can read a summary to make sure that the article provides the info you need for the job at hand.
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Article Thumbnail Merchandising Know-How: SIA goes green
Feb 28, 2008
The SnowSports Industries America (SIA) trade show in Las Vegas is always full of energy and edgy boarders. This year was no different except that SIA took a giant "green" step forward and included the EcoSource booth designed by Seattle companies, Utility and Dept. of Energy (DOE). The booth showcased green products from SIA exhibitors. It was packed with clothing, skis, boards, gloves, hats, waxes, creams and lotions, and more -- all eco-friendly.
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Article Thumbnail Merchandising Know-How: Displays and demographics
Jan 17, 2008
In the current political landscape, the word "change" is used incessantly. It seems everyone is looking for change or, at least, mentioning it. Not to be outdone, here's a change for you. There's a new retail movement afoot to arrange and position displays that appeal to certain demographics at certain times of the day.
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Mystery Shopping

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Article Thumbnail SNEWS takes a look at Dick's presentation of Life Fitness, Sport Chalet's of Precor
Apr 13, 2009
With the first quarter of the New Year behind us -- and plenty of time for Life Fitness to settle in at Dick's and Precor at Sport Chalet -- SNEWS® dispatched its shopping team into a number of each chain's stores on both coasts to see how it was going in the fitness department for the high-end equipment suppliers. Not officially going through an entire SNEWS Mystery Shopping experience, we nevertheless had our team members take a peek in the stores, get a feel at the layout, size up the presentation, talk to staff and, generally, find out how the recent experiments at sporting goods was treating the two largest North American specialty fitness equipment manufacturers.
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Article Thumbnail Mystery Shopper: Salesman exercises good judgment in selling fitness equipment
Apr 3, 2009
At the end of March, which is pretty early spring in New England, the thoughts of our mystery shopper, Jane, turned to shedding a few layers of both clothing and excess flesh. Toward that end, she decided to pay a visit to Precor Home Fitness in Newton, Mass.
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Article Thumbnail Mystery Shopper: Knowledgeable salesperson reels shopper in with thorough presentation
Mar 18, 2009
Having pioneered kayak fishing off the southeastern coast of Louisiana, the folks at Buffalo Peak Outfitters in Jackson, Miss., know a thing or two about this emerging sport. So, when we learned that a member of our Mystery Shopper team was going to be in the Magnolia State, we dispatched him to Buffalo Peak to go undercover and shop for a boat. Would the salespeople encourage our undercover man to go whole hog, or counsel him to not bite off more than necessary?
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Article Thumbnail Mystery Shopper: Savvy salesman stressed home gym benefits to move customer up in price
Feb 2, 2009
With the country moving deeper into a recession, and consumers tightening their belts, the SNEWS® team wondered how fitness shops might deal with people seeking low-cost solutions to getting a good workout at home. We dispatched a member of our Mystery Shopper team -- code name, Jake -- to Jackson, Miss., to seek equipment that he could set up in his apartment without breaking the bank. When it was all said and done, he didn't necessarily find a low-budget set-up, but rather found an excellent salesman who had our man willing to shell out more than he'd planned.
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Article Thumbnail Mystery Shopper: Female shopper’s quest for jacket warmly satisfied despite minor technical blunders
Jan 5, 2009
On a Saturday afternoon, Cindy and Jack cruised past Cumberland Transit, which occupies an attractive brick building among a small string of shops near Vanderbilt University. Standing out brightly from the pale green exterior was a green and yellow Cumberland Transit sign that made the store easy to spot from the street.
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PR / Marketing Know-How

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Article Thumbnail Know thy media…please?
May 18, 2009
Just as a writer needs to know how to tailor an article to suit a particular magazine’s audience, subject matter or interests, the same holds true for PR: PR agents must know the media, its audiences and needs where they are pitching story ideas. It is not one-size-fits-all. Forgetting this leads to very bad experiences for the PR agent, the publication, and quite likely, the writer very often caught in the middle. And could also lead to less good press for a company.
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Article Thumbnail Six ways to successfully promote your store's eco-conscious product mix
Feb 25, 2009
Does your outdoor specialty store boast an array of eco-friendly products? If your merchandise mix does have green leanings, you could boost sales by making the consumers in your area aware of your specialty. Savvy green-oriented retailers are using everything from promotional mailers and catalogs to print advertising and street-side merchandising to get the word out about their eco-friendly product mix. Could any of these strategies work to strengthen your bottom line?
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Article Thumbnail Spibelt founder offers tips for small companies to get on TV – and gain promotion in today’s times
Jan 19, 2009
After nearly two years in the marketplace, Spibelt inventor and founder Kim Overton has been making the rounds on various TV shows, sharing her business story and products with consumers across the country. To date, she's told the story of the Spibelt – a waist pouch that doesn’t bounce or move -- and gained oodles of free promotion and marketing that has become vital in today’s economic times -- on a long list of top news national news and talk shows. It leaves one wondering, how does she do it?
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Article Thumbnail Listen and Learn: Creating an advisory board
Jul 25, 2005
As a small business owner, you might think you can't afford to hire a research firm to keep track of how you're doing, but the good news is you don't have to. Instead, you can establish a customer advisory board to find out what your customers think about your business.
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Article Thumbnail Kennedy vs. Nixon -- the classic proof that style matters
May 24, 2004
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Sales Know-How

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Article Thumbnail TMA launches first dealer camp in the Northeast
May 22, 2009
As retailing clinic time and budgets are getting stretched even thinner, an increasing number of rep agencies are turning to putting on dealer camps as a means to ensure quality time with front line retail staff. Such was the motivation for the inaugural Mad River Glen Dealer Camp put on by Three Mountain Associates (TMA), a northeastern rep agency representing Big Agnes, G3, Jetboil, Leki, McNett and Osprey.
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Article Thumbnail Psychology of Shopping -- Do you really understand why that customer is coming into your store to buy?
May 20, 2009
“It isn’t so much a traffic issue as it is a sales issue. You need to do a better job with the people already in your store.” —Ron Hornbaker, vice president of Retail Minds, citing ShopperTrak data showing that 70 to 80 percent of people walk out of stores without spending money. Specialty retailers trying to wheedle sales from consumers who are afraid of losing their jobs or life savings are coming to terms with a harsh reality: The marketing tactics that worked in previous downturns aren’t as effective in this current storm, which is proving to be wider, deeper and more intractable than many economists anticipated...
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Article Thumbnail Platinum level customer service creates customer for life
May 13, 2009
"How often do you deal with a store or retailer and end up wanting to holler from the rooftops how wonderful the place is? Yeah, that’s what I thought…likely far less than you’d like. I had a rooftop-hollering wonderful experience recently with a non-sports retailer -- The Container Store, to be exact. I have been in and out of the store in San Francisco numerous times over about three years..."
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Article Thumbnail The customer is NOT always right... Wait, can that be true?
May 8, 2009
The customer is always right” is a term that some trace back to Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of London department store Selfridge’s in the early 1900s. That phrase has been bantered about to prove to customers that they will always receive stellar service and to encourage employees to, well, treat the customer like family. But, let’s face it – when are family members always right?...
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Article Thumbnail Gene Treacy discovers the joy of retail after years as SNEWS sales director
May 4, 2009
When SNEWS LLC was acquired by Active Interest Media on Dec. 21, 2007, our friend and business partner, Gene Treacy, had made a decision it was time for him to chart a different course. Treacy, always a wine connoisseur, got wind of a 14,000-square-foot commercial property for sale that included a liquor store. By August 2008, Gene and his wife, Pam, had signed a sales agreement to purchase Campbell Station Wine and Spirits...
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The Ooops Files

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Article Thumbnail Oops! file: Schwinn blows customer service call
Jan 20, 2006
The "Oops File" relays ridiculous stories, some that stem from customer service experiences, from the business world -- embarrassing incidents that could have been avoided if people had just used their brains. These tales may entertain, but they also serve as a reminder that any business should always strive for excellence. This one takes a look at a frustrating call one of our reporters had with "customer service" at Schwinn.
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Article Thumbnail Oops! file: A periodic look at slips, bumbles and stumbles
Dec 10, 2005
The "Oops File" relays ridiculous stories, some that stem from customer service experiences, from the business world — embarrassing incidents that could have been avoided if people had just used their brains. These tales may entertain, but they also serve as a reminder that any business should always strive for excellence.
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Products and Trends
GearTrends Ad Marketplace
Category Thumbnail
Minx GTX Minx GTX
Apr 25, 2009
TheNorth Face Minx GTX is a perfect lightweight trail shoe for hikers who want to move quickly.
Category Thumbnail
Fast-Drying Tilley 'Travel' Socks Fast-Drying Tilley 'Travel' Socks
Dec 16, 2008
Fast-Drying Tilley 'Travel' Socks. Not just for travel! Your feet will thank you for providing arch support, no-feel toe seams and moisture escape panels for a dry and comfortable fit
Category Thumbnail
Camaro Bamboo Shirts Camaro Bamboo Shirts
Jun 27, 2009
Camaro bamboo shirts by Komperdell are breathable, odor-neutralizing, and funcitonal.
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SNEWS Headlines
Did you hear?...Health magazine announces fitness/gear award winners
Jul 2, 2009
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Power Players' Lounge: Opportunity knocks -- do you hear it?
Jul 1, 2009
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Business Solutions Forum: It seems my biz life is one emergency after another…how do I break the cycle?
Jun 29, 2009
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Industry Releases
Boulder Outdoor Specialty Group grows design team, brings R&D in-house
Jul 1, 2009
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Highgear Receives Health 2009 America's Healthiest Fitness Award
Jul 1, 2009
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Hydration at Elevation: nuun and Mountain Madness Team Up
Jul 1, 2009
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Featured Content
Product Reviews
Review ThumbnailMakoto Xergame
June 29, 2009
When the current owners of Makoto USA saw the game that would become Makoto at an arcade in 2002, they immediately realized its potential to provide both physical and mental fitness for anyone, from athletes to the elderly to folks in rehab. The SNEWS® team first saw a Makoto at the Health & Fitness Business show in Denver several years ago and, after playing it (over and over, we must admit), we had to get one for the office.
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Trend Reports
SNEWS Readers' Choice: Our readers pick their top 25 products of the last quarter-century
Jun 22, 2009
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Grassroots Outdoor Alliance's Early Show offers early preview of trends and potential top sellers
Jun 19, 2009
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Outdoor Retailer Winter Market ’09: You want new and cool?
Mar 23, 2009
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Outdoor Retailer Winter Market '09: Layer up
Mar 4, 2009
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Outdoor Retailer Winter Market '09: Outerwear makers shell out jackets and pants -- and kids get in on the action too
Feb 27, 2009
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Most Viewed Stories
Outdoor industry rugby players unite for match against Utah locals during Outdoor Retailer
May 27, 2009
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SCAM Alert: Did you book your hotel rooms at OR or HFB with Travel House Services?
Jun 26, 2009
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EU iodine ban worries -- SNEWS provides the facts
Jun 26, 2009
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Did you hear?...Health magazine announces fitness/gear award winners
Jul 2, 2009
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Business Solutions Forum: It seems my biz life is one emergency after another…how do I break the cycle?
Jun 29, 2009
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SNEWS Blog
WS 100 endurance run observations: Product, privacy and sloshing packs
"I was hanging out helping brain-dead runners summit the Devil’s Thumb climb in the Western States 100 last Saturday, June 27. It’s a nasty, rocky, 1,500 foot climb over 1.8 miles that comes for most in the hottest part of the day. And it was pretty hot, dry and dusty last weekend. As I escorted runner after runner from the top to the medical aid weigh-in, got their bottles and packs refilled, and"


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"denver show " by fabio ravasi (07/03/2009 16:22 MDT)
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