Retail & Training Consultants for Heritage Sites, Museums & All Visitor Attractions
 

Training

 

 

 
Introduction to Retail Management
Introduction to Buying & Product Development
Visual Merchandising & Display

Maximising Shop Sales & Profit
Exceptional Customer Service & Selling Skills
Retail Law

We believe that the continual training and development of retail staff is essential in order to give them the skills necessary to ensure that a business is efficient, customer-focused and as profitable as possible.  Our experience is that delegates who attend our workshops leave with renewed enthusiasm and are eager to put their newly acquired skills into practice.

 

We offer a comprehensive range of practical and affordable training solutions that are designed specifically to give anyone working in ‘heritage’ shops, whether they have previously worked in the High Street or are completely new to retailing, the knowledge and skills to ensure that the sales and profitability of their shops are maximised.

 

The tremendous success of the ‘open’ training courses that we ran until 2006 which were attended by hundreds of people from museums and heritage sites from all over the UK resulted in such a demand for in-house training that this is the area in which we now concentrate.

 

We are listing below the profiles of a selection of our standard courses but, because we are now able to adapt our course content to your own particular requirements (if you do not require us to write a new course specifically for you) you can select aspects from a number of courses to be ‘cut and pasted’ together to meet your particular needs and the amount of time you have available.

 

We are happy to visit you to assess your training needs for you, completely FREE of charge and without any obligation.


 

 

 

This 2-day workshop is ideal for anyone who holds a retail management position. It provides a good grounding for new managers and acts as a thorough refresher for those who are more experienced; giving practical tips and advice on how to become more effective in the role. Managers will return to their shops feeling confident, focused and ready to put everything they have learned into practice.

Workshop content:

    • Time Management – Planning & Prioritising.
    • Staff Management – Communication, Empowerment and Objective Setting.
    • Recruitment – Getting the right team.
    • Buying & Product Development.
    • Stock Management - Purchase Budgets
    • Visual Merchandising & Display.
    • Retail Law.
    • Managing Profit – Key Performance Indicators & Budgeting.
    • Managing Customer Care

 

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The range of products on sale in your retail outlet(s) should enhance and support the objectives and brand values of your site, as well as meeting the needs and expectations of your customers.

Selecting and developing appropriate products is part of a Retail Manager’s role but is one for which they may have had very little, or possibly no, previous experience.  This 1-day workshop covers the complete buying process.

Workshop content:

    • Understanding the ‘brand’ values of your organisation and the impact that this has on product.
    • Knowing your customers in order to provide product that they will want to purchase.
    • Developing a buying policy.
    • Calculating your purchase budget
    • Managing the ‘Open to Buy’.
    • Range Planning.
    • Product sourcing & selection.
    • Product development.
    • Legal Implications.
    • Pricing Policy.
    • Stock Control Systems – EPoS & Manual.

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The way that merchandise is presented in your retail outlet(s) will have a significant impact on the level of sales achieved. This 1-day workshop focuses on the basic principles of merchandising and display, shop layout and the effective use of ticketing.  It will give an understanding of how to make your outlet easy to shop and create a shopping environment that attracts customers and converts browsers to buyers.

 Workshop content:

    • Merchandising Principles
      • Layout
      • Product segmentation
      • Balance
      • Use of colour
      • Vertical blocking
      • Stock levels
      • Customer access
    • Ticketing
      • Pricing
      • Use of Point-of-Sale material
      • Legal issues 
    • Display
      • Objectives
      • In-store and window display
      • Use of props 
    • Promotions
      • Promotional calendar
      • Promotional methods 

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This 1-day workshop, for managers at all levels, explores the techniques that, when applied correctly, can guarantee to increase retail Sales and Profitability. It also looks at accepted ways of monitoring retail performance and examines how managers can improve their results by taking action on these ‘Key Performance Indicators'.

Workshop content:

  • Managing the team
    • Setting standards
    • Behaviour/attitude
    • Selling skills
  • Getting the right product
    • What to buy
    • How much to spend
    • Setting the selling price
    • Price point barriers

§         Product Presentation

·         Basic techniques

    • Promotions
    • Ticketing & PoS
  • Monitoring & Managing Performance
    • Visitor Numbers as Profit Drivers
    • Average Transaction Values
    • Customer Conversion Rates
    • Gross Profit
    • Wage Costs
    • Shrinkage

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This 1-day workshop looks at what constitutes Exceptional Customer Service.  The emphasis is on placed on demonstrating that Selling Skills not only play a vital role in delivering the highest level of customer service but are also vital for sustained income generation.  It looks at ways to maximise sales by turning browsers into buyers without using ‘hard sell’ techniques.  Although primarily aimed at retail staff,
it provides everyone who comes into contact with the public an insight into how their attitude, behaviour and approach is perceived by customers and the effect that this can have on sales and the overall ‘visitor experience’.

Workshop content:

§         What is ‘Exceptional Customer Service’?

§         Why is ‘Selling’ so important?

§         Why don’t we sell?

§         Who is the customer?

§         The importance of behaviour

§         The Sales Cycle

·         The Greeting

·         The Approach

·         Identifying the needs

·         Introducing merchandise – the importance of product knowledge

·         Features & benefits

·         Closing the sale

·         Handling objections

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An understanding of retail law is essential for all Retail Managers.  The complexities of the legislation that govern the Sale of Goods, Trade Descriptions and Consumer Protection, to name but a few, can be daunting but must be grasped if Retail Managers are to avoid falling foul the civil or even the criminal law and jeopardising the reputation of their organisation.

This practical, lively 1 day workshop provides a basic guide to retail law.

Workshop content:

§         Essential facts - Civil & Criminal Law

§         Open to the public – legal requirements

·         Business Names Act 1985

·         Sunday Trading Act 1994 

·         Granting a 'Licence'

·         Alcohol

·         Music

·         Health & Safet at Work Act 1974

·         Receiving payments

§         Consumer Protection Act 1987

§         Contracts

·         Making a Contract 

·         Between Retailer and Supplier

·         Between Retailer and Customer

§         Trade Description Act 1968

§         Theft

·         Staff

·         Customers

§         Intellectual Property Rights

§         E-commerce

 

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Beaufort House
Willesley
Tetbury
Gloucestershire
GL8 8QU

Telephone: 01666 880444

email: info@retailmatters.com