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e-ret@iler
August 2001
Sent at your request by Profits Plus Seminars & Tom Shay

What you will read in this month's issue of the e-ret@iler:
1. A new article on the Profits Plus Seminars website
2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: gambling at the local level
3. Your free subscription to the e-ret@iler
4. Contacting Profits Plus Seminars and Tom Shay

1. The Opposite of NO
That's the name of the new article on the website this month.
"The Opposite of NO".
While giving examples from the pool and spa industry, the technique can be duplicated with anything you sell. The opposite of "no" is not a "yes"; sometimes when a customer asks us if we have something, we give the "no" because we don't stock that product. When you read this article you will find out what is the opposite of "no" in retailing.

2. Gambling at the local level

As often as I have the pleasure of traveling to a trade show or conference in Las Vegas, I have never found the gaming areas to catch my attention. The same is true when I have traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana, or any other city with gambling. My comment to folks was that I consider retailing to be enough of a gamble.

Actually, as retailers we all need to become gamblers - at least within our business. I recently worked with a group that I had presented an idea to some 60 days previously. Their merchandiser immediately contacted the supplier and enlisted them to appear in their trade show. After the show, I was told some 40% of their stores decided to try the idea. The cost of the idea was only $100. Some folks said they did not want to gamble. Yet, they gamble every day.

As an example, you expect a certain Saturday to be a very busy day, and you schedule plenty of help on the sales floor. Instead, after you have been open for an hour, it begins to rain. And it rains a lot all day long. You have wasted a sizable number of dollars in unproductive personnel unless you can get everyone working using your "rainy day project list".

Wayne Gretzky, the great hockey player, said, "you will miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Have you taken any shots today?

3. Your free subscription to the e-ret@iler
Was this issue of the e-retailer a hand me down to you? No one likes to read second hand news, so send a note for your own free subscription.

4. Contacting Profits Plus Seminars and Tom Shay
Thanks for stopping to see us. There is a whole lot more information on the website.

Last, and most definitely, thank you for inviting us onto your desktop, and taking the time to read our newsletter.

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Tom Shay

 

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Tom Shay
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MAY 2026
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Small Business

AdvisoriES


"It's all fun and games", is the title of the May Small Business Advisory. Too many employees think the business owner is simply renting their time. Showing up is sufficient.

 

This month's advisory shares a series of engaging activities that remind, and reward, employees that making the sale is what creates their pay check.

Small Business

NewS

Top Story

Meeting with the accountant in February before the tax return is due. I am not sure how this became a tradition. There is nothing you can do to change the numbers for 2025.

 

Why not meet in May, instead? One-third of the year would be completed, and a May meeting would allow for a discussion about what can and should be changed for the last eight months of 2026.

Article of the Month

The article of the month for May is titled, "No more tears". The discussion focuses on inventory which is a great investment in your business. But, only if you know how to manage the "open to buy" and will monitor the inventory turn rate.


Book of the Month

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, PhD. As one who has found over the years that many of the problems in a small business occur because of the mindset of the owner of the business, this book is a must read.

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.
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BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

The April Small Business Advisory quotes research performed by a faculty member at Purdue. The question was asked of 20,000 people, "What do you want in an experience with a business?".

 

The advisory shares the top five answers, for which the majority require the skills that only a human can have. It is not artificual intelligence or software that deals with customer service management.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

It has been many years since we received an email from Ron of Arrow Floor Covering. Yet we still read it time and again as there are words of wisdom in his message.

 

Would the next generation want to work in your small business?


Article of the Month

Owning a small business has a lot of similarities to owning a small business. Not so much because of the hours you spent with the business, but because of the commitment you are making to yourself, your employees and your customers.

 

The April Article of the Month is titled, "With this ring, I thee wed".


Book of the Month

Everything in the April edition of Small Business News has a tie to the connection of you and your employees to your business. The same is true with this month's book suggestion which is, "Hit Refresh" by Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft.

 

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.