New article - Thiele

'People talk a lot about the crisis. But when I am at the Lyngby Storcenter Mall on a Saturday morning I cannot get a parking space.'

That's how chain store manager Rasmus Planck from the optician chain and Purveyor to Her Majesty Fa. Thiele A/S describes the current situation on the consumer market. He came to Thiele in the spring of 2008 from a position in another retail chain with the purpose of focussing on the sales organisation and was rather quickly confronted with the market slowdown.

The entire organisation in Thiele had been through a sales training 'treatment' process in the winter and spring of 2009 - not just the 89 stores but also at the regional manager level.

'We could see that there were fewer customers, and their focus on price had increased considerably. In this situation the danger is that you check your routines and conclude: We are doing it right, we are treating the customers nicely as usual, we have the right products and the store looks great. So we'd better wait for the situation to turn around. But - it doesn't by itself, and there is no reason to wait. Two weeks go by, one month goes by, and if there is no change time has been lost.'

'You have to end in the reverse order. If we did it right, we would have success; we do not have success, ergo we are not doing it right. And then you have to act.'

Our analysis goes like this: When fewer customers come through the door the logical consequence is to make sure more products end up in the shopping basket of each individual customer. And this gives the staff a huge task in being capable of performing an identification of needs with the customers who come to see us. Not only because we want to sell more, but also because we - through more dedication and focus - automatically give a better and more dedicated service to the customer and do more to ensure that the customer can take home what was expected - and preferably more. Both in regards to products, but definitely also the customer's experience of us 'wanting' the customer.

Sure, more work has to be done to conclude each sale. But there are customers, and they have money.

Better cooperation between the customer and the salesperson requires training, and TACK International was put in charge of the training program. 'They have a down-to-earth and concrete approach to the task and went to every single store before the training program started. TACK is very much in touch with the issue for us,' says Rasmus Planck. 'They are good salespeople, simply put.'

The entire organisation has participated in TACK-managed courses in the first phase. At the same time the staffing in stores has been optimised, says Rasmus Planck. 'In some cases we have achieved an increased turnover of up to 25 % by letting the staff switch stores. Why you may ask? The explanation is that a store needs to have multiple personality types among the employees in order to match the customers.'

The personality types Rasmus Planck refers to are DiSC profiles enabling the individual to understand themselves better as a person in relation to other people. What motivates you in a situation - do you perform your best by overcoming resistance, by convincing, through cooperation or by playing by the rules? Temperament, motivation and the ability to assess and impact others affects how you achieve results. 'It is fun to see and listen to the way we all have begun to use DiSC terms to describe situations,' says Rasmus Planck. 'It's a powerful tool.'

The preliminary result is sustained turnover with fewer employees. Achieving results has a very motivating effect on everyone in the organisation. The next training stage will roll out in the company in the autumn of 2009, when regional managers will drive from store to store. In the training context every store will receive a visit at least once per quarter with sales role plays allowing everyone to play the part of salesperson, customer and boss.

Jens Dalgaard, TACK international adds: 'In order for the stores to benefit from what has been learned it must be implemented.
It has to take place on the spot and with the direct management. Then it will become useful and applicable.'

Rasmus Planck hopes that the increased awareness of the importance of active sales, and the successes this provides, will come across as a heightened sense of ownership in the work situation. 'Clearly a company owner from the onset has a different relation to performing a sale than an employee. The money is the difference - for one of them it is the difference between money in the till, for the other with the fixed income the dimension is not so prominent. We believe that we - through training - can increase this drive, which ownership gives, in everyone in the company.' The Thiele chain consists of 57 stores and 33 partner stores.

Fa. Thiele A/S is one of the most traditional companies in Danish retail, established in 1817 and from 1931 holder of the title
"Royal Purveyor.' Three years ago the company was transferred by the Thiele family to the somewhat 'younger' J.C. Filtenborg A/ S (only dating back to 1855). The company is however by no means buried in the past, but very proactive on the Danish market as one of the market leaders in fashion glasses, spectacle glasses and contact lenses.