Grandpa Mike-e-e
Advice from the furniture industry's most senior humorist and columnist Grandpa Mike-e-e at 90! AKA Michael Greene
People shouldn’t hide where they are from and we shouldn’t hide where our furniture is from either.
I'm a cute older gentleman, so I normally get a lot of attention from the ladies, but adding a sincere smile and showing that I care by using just a few simple words works wonders for me and can do the same for your furniture store sales staff.
If business is slow today, there are things you can do to bring in more sales tomorrow.
As the economy starts to rebound, it’s easy to forget that there is an experienced pool of men and women in our industry who need jobs -- very experienced and eager for a fresh startup.
Grandpa Mike-e-e is a big proponent of the, "it never hurts to ask" school of life. If it’s done in the right way, is totally voluntary and not coerced, you can't go wrong.
Have you ever sat down on a deserted island to play "20 Questions" by yourself?
Summer is time when the days and nights are not exactly hotsy-totsy from a sales perspective, and salespeople, managers and owners tear out the little hair they still have left! I call them "stone wall" days.
People will watch anything (on video) for three minutes, so what are you waiting for?
Why not? Your expertise is needed. Honest!
This week, ninety year-old ex-furniture retailer Michael Greene connects his woman-watching experience, to furniture store corporate downsizing.
Ideas in independence and interdependence for the July 4th Holiday and beyond.
Make your self the spokesperson… not your accountant, but you.
It is my opinion, that the traffic flow at High Point & Las Vegas is out of whack considering the wealth of product sources and information available.
When you bring design and sales associates to Market, they get involved in the choosing and dreaming process that is the backbone of creativity and fresh design in our industry.
Your seminar will serve a double purpose. You can teach kids and parents how to design their own rooms and maybe even interest them in a career in interior design.
Some time ago, Grandpa Mike-e-e was asked for permission to reprint his columns from English to Chinese! What does this have to do with selling furniture? Click through to find out!
Are you asking for new business in the right way, in the right languages, through the right advertising media?
Grandpa Mike-e-e's unsolicited advice for President Obama regarding help for small business... including the furniture business!
You as your #1 company asset are the continuous backbone of your corporation in your daily show, in your trade, in your community and in your personal life.
Your major mission is not just your buying and selling of products but, rather, the selling of you. Yes! the selling of you, the major asset of your company.
Super-Buying starts with buying enough of a certain category and displaying it properly. But more important -- you need to blow your own horn!
Most retailers put a lot of emphasis on selling, but the very best ones also take the time and invest their energy to do a better job of buying. Trust this old retailer that there’s a lot of excitement to be had in buying "right"... A-n-d here's how!
Grandpa thinks that all of us need to constantly question and self-test ourselves as leaders of a team. Here is one way to get started...
it's time for small business furniture retail leaders to Stand Up and be counted so that the folks in Washington can become aware of their needs and issues.
Lessons our politicians can learn from the experience of the High Point Market and a good fruit salad.
The truth is that regardless of super-computers and endless Internet gizmos we still go around only once in a lifetime…
Tips for women who want to get into the furniture retail life.
It could have been an uncomfortable situation. Luckily though, retail business people who do the right thing, who are honest, carry products they can be proud of and treat everyone with respect, have a lot less to worry about.
If you don't enjoy the challenge of people it's impossible to enjoy retail. And if you don't enjoy retail no way can you be successful at it.
Many people in our industry who use this system have found that they have a lot more time than they thought to enjoy life. A-n-d others, have trouble figuring out where all this saved time is going...
Well, here's another retail location I want to tell you about that I ran across some time ago. It was called The Highway Home Furnishings Gallery...
If you already have a retail store or came up like so many of us in a family business, but are having troubles, don't be afraid to bet on yourself.
This week Grandpa Mike-e-e! tells a story about a young man thinking of entering his father's furniture store.
Do you have a great or even a not so great furniture story to tell? Has the rep who has called on your store since the ice age told you the same story over and over and you find it interesting every time?
And now there's another store I want to tell you about. It's called "The Bagel Hole" that discovered how to make the most of one ceiling, four walls and one flat floor. Honest.
If you aren't a giant corporation, my suggestion is to forget the fine-print and make your print HUGE. Explain to potential customers what you do and what you don't do -- with a touch of class!
If you are in Pizza Slice #2 or #3 or #4, turn your head around and see what kind of footsteps you left for the next generation to remember you by. And that doesn't only include those kids who have some of your genetic material...
Not everything in business is in cold black and white. The intangibles of invested dedication, talent and imagination are what add up to the greatest values of the bottom line.
Ideas for attracting Seniors, such as... "Once a Bride Always a Bride, The Grandchildren Are Coming", and more.
Did you know that the lives we live shape up into Round Life Pizzas that slice up into four Life Quadrants? Grandpa Mike-e-e! gives advice to those in the furniture industry who are just entering Slice #2.
Blah-blah politicians surely don't "know" your territory. Pundits definitely don't "know" your customer's territory. You do. You're the expert... for better or for worse.
Find someone you can partner, love and be loved and you'll see your interest grow day in and day out... including weekends and holidays.
Don't be one of those guys or gals who spends too much time at work for too little return.
"Idea money," is money to be invested in stirring up sales excitement that lays the groundwork for future sales because it brings consumers in to just take a look-see and ask questions.
When you target consumers do your homework first class.
All the ingredients of care that help form a musician, also go towards forming a quality employee who can appreciate beauty. One who will report on time. One who will appreciate and understand the value of his/her part on a production team.
As a manager, you are obligated to talk over your dreams for new avenues with your "Shadowy Being." Have a conversation and don't give in to the voice in your head that holds fast to the staus quo of tried and true and boring business practices.
We must stand by one another (in sickness, in health and in mind) and not just honk to hear ourselves honk. Rather, we must honk to let our compatriots know we appreciate where we're all going.
Of course, a sale always makes the big boss happy. But it's the whole transaction between the customer and the salesperson that counts. Including the customer smiling when they say "We'll take it." And your knowing that they'll be back again after they tell their neighbors and jealous relatives what a "good time" they had spending their hard earned cash.
The name of the game in retail life is buying and who you are buying from.
Women in the home furnishings industry need to fight for and release more women's thinking for men to follow, to absorb and to appreciate.
This week Grandpa Mike-e-e repectfully advises the president on the policies that will stimulate the economy from Main Street on up.
Our furnishings, you claim, don't have technical problems of the sort consumers experience with their cable TV and internet service. I know. But we do have specialists. Advertise their knowledge, and brag about the quality, the value, the service and the endless beauty we sell our customers.
First in a series of columns by Michael Greene (aka Grandpa Mike-e-e). This installment explains why the phrase "home furnishings" as applied to our industry is a misnomer. Here's why.