What is more important to a store manager than sales

What is a store manager's job?

If asked that, many people might answer like this.
"To increase sales."

That is certainly not wrong.
A company cannot survive without making a profit, and stores have sales targets.
Store managers are expected to achieve them.

I myself have worked in the retail industry for many years, and I have always faced numbers such as monthly budgets, year-on-year comparisons, customer counts, and average spend per customer.

The job of a store manager is a battle with numbers.
I often feel that way.

However, the longer I work on the front lines, the more I realize something.
That is,sales are important, but chasing sales themselves will not increase sales.

When I look at stores where sales are growing, they have something in common.
The staff are working energetically.
They are trusted by customers.
The sales floor is well-organized.
The atmosphere in the store is good.
And the store manager themselves has composure.

In other words,there are "people" before the numbers.

It is people who come to the store as customers.
It is people who sell the products.
It is people who create the sales floor.
It is people who build the store's reputation.
What generates sales is not numbers, but human actions.

That is why, if I were to describe a store manager's job in one word, I think it is
"building people," not "building numbers".

Nurturing staff.
Nurturing trust with customers.
Nurturing an environment that is easy to work in.
Nurturing relationships with the community.

As a result of the trust and relationships nurtured in this way, sales and profits are born.

Of course, I am not belittling sales.
Sales are important.
However, they are a result, not an objective.

If you want to harvest many fruits from a tree, you should not pull on the fruits, but rather till the soil, provide water, and nurture the tree.

A store is the same.
To grow the fruit called sales, you need to cherish the soil called people.

This time, while looking back on the content of articles I have written so far about store manager work, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and sales floor creation, I would like to think about"what is more important to a store manager than sales".

<Chapter 1> Sales are a result, not an objective

When you work as a store manager, you look at numbers every day.

How much were today's sales?
What percentage is it against the budget?
How does it compare to last year?
Has the number of customers increased?
Has the average spend per customer gone up?

The company demands numbers, and the store manager must also be conscious of numbers.
So, before you know it, you start to think, "Increasing sales is the store manager's job."

But is that really true?
Having worked on the front lines for many years, I feel that there is a limit to chasing sales themselves.

This is because sales are ultimately a result.

For example, sales are generally expressed as "number of customers × average spend per customer."
Thinking further,
the number of customers is "how many customers visited,"
and the average spend per customer is "how much one customer purchased."

In other words, it is not numbers that create sales.
It is customer behavior.

Then, why do customers visit?
Why do they purchase products?
Why do they visit again?
There is always a reason for that.

There was a product they wanted.
The customer service was good.
The store was easy to see.
They could shop with peace of mind.
The staff's response was kind.

Sales become the result of each of those things piling up.

Conversely, even if you only look at the numbers, you cannot see the true cause of sales.

When sales drop, many people look at the numbers.
But what you really should look at is the front line.

What are customers troubled by?
What are staff worried about?
Is there a problem with the sales floor?
Is the appeal of the products being conveyed?

Numbers tell you the result.
But they do not tell you the cause.

The cause is always on the front line.

During my active days, there were days when sales were good and days when they were bad.
But looking back, stores with good sales had common points.

The atmosphere among staff is good.
The sales floor is organized.
They are attentive to customers.
They can improve immediately even if a problem occurs.

In other words, it is not that the store is good because the numbers are good, but that the numbers become good because the store is good.
If you misunderstand this, the store manager's job becomes painful.

If you only look at sales, instructions like "Sell more," "Speak up more," and "Try harder" will increase.
However, that does not become a fundamental solution.

Just because there are few fruits on a tree, pulling on the branches will not increase the fruit.
You need to till the soil, provide water, and nurture the tree itself.

A store is the same.
If you want to increase the fruit called sales, you must not chase sales, but nurture the environment that generates sales.

An environment where staff can work easily.
An environment where customers can shop easily.
An environment where trust is born.
Creating such soil is the true job of a store manager.

Sales are important.
However, what a store manager should really face is not sales.
It is the cause that generates sales.

And at the center of that cause, there is always a "person."
That is why I think a store manager's job is not building numbers, but building people.

<Chapter 2> Stores that cherish their staff are strong

What is more important to a store manager than sales?

When asked that, I first answer "staff."

Of course, customers are also important.
But who is delivering value to customers?

Arranging products, providing customer service, operating the register, and organizing the sales floor are all done by staff.

No matter how wonderful the products are, and no matter how good the store's location is, a store cannot function without people working there.

Therefore, what a store manager should cherish first is the staff they work with.

However, when people hear "cherish the staff," it is sometimes misunderstood.
Being kind.
Not getting angry.
Allowing anything.
Some people might think that.
But that is a little different.

I think that truly cherishing staff means taking responsibility for their growth.

People feel a sense of worth in their work when they can feel their own growth.

I can do what I couldn't do yesterday.
I was thanked by a customer.
I became able to teach juniors.
The work I am entrusted with has increased.

Confidence is born from the accumulation of such experiences.
And work becomes interesting.

A store manager's job is to support that growth.

It is not to manage staff so they don't fail.
It is to create an environment where they can learn even if they fail.

It is not to move the staff.
It is to nurture them so they can move on their own.

In fact, strong stores have common points.
It is not that "the store manager is excellent."
It is that "the staff are growing."

The store runs even if the store manager is off.
They can handle sudden troubles on the front line.
There is a culture of naturally teaching even when new people join.
Such stores are strong.

Conversely, stores where only the store manager is working hard do not last long.
The store stops if the store manager is off.
They cannot make decisions without the store manager.
Staff become wait-for-instructions types.

At first glance, the store manager might look excellent, but that is a dangerous state as an organization.

There is a limit to the power of one store manager.
That is precisely why you need to nurture people.

I have seen many store managers so far.
Among them, the store managers I felt were truly excellent were not people who stood out.
Rather, they were people who made the staff the protagonists.

They rejoice in the staff's success.
They praise the staff's growth.
They listen to the staff.
They trust and entrust the staff.

Through such accumulation, a team's relationship of trust was born.

Trust cannot be created by orders.
Trust is something that grows in daily interactions.

And when trust is born, the team becomes strong.
They start helping each other.
They stop hiding even if a problem occurs.
They naturally reach out to colleagues who are in trouble.

Such a team also has a good influence on customers.
Because the atmosphere of a store reflects the state of the staff.
The tense air of a workplace is conveyed to customers.

Conversely, in a store where staff are working energetically, customers also feel comfortable.

That is why I think "customer satisfaction lies beyond employee satisfaction."

Cherishing staff is not just for the staff.
As a result, it also becomes for the customers.
And beyond that, there are sales and profits.

A store manager's job is not to manage people.
It is to nurture people.

It is to draw out the potential of each individual, support their growth, and build relationships of trust.
Isn't that the most valuable job for a store manager?

<Chapter 3> What does it mean to cherish customers?

What is more important to a store manager than sales is people.
In the previous chapter, I wrote about cherishing staff among them.

However, a store is not made up of only staff.
A store can exist precisely because customers visit.

Therefore, a store manager must cherish customers.
Then, what does it mean to cherish customers?

Providing customer service with a smile.
Using polite language.
Responding kindly.

Of course, those are also important.
However, I think the essence of cherishing customers is simpler.

It isreducing the troubles customers feel.

When I think about store work, I often recall the term "five dissatisfactions."
Anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, inconvenience, burden.

How much can these five be reduced?
I think that is the essence of customer satisfaction.

For example, customers have various anxieties.
Will this product suit me?
Will I fail?
Is it difficult to use?
Customer service resolves that anxiety.

Easy-to-understand explanations.
Polite guidance.
Words that provide peace of mind.
Through such accumulation, customers become able to purchase with peace of mind.

Also, there is dissatisfaction.
I can't find the product I want.
The staff doesn't know even if I ask.
The waiting time is long.
Reducing such dissatisfaction is also important.

Furthermore, there is discomfort.
The store is dirty.
The staff's attitude is bad.
The register response is sloppy.
All of these might be trivial things from the perspective of someone on the sales floor.
However, for customers, they are events that influence the impression of the entire store.

There is also inconvenience.
The guidance signs are hard to understand.
I don't know the location of the products.
I have to take a detour to the register.

And there is also burden.
The procedure is troublesome.
The explanation is difficult.
I am asked the same thing many times.
When such small stresses pile up, customers quietly leave.

Conversely, a store with few of the five dissatisfactions becomes comfortable.
It is easy to find the products you want.
You can consult when you are in trouble.
You can shop with peace of mind.
You can go home feeling good.
Customers who have experienced that will visit again.

What is important here is that customers are not just buying products.

Customers are buying an "experience."

In this day and age, you can buy the same product at any store.
You can also buy it on the internet.

If it's just price, there might be cheaper stores.
Even so, they visit because they feel value in that store.

I think of this as "trust."

Trust is the feeling of,
"It's okay if it's this store."
"I can feel at ease if it's this store."
"I can shop comfortably if it's this store."

And trust is not something born from a single customer service interaction.
It is something that grows through daily accumulation.

Therefore, a store manager must not chase only immediate sales.
Forcing products on customers.
Selling things that are not needed.
Acting only for the sake of numbers.
Such methods might lead to temporary sales, but you lose trust.

If you lose trust, customers will not return.

However, if you accumulate trust, customers will visit many times.
Eventually, that customer becomes a regular, and then becomes a fan.
A fan is not just someone who visits many times.
They are someone who wants to support that store.

They visit even if it is somewhat far away.
They introduce the store to friends and family.
They look forward to new products.
They are such an existence.

It is these fans who support sales.
And the method to create fans is very simple.

Cherishing customers as human beings.
Facing the anxieties and dissatisfactions in front of you.
Creating an environment where they can shop with peace of mind.
That accumulation creates trust, and trust creates fans.

That is why I think cherishing customers means
"removing the five dissatisfactions and nurturing trust".
Sales are merely a result born beyond that.

<Chapter 4> The store manager creates the store's atmosphere

Cherishing customers.
Cherishing staff.

Among those who have read this far,
some might think, "I understand that, but what specifically should a store manager do?"
I think one of the answers is

adjusting the store's atmosphere.The word atmosphere might sound a bit abstract.

However, customers feel the atmosphere of the store from the moment they enter.
The brightness felt the moment they enter the store.

Cleanliness.
The staff's expressions.
The voice of greetings.
The state of organization of the sales floor.
The ease of seeing products.
Customers feel these things unconsciously.

And they get an impression of "somehow it's comfortable," or "somehow it's hard to shop."
Interestingly, customers cannot necessarily put the reason into words.
But they are certainly receiving it as a sensation.

I have seen many stores so far, and prosperous stores have a unique atmosphere.
The staff are bright.

The sales floor is organized.
Products look lively.
Customers are shopping happily.
On the other hand, struggling stores have a different atmosphere.
There are few greetings.

The sales floor is messy.
Staff look tired.
Customers also hurry home.
Of course, there are various factors for good or bad sales, such as location and product power.
However, even so, I feel that the influence the store's atmosphere gives is extremely large.

And who is creating that atmosphere?
It is the store manager.

The store manager is the most influential existence in the store.
In a store where the store manager greets with a smile, staff also start to greet.

In a store where the store manager cherishes organization, the sales floor also becomes clean.
If the store manager shows an attitude of cherishing customers, staff also act in the same way.
The reverse is also true.
If the store manager is in a bad mood, that atmosphere spreads to the entire store.

If the store manager only looks at numbers, staff also only look at numbers.
If the store manager does not cherish people, a culture of cherishing people will not grow.
In other words, the store manager is creating the store's atmosphere more than they think.
I previously wrote about the "four points of a store manager's job":

Store exterior

Products
Staff
Customers
Looking back now, all four of these are connected to creating an atmosphere.
Is the entrance clean?
Do the products look attractive?

Are the staff working comfortably?
Are customers shopping comfortably?
By adjusting each of these, the atmosphere of the entire store is adjusted.
And when the atmosphere is adjusted, customers want to come again.
Staff also want to continue working.

As a result, it leads to sales and profits.
What is important here is that the store manager does not need to do anything special.
Daily cleaning.
Organizing products.

Speaking to staff.
Greeting customers.
Expressing gratitude.
Continuing to do such obvious things obviously.
That creates the store's atmosphere.
And that accumulation becomes the store's culture.
Culture cannot be created in a day.

However, it is shaped little by little through daily actions.
I think a store manager's job is not managing sales, but


adjusting the store's state

.Because if the state is adjusted, people grow, if people grow, customers gather, and if customers gather, sales follow later.A store manager is not a person who creates numbers.They are a person who creates a place where people can work comfortably and customers can shop comfortably.
Adjusting the atmosphere of that place.

Isn't that the important job that only a store manager can do?

<Chapter 5> Profit is the result of cherishing people

Up to this point, I have written about "cherishing staff," "cherishing customers," and "adjusting the store's atmosphere."
Some might think, "Isn't that just idealistic?"
A company cannot survive without making a profit.
A store cannot continue without profit.

So, in the end, aren't numbers important?
That is certainly true.
I am not saying that sales and profit are unnecessary.
Rather, a store manager has a responsibility to leave a profit.

Without profit, you cannot pay staff salaries.
You cannot introduce new equipment.

You cannot stock products.
The company cannot survive.
You will also become unable to continue providing value to customers.
Therefore, profit is very important.
However, what I want to think about here is

how to generate profit

.When people want to increase profit, they tend to want to look for a shortcut.Cutting labor costs.Forced sales.

Discounts more than necessary.
Putting a burden on staff.
In the short term, numbers might look good.
However, the price for that will definitely appear somewhere.
Staff become exhausted.

Turnover increases.
Service quality drops.
Customer satisfaction also drops.
And in the end, even sales drop.
I have seen many times on the front lines, "stores that have good numbers but somehow have a bad atmosphere."
Such stores look successful at first glance.

However, it is not rare that they do not last long.

Because people are being sacrificed.
Staff are exhausted.
Consideration for customers is lacking.

The store manager themselves is also cornered.
You cannot sustain in such a state.
Conversely, stores that are loved for a long time have common points.
Staff are staying.

There is a relationship of trust with customers.
They are supported by the region.

And profit is also stable.
This is not a coincidence.
It is because they cherish people.
I think profit is


something born as a result of cherishing people

.Providing value to customers.Staff grow.Creating an environment that is easy to work in.

Reducing waste.
Accumulating improvements.
As a result, profit remains.
Isn't this the original form?
Profit is a result at the same time as being an objective.
If you make only profit the objective, you become unable to see people.

However, if you aim for profit while cherishing people, it becomes a store that lasts long.

I think what is necessary for a store manager is not "the power to chase profit," but


"the power to create a store that can generate profit"


.
For that, you need a foundation such as staff not quitting, customers coming again, the sales floor being organized, and improvements continuing.Profit is not something that is born suddenly.It is born from daily accumulation.And at the center of that accumulation, there are always people.

That is why I think cherishing profit and cherishing people do not contradict each other.
Rather, if you really want to leave a profit, you must cherish people.
Cherish customers.
Cherish staff.
As a result, profit is born.

And through that profit, the store continues into the future.
A store manager's role is to create that good cycle.

<Chapter 6> If you cannot cherish yourself, you cannot cherish people

Up to this point, I have written about cherishing staff and customers, adjusting the store's atmosphere, and leaving a profit.

However, actually, there is one more person who must be cherished.
That isthe store manager themselves.

The job of a store manager is lonelier than you think.

If sales are bad, you are held responsible.
If there is a complaint, you respond.
If staff quit, you fill the gap.
If trouble occurs, you make the final decision.

From the surroundings, the store manager might look strong.
But in reality, many store managers work while holding pressure.

I myself was like that.
Days chased by numbers.
Anxiety about labor shortages.
Worries about staff development.
Endless work.

Rather than becoming easier when you become a store manager, responsibility actually increases.

And the more serious a person is, the more they think, "If I work hard, I can manage."

If I take a break, it will cause trouble.
I should just endure it.
It's faster if I do it.
From such thoughts, before you know it, you end up carrying everything on your back.

However, that will not last long.
Because you are human.
No matter how excellent a store manager is, they get tired.
They worry.
They sometimes get depressed.
They sometimes lose composure.

And the store manager's state directly influences the store's state.
If the store manager is irritated, staff also become tense.
If the store manager has no composure, they become unable to listen to staff.
If the store manager is exhausted, it becomes difficult to be attentive to customers.

In other words, the store manager's own mental state is contagious to the entire store.

I have seen many store managers so far, and the better the store manager, the less perfect they were.
Rather, they were people who could ask for help.
They could entrust things to others.
They could take a break.
They were such people.

A store manager does not need to be a person who can do everything.
They are not a person who does everything alone.
They are a person who draws out the team's power.

That is precisely why you must not collapse.

On an airplane, in an emergency, when oxygen masks come down, you are instructed to first put it on yourself before helping children.
Because if you lose consciousness, you will become unable to help anyone.

A store manager is the same.
If you yourself are exhausted, you cannot support staff.
You cannot cherish customers.
You cannot improve the store.

Therefore, a store manager needs the courage to take a break, the courage to entrust, and the courage to rely on others.

This is by no means being spoiled.
It is part of management.
Adjusting yourself is also work.

Getting sleep.
Paying attention to health.
Taking a change of pace.
Having time with family.
Enjoying hobbies.
Such obvious things are actually extremely important for a store manager.

If you have composure in your heart, you can be kind to people.
Your perspective widens.
You can make calm judgments.
You can notice changes in staff.
You can also listen to customer voices.
And above all, you become able to enjoy work.

I think the job of a store manager is a job of facing people.
That is precisely why, to cherish people, you must first cherish yourself.

Continuing to sacrifice yourself is not a virtue.
Adjusting yourself, having composure, and sharing that composure with people around you.
Isn't that the figure of a truly strong store manager?

A store manager is also a human being.
So if you cherish people, you also cherish yourself.
I think you must not forget that.

<Conclusion> What is a store manager's job?

Now, let's think again.
What on earth is a store manager's job?

Is it to increase sales?
Is it to increase profit?
Of course, those are important.
However, if it were only that, maybe it could be done even if you weren't a store manager.

There are people who are good at data analysis.
There are people who are excellent at sales techniques.
If you only look at numbers, there would be many more efficient methods.

Even so, why does the position of store manager exist?
I think it isbecause there are people.

There are people in the store.
There are staff working.
There are customers who come to shop.
There are business partners.
There are people in the region.
And the store manager themselves is also there.

A place called a store is not made up of only products and equipment.
It is made up of relationships between people.
Therefore, a store manager's job is also essentially a job related to people.

I have seen many store managers so far.
There were people who were good at increasing sales.
There were people who were good at giving instructions.
There were people who were fast at processing work.
However, store managers who were truly trusted by those around them had common points.

That isthat they cherished people.

Listening to staff.
Listening to customer voices.
Expressing gratitude.
Respecting the other party.
Supporting people in trouble.
It is not something special.
However, there are never many people who can continue that obvious thing.

That is precisely why it is valuable.

The job of a store manager is a mysterious job.
You cannot do anything by yourself.
No matter how excellent you are, you cannot create a sales floor alone, provide customer service alone, and operate a store alone.
You always borrow someone's power.

Therefore, a store manager's results are born not from one's own power, but in relationships with people around.

Staff grow.
Customers are happy.
The store's atmosphere becomes good.
Trust accumulates.
Beyond the accumulation of such things that are hard to see, there are sales and profits.

Numbers are important.
However, a store cannot continue with only numbers.
Trust is necessary.
People are necessary.
Therefore, if I am asked, "What is more important to a store manager than sales?" I answer without hesitation.

"People"
.
Staff are people.
Customers are people.
And the store manager themselves is a person.
Cherishing people.
Nurturing people.
Building relationships of trust with people.

I think that is the most important job of a store manager.
Sales are something born as a result of that.

If there is a store manager who is suffering because they are chased by numbers now, please stop and think just once.
Did I cherish someone today?
Did I listen to staff?
Did I remove customer anxiety?

Did I express gratitude?

I think that accumulation is what makes a store strong and creates a store that is loved for a long time.
A store manager's job is not to chase numbers.
It is to cherish people.And isn't true sales beyond that?

Thank you for watching.
I would be happy if you could give me a like, follow, or tip.
I look forward to your continued support.

#Learn from this experience