Hello All-
Our recent meeting on May 12th had a few main topics. First Cody showed me how the shop keeps the pool clean...and at 88 degrees. Since I have a pool at my house, the general operations were very similar, although the shop has everything electronic. This makes keeping the pH and other items at the right settings very easy. I never realized that the pool has its own staging platform to make entry very easy for divers. After a quick cleaning Pat talked to us about writing our press releases for Midwest Magazine. I wrote mine about Jacques Cousteau and his 100 year anniversary that is coming up fast! I think it would be a great addition to the magazine. Cody and I also have to put together our letters to local schools. These letters explain that Scuba Emporium would like to come to local schools for free and try to get more people involoved in diving. It also allows these kids a chance to get a certification card upon completion of the class. The class is called The World of SCUBA Diving and it talks about the different equipment, our water system, the oceans reef system and scuba as a future career. I think this sounds like a great program to introduce to biology classes because some of those things kids are learning about. It would be a great real life parallel. Our next meeting we plan to boat dive in Lake Michigan, I hope everything goes according to plan!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Meeting Updates
Hellooo
It's been awhile since I have updated my blog, however I have a lot of great information. In our last two meetings, we have done quite a bit of work! Cody and I recently spent all night re-designing the wetsuit walls, which look fantastic. After discussing merchandising and displays for awhile we had a chance to demonstrate what we had learned...and it was quite a but. Cody had great ideas for the different wall layouts, and we went with one of them. We moved all of the drysuits and thicker wetsuits to the left of the wall, farther away for the thinner suits, since summer diving is finally here!
Before we designed the wall, I was able to run my promotion idea by Patrick. I thought we could have a blood drive at the store, probably on a Saturday. This could be great for the community and show that Scuba Emporium is all about giving back, not just business. It could also bring in people for added sales, we are going to run discounted rates on certain items then too. Without getting to into it in my post, I'll leave it up to you to come out when we do it and see what it's all about
Our next meeting in mid-May we will be discussing basic sales training and other merchandising tips. This will allow us to be more confident when selling on the sales floor or at our current jobs. We learned a lot at our last meeting, and we will continue to learn about the store itself.
One thing I am looking forward to is setting a date for out Lake Michigan diving. I have been waiting all winter to get out on the Lake and see what is down there, plus I have a whole bunch of gear I want to try out. I am looking forward to our next meeting and diving out on the Lake!
It's been awhile since I have updated my blog, however I have a lot of great information. In our last two meetings, we have done quite a bit of work! Cody and I recently spent all night re-designing the wetsuit walls, which look fantastic. After discussing merchandising and displays for awhile we had a chance to demonstrate what we had learned...and it was quite a but. Cody had great ideas for the different wall layouts, and we went with one of them. We moved all of the drysuits and thicker wetsuits to the left of the wall, farther away for the thinner suits, since summer diving is finally here!
Before we designed the wall, I was able to run my promotion idea by Patrick. I thought we could have a blood drive at the store, probably on a Saturday. This could be great for the community and show that Scuba Emporium is all about giving back, not just business. It could also bring in people for added sales, we are going to run discounted rates on certain items then too. Without getting to into it in my post, I'll leave it up to you to come out when we do it and see what it's all about
Our next meeting in mid-May we will be discussing basic sales training and other merchandising tips. This will allow us to be more confident when selling on the sales floor or at our current jobs. We learned a lot at our last meeting, and we will continue to learn about the store itself.
One thing I am looking forward to is setting a date for out Lake Michigan diving. I have been waiting all winter to get out on the Lake and see what is down there, plus I have a whole bunch of gear I want to try out. I am looking forward to our next meeting and diving out on the Lake!
Monday, December 28, 2009
12/18/2009
Meeting #2
For our second meeting I finished up some paperwork and got a tour of the store. I had no idea how big it actually was. There are all kinds of storage areas with a lot of inventory. Mr. Hammer also showed me the hyrdro machines and all of the other tank/cleaning machines they have. I never knew Scuba Emporium was one of the very few dive shops that service their own tanks. The indoor pool also sets the shop apart from all of their competitors, allowing anyone to try out their new equipment year round. I was also able to see the pool pump room. Since I have a pool at my house, I was familiar with most of the equipment and how it all works. In later meetings I will learn exactly how Scuba Emporium's pool operates.
After a tour of the store, we discussed sales and public relations. Direct selling/sales is a very large portion of the dive shops revenue, almost all of it. Without selling the products, you can't make any money. Patrick explained to Cody and I how to make a sale the right way. This included using humor, reading books on the subject matter, keeping a positive attitude, being personal with the customer, and using testimonials. The main issue with selling is the fear of failure. By improving or using the ideas stated above, you are able to avoid failure. It is also important that you write down your sales goals, and constantly review them in order to ensure you meet them.
We also discussed how to be unique, in retail or any industry really. By being unique you are able to differentiate yourself from your competitors, giving you an advantage. Like I said earlier, the dive shop is unique because they service/maintain/hydro all of their own tanks and they have an indoor pool. This obviously gives them an advantage over their competitors. The staff is also important when trying to set your store apart. We discussed how this is done...by being friendly, being personal, and knowing all essential information about the products you are selling. Once you are able to gauge the customers knowledge level of what you are selling, you can adjust your sales pitch to their level. This ensures that the customer knows what you are talking about, and they are able to understand information about the product. You don't want to flood the customers with terminology or facts if they don't understand them.
The most important point we discussed was a simple idea.
For our second meeting I finished up some paperwork and got a tour of the store. I had no idea how big it actually was. There are all kinds of storage areas with a lot of inventory. Mr. Hammer also showed me the hyrdro machines and all of the other tank/cleaning machines they have. I never knew Scuba Emporium was one of the very few dive shops that service their own tanks. The indoor pool also sets the shop apart from all of their competitors, allowing anyone to try out their new equipment year round. I was also able to see the pool pump room. Since I have a pool at my house, I was familiar with most of the equipment and how it all works. In later meetings I will learn exactly how Scuba Emporium's pool operates.
After a tour of the store, we discussed sales and public relations. Direct selling/sales is a very large portion of the dive shops revenue, almost all of it. Without selling the products, you can't make any money. Patrick explained to Cody and I how to make a sale the right way. This included using humor, reading books on the subject matter, keeping a positive attitude, being personal with the customer, and using testimonials. The main issue with selling is the fear of failure. By improving or using the ideas stated above, you are able to avoid failure. It is also important that you write down your sales goals, and constantly review them in order to ensure you meet them.
We also discussed how to be unique, in retail or any industry really. By being unique you are able to differentiate yourself from your competitors, giving you an advantage. Like I said earlier, the dive shop is unique because they service/maintain/hydro all of their own tanks and they have an indoor pool. This obviously gives them an advantage over their competitors. The staff is also important when trying to set your store apart. We discussed how this is done...by being friendly, being personal, and knowing all essential information about the products you are selling. Once you are able to gauge the customers knowledge level of what you are selling, you can adjust your sales pitch to their level. This ensures that the customer knows what you are talking about, and they are able to understand information about the product. You don't want to flood the customers with terminology or facts if they don't understand them.
The most important point we discussed was a simple idea.
- You have two ears and one mouth, listen twice as much as you talk
By doing this you are able to listen to the customer, figure out exactly what they need, and make sure you are selling the right product at the right price.
12/07/2009
Meeting #1
Finally! We had our first meeting at the dive shop. After being accepted into the mentor program at Scuba Emporium I was curious to see what we would be doing all year. I had read the previous mentors blogs which helped me get some idea of the years activities.
Upon meeting with Mr. Hammer, I learned that we would be doing a variety of tasks/activities. Some of them include...
1. Setting up displays and organizing merchandise in the store
2. Ordering supplies and using purchase orders
3. Learning basic regulator/BCD repair
4. Helping with Our World Under Water 2010
5. Developing a promotion and a press release to go along with it
Since I have taken many classes at school, I felt very comfortable with all of the tasks at hand for the year. I am very excited to learn how to repair regulators and other pieces of diving equipment! I am also looking forward to learning how to do tank hydros.
After Mr. Hammer went over what we would be doing over the year, I filled out another dive folder, similar to the ones we fill out when completing Open Water Certification. This allows the dive shop to monitor what I have done throughout the year and the progress I have been making. The meeting was short, however a lot of information was given! I can't wait until the next meeting in a couple of weeks.
Finally! We had our first meeting at the dive shop. After being accepted into the mentor program at Scuba Emporium I was curious to see what we would be doing all year. I had read the previous mentors blogs which helped me get some idea of the years activities.
Upon meeting with Mr. Hammer, I learned that we would be doing a variety of tasks/activities. Some of them include...
1. Setting up displays and organizing merchandise in the store
2. Ordering supplies and using purchase orders
3. Learning basic regulator/BCD repair
4. Helping with Our World Under Water 2010
5. Developing a promotion and a press release to go along with it
Since I have taken many classes at school, I felt very comfortable with all of the tasks at hand for the year. I am very excited to learn how to repair regulators and other pieces of diving equipment! I am also looking forward to learning how to do tank hydros.
After Mr. Hammer went over what we would be doing over the year, I filled out another dive folder, similar to the ones we fill out when completing Open Water Certification. This allows the dive shop to monitor what I have done throughout the year and the progress I have been making. The meeting was short, however a lot of information was given! I can't wait until the next meeting in a couple of weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
