Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(July 20, 2014 - July 26, 2014)

Click Here

for the

MMBA Website

As I See It...

It's July.

Our stores are busy and we're all burning the candle at both ends as we also try to enjoy some summer fun!

So I will be brief!

Last week, I was driving to work much too early, and with much too little caffeine, when I sleepily noticed the "signs" are in the yards again.

Election campaigning has begun!

It occurred to me that I needed to update my New Councilmember Orientation Packet and prepare to educate these new decision makers on the role of the Liquor Operation in our City.

This has proven to be a valuable tool in the past.

I usually spend two or three hours giving the newly elected councilmember a tour of the store and presenting our financial information.

I also cover our role in the control of alcohol and our overall contributions to the City.

I'm often surprised by the misconceptions and questions that arise!

My morning caffeine must have kicked in as I suddenly thought.....What am I waiting for?

Anyone running for office would certainly appreciate this information now so that they can speak to any questions that might arise while campaigning!

Also, sooner is better when establishing a relationship with anyone interested in City Government.

When I got to work, I actually remembered to add this "To Do" to my calendar.

As the week progressed, I kept moving it to the bottom of my priority list until finally I attempted to convince myself that it could wait for a few weeks!

That's when it happened.....the voice of my conscience spoke...it usually sounds like my father, but this time had a bit of Paul Kaspszak mixed in!

Scary!!

Without the support of City Council, nothing else on my list mattered!

I updated my Orientation packet, looked up the candidates email addresses, and sent it to each with an introduction attached.

The response was remarkable.

Each candidate expressed appreciation for the information to be used while campaigning and the intention to stop in and visit soon.

If you need some help putting together an Orientation Packet, call Paul today!

Candice Woods

Hutchinson

Be Prepared if You Ask for Feedback

Your humble editor's mother, Helen, celebrated her 87th birthday this week.

Here she is with cake and a Brandy Manhattan!!

Earlier in the day when I entered the shop to purchase her card, the two sales associates greeted me and asked if they could assist me.

(Very good!)

I said it wasn't necessary and went to pick out the card.

When I came to pay at the counter, one of the associates asked if I had found everything I was looking for?

(A very standard question in retail.)

I told her "yes," but then asked her what she would have said if I had responded to her question with a "no."

She said she didn't know, since everyone always said "Yes."

While it was good she was trained to perform in a certain way, management did a very poor job in teaching her the purpose of the question (true customer satisfaction and operational improvement) and how to properly respond to a negative response.

MMBA Conference presenter Darryl Rosen compared this behavior to a vending machine -- Put the money in and out comes the product.

In this case, ask the customer a programmed question and get a programed, useless response.

Check out the article below to help your business avoid this situation and increase sales in the process.

Four Tips for Leading Lasting Change that Lead to Higher Sales

by Doug Fleener

One of the programs I run in my consulting practice helps retailers to substantially improve their average sale. Most participants discover a number of sales growth opportunities once they match up what their staff does with how their customers shop and make purchases.

The real challenge lies in getting the staff to take the actions necessary to maximize those sales opportunities.

The store staff has been doing things a certain way for a long time, and simply telling them they need to do something different doesn't work.

The key to change, and it's not always so simple, is to create new positive habits.

As a matter of fact, most retailers and services businesses will try but fail to make the necessary changes, and it's only a matter of time before the staff goes back to doing what they've always done.

Here are four tips for driving those lasting changes that result in higher performance.

Focus on what to do versus not what to do

Sounds like mere semantics, but the difference in how receptive employees are to changing is huge.

Stop telling

Start teaching, leading, and coaching your team to new behaviors and actions.

Frontline leadership is the bridge between old and new positive habits.

Coach three times more

Training seems to be the default answer for everything.

I don't agree.

Yes, we need to train on what to do (which I call teaching) but performance only improves with coaching and feedback.

I recommend a minimum coaching ratio of 3-1.

Meaning that for every hour of training the staff receives there is a minimum of three hours of coaching.

Yes, that's a lot of coaching.

Yes, that's how you create positive change.

Stick with it

It takes between twenty-one and twenty-eight days to create new positive habits.

Anything short of three-weeks, and odds are high that the staff will slide back into their old ways.

So let me ask, what is your greatest sales growth opportunity?

Which of these tips will you incorporate into creating new positive habits?

What is TED

Your humble editor has become a fan of TED.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).

TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics - from science to business to global issues - in more than 100 languages.

Meanwhile, independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.

Our Mission: Spread ideas

TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.

On TED.com, we're building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers - and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.

In fact, everything we do - from our TED Talks videos to the projects sparked by the TED Prize, from the global TEDx community to the TED-Ed lesson series - is driven by this goal: How can we best spread great ideas?

TED is owned by a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation. Our agenda is to make great ideas accessible and spark conversation.

A new regular feature of this newsletter will be sharing links to various TED talks.

Some will directly related to business issues, others not.

The point is to give you something to think about.

Future Dates to Remember

2014 MMBA Regional Meetings

Thief River Falls September 10

Alexandria
September 17

Worthington
September 24

Rochester
October 1

Duluth
October 8

Metro
October 9

Ask A Director

Gary Buysse

Rogers

763-428-0163

E-Mail Me

Cathy Pletta

Kasson

507-634-7618

E-Mail Me

Bill Ludwig

Paynesville

320-250-3325

E-Mail Me

Candice Woods

Hutchinson

320-587-2762

E-Mail Me

John Jacobi

Isanti

763-444-5063

E-Mail Me

Michael Friesen

Hawley

218-483-4747

E-Mail Me

Lisa Kamrowski

Nevis

218-652-3135

E-Mail Me

Steve Grausam

Edina

952-903-5732

E-Mail Me

Toni Buchite

50 Lakes

218-763-2035

E-Mail Me

Brenda Visnovec

Lakeville

952-985-4901

E-Mail Me

Bridgitte Konrad

North Branch

651-674-8113

E-Mail Me

Shelly Dillon

Callaway

218-375-4691

E-Mail Me

Karissa Kurth

Buffalo Lake

320-833-2321

E-Mail Me

Paul Kaspszak

MMBA

763-572-0222

1-866-938-3925

E-Mail Me

Click Here For Newsletter Archives

Sunday Sales: Convenience at What Cost?

The MMBA website now contains comprehensive information on Sunday Sales.

It is a reference for members, legislators, media, city councils and the general public.

Click Here for the Website

Beverage Alcohol Training

Contact Bob Leslie at:

320-766-3871

E-Mail Bob

Contact Gary Buysse at:

763-428-0164

E-Mail Gary

The Art of Misdirection

Hailed as the greatest pickpocket in the world, Apollo Robbins studies the quirks of human behavior as he steals your watch.

In a hilarious demonstration, Robbins samples the buffet of the TEDGlobal 2013 audience, showing how the flaws in our perception make it possible to swipe a wallet and leave it on its owner's shoulder while they remain clueless.

Click Here

Having Grown Up...