As competition in the market increases from the number of competitors to the number of products being rushed to market, a challenge many large retailers face is knowing what to order, when to order and how much to order meanwhile being keenly aware of the penalty when a product isn’t available. This ordering dilemma is on full display in the grocery business where knowing what, when and how much can mean the difference between a profitable month or not.

Fresh food products can account for 30% to 40% of a retailer’s revenue.  Having too much can cost a company in terms of spoiled or expired items that have to be thrown away. Having too little may impact a retailer’s customer base whose loyalty to a store may run thin after a few futile trips to an empty refrigerator bin.  

Given the razor thin margins in this hyper-competitive environment, retailers are turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI), more...

Negotiations can be a dreaded and often high-stakes match with no clear winner. Use these four tips to guide your next negotiation and shift your mindset for a more positive collaboration.

1. Avoid discounting language. "This is our usual price" or " Our normal price is $X". Using certain language practically invites people to ask for a better price and continue to negotiate a lower price. If you don't realize you're subconsciously prompting people to continuously ask for a better deal, you and your counterpart will begin to get frustrated and you will both feel cheated.
2. Check your emotions - Most notably, anger and anxiety - two emotions are the most corrosive to your outcome. Anxiety leads to lower first offers, quicker responses to your counterpart (less time to think through your choices), and less financial gain than those who are less anxious going into a negotiation (Brooks, Schweitzer, 2011). Anxiety is fear of an adverse outcome for an unknown situation. Practice, train,...

"Slow down to sell faster."

Many salespeople, when they're just starting out, hit the ground running.

Because when they started out, they were a little afraid that the customer might ask a question and they wouldn't know the answer. So what did they do as part of their defense? They asked a lot of questions, listened more because they didn't want to show their "ignorance". That's just what we all do when we're first starting out; listen more, we ask questions more often. After a steady stream of closed deals, you gain some confidence, get in the natural flow of your sales process and turn on 'Selling Autopilot'.

Here's what happens over time: as you begin to learn your product, and begin to learn what the customer's going to say and ask, you stop listening. This can have a huge impact on the customer if they don't feel heard or considered. Maybe the reason they bought from you wasn't so much the product, but maybe it was because you really listened to them. So if your sales are...