At This Point

I realized today I hadn't written in well over a month. So how is everyone? Everybody good?

What have I been up to? Well, that's easy - a lot! Since I last wrote,  I have been to Montreal with Mark.  We spent Inauguration Weekend in Canada, where we felt free and happy. We went to Igloofest, which is an EDM festival in the middle of winter. It was chilly, but we had such a wonderful time in Montreal. I wish I could have used my limited French more, but people kept speaking English to us. D'oh!

My next adventure was Austin, TX. Under Armour was bringing people from Fleet Feet into town to show us their latest shoes, which are Record Equipped. In their shoes, there is a chip, which once activated, and synched can track your running, via the Map My Run app. I remember when Under Armour first introduced shoes. Gotta say back then I wasn't impressed. Boy what do a few years of development do for a company. While I have too wide a foot for the shoes, I liked them, and I found the app/chip combo easy to use. I highly recommend giving them a try.

Austin is a great town, but what the heck is it doing in Texas??? It's like someone took Portland, OR, gave it a bit of a twang, and moved it to Texas. Plenty of Tex/Mex food(for those who like it), some great beer(which I really enjoyed), and a great attitude in the town.

Of course, I am working and running. People ask me many things about what I am doing. First of all, it's difficult to call it a job, as I don't think of it as such. I wear many hats. First and foremost, I am a student. I am learning the business from the ground up. Now, I know you are saying, "Charlie you have been in run specialty for 10 years, what do you need to learn?" PLENTY! Everyone has a way of doing business, and I am learning this way, as it will be my future.

I have been working in the stores, fitting customers. I've learned visual merchandising. I work on digital media, I've learned how to order footwear. Mostly, I've learned how to think like an owner, which is very different from thinking like a manager. You view business differently from the lens of an owner. Your decisions take on more importance, and you have to learn to train people to know what you know, and then delegate, so you can focus on the success of your people, and the growth of the business.

While there is a lot of work, I do have fun. There isn't a day I don't enjoy something I am doing. I also get to work alongside some amazing people.  The guy to the left is Ben. Ben and I are both in the Leadership Development Program, and I could not ask for a better partner in crime. We joke that maybe they should let us co-own a store, but then we would have to promise to use our powers for good.

While I have the work side going well, the running side of life gets better for me. Mark and I are training for the Tobacco Road Half Marathon in mid-March. We have been working with a trainer at the gym, who has really focused our training on an interval system, which is heart rate based. The goal is to get to a point where we run long as we can before walking, and do that at a sustained pace. I have been able to hit a 8min run/ 1min walk interval, and I feel good doing it. Am I fast? No. Will I finish the race? Yes! This is the best I have felt about running in a while.

Mark is enjoying it, and now gets that we don't have to run together. We can go at our own paces, and it's fine. Typically he is just ahead of me, listening to his music. I focus on my form, pace and breathing. So it all works.  The picture to the right is after a 4 mile run. At this writing, we will go for 8 miles today. The race is in 3 weeks, so I feel we are on a good pace to accomplish the race.

At this point in life, I am in a great place. I love where I live, which I know is temporary. I love the business. Running life is good. Mark and I are in a great place, so it is all working.

So now it's time to lace up the shoes....and head out on a run.

Charlie

The Art of Conversation

I haven't discussed my training in Carrboro much, mostly because what I do is considered confidential in nature, as things I learn I can't share due to the industry, but there is an observation I can make, as it has been mentioned many times in conjunction with me - the art of conversation.

I've been told by several people that I am very cool to watch when I'm with a customer. They note that I am animated, I listen to what they are telling me, I get them to talk, I talk about all the things I need to talk about during a fitting, and I make them feel glad they came into the store. I'm told I'm charismatic when I talk. I'm also told that I sound like a friend talking to people.  Now - how is that taught to other people?

First of all, I appreciate the kind words. My sister Anne told me last week, I should embrace being charismatic, as that is not a word I have ever thought to describe myself. Next, no one taught me any of this. I thought about my career in customer service, and I think the listening part goes back to my beginnings at Southwest Airlines.

At Southwest, I worked in reservations, where you really have to listen to what people are telling you over the phone, so you can work with them. Back then I was told I had an excellent phone voice, and really was calm and professional on the phone. I had nothing but conversations, and I felt I was pretty good at it.

As time went on, and I worked also in the non-profit world, I understood the value of talking and listening. I learned that when you can say back to the person what they told you, they have a sense you are listening and are understanding them.

Even at Macy's, when I wasn't signing people up for credit cards, I was engaging them, and they were buying thousands of dollars of stuff from me. I knew how to be the salesman who did not intrude, nor was I pushy.

I do believe there is an art to conversation. It's developed through time and experience, and some tips you pick up along the way. Back in the "good old days" more people practiced this. Today as we Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, we are not encouraged to look up long enough from our phones to have actual conversations. In fact we are encouraged to have virtual conversations. I think sometimes I startle my customers because I am more into them at that moment then they are probably used to.

So what can I offer to people to be better in their sales jobs?

1) Put the phone down. Try having actual conversations away from the phone. In fact, if you have to, the next time you are in a social setting, leave the phone somewhere you can't get to it readily.

2) When you listen to people, make note of what they are saying. Your customer is going to tell you are there for one reason, but as you talk to them, you will see they need a number of items. Remind them that they need Body Glide, if you hear them mention chaffing for example.

3) Focus on them. Make that person the center of your world for that interaction. Pay attention to them. I know we live in a ADHD world, but please focus on the one person. That customer could spend $1000 with you because of it.

4) Have fun. Act like you are having the time of your life, and your customer will get into it, and think what a fun place they are in, and how fun and professional you are.

5) Us the customer's name as often as you can. This will help you make it a personalized experience. Give them your name. For that next however long you are together, you are a bit more informal. You are their running friend.

Now, I'm not saying you will be Shoe Fitter of the Month if you do these things, but you will be a better sales person than they person who just doesn't give a damn.

Charlie

Points System

Happy New Year everyone.....

I got a jump on the new year a week ago, and in an effort to lose weight, and feel healthier, I joined Weight Watchers. For those who don't know how it works, Weight Watchers gives points for foods, and you are allowed so many points in a day. Fewer points are for the more healthy items like fruits and vegetables(0 points). You also can get more points to use if you are more active.

In the week I've been doing this, I feel like I'm doing a fantasy football game, where I am watching the scoreboard. For me what I find helps is seeing how many of the healthier alternatives I can eat so I won't use up points. Last thing I want is to have 5 points for dinner. I find the majority of my points is used at breakfast. This to me is the important meal of the day.

As a result of points, I've had to reconfigure how I distribute food during the day. So maybe more fruit at breakfast, so I have points to spare at lunch, dinner, or snack time. The points also help me figure what to eat and what not to eat. I am now confronted with important food choices. As a result, I've had to say no to things, but then I rationalize that some other day I can have those things, I just have to plan.

Do I like this plan? Too early to tell, but I do think there is benefit to the points system.

Charlie