Operational Survey 2009 Retail Perspectives on Internet Competition A continuing issue facing diving's retailers is the sale of dive equipment over the Internet. The Internet is basically a low-priced competitor, the same as it is for retailers everywhere, and it is here to stay. The questions are how big of a factor is it, how do retailers cope and what will it represent in the future? . . . keep reading Diving Divas: Getting Women Into Your Store and Into Diving When I began teaching (a while ago), this was definitely a sport dominated by men. I lived just outside Minneapolis, and the local newspaper ran a half-page article on me, the woman in town making a career of teaching scuba diving. I was a minority of one in the area. There are still fewer women than men in the sport, but not by so much. According to DEMA's 2006 Survey (Profile of the Most Active Divers in the U.S.: Lifestyle and Demographic Study), 34 percent of active divers are women. Surveys by our sister publication, Dive Training, indicate that women make up 40 percent of new divers. . . . keep reading Student Counts: The Most Important Numbers in Dive Retailing If a typical strip center retail store is one animal, a dive store is a different breed. Dive stores occupy an unusual place in the retail model because you don't just sell product off shelves. Dive retail is more complex. Nothing starts until customers are sold on diving, and then extensively trained to dive. It evolves into standard retail with the sale of gear, but branches off again into selling travel, taking them traveling, pumping air, and repairing gear. It's retail on steroids, where the owner and staff have to be proficient at and doing lots of different things. It's a juggling act and can't begin until the first pin is thrown into the air. . . . keep reading Is Fast Always Best? Rethinking Diver Education Recently, I've read two articles about why our industry continues to flounder in the doldrums, and both authors had a similar thesis. They laid the blame squarely on what many call the "short course." Their arguments are compelling because since the early 1980s our industry has pursued the idea of lowering barriers to entry by reducing the time and complexity of training as the panacea for our lackluster growth. Well, here we are in the 21st century, so if this idea had any merit it seems we would certainly have seen some results by now. But the reality is that diving is, at best, no better off and, at worst, even more stagnant than before the mantra to "make it easier" became the rallying cry for the majority of the industry. . . . keep reading The Four Types of Customers: Effective Selling Requires Matching Your Approach to Your Customer's Personality This article addresses different aspects of selling or, perhaps better put, different parts of the "Selling skill." This installment involves one of the most important parts of the selling skill, understanding your customers -- specifically the four different personality types -- and adapting your approach accordingly.It's probably safe to say that one of the most difficult aspects of dive retailing is selling. People have vastly different sales abilities and levels of comfort. You may be good at selling but others in your store may not be. Or it might be the other way around. Another part of the difficulty is that you can teach employees to do a lot of things; it's hard to teach someone how to sell. . . . keep reading Give Me a Sign... Signals That Your Customer is About to Buy It's probably safe to say that one of the most difficult aspects of dive retailing is selling. People have vastly different sales abilities and levels of comfort. You may be good at selling but others in your store may not be. Or it might be the other way around. In diving many of the retailers and the people who work for them consider themselves educators first, teaching diving is their primary business motivation or goal. Selling is considered a different animal. Another part of the difficulty is that you can teach employees to do a lot of things; it's harder to teach someone how to sell. Then there is the negative image that some employees might have of themselves as salespeople. If that's in your mind, selling can also be uncomfortable. We'll get into the psychological aspects of selling in a future issue. For now your job in sales is best considered and approached as the act of providing what you know people need and want. There is also the pervasive belief that either you are born a salesperson, or you're not. In fact, selling is a skill that can be developed. And in a way it's like many of the diving skills that you teach -- it can be broken down into separate parts that should be understood and can be practiced. Combining the selling skill parts should make you good at it. Articles on this site will discuss different aspects of selling or, perhaps better put, different parts of the "selling" skill. For this installment we'll start with one of the easier parts: recognizing when people are ready to buy. . . . keep reading The Hot Seat: How to Get Out and Stay Out of Burnout Job burnout is a serious deal. It's debilitating, and nearly every small-business person must face it down at one point or another. Some never overcome it, and when it's not, it slowly wreaks havoc on even the most successful store. By recognizing it, knowing how to correct it, and understanding how to prevent it from coming back, dive store owners and their managers can avoid a situation that can hurt their business and their health. In return, they'll find that fire-proofing the businesses can even help it grow more productive and fun. . . . keep reading Above the Line: When Is an Expense not an Expense? The Right Answer Practically Determines the Kind of Business You Can Have. Expenses that can generate income are good employees, advertising that works, the store van, your Web site, even the rent. Yes, you pay for them from the same checkbook, and yes, they show up on the profit-and-loss (P&L) statement below the income lines. But what if you treated them as if they were above the expense lines? Certain expenses, if perceived and directed properly, managed and not bean-counted, can be employed as strong sources of income. . . . keep reading Turn a Wrench to Turn a Profit: Equipment Repair Service as a Profit Center and Marketing Machine Customers seek convenience, which includes being able to have their equipment maintained and fixed where they purchased it. It is a reason why a quality equipment repair service is a must-have for most scuba retailers. A good repair bench builds confidence that you know your goods well enough to keep them in working order. The big question is whether you can take your repair service from a cost of business to a profit center. A number of dive stores have done so. Moreover, when promoted and presented properly, a repair service can become a valuable promotional tool, bringing customers in the door, not only to have their gear serviced, but to buy new stuff as well. In retailing, success is often measured in pennies. More so today, with retailers facing expanding competition for equipment sales, you need to find ways to keep pennies from rolling out the door, and ways to keep them rolling in. In this article, we look at some ways to manage costs and build sales at the repair bench. . . . keep reading Closer to Home: The Importance of Local Diving If you ask the owners of dive centers throughout the contiguous United States about the importance of their local diving program, you will learn that many believe it is absolutely vital to the financial success of their business. Without a local diving program, they say, their businesses would fail. At the same time, you will also learn that some dive centers find local diving programs to be completely unnecessary. In this piece I am going to share the thoughts of the dive store owners on the subject. My goal is to help you develop your thoughts regarding your approach to local diving. . . . keep reading All in the Family... Running a Family-Owned Dive Center Takes Understanding, Communication and a Plan For months Tami Ross' father would call her to talk about his dive center, Rogue Scuba, in Medford, Oregon. He'd talk about how business was doing and his struggles with managing the store, and Tami, who had just finished a masters' program in family counseling, would try to help him through the problems. "Finally, one day he said, 'why don't you do it,'" Tami says. "I was like, 'Yeah, whatever.'" Yet, after nearly six months of these conversations, she looked at her husband, Paul, and said, "Hey, have we thought about this?" It looked like a good time to take the leap, and it was the right part of the country. So they bit... . . . keep reading Employees, Employees, Everwhere: The Importance of Good Employees and How to Find Them Tanks need to be filled, a dozen regulators and BCDs are queued in the repair department waiting for service, classes are filling up, requiring good instructors, and several trips are scheduled and filled. Oh, yeah, and someone has to be out front selling gear. By the way, the rental gear that was returned after the weekend isn't putting itself away, and the floors need sweeping. You really can't do it all. Customer service and sales suffer if you are short-staffed, or poorly staffed, but you can't hire just anyone because of the specialized skills and knowledge needed to serve diving customers. On top of this, you have certain standards regarding who represents your business. Face it, you can't just pull anyone off the street, pin a name tag on him, and shove him in front of your customers. In this article, we'll look at some general employee value issues, and then explore some methodical and consistent methods for staffing your store. Like everything, once you have a system, it gets easier. . . . keep reading More