RETAIL STRATEGIES
RUN YOUR STORE LIKE A BASEBALL TEAM
Small business best practices
by TOM SHAY
Many years ago , I remember a gentleman by the name of George Prescott who frequently came into our store . He loved to talk about baseball , and the most familiar comment I remember was George saying , “ Gol durn that George Steinbrenner . He is ruining the game of baseball .”
Free agency had just begun , and it appeared to George Prescott that Steinbrenner had a bottomless wallet . There was also Ewing Kauffman , owner of the Kansas City Royals . Kauffman was not in the same financial league with Steinbrenner , just as Kansas City was not in the same league with New York City when it came to population and money in the area .
But the challenges of population and money did not stop Kauffman . In Sarasota , FL , where our store was , Kauffman created a baseball academy . Kauffman ’ s scouts looked for outstanding athletes . Anticipating the best in baseball had been found , Kauffman was looking for an athlete who might not make it in pro football or pro basketball ; but nevertheless , they were outstanding athletes .
Kauffman could not buy the best baseball players , but perhaps he could develop players that would be very competitive : like Frank White , also known as “ Academy Frank .” He was an all-star , as were two other players who came through the Royals Baseball Academy — Hal McRae and George Brett .
The academy aimed to use technological innovations and advanced training techniques to develop baseball skills in overlooked prospects with raw athletic ability . The academy produced 14 major leaguers from the 77 prospects that attended the academy in its four years of existence .
Which brings us to your store . When you hire someone , are you doing so in the Steinbrenner method by looking at people in other stores and then offering higher
PHOTO CREDIT : © PAVEL1964 - STOCK . ADOBE . COM dollars for their service ? We ask this especially in this post-pandemic business world . You are seeing businesses with entry-level jobs quickly approaching starting wages of $ 20 per hour , and that does not include the expenses you pay that are related to each employee .
Or do you approach new employees like Kauffman and develop the skills of the employees you have and those you hire ?
Let me offer a secondary baseball note . Counting spring training games , regular season games and the potential number of games in the playoffs , a team could compete in about 200 games during a season . Yet , on the afternoon of the seventh game of the World Series , the team is still on the field practicing .
When are you “ practicing ” with your team ? In our store , every other Thursday evening at 8 p . m ., every employee was paid and required to participate in a staff education class . We practiced our selling skills , discussed our principles and procedures , reviewed our job descriptions and learned about the merchandise we sold .
This staff education program made a lot of difference in our business . While you might first think of increased sales and profits , as one who experienced it with our staff and our customers , I think about it as I shop today . I think of those I visit most often ; I think of one store in particular .
I can ’ t say it is my favorite store , but it ’ s the closest to where I live . And being closest is the primary reason I go there . And every time I visit this store , I count how many employees I see — none of which ever call me by name , say hello or offer to help more than the usual , “ Find what you ’ re looking for ?”
In the words of George Prescott , “ Gol durn .”•
Tom Shay is a lifelong small-business owner and manager . He has authored 12 books on small business management ; a college textbook on small business financial management and co-authored a book on retailer / vendor relations . www . beveragedynamics . com Summer 2024 • Beverage Dynamics 5