5/5/17
Managers in the PC sector of the retail industry have tough jobs. Long hours and even longer lists of responsibilities prove taxing for even the best. A search in the LinkedIn* jobs section for PC retail general and district manager openings revealed responsibilities ranging from achieving sales goals to actively participating in the community.
What’s really interesting is the recurrence of certain action verbs listed in the job responsibilities. These verbs are consistently used across different levels of management from three major retailers:
In all instances the nouns or subjects associated with these verbs relate to people, the manager’s staff or customers. Stop and think about these verbs individually. Each action requires time, energy, skill, and a process. Beyond this, managers must meet key performance and revenue goals, maintain adequate inventories, collect data analyses, and the list goes on and on.
As Americas Intel® Retail Edge Program Manager, one of the highlights of my job is hitting the road to visit with retail sales managers and sales associates at our partner retail stores. The Program is designed to provide product training and education to retail sales professionals and managers on the latest Intel® products and technologies. We’ve also included training tips to help associates create better customer experiences.
Our annual Score with Intel® Core™ competition gives sales associates and managers the opportunity to win prizes†, trips, Intel® Processor-based devices, and discounts on accessories. It’s also a way to give back to the community. As stores compete and win, local K-12 schools have the opportunity to receive up to a $25,000 donation at the end of the competition.
These road trips allow me to personally interact with GMs, DMs, and sales associates who provide great insight into what they like best about the Program and competition and what we can do to improve it.
During such a visit at one of our partner stores, I ran into James P., a member of the Intel® Retail Edge Program and a participant in the 2015 Score with Intel® Core™ competition. In fact, James is a previous winner from the 2011 competition. He won a new MINI Cooper* automobile!
James’ co-workers weren’t around in 2011, so they didn’t believe his story of winning a car when he was encouraging them to sign up for this year’s competition. But as the saying goes, “The proof is in the pudding.”Well here’s the pudding—watch this video of James getting his new car.
Further conversations revealed that some associates don’t really believe anyone actually wins anything. Here’s more proof with another video of one of our weekly prize drawing winners:
Some sales associates think their general or district managers don’t have time to learn about the benefits of encouraging them to participate in Score with Intel® Core™ and the Intel® Retail Edge Program. Maybe they don’t realize the prize rewards are a result of completing valuable Learning activities. These interactive Learning activities arm associates with the tools they need to interact with and guide customers to the right device for their needs.
In its 15 years of existence, the Program has grown into a thriving community in which more than 50,000 retail sales reps from more than 5,000 retail stores have participated. That’s a lot of learning which has resulted in a measurable increase of device sales and a reduction in returns.
The Intel® Retail Edge Program helps PC retail managers meet some of the responsibilities defined by the action verbs mentioned above.
If you’re a retail manager in PC sales, what do you look for in a training program from your technology partners? I’d welcome any feedback.
The 2017 Score with Intel® Core™ competition begins June 14. Start now getting your team ready learn, earn, and sell. Find out more about the competition and how the Intel® Retail Edge Program can help you fulfill some of your responsibilities.
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*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
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