Be Prepared

Good practice is to always be prepared.

It is good practice to prepare for the worst, yet ready for the rest. You never know what will happen, so it becomes a constant battle to shoot for the best and be the best in whatever it is that we do. For example, to predict how sales will go for the next year, you read the trend that is being set this year, as well as previous years. For the months where sales are down, use additional promotions, advertising, and any other marketing strategies in order to drive up sales. For the months where sales are up, restock items and maintain good inventory to make sure back-orders are prevented as much as possible.

Being prepared also means a well-trained staff. Knowledge of new items, inventory, pricing shifts as well as upcoming specials and discounts will play a big part to promote and increase sales. Employees who would have to physically check stock every single time an item is being asked for availability becomes an inefficient process that utilizes unnecessary manpower for something that could be simply tracked beforehand. Although this may not always be true, always have a fast and efficient way to track inventory, either by maintaining a well-written tracking sheet, or having a planned-out method of communicating with the warehousing staff.

Lack of preparation often leads to disaster once adversity strikes. While it is not possible to prepare for all, it is possible to always have a plan to deal with adversity when it happens. From experience we are able to learn from our mistakes, and prepare for future occurrences of the past events. There is always time to prepare, and the sooner the better. So, start formulating today!