Brett Thornton

I've learned from two of the best in the entire industry on this one, both Luke Parker and Brian Baxter made it a point to let me know early in my career this lesson in negotiations. First off, you have to treat people well. The days of hard core selling, bullying, A-type ego back and forth are in the past. People want to deal with people who make them feel good, make them feel like they are not trying to "Win" the deal but rather aiming to find a common ground where we "Both" win. The goal should be to land where we see the "human" behind the deal and treat each other with the utmost respect, and remind one another that we can have fun while building a lasting relationship both in business and as colleagues! Let's connect 💯

I have learned over the years through great mentors and lots of mistakes that a lot of the time the way you frame up the discussions around conflict resolution is the secret sauce to having a productive conversation and a better likelihood of finding common ground. Here’s what that could look like: “Thank you for sitting with me, before we even get into ____I wanted to first make sure that we are clear on why I am here. You know that I care about you, and love seeing you succeed and thrive here. I want to be transparent that my goal here is to find a resolution to this conflict but I am asking for you to be honest with me so we can get to the bottom of this, and both feel good about the resolution.” Them knowing you truly care 💯✅

The first step is EASY! 👇👇👇 Head to Amazon and buy the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0! I cannot stress enough how impactful this book is to not only score yourself on your current EQ levels but to come to realization that you can vastly improve no matter where you start. The second step is harder as the improving your EQ takes effort and the openness to change your behaviors. I believe EQ can be boiled down to go 2 major things, the first is realizing how others are viewing you and interpreting your actions. The second is how you are reacting to others actions towards and around you. As you begin a journey to improve EQ remember that, we all have emotional reactions to every situation but WE can choose how those come out 💯

Retail leadership is such a unique job, it is comprised of so many different hats you must wear to be successful. You have to drive sales, motivate your team, handle HR situation, oversee visuals, merchandising, inventory and above all else create an incredible atmosphere for both the guests coming in and your team who is working with you. I’ve found after 20 years in retail that the best store managers understand that there is no “one size” fits all solution. A great leader will set clear expectations and provide the tools needed to succeed but will adjust and morph their coaching style to each person to allow them to flourish! Follow Kit Compoy and Ron Thurston for retail inspo, and DM me for a free copy of my leadership book ⚡️💯

I like to work in reverse when starting this process. First figure out how you would like your guest to feel in your space. What is it you want them to walk away feeling. Then you have to come up with what the sales process will be to ensure that your guests engagement results in the feeling you wrote down above. Once you have the sales process then you design the store around creating a flow that allows your team to execute on the feeling. The visual merchandising should always be 2-fold - aesthetically pleasing and pushing your brand look and feel but ALSO should be allowing your team to navigate more sales, add ons and easier time to establishing enough value to ensure the guest makes a purchase and leaves feeling amazing ⚡️⚡️⚡️

I recently published my new book "Charged Leadership" and a TON of this book as about this topic! "In the midst of all the turbulence and unpredictability, I've fostered a bit of a mantra that echoes continuously in our team meetings and one-on-ones - "Like I always say, we will continue to focus on what is within our control." This isn't just a passing remark, it's a steadfast rule that I abide by. It acts like a guiding light, encouraging each one of us to zoom in on our actionable sphere and foster a mindset that thrives on positivity and determination. It's my way to imbue our team culture with a relentless focus on shaping what's right before us, nurturing a garden where growth isn't stifled by external storms." Page 102 ⚡️