Vernon Stading
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You may be wondering “Why do I even need a commission structure for my team,” or “What is the perfect one for my business model”? This is something that we believe very strongly in and that we want to address here today. In fact, we even talk about this in our Pawn Health Check because we feel it is that important. First let’s start with, "Why do I need a commission plan in the first place?"
"My name is Vernon Stading and I am the owner and founder of Devoted Business Development and we help pawn shops and jewelry stores make more money and be more profitable. I got into this business really kind of by accident, one of the fun stories I like to tell is that my background is actually in franchising.
- Maintain Relationships
Establishing relationships is one thing, but maintaining them is a business art form all its own. According to a study, repeat customers spend nearly 70% more on average than new clients. This is especially true in the hospitality and retail industries. Thus, it pays to continue strengthening these existing relationships, remembering to engage with your customers on a regular basis. Feel free to set up reminders in tune with a schedule that works for you, but quarterly check-ins are a solid rule of thumb for starters. What have you done to stay in contact with your customers?
PawnMaster can act as a database for you. You can easily reach your customers regularly through their text messaging platform.
As you know, we love the pawn industry. A few weeks ago, we presented and exhibited at the NPA Convention in Las Vegas I heard something very disturbing. I must have heard at least 200 owners talk about how they are not making money the way they used to in this industry. What is more disturbing is at least half of those, when asked why not, immediately responded” because gold is down from $1,856 at its highest to $1,230 an oz. now... It amazes me that so many of the people we spoke to had this as their main reason for down profits. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the price of gold is only one of the many challenges you face right now that is causing less profitability in your pawn shops than in years past.