Sales managers spend a lot of time in meetings and attempting to motivate their sales teams. Much of this time is truly wasted and not invested because the focus is on existing problems such as failure to increase sales, declining customer loyalty, etc instead of focusing on solutions.

Problems in any organization are far easier to identify and in many cases re-identify. However, determining solutions and then executing those solutions is far more difficult. Possibly that is why there are endless meetings and far fewer results happening in many businesses. Sales Coaching Tip: Problem re-identification is another word for insanity - doing the same thing over and over again hoping for different results.

If you are facing the endless meeting behaviors as a sales manager, have you considered this one simple strategy to reverse those non-productive problem identification meetings - a proven goal achievement process reinforced with a proven goal setting tool.

For example, the weekly sales meeting discusses the ongoing problem of inability to increase revenue. Instead of beating this dead horse, write a goal statement that the sales team will increase sales by 2% during the next week. Sales Coaching Tip: Break large goals into smaller ones. Remember to eat the elephant one bite at a time instead of attempting to eat the entire elephant at one setting.

Before you jump into the action steps, invest the time to build the emotional buy in from each team member. List all the gains for achieving this objective as well as all the pains associated with failure.

Next work through all the known and unknown (potential) obstacles preventing that goal from being achieved. This is the time for active brainstorming. If your selling team is large, break them up into smaller groups.

Now bring the sales team back together and list all the possible obstacles on a white board or flip chart. Either collectively or again in teams start thinking about possible solutions for each obstacle. Then as a group determine the best solution for each obstacle.

Finally, identify time frames (dates) and delegation if necessary. At your next meeting, track your progress and make any course corrections. If the sales goal is achieved, set another. Use this goal achievement process to provide solutions and make those sales meetings truly valuable to everyone.

Chicago Sales Coach Leanne Hoagland Smith helps with sales skills to management development.

Read about Leanne's new book on sales coaching book. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, the Keys to Unlocking Sales Success.

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If you are about to start a dollar store one of the challenges you will face is determining exactly what dollar store merchandise to initially order for your store. Then there will be the challenges of decided which items to always carry, and which can be allowed to run very low if required by your ordering process or cash flow. To make this management task a little easier to handle, consider developing a set of rules for the ordering in your store. In fact consider incorporating the 3 tips that follow to make it even easier.

Tip #1) If you start a dollar store be sure to make consumables a top priority. In fact, always without exception make consumables a top ordering priority for your store. Items in this dollar store merchandise category include dish soap, auto dishwasher soap and other household cleaners, paper products including paper towels, bathroom tissue, and facial tissue, and health & beauty items such as toothpaste, hand soap, deodorant, and shampoo. These are the products shoppers need and will come back time and again to buy. However these items must be in-stock at all times to retain your shoppers and to keep them coming back.

Tip #2) Consider developing a plan to purchase replenishment merchandise for departments based on their sales. For example toys are always a big seller so don't ever allow them to run low. Make sure seasonal toys are in-stock as the season approaches. Party & gift is another department that always ends up as one of the top producing departments. This area generates a lot of store traffic, and the overall profit margins will often be among the highest in your store. Never allow core items to run low in these departments.

Tip #3) A valuable tool to use in the buying process is open to buy. That means you have an overall store budget that is based on a percentage of sales. Next track by-department sales and allocate money back to purchase replenishment merchandise based on the sales-by-department results. If one department ever needs extra money, reduce allocated spending for another department to cover. That way replenishment was always managed to your sales level.

If you start a dollar store be sure to incorporate these tips into your initial and follow-up ordering processes. They will make the challenges of carrying the right dollar store merchandise much less challenging for you to handle.

To your success when you start a dollar store!

Learn how you can Start your own Dollar Store Business.

Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer, business consultant and trainer.

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