Small Operators Drive a Big Business

NACS Show offers free training sessions designed specifically for convenience store operators with five or fewer stores.

August 05, 2016

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – With more than 90,000 independent operators in the U.S. convenience and fuel retailing industry, the NACS Show is offering what these businesses need to roll up their sleeves and dig into topics designed specifically for them. 

The Small Operator Training Sessions offered at the NACS Show are designed for and only open to individuals from companies with five or fewer stores. Class size is limited to 45 participants, and workbooks and reference materials will be supplied complimentary to registrants. All sessions will be facilitated by Mark Wells, president of LJT Management Services Inc., and are interactive and fun with exercises and group activities.

Topics include:

Financial Ghostbusters
Tuesday, October 18
12:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Are you making money, or are you chasing ghosts? Ghosts are those profit dollars we can’t account for—we have no idea where they went or even if they were there at all. In this fresh take on an age-old topic, this seminar will delve into the value of a good P&L statement and how that information can help you make better business decisions. Attendees will identify negative effects of not knowing the differences between a cash flow business and a profitable business. Exercises include a break even analysis, the use of the key business formulas and a case study using model P&L statements.

Essential Inventory Management and Loss Prevention
Tuesday, October 18
2:30 pm – 4:50 pm
Out of stocks? Storage issues? Small store? No problem. In this session, you’ll learn techniques to make the most out of the space you have in your store—from inventory turns, shelf space analysis, velocity reports, product placement, product variety and shrinkage measurements—to gain additional profits through knowledge of your day-to-day operation. The last part of the session will involve identifying shrink, its effects on gross profits and methods to reduce inventory loss.

Positive Upselling: No Questions Asked
Wednesday, October 19
7:30 am – 9:50 am
The CSR will be the first to tell you they don’t like upselling. They feel they are pressuring their customers and they hate to constantly be told “No.” Operators will address the obstacles of suggestive selling, and how to retrain their employees on positive upselling techniques. Exercises include calculating the impact of an add-on sale, identifying types of purchases and bundling opportunities. Students will use role-playing to better understand LJT Management’s “Tell them, don’t sell them” upselling approach.

Growing Your Customer Base: Gasoline, Store, Car Wash-Pricing Strategies
Thursday, October 20
7:30 am – 9:50 am
The theme of this training track is change. If you always do things the same way, you will always get the same results. This training track engages an operator on how to "shake things up" to grow the business. Topics include customer loyalty, aggressive marketing, increasing the customer's use of their loyalty cards, branded credit cards and social media. In addition, growth includes implementing aggressive competitive selling programs for profit centers, including QSRs, prepared food programs and car washes. Attendees will develop a specific growth business plan in this training track.

The sessions are free; however, registration to the NACS Show is separate and required. Advanced registration for the classes is strongly recommended and walk-ins may be accommodated if space is available. In past years, classes have been full before the event begins and a waitlist is maintained. You must arrive 10 minutes prior to the start of class or your seat will be forfeited. In September, instructions and room assignments will be sent to participants. Go to ljtusa.com/nacs to register for these training sessions.

The 2016 NACS Show takes place October 18-21 in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. Register today!

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