Each store had the same scenario presented to them—a young man in his street clothes comes in to inquire about getting his college diploma framed, which he did not bring along. So off I went . . . and that’s where everything went downhill. I can’t really choose which part was worse, the store owner/operator who peered out of the back room announcing “Can I help you?” in a tone that would define “stern” or the rolling of the eyes when I mentioned I didn’t bring the item to be framed with me.

At every stop I was told that I should have brought in the piece to be given a proper estimate, and to come back with it if I wanted a quote. Is this reasonable? Of course, I understand the concept of not being able to quote on something you can’t see, but there is no need to make a customer feel stupid about it. I was in your store, you’ve got me through the door, what can you do to make sure that when I leave, I will come back later?

I certainly can tell you what not to do:

Every single store I visited had an opportunity to engage with me and potentially earn my business. Never mind that if I became a satisfied customer the potential business from those I could recommend to also use their services. The stores could have done so much better. First of all, store employees need to treat each customer with the respect and treatment that they would use if they were your dream customer with money to burn.

Many store owners I spoke with after the speaking engagement expressed that they really want more corporate accounts, some of which require them to get in touch with a human resources (HR) manager to get the sale. The HR manager is the one who is in charge of incentive plans such as framed prints. Little did these storeowners know, but the guy with the baseball cap is good friends with at least 12 HR managers in the area, and was a former one himself.

As I wrote this section of the book, I actually received an e-mail asking for some opinions on incentive plans from a colleague in human resources. Do you think I’ll be sending that person to one of those stores anytime soon? You must view every person who walks through your door as one person removed from your ideal client, and treat him or her as such. I am not an interruption to your day, I am not an inconvenience, I am a potential customer, and a word-of-mouth machine that can spread the word, good or bad. You choose. At every point of engagement, you are marketing your business.

A typical framing store owner practices a “push-and-pray” technique. People come into their store, look around, and leave. The employee has made no attempt to find out what the shopper was interested in and offered no opportunity to give the store’s contact information. The stack of business cards and brochures on the counter, if someone cared to take one, was the standard fare. The owners were defining the term “push and pray”—they were pushing out their marketing (biz cards, brochures) and praying someone would buy from them some other time.

Instead, as mentioned previously, they should be using the “pull-and-stay” technique. A simple request to gather the potential customers’ information by either a contest (giving away a postcard-size print, etc.) or a discount. They could have gathered each person’s information and kept in touch with them consistently, so when the time does come to purchase a painting or get something framed, the store owner would be at the forefront of the buyer’s mind. One of the easiest methods I’ve used is to create the “Top 10” list article. Pick the need you fill, the problem you solve, and write an article that would be similar to advice you would give a customer. We are going to talk about this much more when we speak about creating new products.

It’s always easier to write a “Top 10” list like this when you choose a “focus” market. Notice I didn’t say a “target market.” When people think of a target market, they make it far too vague or wide to work (i.e., my target is people who want framing done!). You need to pick a focus that you can get your mind around and meet their needs. Is it new corporate accounts? Local artists?

Once you choose who they are, write your Top 10 list. It could be the “Top 10 ways to preserve your art.” Something your market is interested in. You write the article, print it out, and offer it to every single person who walks in your door. Then you let people know that if they want more information, to give you their contact information and you’ll send them new articles as they come out. Now you can be in front of our potential customers with great information. And when they have a question about your industry, you are going to be the business they turn to.

No matter what you sell, when you’re faced with competition from a bigger store you tend to look at what you can’t do better than them. Small stores can’t usually out-advertise big stores or give better discounts. You need to change this focus. Your passion for your craft and the ability to give personalized customer service are the kinds of strengths that smaller businesses should be focusing on and improving rather than worrying about not being as big as your competition. No larger store can send out quality articles every so often to interested potential customers. A big store cannot buy that level of engagement through a television commercial or billboard.

So, what could these 14 store owners have done to get my business? Instead of scolding me about not bringing in the diploma, the owners could have showed me some typical sizes and framing setups for my diploma, but with the stipulation that if I could bring it in, I could get a much better estimate. They could have asked what school I went to, get to know me, and begin to build the relationship, or handed me a list of ways that I could best preserve my keepsake. Do anything to show that you are interested in my potential business with you rather than treating me as an interruption to your busy day. If you’re too busy to deal with customers, you should not be in retail.

My diploma is still unframed and in my closet, so I’m off to try some more stores. Now where did I put my cap?