Retail and the Teamwork Concept: Is it really Valid?

Nearly every retail job posting nowadays has some element of Team Coach, Team Leader, Team Player
as a requirement.

Nearly every resume I see has Exceptional Team Leader on it as well.

And if you work in one of the retail concepts where individual sales arent calculated: its probably a valuable concept.

But what if you dont?

What if you work in the crushing world of jewellery sales, fashion sales, furniture sales.

Teamwork be    &*(&: !!!!!

The team doesnt get fired if you are the lowest sales person: YOU DO.

For the most part:
Retail isnt designed to be a team sport:
where 30% of the top players carry the other 70% of the organization
and everyone shares in the rewards.

Retail is a Kentucky Derby Triple Crown horse race:
prizes only go the first, second and third place.

The doors open: and the the game is on!
Best man wins.......best salesperson wins.

Top salespeople get promoted.
Top salespeople are rewarded.

Teamwork my foot!

Why do retail job postings ask for Teamwork skills?: when in truth:
only the warriors will survive long enough to ever have a "team" of their own.

Nearly every corporate retail organization in Canada is built like a sports team:
30% of the people generating the money
70% are support staff

Retailing never used to be this way: every man carried his own wage and delivered a financial contribution to the firm.......every man could justify his costs.

There were no "teams" on salesfloors: no gently supportive and loving coworkers.

There were Sales Warriors:
people who just loved the race:
who played the game for the sake of hearing the cash register ring!

Today those warrior sales types are few and far between:
instead we have nice staff

We find such "nice" staff lingering at the registers: or in change rooms:
not much bothered the customer has arrived........but always ready with a "Can I help you?" if you wait long enough: or not.

Whatever happened to NOT hiring for Team skills and hiring instead for individual Retail Sales Skills?
That inner drive to sell just one more thing! because they simply love to do it?

With our American friends heading north:
Canadian firms wont be able to afford retail structures of 30/70 sales to administrators.
We will have to reshape along old terms: 70 selling and 30 administrators instead.

And oh by the way: Hire people who actually WANT to sell because they love to do it!