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50 www.thejewelrybook.com W H Y I S C H A N G E S O H A R D ? O N R E TA I L PETER SMITH Change is hard. Change is inconvenient, takes some work, and sometimes can be scary. It's the reason we stay with the same insurance company when changing might cost less or provide better service. It's why we frequent the same dry cleaners, even as we lament the quality of their work or the occasional missed promise date. Change is also why we stick with under- performing salespeople when we know we're losing sales, and it's why we do busi- ness with the same vendors—even when it seems the business has passed them by. A suggestion to change is the reason why a buyer at a presentation I once made said she felt like giving me a standing ovation. Our proposal might not only have been good for their business but also may have been critical for their survival. (Despite the accolades, the buyer did not make a change. She loved the journey we described but elected to keep doing what she had been doing all along.) For all the talk of change, we are neuro- logically hard-wired to resist it. That's why new habits take so long to ingrain. Being wary of changes in our environment— new sounds, smells, or a rustling in the bushes—has kept us alive throughout evo- lution, so taking chances just doesn't align with our subconscious wiring. Rob Dobelli wrote in Confirmation Bias, The Art of Thinking Clearly, that people crave what they know. "Given the choice of try- ing something new or sticking to the tried- and-tested option, we tend to be highly conservative even if a change would be beneficial." How often have you gone to the Las Vegas trade shows with a plan to shake things up, only to return having done nothing of the sort? You see the same vendors and more or less buy the same stuff. You successfully repelled your desire for change and reverted to conformity and the pre- dictable. It's pure folly to conduct business the same way and expect different results. That doesn't mean you ought to go to the shows and recklessly acquire all sorts of crazy (and nonsalable) products, but it might be interesting to look at your visit a little differently this year. Change things up by meeting with ven- dors you don't work with. Put a list of questions together and ask potential vendors what they can do for your busi- ness. Ask existing vendors how they have changed in recent years in a way that benefits your business. Michael Pantalon wrote in Instant Influence about research that shows "people are far more likely to change if they think of the upside of changing, rather than the down- side." So, go ahead—imagine what things might be like if you go bold in Vegas. Remove the shackles of conformity and do things just a little differently on this trip. And stop in to see me while you're there and let me know how you're changing. Peter Smith is president of Memoire and the au- thor of two books, Hiring Squirrels: 12-Essential Interview Questions To Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent and Sell Something: Principles and Perspectives for Engaged Retail Salespeople, both available in print and kindle on Amazon.com. He can be reached at dublinsmith@yahoo.com or on LinkedIn. For all the talk of change, we are neuro- logically hard-wired to resist it. That's why new habits take so long to ingrain. BY PETER SMITH Why Is Change So Hard? Understand why business shifts can be arduous for many

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