Don't just survive winter in your bike shop, win it with these 7 tips!

For a bulk of the country, winter brings a sharp drop in temperatures, and predictably, a dip in bike sales. It’s easy to slip into "Winter Mode": reduced staff, decreased hours, and a collective deep breath until spring.

But here’s the reality check: You don't have to endure the off-season; you get to conquer it.

This slower period is not a negative to survive—it’s a powerful, dedicated block of time to invest in your business's future. It's time to stop waiting for spring and start turning your off-season into your post-season.

Here are seven ways to win your post-season! Dig into all the details on David's blog post.

1. Master Your Inventory

The Power Move: Schedule a full, one-day store inventory. Yes, you may need to close, but you will uncover far more than you would with piecemeal efforts—from misplaced tools to completely lost product.

2. Plan Your Product Assortment (and Displays)

Action Step: Use your historical data (see #4 below!) to create a detailed plan for your product mix. Get your staff involved. Plan out floor space and fixture needs.

3. Cash In, Clear Out: Strategic Markdowns

The Focus: Identify products that are six months old or older. Mark them down aggressively.

4. Unlock Data Power: POS Management

The Fix: I can almost guarantee that a quick peek into your POS will reveal dozens, if not hundreds, of items that are uncategorized or mislabeled. Dedicate staff time to correcting this.

5. Elevate Your Team: Unified Sales Training

Implementation: Select a training guide or framework that is easy for your entire team to learn, regardless of their position. Every single staff member should be on the same page.

6. Get Ahead: Build Your Marketing Calendar

The Blueprint: Create a simple calendar (digital or print) mapping out all major holidays, local bike races, shop events, and school breaks.

7. Deep Clean and Reset: Refresh Your Environment

The Task: Throw away that three-year-old expired POP. Get rid of broken fixtures. Pull workbenches away from the walls and scrub down the service area. Invest in new service mats.

Here at Workstand, we can literally help you with every single one of these areas—from running that critical inventory audit and cleaning up your POS data, to structuring your team's sales training.

Don't just survive the winter; prepare to dominate next

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Mark Still, Senior Business Development
David Martinez, Key Accounts Advisor

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If you have any questions about the topics discussed in this episode of Around the Workstand or if you have ideas for new topics we can cover, schedule a time to meet with Mark Still here or email [e-mail].