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Sale Operations: Load In & Set Up
The next six Email Learning Modules will focus on different phases of your sales event. We'll dive into the details so that you can prepare for each phase and plan for transitioning between phases. As the Owner, you will often be focused on the upcoming phase as your Team is handling the current phase. We'll start at the beginning with load in - let's go!
LOAD IN
The time and labor needed to load equipment and supplies into your building depends on your venue and vehicles.

Your minutes are valuable, so meticulous planning is a good thing!

Plan - in detail - who will be doing what. For example, if all of your equipment is in one trailer, you will need 1-2 people at the trailer door, 2-4 people transporting equipment into the building, and 1 person inside the building directing traffic to ensure that equipment is placed in the proper area to prepare for set up.

The time you need for load in will depend on multiple things:
  • how many trailers you have
  • how much equipment you need to unload
  • how much distance there is between where your trailer(s) will be parked and where the equipment will end up on your sales floor
  • whether or not you have dollies or carts to transport efficiently

Once your Team Members are working efficiently during load in, your focus must shift to prepare for set up. We recommend marking the floor before setup begins for where wooden rack rows will begin, where shelving begins, where tables begin, etc. This will make your set up faster and avoid the need to move items more than once. The sooner in advance that you can mark the floor, the better. You don't want your set-up team waiting on you to do this.

If you purchased an existing franchise and are hosting your event in the same venue, speak with the previous Owner in detail about load in to gain valuable insights.

SET UP
Once all of your equipment and supplies are inside the venue, your team will transition into set up mode. This includes assembling wooden racks and rails, placing tables, assembling shelves, putting up signs, placing clothing sizers and shoe signs, setting up checkout stations, and preparing for Consignor Drop Off.

Note: If your load in process is lengthy due to long distances for transporting items into your venue space, get started on set up tasks simultaneously.

Efficient set up includes:
  • A well-thought out floor plan (several printed copies so that you can hand them out when delegating areas/tasks)
  • A well-thought out order of operations: what comes first, second, third, etc.
  • Pre-determined "leaders" for each area (someone who can take charge of clothing racks, shoe shelving, etc)
  • Quality control (either you or a Team Member who checks in to be sure everything is being set up in the proper place and assembled safely)

Give yourself extra time during your upcoming sales event for Set Up so that you are sure to be ready before Consignor Drop Off begins. In order to have a successful Drop Off experience, you'll need to be done with Set Up on time.

If you purchased an existing franchise and are hosting your event in the same venue, speak with the previous Owner in detail about set up to gain valuable insights.

Read this section in your Operations Manual: Providing a "Frictionless" Experience.

DON'T FORGET ⚠️ Factor in your own personal and resale inventory into your load in and set up time and labor equation. If you are bringing a 26-foot moving truck filled with tagged inventory to your sale, you will need at least 2 people for 4 hours to place these items onto the sales floor.
Team Members: Load In & Set Up
The labor equation for the Load In and Set Up phases includes the following factors:
  • volume of equipment
  • number of hours

If you have equipment to host 100 Consignors' items and you have 4 hours, you can probably do this with a team of 10 people working efficiently.

If you have equipment to host 200 Consignors' items and you have 4 hours, you can probably do this with a team of 20 people working efficiently.

Remember, in order to get the most labor from your Team Members, you must be available to delegate tasks at all times. It is your job to be ready with the next step in the load in or set up process so that when a Team Member finishes one task, you are ready to assign a new task.

Team Member Training
Don't forget to explain your vision carefully. Most Team Member training is on-the-job which means:
  1. You show them how to do it while you explain your vision
  2. You do it together with your Team Member, then
  3. You watch your Team Member do it

This 3-part training process only takes a few minutes and allows you to be sure that the Team Member fully understands the task and your vision.

If you purchased an existing franchise, you will most likely inherit Team Members who know much more than you! Trust these people and empower them. Learn as much from them as you can. Then, after your first sales event, make adjustments as needed.
Your To Do's
To Do:
  1. Read this section in the Operations Manual: Providing a "Frictionless" Experience.
  2. Watch JBF Maple Grove MN time lapse video to get a feel for a sales event from beginning to end.
  3. Use this Sale Week Processes file to draft your plan for Load In & Set Up (be as detailed as possible). Make a copy of this Google doc & share it with your Success Coach.
  4. If you purchased an existing franchise, speak with the previous Owner in detail about Load In and Set Up.
  5. Draft written instructions for your set up Team Members to make training and delegating easier for you during your upcoming event.
Use your weekly meetings with your Success Coach to ask any questions you may have after thoroughly reading, watching, and practicing the content included in this email. And if you get "stuck" in between meetings, feel free to reach out to your Success Coach via email. They will respond within 1-2 business days.
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