Tara Riceberg

Last summer I was wandering around the Atlanta mart and I found myself in showroom that I normally would not have visited. I checked out the magnetic plastic dogs and the wind-up racing grannies. What was I doing in there? I sell home accessories! As I was exiting the knick-knack shop, I spied an arm wrestling toy sitting on a rep's desk. He challenged me to a game. I lost. I asked to play again. I lost. One last time! I lost. I hadn't giggled or felt that silly in ages. I promptly asked for the catalog. But how on earth was I going to sell this $28 toy to my customers in Beverly Hills? Well, I challenged customers to games, encouraged couples to battle it out and let the kids play with it. However, I, unlike the rep, let my customers win. I sold more than a hundred of them.

That wasn't my only surprise last season. I also took a chance on an entirely new category for me — food. I decided that my holiday boutique was going to be a one-stop-shop for everyone on the gift list: teachers, doctors, guys and hostesses. Only problem was I wasn't sure what guys really wanted, so I asked my guy — my dad — for advice. He said that he is usually gifted books and food baskets. Ah, right. The perfect gift for someone you don't know that well.

So, I know how to buy candles, hors d'oeuvres spoons and picture frames, but not food. I wasn't sure where to start, so I decided to sample my way through Javits. I tasted liquid heaven in the form of hot chocolate. I nibbled on blood orange spread with flakey, buttery crackers. I passed by a booth whose product I had purchased as a souvenir at the Savannah airport some months before. I wrote an order for $700 worth of honey. Not only did I sell all the honey, but I sold chocolates from Scotland, rainbow pasta from Italy (my second best gift this year) and artichoke dip from Atlanta.

The food was a hit! What surprised me most was the ability to sell items that clients couldn't taste or touch. They relied on my description, knowledge and enthusiasm. They trusted and believed me. Being well-informed, knowing candle burn times and care instructions for salad servers, is just one way that I provide a valuable shopping experience.

Other ways include organizing products by price, beautifully pre-wrapping gifts and placing description cards next to products to help educate clients as they shop. I take great pride in owning a store where husbands want to visit and where customers leave satisfied; where parents can browse and where kids can explore; where people can laugh and where they can be awed by design.

I do my best to create value for my customers. I want them to smile. I don't want them to believe that value is a 70% off sales tag! So, I "jumped" into new products that I call feel good fun. Yummy food, silly socks and toys! In this changing world of ours, we need to make some changes. Change we can believe in. Stay with it. Keep going.