3 Tips To Maximize Business Development

| October 11, 2017

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  1. Maintain Relationships

Establishing relationships is one thing, but maintaining them is a business art form all its own. According to a study, repeat customers spend nearly 70% more on average than new clients. This is especially true in the hospitality and retail industries. Thus, it pays to continue strengthening these existing relationships, remembering to engage with your customers on a regular basis. Feel free to set up reminders in tune with a schedule that works for you, but quarterly check-ins are a solid rule of thumb for starters. What have you done to stay in contact with your customers?

PawnMaster can act as a database for you. You can easily reach your customers regularly through their text messaging platform.

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Is Your Pawn Software “All Show – No Go!”?

| October 10, 2017

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A small Maryland town, circa 1989: “Billy, come check this out!”, my friend called to me from the driver side window of his Trans Am. I walked over and climbed into the passenger seat and before I was even completely settled in, the sound system washed over me. The crystal-clear sound of Great White rocking “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” sounded all too perfect, and I could feel my internal organs thumping with the bass. I looked down at his dashboard at the night club-level light show emulating from his stereo system. My friend was saying something to me, but I could only see his lips moving. I was totally immersed. Once the show was over, he got ready to drive off. He turned the key in the ignition, and nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. He ended up having to replace the engine, but that stereo system was amazing. (more…)

Pawning, Selling and Trading Firearms

| October 4, 2017

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“Pawn, Sell and Trade” As part of the pawn business model, it goes without saying that a shop can expect to not only see firearms heading out the door, but also being brought in by customers for pawning, sale, trade, or even gun-smithing  services.

Some risk-reducing measures to consider:

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Pawn Shops Improve Lives

| October 2, 2017

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By a show of hands – how many of you got into the pawn business so you could help people? How many wanted to be the sole salvation for some families in a time of crisis?  Instead of making money, who of you wanted to make a difference instead?  I would suggest that very few (if any) of us got our start with such philanthropic motives in mind.  Truthfully, we all had large profits and multiple locations in our dreams, but a funny thing happened during the journey –  we learned that pawn shops make a difference in our customers’ lives.

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Employees as Advertising

| September 15, 2017

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There’s an old adage about advertising that I still remember to this day:

Probably half of the advertising dollars you spend are wasted…and you don’t know which half it is.

So instead of frustrating myself more, I stopped advertising and focused on my employees. I became the sole responsible party for all new employees from the initial interview of a CSR (break-in employee) to managers and supervisors. I knew what kind of people I wanted working for me and the only way that could happen was to control the process.  (more…)

Gold is Not the Problem

| September 13, 2017

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As you know, we love the pawn industry. A few weeks ago, we presented and exhibited at the NPA Convention in Las Vegas I heard something very disturbing.  I must have heard at least 200 owners talk about how they are not making money the way they used to in this industry. What is more disturbing is at least half of those, when asked why not, immediately responded” because gold is down from $1,856 at its highest to $1,230 an oz. now… It amazes me that so many of the people we spoke to had this as their main reason for down profits. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the price of gold is only one of the many challenges you face right now that is causing less profitability in your pawn shops than in years past.

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High Quality and Fast Turnaround Custom Programming

| September 12, 2017

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When we designed PawnMaster we set out to build a total Pawn shop solution that would give pawnbrokers the tools they needed to operate and grow their business.  We started with our Microsoft DOS platform and over the course of the next 30 years we’ve improved, evolved and enhanced PawnMaster Classic with the input and feedback of throusands of pawnbrokers.   (more…)