The Top 10 Business Coaches and Mastermind Groups to Help You Grow Your Retail Sales

The world of retail has changed yet again and will continue to change and evolve as time goes on. From digital upgrades and virtual shopping solutions like never before to figuring out how to be a brick-and-mortar store in the Internet age, you’ve got a lot to keep up with if you own a retail business. 

Not only that, but if you’re just a brick-and-mortar store, you’ve also got to figure out a way to build your business and presence online. It can be a lot for the novice retail business owner. 

Fortunately, you’re not on your own to do it. You’ll find all kinds of trainers, mastermind groups, and coaches that will give you the insight and tools that you need to grow your business with ease. Of course, services like this don’t come for free. Think of this as an investment, though, not an expense—it's an investment in the future of your business. 

A business coach will ask questions to help guide your business in the right direction. They will offer advice that helps give you perspective, and most importantly, they will hold you accountable in your goals and efforts as a business and as a leader within that business. 

In return, you’ll be asked to be open-minded, willing to change, and self-aware so that you can accept constructive criticisms and avoid getting defensive. When you have a business coach or coaching group on your side, you can enjoy several benefits:

• Accountability
• Greater self-awareness of your business and its capabilities
• Clarity of what success looks like and how to get there
• Development of decision making and other critical soft skills
• Increased productivity
• Increased individual performance
• Improved confidence
• Better profits overall
  

You’ll also find a host of coaching options, from one-on-one sessions to group coaching, online courses, seminars, and so much more. In the list below, we’ll look at the 10 best business coaches for your retail sales. First, though, let’s talk about how to choose the best coach. 

Considerations in choosing a coach or mastermind group

You can’t just go and hire the first company that you find for your coaching needs. Not if you want good results, anyway. You have to take the time to look at each option and see what it has to offer. Although several factors may cross your mind, the most important ones include:

Reputation and Image: A business coach is only as good as their reputation. Make sure that you find someone with top-rated reviews and that is well-known within the business coaching community or even just for their areas of expertise. You really shouldn’t rely on a coach that you can’t vet in this way. 

Skillset or Area of Expertise: There may be more than one of these. Some specialize in sales. others specialize in the retail environment. Still more might specialize in the niche market of retail grocery stores. Make sure that you choose a coach that will have the skills and expertise that your business can most benefit from, no matter what that means. 

Media/Training Options: You’ll have a lot of choices here. Some coaches offer a variety of tools and materials, while others focus explicitly on one medium or another. Whether you’re looking for a public speaking engagement, one-on-one coaching in person, online courses, videos, or anything else, you’ll need to make sure that you choose a coach that offers it all. 

Audience/Following: Not only should a coach have a good reputation and image, but they should also have a good audience. It should be diverse and full of success-minded people like yourself. Make sure that no one is just selling you a line, and that they’re actually accomplished in the ways they say they are.

Scalability/Size: There are coaches of all styles out there. Some focus on solo startups and entrepreneurship. Others focus on major corporations and enterprise operations. You’ll need to stick with a coach that can cater to your type of retail establishment. 

If you keep these things in mind, you’ll have no trouble getting the best coaching solutions for your business, no matter what you have in mind. In the world of retail, you’ve got a lot of competition and E-Commerce is only making that competition fiercer. It's going to be up to you to find the best resources to grow your business and stay one step ahead of the competition at all times. 

Part of that comes from embracing business coaching and mastermind groups. Let's look at the ten best options for retail sales today. 

The top 10 coaches and training groups for retail sales 

1. Robb Fahrion

The Flying V Group’s own Robb Fahrion is our first pick because of his dedication and commitment to getting results with sales and profits. He has a focus on adaptability and agility to help companies fit into the ever-changing marketplace that we now see around the world. He helped plenty of businesses through 2020 and is continuing his efforts in consulting with his firm. Their goal is to find ways to help your business create daily revenue streams from new opportunities. They do this by putting themselves in your shoes, which lets them coach on the best moves for your brand, no matter what type of retail you do. 

2. Jay Abraham

Jay Abraham has helped more than 10,000 clients, including some major corporations, improve their operations with his coaching abilities. He has been coaching, writing, and consulting in the business world for decades, and is one of the highest-paid consultants on the market today. He started Abraham Group, Inc., through which he offers online courses, live events, individual coaching opportunities, and so much more. He's one of the best, most experienced business coaches available and he’s a great choice for retail brands who are trying to improve their operations or grow their business. 

3. Vanguard Business Coaching

Andy Turner and the team at Vanguard Business Coaching are going to help retail brands increase their growth and profits quickly and without tons of effort. They work to identify inefficiencies in your operation and help improve productivity and production along the way. You can choose from one-on-one coaching and training solutions, online courses, group training, and so much more. They will identify the biggest problems of your retail business and help you turn things around quickly. Andy Turner and the rest of the team have decades of experience in consulting and coaching, including for retail sales. 

4. Tommi Wolfe

The known Startup Expert, Tommi Wolfe can help any business get to the place where it’s turning a profit. She is a business expert and serial entrepreneur, giving her all the insight and advice to help your retail business succeed. She offers coaching for one-on-one sessions, books private and public speaking events, and has books, blogs, and even some videos that you can check out. She helps companies obtain their goals by creating a competitive, sustainable, yet profitable company and proving that all three are possible. If you want to start a fire with your business growth, Tommi is the one to hire. 

5. Melinda Emerson

Melinda has coached the likes of Staples and American Express, and even Sam’s Club. Today, however, she’s switched gears and focuses on helping small businesses grow their operations. She offers engagement strategies, global insights, and marketing execution tips and assistance. She can provide one-on-one coaching solutions, online courses, and resources, and you can find videos of her speaking at various events, too. Bringing her in for a one-on-one consultation is always the best choice because she’ll find every Achilles’ Heel and address it properly. 

Known as the SmallBizLady, she’s got more than 15 years of experience under her belt as an entrepreneur and small business expert. 

6. Dan Sullivan

Dan Sullivan has 40 years of experience in business, and he offers a lot of theory and vision to brands that are struggling to find it themselves. He focuses more on coaching and strategy, these days, which allows him to be a planner, speaker, coach, and entrepreneur in several different capacities. Most notably as of late, he is the founder and President of The Strategic Coach, Inc. 

The Strategic Coach, Inc offers several different educational resources and training tools that you can use to help improve your sales. You can book consultations with Dan directly or any member of the team, and you will gain valuable insights about how to improve your day-to-day operations to earn bigger profits. 

7. Matt Ward

Matt Ward is all about E-Commerce and AI, so if you’re looking to grow your retail sales through online methods, he’s your guy. He’s also an expert in space, virtual and augmented reality, and other unique areas. However, where he shines is with network effects, digital E-Commerce marketplaces, startups, and more. He's responsible for building several seven-figure companies over the years and he focuses on helping people “hack the system” and scale their business to fundraise, reduce costs, and increase profits like a true retail success. Having worked with some major brands, Ward has a lot of good experience under his belt for the modern retail brand. 

8. Beacon Retail Coaching

Beacon Retail Coaching has speaking engagements, workshops, one-on-one coaching, and even free tips and tricks to help your retail business thrive. They focus on accountability and seeking out missed opportunities. They understand the unique nature of today’s market and what retail managers and store owners really need to be successful. By uncovering all the problems in your business, they will hold you accountable to make positive changes in various ways that will add up quickly. 

They offer a Retail Mastery System, Retail Sales Academy, and even the Master Plan Advantage for those who are ready to take total control back over their retail business. 

9. Aaron Farmer, The Retail Coach

Aaron Farmer is the President of The Retail Coach, a retail coaching business that was founded by C. Kelly Cofer, another expert with over 25 years of consulting. Aaron Farmer and crew provide coaching and training for retail growth based on models that they have provided to the likes of FedEx, Sally Beauty Supply, Concentra, and even Adidas. Farmer has a degree in marketing and an MBA and the rest of the coaches and agents at the firm have similar educational experience and backgrounds. The retail coach focuses on the specific elements that impact retail sales and how you can capitalize on them to stay ahead of the game and grow your brand. 

10. ActionCOACH

Led by one of the pioneers of business coaching, Brad Sugars, ActionCOACH is a coaching program that is now one of the biggest franchises in the country. This started as a one-man show and is now a multi-million-dollar company, blazing the trail for business consulting and coaching with innovation and more. ActionCOACH wants to put “a coach in every business” and help companies find wealth through education and learning the new school of business. ActionCOACH has 14 Points of Culture that guide all that they do, and they offer online coaching, one-on-one sessions, group coaching, and more. 

Take action to give your customers better service with Smith.ai 

While you’re busy brushing up on your business skills, who’s answering the customer inquiries coming to your phones, email, and live chat? When you hire the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai, there’s no question. We'll make sure that your calls and messages get answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no matter what you’re doing. We can even field Facebook and SMS messages, help with scheduling and intake, outreach campaigns, and so much more. 

If you’re looking for a strategy to improve your business operations and your profits, streamlining with Smith.ai is the way to go. We'll even help you craft a strategy to manage it all perfectly and give you more time to do what needs to be done. 

To learn more, schedule your consultation to talk about our 24/7 virtual receptionists and the solutions we provide, from after-hours answering to live website chat and much more. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or by calling (650) 727-6484.