Do we all remember my other, very real part-time job of selling merch at my friend’s show? Well, after doing it one time (and barely staying awake till midnight) I managed to earn myself another shift this past week, when the same friend was playing at Massey Hall! (Kind of a big deal, amirite Canadian Readers?)

Since I had already done this once before, and am completely obsessed with inventory management know a little bit about inventory planning, I went into the evening feeling like I knew what I was doing. Possibly, with a small chip on my shoulder.

When I arrived, there was another guy working the merch table who does this all the time. He was extremely helpful and friendly. He made sure I always had water and snacks, and he showed me how he normally organized everything.

Which was - completely different from how I had been doing it.

He folded the T-shirts differently. He grouped the sizes differently. He had a system for the back stock and a different merchandising strategy for the table. You wouldn’t think there are that many variables in play for selling tee shirts and records, but he had done almost every single thing his own way.

And thankfully, I paid attention.

I have a background in supply chain and inventory management. I understand the theory behind organizing stock, making products easy to find and ensuring that you can replenish what’s on display while maintaining some semblance of order behind the table.

But I don’t sell concert merchandise every day.

He does.

There is always a difference between knowing the principles and knowing how those principles work in a specific environment. He knew which items needed to be easiest to reach. He knew how to arrange things so we could quickly find the right size. He knew what would make sense once people started arriving and several customers wanted several different things at once.

My experience helped me understand why his system worked. It did not mean I already knew the best way to do it.

I think this is an easy trap to fall into once you know a fair amount about something. You recognize the basic concepts, so you assume you already understand the whole system.

This reminded me of a quote about how sometimes, when we are trying to creatively solve a problem, we just apply more effort in the same place - leading to the exact same result we had before.

I have been very guilty of this in the past.

If I want to learn more about consulting, I will naturally look to other consultants. If I want to learn about inventory, I will look for supply chain resources.

There is nothing wrong with that, but it means I may miss what a merch seller, event organizer or someone from a completely different industry could teach me.

The concepts at the merch table were familiar. The application was different.

There was also a lot of downtime between rushes, which gave me and my new merch bestie time to chat. It made the evening much more enjoyable, and also allowed me to ask questions as to why he did things the way he did, to really understand and unpack his strategy.

In my consulting work, I tend to move fairly quickly into the reason we are meeting. We have a process to fix, a decision to make or some kind of operational knot to untangle. There isn’t always a lot of small talk.

Merch sales are almost entirely small talk.

You chat with the person working beside you. You chat with the people buying shirts. You ask where they’re coming in from, help them find a size and chat about their concert experience.

It uses a completely different part of my brain. I think that was good for me too.

I learned a few practical things that I’ll use if I sell merch again. I also came away with ideas that apply to my consulting work, my own business and how I learn from other people.

Experience is useful because it gives you a foundation. But it can also make you assume you already know the answer.

Sometimes it’s better to take the notes.