I had never even taken a business class in high school or college. Instead I earned degrees in microbiology and biochemistry. My credentials for running a store came from growing up in the carpet industry. At age eight, I was laying carpet with my father. As soon as I got a driver’s license I was taking samples to customers and selling them. My carpet-laying skills and selling abilities enabled me to raise a family and attend college at the same time. Despite my ability to earn a living wage while going to school, my father believed I was too lazy to succeed in the carpet industry.

Fifteen years ago, before my first speech to flooring retailers, Home Depot and Lowe’s had begun expanding their flooring business. Other retail giants, mass-merchandisers like K-Mart, Target, and Wal-Mart had already decimated independent “Main Street” retailers all over America. Carpet retailers feared they would be next. The scuttlebutt back then suggested that “big box stores” may put 50 percent of the flooring retailers out of business by decade’s end. Dealers were worried.

Have you ever tried to work someplace where you had no light? Have you ever entered a strange room and fumbled for a light switch? As a child, I had a scary and scaring experience with my father.

In recent columns I've described some make-a-difference habits that highly effective flooring retailers apply. So now might be a good time to ask: How are you doing in becoming a "more effective retailer."

In a recent column, I shared the "Seven Deadly Sins of Retailing." The topic generated so much feedback, that I write this one in the same vein, except I'm moving from what not to do, to what to do.

Most businesses that fail do so because of their owners' "sins." Usually it's not for lack of hard work. On the contrary, most store owners put in long hours. (There is an old saying: "Observe a retailer. See an indentured servant.")

I have previously described how two flooring dealers achieved a level of customer service that can best be described as "abnormally good." One gave great service, and then asked customers for very specific feedback.

Imagine a dogsled race where every team is well-led - except one. As that team starts, the middle dogs run faster than the lead dog. They quickly go up and over his back and, in the process, they tumble and topple the sled.

Athletic champions know they must continually improve. They'll regress if they don't progress. So, many hire personal coaches to tell them about weak spots they can't see. Using a coach's feed-back, they can improve their performance.

The mind-set of salespeople toward products -- their biases against some and for others -- is so common that I address it during every sales seminar.