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Articles by Charlie Glickman

opinion

Understanding the Connection Between Sex and Life in a Retail Setting

Do you know what the most amazing and challenging thing about sex is? It’s the fact that everything connects to it. Anything in your life can affect your sexuality, and your sexuality can affect anything in your life.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Getting Help: When Sexuality Professionals Face Sexual Challenges

A few months ago, I wrote an article about how working in the sex retail and education worlds can affect your sex life. Now, it’s time to look the other side of the coin: how does your sex life affect your job?

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Back Door Basics: Get Ready for Anal Sex Month

It’s time to start prepping for August, also known as Anal Sex Month. More people than ever before are exploring anal pleasure, which means you have an excellent opportunity to get some cross-sells and upsells. Here are some ideas to make sure you’re maximizing the impact of your efforts.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

All Are Welcome: Making Retail Sex Education Gender-Inclusive

If you’ve been paying any attention to the news lately, you’ve seen the increased media coverage of transgender and gender-diverse people. While not all of the press has been positive, I’ve seen plenty that is. The more we can talk about the experiences of transgender and gender-diverse folks, the more we can help create a truly inclusive world.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

How Does Working in the Biz Affect Your Sex Life?

When I started off working in the sex retail world, I was excited to learn about sexuality and pleasure. I was looking forward to discovering new things about my own sexuality. Over the years, I saw a lot of my co-workers and colleagues come to some of the same realizations I did.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Sexual Products, Sexual Shame

One of the amazing things about the sex retail industry is that you’re on the front lines of dealing with sexual shame. You have allies among therapists, counselors, coaches, educators, writers and plenty of other professions. But selling pleasure products puts you in a unique position that nobody else covers.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Bad Science: When Sex Research Doesn’t Matter

A few months back, some very well publicized research came out that claimed that the G-spot doesn’t exist. It was the latest round in the seemingly never-ending debate about the existence of the G-spot that medical folks, sexologists, and other scientists have been having ever since the publication of “The G Spot and Other Recent Discoveries About Human Sexuality” in 1982.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

What You Like Isn’t the Same as What’s Good When Recommending Purchases

What’s the best vibrator?” “What’s a good lubricant?” “What butt plug should I get?” If you’ve worked in a frontline sexuality retail position, you’ve probably heard one of these questions. Actually, you probably hear something like this during every shift. It can be a tricky situation, but it’s also a great opportunity for education and upsells.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

New Beginnings: What Was Your New Year’s Resolution?

We’ve just started a new year, and that’s always a good time to take a moment and reflect on new beginnings. It’s also a great opportunity to help your customers learn something new about sex, pleasure and relationships. So here’s my question for you: what new thing do you want to learn about sex this year?

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Changing Lanes: What Does ‘Sexual Health’ Mean, Anyway?

We’ve seen a lot of changes in the sex retail trade in the last few years. More women have become regular customers, more companies are embracing sex education as part of their branding, there’s increased awareness of the importance of quality design and materials, and there’s wider discussion of the value of sexual pleasure for older people and folks with disabilities.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Rethinking ‘Toys for Men’

Have you ever been working behind the counter at your store and had someone come to you and ask you, “Where are the toys for men?” I know I’ve fielded a lot of questions like this and I bet your staff has too. While it might seem easy enough to point that customer to the shelves of cock rings and masturbation sleeves, it’s important to take that a step further.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

The Dangers of Over-Sharing on the Retail Floor

Which of these do you like?” “Have you ever tried this one?” “What’s your favorite product?” If you’ve spent any time on the sales floor, you’ve probably had a customer ask you one of these questions. And you might even have given them an answer. A lot of sales staff share personal information with customers for different reasons.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

How Sexologists Can Contribute to the Sex Toy Retail Industry

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that there’s a disconnection between some groups of people who could be natural allies. Sexologists want to understand sex, and sex therapists and coaches are dedicated to helping people improve their sex lives.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Retail Sales: When to Call in the Pros

If you work on the front lines of the sex retail trade, you’ve had customers who came to your store and asked for a product to fix a situation that it simply can’t fix. Some couples try to spice up their sex lives with a toy or a movie, without realizing that their sexual problems are rooted in something much bigger than that.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Sex Positivity for Sex Retailers

When customers come to your store or website, it’s important that they feel welcomed. That’s standard retail doctrine, but it plays out differently when you’re selling sexual products. Your company philosophy has a big impact on how you connect with customers and close the sale.

Charlie Glickman ·
opinion

Sex, Shame and Retail

It’s hardly news to those of us who work in the sex retail trade that a lot of folks have difficulty talking about sex. But have you thought about what that means for your customers?

Charlie Glickman ·

Shifting Attitudes: Talking About Prostate Play

If you’ve been following trends in the sex toy world, you’ve probably noticed that there are more products for prostate play than there used to be. Aneros paved the way with one of the first products specifically for that purpose, but you can trace this shift back to the 1998 how-to movie “Bend Over Boyfriend.” Momentum has been slow to build, but in the last few years, more and more prostate toys have been hitting the shelves. That means that increasing numbers of men are giving it a try, especially straight men. If you want to be able to sell your products to them, you need to know what hurdles they face.

Charlie Glickman ·

Connection Catalyst

When you’re trying to get the word out about your brand, there are a lot of different ways you can do that. Most companies focus on advertising, affiliate programs, and social networking, but there’s an opportunity you might be missing. Building relationships with sex educators and bloggers is one of the best ways to add value to your brand and get your products into the hands of new customers. CatalystCon is a great place to do that.

Charlie Glickman ·