Diamonds and gold prices can’t possibly stay high forever … can they?

It doesn’t take long for increased or decreased prices to become the new “normal.”  Shoppers who haven’t bought jewellery for 5, 7 or 10 years may not be surprised at all that a 14kt gold pendant-chain costs $500.  DON’T APOLOGIZE FOR THE CURRENT PRICING.  When it’s not a huge issue for the client, don’t even mention the recent price fluctuations that we’re so acutely aware of.  It’s perfectly normal now. 

DO make sure you can answer the objection when a customer genuinely recognizes the difference between todays pricing compared with a couple of years ago.  Your answer should be without apologies.  I strongly suggest that you mention the fact that due to worldwide demand for gold and diamonds; especially from emerging markets in India and Asia, further increases will not be surprising.

The secret weapon of “appreciation.”

It’s been said that financial compensation isn’t the most important benefit to employment.  The most important element is appreciation.  Now, you can’t ask someone to work for free and expect them to enjoy it just because you say “well-done” a lot.  Appreciation goes much deeper than simple manners.

I worked for a company that had a contest.  Submitting compliments to coworkers for jobs well-done seemed kind of contrived.  But in retrospect, it forced me to look at all of the ways in which my coworkers were critical parts of the team.  This team I worked with achieved highly, and many of us have retained friendships since the days we worked together almost 2 decades ago.

Appreciation is validation of our efforts to contribute to the success of a relationship, family, business, or social group.  When you express appreciation in the workplace, you are telling someone that they have made the business more successful and a better place to work.  Correction and criticism are also a necessary part of increasing opportunities for appreciation. 

Don’t forget to appreciate each other.  When you make it a habit, it takes away from the time you used to have for bickering and back-biting.  You will also make your store a better place to work, and don’t we all want to be part of a successful team?

Saturday Story Time - No Small Customers

There are no small customers, only small thinkers.  For years my little shop had been doing corporate pins for a welding company.  We never seemed to charge enough, but the lady who placed the orders and came to pick them up was just so nice that we continued to do our best for her.  She sometimes brought me cookies too.  After moving from my small shop to Diamori, a luxury jewellery boutique in downtown Edmonton, I continued to do these annual award pins.  Eventually there were a couple of platinum pins and a ring or two.

One day this nice lady from the welding company came-in with her husband who was wearing jeans and work-boots.  He was shopping for thank-you gifts for his brother-in-law and other partner.  You see, they had invited him to take an equity position in the company a few decades earlier, and they had just sold-out for what I assume was $millions.  In less than an hour, he selected two brand-new solid 18kt gold Rolex President watches for $54,000.

Firstly: if you are in this business long enough, you will find some nice surprises by treating even the smallest of accounts with respect.  Secondly: millionaires don’t always walk around in Armani suits or Versace dresses.  Thirdly:  I hope you’ll never stop being amazed at how much money a client might spend if you put something extraordinary in front of them.

Here’s your virtual kick-in-the-buttocks…

It never fails.  You attend a jewellery show or conclave and one of the speakers talks about the power of add-on sales.  You get pumped.  You ask your first client, “so do you have any other special occasions coming up?”  Or, “are there other special girls in your life that deserve a nice treat for Valentine’s day?” Or, “Oh, I just remembered that I have a matching pair of earrings…”  You do this for a couple of weeks and only make two or three add-on sales.  Then you stop trying. 

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE…  You made two or three add-on sales!  Those are sales that you didn’t have to advertise for.  You just had to ask for them.  Why did you stop asking?  Lazy?  Discouraged by the 20 “no” answers for every two or three “yes” answers?  Here’s your virtual kick-in-the-pants.  START ASKING AGAIN!!!

Why didn’t you come to me?

If you’ve been in sales long enough, you will have experienced the frustration of someone close to you having bought jewellery from someone other than you.  It’s usually embarrassing for them to admit it, and can make the subject of buying jewellery awkward in the future. 

Firstly, remember that when sold properly, jewellery is emotional not a commodity.  Let’s say that Bill and Carol come-back from Hawaii with a diamond-set palm-tree pendant and chain.  Carol had been admiring them during their trip, and just before the luau, Bill said he was going out for “a walk,” but instead he snuck down to the jewellery store, bought the pendant.  As he put it around Carol’s neck, he told her what an amazing time he was having and to never forget this fantastic anniversary in Hawaii.  Do you think it would hold the same sentiment if Bill came home, asked you to work your suppliers to find the same thing for $50 less?  N’uh-uh.  Oh, and make sure you tell Carol what a beautiful piece it is and ask her if she would like a longer chain to show it off over top of a sweater.

Secondly, remember that it’s up to you to let your friends know what it is that you do that nobody else can compete with.  If you accurately boast the best selection and value of high quality diamonds, Bill would never buy a nice one-carat diamond without checking with you first.  NEVER!  He might buy a cheap, crappy one-carat diamond from someone else, but that’s a sale (and customer) you probably don’t want attributed to your store.  That’s the beauty of identifying your core competencies and being able to articulate them well.

Thirdly, make more friends.  Social networking is proof that people want more friends in their lives.  Greet a past client with, “hello my friend!”  Think about them and treat them as part of your inner circle (your business inner circle. I’m not suggesting you invite them for Christmas dinner.)  “Friend” them on facebook.  Introduce them to other clients when they’re in the store. 

In the bible it says that in order to have friends you must “prove yourself friendly.”   Be friendly and don’t forget to continually remind all of your friends, both business and personal, what you do well.

Be Remarkable

Yesterday I introduced the notion that “going viral” has everything to do with how remarkable your business is.  In order to incite a client to remark to their friends about their experience, you can’t be normal.  This may sound obvious, but consider this: you can have an extremely effective greeting, well-targeted qualifying conversation, proficient sales presentation, cleaver close and efficient completion and your client will conclude that you did what was expected.

What YouTube videos are the most remarkable?  The ones that provoke the biggest emotional reaction: horror, laughter, shock-and-awe, wonder or sympathy.  A perfectly adequate sales experience will not generate remarks.  A perfectly adequate sales experience with some sort of added surprise will get people talking. 

Every time I put a $20,000 diamond ring on a client’s finger and sent them outside to view it in natural light, I could predict their strong response.  “You’re trusting me not to run away?”  Listen to your client; maybe you’ll discover that they’re so self-conscious about the look of their hands, you need to book them a manicure before they come to pick-up their ring.  Nick Failla shared a great practice at the Western Canadian Jewellery Expo a few years ago: when closing the sale for a piece of jewellery from a guy to his lady, instruct him to buy a card and write how-much she means to him and what to remember every time she looks at this piece of jewellery.  Mine your memory for some your best clients’ best experiences with you.  Was there something that elicited a strong emotional response?

As I come across great ideas for remarkable practices, I’ll pass them along.  Have a remarkable day!

Go Viral – Free Money!!!

I’ve written before that social media is nothing but a progression from traditional direct marketing approaches.  The appeal of social media is the prospect of “going viral,” and expanding your sales exponentially at little or no cost.  Truth-is that exponential growth still requires a genuinely amazing inner-reality. 

You can’t market your way to success unless you have a product or customer experience that is REMARKABLY better than your competitor.  There are millions of marketers trying to go viral at the same time as you, so boil it down to this:  What do you do on a consistent basis that will make your clients “REMARK” about it to their friends?