When Price Comes First

At dinner in Vegas two nights ago, a lively conversation broke-out about when to introduce the element of budget or price into a sales conversation.  I won’t rehash the conversation, but suffice to say I was on the side of developing price and budget as late as possible, and three other very effective salespeople would see the issue developed very early.

A few times during our buying at the show I jokingly used a phrase I learned from the late, great, Varouj Arkarakas.  After identifying the item I was interested in, I asked, “how much is it, and why so much?”  The phrase offends me and I try to only use it tongue-in-cheek.  When you break it down, the question puts the seller on the defensive.  With a gun to his head, he must either defend the worth or acknowledge that the price is too high.

It hit me again at dinner yesterday with my cousin and a friend from Connecticut.  Heather works for Elite Traveller Magazine, and was promoting to my cousin Ken who markets Ammolite Jewellery by Korite.  They exchanged cards and Ken said, “send me the rate card and then we’ll discuss the REAL price.”  Now, magazines are notorious for building a significant buffer into their rates for negotiation, so he wanted to let her know that he was aware of this. 

If you’re the seller, I think you want the chance to develop the worth of your product before price comes into the conversation.  Shane Decker spent an hour talking about romancing the product so that it will seem awkward to ask for a discount.  Martin DeWitt at the Rapaport Diamond Conference spent much time talking about romancing hand-selected diamonds over the rejected stones on the internet. 

Shrewd shoppers will try to make it about price.  It’s your job to develop desire for a design and excitement about the prospect of owning that product so that price will drop down the chain of importance.  It’s easier to proactively develop the issue of worth before a budget puts the handcuffs on you.

Live from Vegas - Day 7

The invoices have been closed-off, the final handshakes have been exchanged, the exhibitors are packing-up and dispersing back into the world.  JCK Las Vegas is done.  I was asked a few times why I was here and my answer obviously included buying and education.  We also come looking for trends.  That was a tough answer to give.

In my observations, there were no clear-cut trends that you HAVE to observe.  At AGTA you’d think that pink and green tourmalines were the hot ticket, but indicolite, opal, tanzanite were also trending up.  At the main show, you might see a lot of engagement sets that were highly embellished with micro-set diamonds, but there were simpler bolder designs as well.  If you heeded the words of the experts at the seminars, you’d easily believe that your shoppers are trending towards personalized design, internet savvy and social consciousness.

The most important thing that attendees of the show will bring-back to their stores is a feeling that they gave their business a shot of adrenaline.  They can say to their clients, “I hand-picked this out of thousands…”  They can say, “I met the designer in person.”  They can discuss supply-chain ethics with much more authority.  The up-and-comers who were in attendance for the first time are glowing in the knowledge that there’s infinitely more to this industry than the four walls they occupy for their 50 weeks per year.  Walking among thousands of people who have made a passionate choice of jewellery as their career, suddenly these young guns stop gawking and realize they walk among peers.

There are other shows coming up and more opportunity to boost your businesses.  Don’t miss-out.  It’s been said that if you continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got; but there’s a new sentiment out there.  The new sentiment is that the status quo will lead to declining fortunes.  In this day of viral media, competition from the internet, and rapid access to inventory from all over the world, it requires more knowledge, resourcefulness and passion to succeed.

I hope to see you at the next show.

Live from Vegas - Day 6

You’ll be thankful to know that the music video I’ve chosen for my V-Blog today is not of my own making.  It’s from One Republic; the band who rocked the beach last night at the JCK party.  First of all, I’ve got to say it was an amazing energetic concert and secondly it made my heart soar to see so many Canadian jewellers celebrating a great night together. 

One of the highlights of going to a trade show is this: transparency.  Full lines of product in plain view for all to see.  Industry experts giving away information that they would otherwise charge huge fees to bring to your store.  Catalogs, magazines, CDs, samples, giveaways, takeaways.  It’s all there.

One Republic songs, “Tell me what you want to hear.  Something that will light those years.  Sick of all the insincere.  So I'm gonna give all my secrets away”  We’re in the information age.  Give away information as freely and easily as the internet and your clients will want to deal with you.  A trade show who gives away a lot of free information will attract more jewellers.  Sincerity, knowledge and professionalism are still the standard in our industry.  Deliver that, and you’ve got a rockin’ future.

Live from Vegas - Day 5

Those 7:30AM seminars come early in Vegas, but the oxygen or Red Bull or whatever they pump into the air helps.  The responsible Jewellery Council hosted a panel on ethically sourced precious metals.  The panel consisted of representatives from the jewellery industry, mining, smelting and retail.  What I learned was that a multinational, multi-tiered effort is going on to give ethically “clean” gold added value in order to protect against human rights violations.  Right now it’s starting with publically traded companies who have an obligation to work with their supply chain to force the issue.  Once the larger more recognizable companies begin to advertise their commitment to this, you’ll have to follow suit!

After that, I got a chance to meet Rob Bates, senior editor of JCK Magazine at his talk about the changing landscape of the diamond business.  There seems to be an echo ringing throughout many of the speakers I’ve attended regarding social consciousness.  It’s not going to go away.  The green movement has led to much needed environmental initiatives that have changed the course of our industrial future.  The new social consciousness combined with lightening fast info via internet, social networking and smart-phones will require your attention!  The feeling I get is that there genuinely is a growing sentiment among consumers towards emotion and meaning over price and “bling.”  Another interesting point that came-out in Rob’s presentation is that US consumers are feeling better about them selves because they’ve begun to reduce expenses and have their debt under control.  They are now more confident in making purchasing decisions.

My wife, Jana flew in yesterday, so it was a pleasure to have her visit with our good friends the Wades from Stettler, the Triebels from Fort St. John and Connie Kitigawa from Digem at an amazing dinner at P.F. Changs in Planet Holleywood.  We go there every year for their lettuce wraps and lively atmosphere.

Highlight of the trip so far?  Circque du Soleil – Love!  What a show.

Live from Vegas - Day 4

Live from Vegas – Day 4 – JCK Opens

Breakfast session with Robin Lewis and Michael Dart told us about The New Rules of Retail.  They covered the last 160 years and made a good case that we’ve progressed from producer power, to marketing power and now to consumer power.  The current status of retail yields “unlimited access to increasing volumes of goods instantaneously.”  Their conclusions were encouraging for the people I write to, because among all of these issues, those who can react to client wants and give them a great experience will triumph over mass-market retailers.  Developing “neurological connections” means not just fulfilling consumer needs, but satisfying dreams.

The session finished, and we hit the sales floor, selecting new product for Courtney Gold from two of our major suppliers.  Yes, our suppliers exhibit in Vegas.  You can go and see a feature presentation of some of the latest product, but no individual retailer could effectively purchase the minimum orders to buy directly from them.  I did have the pleasure of working one a client who loves one of those lines, and we ordered some special pieces for them that we would otherwise not be carrying in Canada.

It was fantastic to see so many Canadians in attendance at JCK.  What is even more encouraging is that they were highly visible in the educational forums.  I love to see us learning, because I’m convinced that smarter jewellers compete more effectively against other consumer goods. 

A number of Western Canadian, including the Austens, Fishers and Cardiffs got together for some wine and lively conversation after the show closed.  It was also my privilege to attend the Canadian 24kt dinner as a guest of Steve Parker.  I enjoyed visiting with Susan Cartwright-Coats of Cartwright Jewellers, Connie Kitigawa of Digem, Varouj Tabakian (jewellery designer), Carmen Rivee (Montreal based retailer,) Doug Irwin of Citizen Watch, Andrew Foster of Foster & Sons, Richard Smith of 5^th Avenue Jewellers and many others.

Live from Vegas - Day 3 - Seminar Day

Live from Vegas – Day 3 – Seminar Day

This year JCK has gotten back to having a seminar day ahead of the main show.  Today began with free breakfast courtesy of the Luxury show, followed by numerous seminars with a bit of AGTA gem shopping in between.  At breakfast, I met a jeweller from Houston, TX who has been advertising and buying diamonds for a few years now, and has turned it into a major source of revenue.  I’m going to follow-up with him and learn more, but the three-and-a-half-part blog I wrote on buying diamonds off the street covered a lot of what he’s done.

The first seminar I attended was on sales referrals by Brennan Scanlon.  His take on in-person networking was refreshing.  We’ve all been to the chamber mixers and seen those who shake a lot of hands and give-out a lot of cards.  He focused on “the givers gain” which was his way of saying give, give, give before expecting others to show loyalty to you. 

Encouraging statistics:

1/20^th of prospects will buy from you

1/6^th of referred customers will buy from you

Referred clients stay with you 4 times longer

Referred clients buy 4 times as much

Referred clients are 2.5 times more likely to refer new customers

Doug Hucker from the AGTA had me marching straight for Steve and Debbie (manager of Steve’s retail store) to insist that they become members.  The materials and staff training that they offer for your $350 membership outweighs that value by a huge margin.  If it helps you sell another $3,000 orange sapphire ring, or a $1Million Paraiba tourmaline, it’s more than paid for!  Join today!!!

Shane Decker talked about romancing jewellery.  Before getting into his discussion, he pointed out that a greasy fingerprint on a ring is a sign of rejection and would encourage all to keep their rings spiffy!  The three ways in which he encouraged his audience to romance jewellery were by A) using “value-added” statements, B) romancing the beauty of the design and C) romancing the reason or occasion.

Those weren’t the only sessions I attended and much was learned by listening to gem dealers promoting their wears.  I look forward to the main show today.  Yesterday I had a few “scans” on my Toddwaz Report T-shirt, so I have a bit of a start on my social media experiment.