GLOSSARY – Sales-on-purpose

Greatness is never given, it must be taken – PGA Tour Slogan

Variations of this quote are attributable to US President Barack Obama (earned in place of “taken”), William Shakespeare (slightly wordier), and Vincent Mancini in The Godfather III (way angrier.)  I like golf.

As with any relationship, you develop term and phrases that are unique to your sphere of influence.  Todays key-phrase is “sales on purpose.”  It comes up in my conversations with retailers on a regular basis.  I might say, “are they someone who can do sales-on-purpose?”

Hiring sales staff is a difficult task; one that affects all of our businesses profoundly.  After the miners unearth gold and precious gems, the metallurgists, lapidaries and diamond cutters work their magic, the designers shape, the salesmen sell, the retailer displays, it is your sales force who ultimately are charged with the responsibility of getting jewellery the last 18” into the consumers hands.  There are two extremes in retail jewellery: items that are bought and items that are sold (two more key-phrases in my vernacular.)  Items that are bought require order-takers.  Put these items into a vending machine: people will insert their credit card and out will drop the $99 diamond heart pendant, the “I love you” bead or the Ironman watch.

Items that are “sold” require people who do “sales on purpose.”  Rather than just being pleasant and knowing how to ring-up a sale, doing sales on purpose requires knowledge, skill and charisma.  Those who do sales on purpose must know their product, know their industry and know how to maximize every sales opportunity.

You’ve all heard of the “born salesman or saleswoman.”  They’re usually an outgoing assertive personality type, and have a knack for earning trust.  You don’t have to be born with it.  When you choose a vocation and spent 40-odd hours a week doing it, you should continually strive to do it better.  If your vocation is selling jewellery, you need to keep up on industry news, deepen your knowledge of the product and constantly strive to build your selling skills.

Charisma is often considered an X-factor exclusive to a chosen few.  I believe any of us can be charismatic to some people in certain settings.  If you know and love jewellery, and express that to someone who is excited about buying jewellery, you will certainly be seen as “charismatic” in that environment.

Nobody wants to hire sales clerks who will remain worth minimum wage.  Everyone wants their staff to turn into selling machines.  If you’re not a superstar salesperson yet, don’t worry about it.  The most effective jewellers and salespeople are the ones who are continually pushing themselves to learn more and achieve higher sales.  That doesn’t happen by accident; it’s sales-on-purpose.

Connect for Success

Many people spend huge dollars looking for secrets of success in selling.  Some people just seem to be able to strike-up a conversation with anyone and immediately make a connection.  A friendly personal connection doubles or triples your chance at making a sale!

This is why I’m worried about the next generation.  Younger folks who interact in 144 character sentences with improper grammar develop stunted communication skills and superficial relationships.  Time spent in front of highly addictive video-games, television or social networking sites (I’m one to talk!!!)  takes away from time living and experiencing our world. 

The secret to connecting for success is to GET A LIFE.  You can’t buy it, you can’t learn it and no success coach can give it to you.  Think of conversations that develop around a dinner table, pub table, or in your store.  Someone says “I was in an accident last week and my neck’s a little stiff.”  The next person says, “My dad was driving through an intersection and I was in the passenger seat when I noticed a car coming straight towards me…”  Everyone seems to have an experience that says, “you’re not alone.  I’ve been there too.  I can relate.”  If someone says they just came from the curling rink, even one who only knows a little bit about curling can still ask, “who are you cheering for in the Briar (or the Scotties Tournament of Hearts)” and open a lively conversation.

I’m not suggesting that you get into a motor vehicle accident or memorize curling stats.  I worked for a very intelligent man who had travelled the world.  When he met someone with an accent, he surprisingly often knew a bit about their home country (and/or had spent time there) and could speak a few words in their native language.  How many tourists visit a country without learning a single word and become indignant that their hosts refuse to serve them in our own tongue?  Don’t be that tourist.  Be the one who learns a bit about the culture and takes the time to learn a few words and phrases.  Apply the same to various sports, activities, community events, vocations, pop-culture, television shows, consumer products, music, arts and anything that your target audience might be interested in. 

People who you want to sell to, people who you need a loan from and people who are instrumental in the success of your children are all people looking for someone to connect with.  Be a life-long learner.  It takes a lifetime.  Get a life.  Start today.

Uniformity

As I deplaned for about the 150^th time in the past year, I looked at the flight crew preparing to come aboard.  They had golden embroidery on the hats and epaulettes, crisp white shirts, matching luggage and freshly polished shoes.  These elements made me feel safe.  I’m not sure how clothing can instill a sense of security, but I do know that if my pilot was wearing a pair of jeans and a dirty “who farted” T-shirt, I’d definitely feel quite the opposite.

Now, air travel is an expensive form of travel.  Picture a cruise ship captain, a train conductor on the Rocky Mountain Express, a Greyhound bus driver, a limo driver and a cabbie.  The most expensive forms of travel have the most formal wardrobes.  The least expensive have the least formal dress.

How should you dress?  I say you should dress for the highest level of jewellery that you aspire to sell.  Here’s why.  Part of the client’s decision-making process is imagining himself or herself wearing that piece in different settings.  In fact, you’ll often hear the question, “where would I ever wear that?”  If they look around your store at the décor and the attire of the staff and feel overdressed with that piece of jewellery on, you’ve given them one-strike against buying that special design.

True story:  I had a lady come into the small luxury jewellery boutique I managed in Commerce Place one day.  She told me that she had been looking forward to coming in to see some jewellery, but until that day she felt that she had been underdressed.  She actually dressed-up to come into our store!  Guess what?  She was a lawyer who dressed quite well on a daily basis.  You could conclude that we created an uninviting atmosphere, but by time this particular lady finally entered, she was half-sold.  Being half-sold, do you think she would be the kind of customer that grinds you for every penny?  No way.

Jewellery is a luxury product.  The masses who may be very important to your business are constantly trying to buy luxurious looking things for their meager budgets.  Do you think they’ll be offended by your lofty wardrobe when they themselves are trying to look like a million dollars?  No.  The actual high-end client who you’re trying to sell that $12,000 emerald and diamond ring or $30,000 diamond necklace to wants to feel socially comfortable wearing such a piece.

Am I suggesting you have a store uniform?  I love the idea, but it may not be for you.  Cactus Club Café waitresses all wear different dresses, but they are somewhat uniform in that they’re all “little black dresses”.  You choose your dress-code, but you should indeed HAVE and communicate to your staff a dress-code.

If you want to dress like the masses, sell mass jewellery and don’t complain when a local consumer buys a high-end product somewhere else.  The way you dress is part of the client experience.  A positive client experience that is replicate over and over again to client after client becomes an element of your brand.  A luxurious brand will sell luxurious designs. 

Video Blog - Canadian Gas

Corner Gas, one of my favorite shows EVER, inspired this Canadian pride video.

Life of a Rep

When I began in 1987, I enjoyed everything about the jewellery industry.  I particularly thought that the sales reps had a great gig.  They drove nice cars, seemed pretty well-experienced and most appeared to really enjoy their work.  In my 11 years on the road, I’ve driven approx. 590,000km, and been told over 350 times how to fasten my airplane seat belt.

Working three provinces for a company who doesn’t have a dealer in every whistle-stop, I spend a lot of time between stops.  Recently I tipped my Tim Hortons cup in honor of my latest travel vehicle passing the 100,000km mark.  I thought about all of the things I do with all of that travel time I’ve had over the years.  This led me to the following top-10 list of ways I make a long drive fly-by without totally going insane:

10.  Audio books

9.  XM Satellite PGA channel (not for everyone!)

8.  Sunflower seeds

7.  Stop and take photos

6.  Tape-record ideas for blogs

5.  Watch for interesting number-patterns on odometer

4.  Drink Large double-double --> stop to pee --> stop to pee --> repeat

3.  Scan the landscape to watch for animals

2.  Phone home to remind yourself why you’re doing this

1.  Reminisce about how nice it was to be in retail and sleep in your own bed every night.

I love what I do and I am extremely blessed to have such supportive clients.  Thank you all for giving me something to look forward to at the end of my long drives.  See you soon.

Saturday Story Time – A Sad Confession

As a neophyte jewellery store clerk, I was approached by an East Indian lady inquiring about buying a diamond nose-stud.  This was an unusual request at that time, as the whole body-piercing craze had yet to reach the mainstream.  A senior salesperson came to my side and with a glint in her eye said to me, “oh, she’s looking for a diamond for up her nose.”  It was meant to get me off my game and to see if I could hold myself together.  She thought it was quite hilarious.  She repeated the phrase “up her nose” a couple of times, and it had the desired effect.  I unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face while attempting to assist her.

I’m ashamed to say that our level of professionalism that day was about nil.  We were having a little bit of fun, but it was at the expense of a potential client.  We weren’t able to earn this lady’s business and I imagine she probably never entered our store again.  Looking back, I can imagine the indignity that she must have felt.  I can only conclude that this salesperson I worked with believed this potential client to be too dumb to notice, or she wasn’t worth giving our best effort.

I wish I could go back and get to know that lady, and turn her from a prospect into a client.  It’s hard enough to get people to come into your store for the first time.  When they do, don’t waste the opportunity I did that day on a lark.  The lifetime value of a jewellery client can range from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands.  Their very first contact with you, whether it’s for a watch battery, a silver bead, a diamond ring or a nose stud; is HUGE in determining whether they want to make you their jeweller for life.

Buying diamonds off the street – Part III

If you choose to develop a system for buying diamonds off the street, what do you do with them?  Have you ever heard of a Certified Pre-owned Mercedes Benz or BMW?  They take trade-ins, spend the money to bring servicing up to date, make them look like new, add an extended warranty and declare them “Certified”.  These cars sell for more than a non-certified one, and are eligible for new-car-like finance options.

You can and should do the same.  My advice would be to sell them as loose diamonds, so that it won’t put superstitious buyers off from their favored design.  Since you’ve now decided to enter the used-diamond business, you should offer a trade-up policy and/or warranty and a fancy grading certificate.  Make sure you buy the diamonds well enough that after removing, grading, repolishing (if necessary), and printing (or sending away for) a certificate they can be priced below a new diamond.  Refer to them as “trade-in” diamonds.  They may have been traded for bigger diamonds, but they may also have been traded for cash.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching and composing this 3-part series.  I believe Martin Rappaport when he says that due to the developing economies of China and India we will have to compete harder to find the selection of diamonds we want.  If Chinese, Indian and Middle-Eastern buyers keep snapping-up the majority of popular diamond qualities, we may have to harvest as many as possible from the secondary market. 

My daughter is in line to inherit several sets of china.  There’s a big population bubble who over the next 20 years will be distributing diamonds to a smaller next generation.  If we don’t step in and service this need, we leave it up to the pawnshops and the “we buy gold” guys who are popping-up like weeds.