This month, I want to talk about how to deliver a luxury presentation. The word “luxury” infers high quality. I don’t eat at fast food joints, but if I did, I wouldn’t have any expectations. But if you said, “Shane, take your wife to this high-end restaurant and order the main course, sides, dessert and wine for $500,” my expectations will go through the roof.

It’s amazing how price can raise the bar.

When you get 5-star reviews, they always talk about the experience they received first. Yes, they may mention what they bought, but the experience is always the main thing.

So to deliver a luxury presentation, the following actions need to happen every time. They take constant training and consistency.

• Smile.
• Have a positive attitude
• Use your presentation skills
• Be professional
• Give product and gemological knowledge when needed
• Give inventory and brand knowledge when needed
• Sell your store’s culture
• Ask relationship questions
• Ask selling-specific questions
• Make it all about the client
• Dress well
• Respect their time
• Understand the power, wealth and status of your client
• Be confident
• Know the nine “absolutes”
• Demonstrate knowledge of trends, fashion and diamond prices
• Understand high quality and high ticket items in all areas of the store
• Build integrity in your product
• Know everything about your “wow” pieces
• Know your client
• Follow up in a timely manner
• Use teamwork and T.O.s; team sell and be a servant seller
• Utilize professional closes
• Use proper vocabulary
• Respect all people coming in
• Listen closely
• Keep the sale private
• Sell with honor
• Be genuinely interested in all the client’s needs
• Becoming a personal business friend
• Do not pre-judge
• Be glad they came in
• Wow them in a big way before they go

Today, the experience is more important than the item purchased. How many of these bullet points are missing in your salespeople’s presentations? When the experience is awesome, people don’t shop anywhere else and they send in their friends. Clients retain 100% of how they’re treated. We remember where we’ll never go back and we remember where we’ll always go. Change your standards and become awesome all the time!

The post Follow These Steps to Deliver a Luxury Sales Presentation appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

I want to thank INSTORE for the opportunity to allow me to write for them all these years. It’s been an honor. I also want to thank all my readers for your questions, texts and loyalty, and for honoring me by using my advice in your stores for sales training.

For my last regular column, I want to share with you some of the “Dad-isms” that my father said to me throughout his life. I’m working on a book about these “Dad-isms,” where each chapter will revolve around one of his many sayings and what it meant. He started saying these things to me when I was a kid, and they meant even more to me as I grew into adulthood. I hope you will consider each “Dad-ism” and what it might mean for you, because as Dad said, “Don’t prove yourself; improve yourself.” He also said:

• If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.
• On time is late; early is on time.
• If you didn’t have time to do it right the first time, how are you going to find time to do it right the second time?
• Does your mom work here?
• Your word is your bond.
• Your actions speak louder than your words.
• The more you think about it, the more you’ll probably do it, right or wrong.
• You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
• Learn to really listen … really.
• Respect is never given; it’s earned.
• Never pre-judge anyone.
• If you hang out with the turds, you’ll get s@#! on you.
• Never judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their moccasins.
• Live, love, work and laugh. And take care of your family and friends.
• Always be a leader and a motivator.
• Kindness goes a long way in the workplace and at home.
• Help others succeed.
• Be a team player and a servant when you need to be.
• Never quit learning. Self-educate.
• If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.
• Be the first to apologize.
• If you lie, it will take a long time for me to believe you again.
• Celebrate life’s important moments.
• Winners never quit; quitters never win.
• You’ll get out of it what you put into it.
• Procrastination is a time killer, attitude smasher and communication spoiler.
• Never say “It’s not my job.”

My dad was a wise man. I’ve thought about these sayings throughout my life, and maybe some of these will help you as well. Happy selling!

The post These “Dad-Isms” Could Change Your Sales Trajectory If You’ll Let Them appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

But what happens as the pandemic recedes and consumer spending returns to normal? Travel, vacations, airfare, house remodels, dining out and automobile sales will be on the rise. It could hit you very hard if you’re unprepared. So how do you prepare? Become awesome in two areas: clienteling and referrals.

Believe it or not, most stores do not do any clienteling. When is the last time you shopped somewhere and you got an awesome written thank-you card? Not from Walmart! Where’s the last place you shopped and you felt important? Too many places, you’re forgotten as soon as you leave. If you want to keep all the clients you acquired during the pandemic, now is the time to start professional follow-up.

It starts with believing that everyone who comes into your store is important: every battery client, every repair client, every sale client, no matter how small or big. When you and your team truly believe and act on this principle, you will see raving online reviews come rolling in and customers returning to buy more jewelry.

That starts before the client even leaves your store. When the sale is done, walk them to the door. Open the door for them if needed. Give them two cards and ask them to give one to a friend. Thank them for coming in. It seems simple, but this one action can result in fantastic online reviews and even get their friends coming in asking for you by name.

Next, send every client a thank-you card. (Who is “every client”? See my list above; every client means every client.)

They will all talk about it: “I got a thank-you card from XY Jewelers.” Don’t pick and choose who gets a card and who doesn’t, because your customers will figure out that one received a card while the other didn’t.
A thank you card should tell your client three things:

1. They’re important to you and your company.
2. You care about their purchase.
3. You’ll contact them again in six months for a clean-and-polish and to make sure their jewelry doesn’t need any other attention.

Do not write this and this only on your card: “Thank you for your purchase.” That has no meaning and stands a good chance of irritating your client.

If you want to keep your client, be loyal to them with professional follow-up. What you do after they leave is more important than what happened to them in your store. Keep your clients and keep your momentum up!

The post How Can You Maintain Sales Momentum as the Pandemic Recedes? Clienteling. appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

You’ve been writing columns for INSTORE for almost 20 years. How does it feel to retire from regular duty?

I’m going to miss it. And I will still write an occasional column when INSTORE has something special they want me to write about. But we’re going to focus on putting together an online training program that jewelry store owners and their teams can use to improve their selling capabilities. I have a lot of material that I’ve never even written about, and I think it’ll be much more effective than just reading a magazine column every month. But I am going to miss it. I’ve made thousands of friends from the columns because people write and text and ask questions.

What has it meant to you to be an INSTORE columnist?

I was honored that they asked me to do it. I spoke at every SMART Show that INSTORE put on in Chicago at Navy Pier, which had audiences of hundreds. I also did their best attended webinar in 2020 when the pandemic hit, with more than 1,000 viewers attending. The magazine is an industry leader, and it’s for people who want to learn about improving their businesses. There are a lot of other great writers in there who are friends of mine — Kate [Peterson], David [Geller], people I’ve known 30-plus years. The information is endless, and everybody should read it cover to cover because you’re going to get a nugget out of it every time you read it. Some of my columns took hours and hours to research, and sometimes the researcher learns more than the reader, so I’ve enjoyed it very much.

What’s the mistake that people make in sales that drives you the craziest?

Lack of training. Stores hardly do any; very few have sales meetings or review their people at the end of each month. Salespeople don’t know how to close. Owners spend money on beautiful stores and inventory and marketing, and that’s great. But if you can’t train your people how to sell and deliver an experience, it’s all worthless. When I was a full-time salesperson, I wrote 10 closes every night for a year, 365 days. I’ve been in stores where people have been selling for 40 years and never written 10 closes once. It’s appalling to me. Most people are happy with status quo, and that’s my biggest irritation.

How did you get started in jewelry sales training?

I got into the jewelry industry by accident. I was working in a furniture store and a jeweler came in. He said he was just looking, and I said I was just selling. (I never said that again, but that is a true story!) I sold him a ton of dining room furniture, like $45,000 worth, and he asked me if I wanted a job. I said no. But he later won me over. The most 1-carat diamonds I sold in one day while working in jewelry retail was 16. Later on, I was at the New York show after I had opened my company. I was talking to a diamond vendor, and a trade magazine editor walked up to him. The diamond vendor asked him, “Do you know this young man?” He said, “No. Why should I know him?” The diamond vendor said, “He sold more diamonds out of a little store in Kansas than all my other accounts put together.” They wrote an article, and all of a sudden, jewelers were calling me from all over the country asking me, “How do you sell all those diamonds?” Because that year, I had sold 137 1-carats, 40 2-carats and 33 of 3 carats or larger. All of a sudden, all these jewelers wanted me to come show their staff how I did it. So here’s me, a 28 year-old guy flying all over the U.S. showing 50-, 60- and 70-year-old store owners something totally new.

What are some of your most memorable moments as a jewelry sales trainer?

I’ve had owners say, “I wish I’d had you come here 20 years ago.” I’ve had salespeople who, as soon as they heard my first presentation, showed a battery client a diamond and sold it and they couldn’t believe it because they didn’t realize it was that easy. I’ve kept all the thank-you notes and cards I’ve received, and I have two big boxes full of how I’ve changed their lives and their income. What they wrote motivated me to keep doing it. I trained one guy who sold 22 diamonds over a carat in a day and broke my personal record. All records are meant to be broken, and he probably has more to say about how I’ve changed his life than anybody, and he’s become a dear friend.

Have you ever done anything you later wished you hadn’t?

You say stuff every day you wish you wouldn’t have. That’s part of being human. But as you age, you get more patience and wisdom and you’re not as reactive in your communication. One time, I was speaking at a national convention, and I wanted to let this young man know that I thought he had something on the end of his nose, and I said something and it was actually a wart. I hurt his feelings. I tried to speak to him afterward, but he was gone. I found out who he was and apologized to him later and sent him some of my training DVDs. But yes, I’ve said things and regretted them. I’ve trained in 4,500 stores, and if I trained 10 people per store, that’s about 45,000 people, so yeah, I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth before.

What’s ahead for Shane Decker?

I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. More training than ever through INSTORE’s upcoming online series. Speaking at national conventions. I want to thank God and the Lord Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity and having a career I love. I want to thank my wife for supporting me. I’m thankful that I have my health, which allows me to do this. I still have a ton of energy and passion. I don’t know anyone who’s had a greater career than I’ve had. I’m very, very thankful.

You’ve spoken at countless shows during your career. Do you enjoy that? What’s your favorite part?

The first JCK show was in 1991, and I’ve spoken at every one but two since then. I’ve done IJO, RJO, state conventions, overseas in Australia, England and Ireland. My favorite part is educating people in the audience. There have been people who have recorded them and taken notes, and they take it back and use it in their stores to train their staff. My second favorite is that I know thousands of people in this industry, and when I’m done, they’ll come up and speak to me or send me a text or we’ll go out and eat dinner. I love teaching and giving people information that they can use the rest of their life. This last October is 48 years in retail, and I’ve been in jewelry almost all my life. I’ve made a lot of friends who if I needed something would drop what they’re doing and come to my aid. I love the teaching and I love the friends I’ve gained from this.

You travel for sales training weekly. What is that life like?

In March, it will be 39 years of flying out 48 weeks a year each Monday. I fly Monday, work in the store Tuesday and Wednesday giving presentations. In the evenings, I meet with the owners to talk about their goals, their people, their margins and markup. I get home every Thursday morning. I have a very strict schedule that I’ve stuck with and it works extremely well. Obviously, I miss my family when I’m gone. I work in the office Thursday and Friday, so I have weekends off with my family. Like any job, you get used to a routine, and that’s just become mine. People ask me all the time, when are you gonna quit? And I say I don’t know, I’m not planning on doing that anytime soon. My routine is awesome because I love what I do.

The post Sales Trainer Shane Decker Reminisces on Career as an INSTORE Columnist appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

Salespeople also tell me, “I don’t want to be pushy.” Well, I don’t want you to be pushy either. I do want you to have fun and be professional. The “wow” creates enthusiasm and excitement in the client, and it creates a memory if nothing else. But most salespeople are not doing this.

Christmas is coming, and retail economists say that impulse buys go up at Christmastime by 100 percent. So, you should “wow” your clients all year long, but especially during Christmastime.

Step one is the lead-in line. It’s something you say that’s short and sweet to create curiosity, like “Guess what’s in the vault?” Or “There’s something in the back that should be in the Smithsonian but it’s here.” Or “Guess what just came in?” You want to deliver a lead-in line when everything else is done (whether a sale or repair) and the client is almost ready to turn and walk out the door. When you say a lead-in line with excitement, the client will be excited as well.

Step two includes two areas of romancing: value-added (proving the price is worth it) and beauty. Value-added romancing depends on your ability to build value in the product. That means delivering true information like, “The person who cut this had to apprentice 10 years before they were allowed to touch a diamond of this size.”

When romancing the beauty of jewelry, salespeople are often too generic in their descriptions. Remove the words “pretty,” “beautiful” and “sparkles” from your vocabulary. Use vivid descriptions like, “It inhales light and breathes fire” or “Mother Nature’s love affair with light” or “the epitome of nature with the craftsmanship of man” or “unparalleled, unmatched perfection” or “prehistoric artifacts stored in the womb of Mother Earth for millions of years.” There are always stories to tell about diamonds, like how the ancients used to believe they were splinters that fell from stars. Romancing beauty takes a lot of self-confidence and practice.

Step three is the appraisal or lab report if necessary. But always ask, “Would you like to know more about it?” Don’t volunteer information but find out what they want to know. Some want to be gemologists when they walk out, and some don’t want you to mention any of it.

Step four is the price, and only now do you discuss it. If they ask you earlier in your presentation, say “It’s 6995 and let me tell you why.” Always make it about the client and the item, not the price. When you get to the price, make sure they’re holding the piece of jewelry. Look them squarely in the eye and tell them it’s sixty-nine ninety-five. (Don’t say thousands or hundreds; that makes it sound more expensive.)

Step five is close the sale. People buy on impulse all the time. Too many of you say, “They only wanted a battery” or “They just came in for a repair” or “They didn’t want anything else.” Quit making decisions for the client before you give them a chance.

People buy $5,000, $50,000 and $100,000 items all the time on impulse. But even if they don’t buy it, you’ve planted a seed. When you make a decision for a client, you’re not planting the seed forward, you’re killing a sale before it starts, and you’re making a financial decision for your store before you even give the client a chance.

The largest diamond purchase season in the history of the industry is coming. Make sure every client is wowed before they leave, because you’re doing something different that no one else is doing. Clients don’t remember that time they got a battery changed and were standing around doing nothing. But they do remember when they got the battery changed and saw something amazing while they were there. Wow with everyone right before they go. Create. Happy selling!

The post Here’s How to Create Sales Momentum This Holiday Season appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

So, let’s talk about those impulse buys. Have you ever gone shopping for someone else but then found something you wanted and bought it for yourself? You had no intention of purchasing anything for yourself, but that day you did. Impulse buys like that are returned less often than a planned purchase, they are more exciting, and the first thing you want to do is tell someone what you bought.

Selling the impulse buy takes practice, but it’s well worth it, because your clients never forget an awesome experience. Research shows that people retain about 40-50% of what they hear, about 50-60% of what they see, and 100% of how they’re treated. You remember awful experiences and you remember great experiences, and you tell your friends about both.

Like I’ve said before, the experience is even more important than the item purchased. You can buy jewelry anywhere, but you can’t get an awesome experience everywhere. Delivering that amazing experience is the most important part of your presentation with each client.

Timing is critical. Clients remember the first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds of each presentation the most. What you deliver during those windows is what they’re going to talk about and remember. Always lead with something that nobody else is doing. People remember different.

Do not be afraid of price. Show high ticket. Don’t sell out of your own pocketbook — that’s a sale killer. Instead, let the client decide how much they want to spend. This Christmas, large diamond studs, pendants, and large in-line diamond bracelets are the wow items to show before a client leaves. It’s going to be a diamond Christmas.

Planting seeds for future sales is done with a tool called the lead-in line. This is something you say to create interest. Never say “Is there anything else?” or “Let me show you…” or “Can I show you something else?” These are all “no” answers from your client, another sale killer.

Instead, this is what you say (and remember the timing has to be right).

“Guess what’s in the vault?”

“Gotta show you my favorite.”

“Guess what just came in?”

“We have something that should be in the Smithsonian, but it’s in the back.”

When you say these lead-in lines, be sure the client can hear passion and excitement in your voice. Communicate through your body language that seeing this “wow” item is going to be a lot of fun.

Planting seeds means getting the client to think about future purchases — maybe next Valentine’s, their anniversary or another special event. And wowing creates impulse buys.

But it takes action on your part. I hear all the time, “They just came in for a battery. They didn’t want anything else.” How do you know that? When you do nothing, nothing happens.

This Christmas, wow everyone with diamonds, plant seeds, create impulse buys, and give your client an experience that no other jeweler in your town is giving. Clients will talk about it and send in their friends. Sell $10K, $20K, and $40K diamonds because you can. (If you think you can or you think you can’t … you’re right.) Merry Christmas and happy selling!

The post Here’s How to Plant the Seeds for a Big Diamond-Selling Christmas appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

• Closing ratios in malls are at an all-time low. Not all, but most, are running 8-12%. That means they wait on 100 clients to write up 12 sales slips. That’s why so many jewelry stores are trying to get out of malls and go after a different clientele.
• Stores in downtown areas or in strip centers are closing at around 27-33%. Not much better, but it is an improvement.
• Closing ratios for freestanding stores are running between 35-40%. And if they’re heavily branded, some are even around 50%. These numbers are higher, but still not where they need to be.
• Only 7% of clients who say “I’ll be back” actually return.
• 70-80% of clients who say “I’ll be back” buy at another store within two hours after leaving your location. That’s a lot of dollars leaving your store.
• 60-70% of clients cannot make up their own mind. They’re paying you as a professional to make a decision for them. That is one reason why you should never ask, “Can I wrap it up for you?” They don’t want to make a decision.
• Over 80% of shoppers buy the day they shop. If they’re shopping today, they don’t have time to shop tomorrow. I buy the day I shop, and so do you. For the client who comes in and says “It’s my anniversary and I want to buy a two-carat diamond,” the closing ratio should be 100%. They told you what they want and what they’re celebrating.
• Over 70% of all bridal sales right now are millennials. If they sit with a CAD/CAM designer, the closing ratio is over 80%. They don’t come in saying “I’m just looking.” They did all the “just looking” on their devices.
• Closing ratios on appointment sales are over 80%. Why? Because the stage is set. All the tools are organized. You’ve looked over their purchase history and know why they’re coming in. This is the most professional of all presentations because it’s planned just for them.

Here’s what can damage your closing ratio:

• Not “wowing” every customer
• Not team-selling to close
• Not doing the ask-listen-paraphrase close all the way through
• Not following the absolutes (which I’ve written articles about in the past)
• Not being a “servant seller” for your teammates, which makes you look unorganized
• Not adding on
• Not following up and clienteling properly and professionally

Start holding sales meetings to train on areas of weakness. Work professionally to get your closing ratio up!

The post These Statistics Show That Most Jewelers Can Dramatically Improve Their Closing Ratios appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

When you’re changing a battery or a client is picking up a repair and you start a professional, casual conversation, get the client to talk about themselves and ask them what the next big upcoming event in their life is. Questions like these allow you to get to know your client, what’s important to them and gather critical information. Moreover, your genuine curiosity makes your client feel special.

Let’s look at an example. When you ask the client about his next important upcoming event, the client may reply, “My anniversary is coming up in a couple of months.” Then you ask, “How long have you been married?” “20 years in September,” he says. At this point, you need to “romance” that event and make it feel even more important than the client originally thought it was. To do that, you ask him, “What are your plans for celebrating such an awesome event in your life?” When he is done talking, ask, “When is the last time you gave your wife a major piece of jewelry?” Find out what is in her collection. Ask if they’ve covered the staples, which are, in order: diamond studs, diamond pendant, in-line diamond bracelet and right-hand diamond ring.

The client may say, “She still has her first set of half-carat total-weight diamond studs I gave her for our first Christmas together.” You should reply, “She’ll always love and treasure that gift as a special moment in your lives together, but she would love a set of 2-carat total-weight studs to commemorate this anniversary. You said you had a daughter, right? We could reset your wife’s half-carat studs into a new pair of earrings that your daughter would love as a Christmas gift.”

The client may say, “I’d love to have some time to think about that. That’s a great idea.” Then you reply, “Of course! Let’s set up a time to talk about your 20th anniversary and your gift-giving ideas. We can make sure she’ll never forget how special she is and how much you love her.”

As you ask your client questions, write down the answers and keep them in your POS system or a personal clienteling notebook so you can professionally follow up. This shows the client that they’re important to you, you care about who they are, and you care about their purchases.

Clients will get to a point where they count on you to remember important dates in their lives, and they rely on you for important gift-giving occasions. By “selling forward,” you’re doing your clients a huge service that also benefits you and your store. We used to call this “the power of suggestion.” It gets the client thinking about an idea you proposed. The more they think about it, the more they want it. Start selling forward to create sales in the future.

The post Here’s How to Create Future Sales Through Conversations Today appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

1. They want to be greeted quickly.
2. They want to feel respected.
3. He buys peace of mind; she buys style, fashion and sentiment. For him, that means GIA lab reports, company benefits and trade-in policies. For her, that means design (often custom or branded) and pictures found on social media or brides’ magazines.
4. They’ve changed the size of the starter set. They are buying carat-and-a-quarter, carat-and-a-third, or even larger.
5. Some do more than 90 hours of research before they purchase.
6. They are the No. 1 age group buying custom and the highest closing ratio (over 80 percent) when the ring is custom.
7. If they love your website, chances are they’ll come in. If they don’t, they’ll never open your door. Too many websites look like the Flintstones designed them.
8. They’re the first generation raised on technology. They’re comfortable using your iPads and searching your inventory via mobile device.
9. They’re the youngest generation purchasing fine wine. If you offer them a glass of wine during the presentation, they will stay longer, and the closing ratio will rise.
10. They prefer the same age group waiting on them, if possible. Having things in common like social media, vocabulary and music is a plus.
11. They’re the No. 1 age group buying XXX cut. They love buying fancy shapes (oval is No. 1). They’ve also made east-to-west settings popular.
12. More young women now are paying for their own ring.
13. Like most buyers, they are compliment motivated.
14. They do not want to feel like they were closed. They think they can make the buying decision on their own. That’s why the ALPC is so important (ask-listen-paraphrase close).
15. They dislike pushy salespeople. They hate feeling pre-judged, and if you’re pushy, they’ll let everyone know with a negative online review.
16. Because they love social media, they will show and tell their friends. Take the picture of the ring on her hand with your phone and send it to her. Ask if you can put the photo on your store’s social media feeds.
17. They will write more reviews about your staff and their experience in your store than any other age group.
18. They are the most knowledgeable shoppers about your product of all age groups. They love a professional who has GIA knowledge waiting on them.
19. Most know what they want coming in, and some even have a photo on their phone.
20. They love texting.
21. They’re the most impatient generation of shoppers.
22. They do not like to negotiate; they want the real price on the tag.
23. They’re bringing 18K yellow gold back.
24. With them, less is more. Higher quality is more desirable than lower quality and having to buy it again later.
25. They want bragging rights about the experience, about the professional salesperson, about the store, and about the diamond in the ring.

The post 25 Facts You Need to Know Before Selling Bridal to Millennial Buyers appeared first on INSTOREMAG.COM.

So many jewelers worry about their competitor’s year-round “sale,” or their own staff’s inability to sell, that they authorize their salespeople to give a 10% discount (or more!) at the customer’s first sign of distress. But you are losing hundreds or even thousands of dollars when you do. What’s more, that customer will now expect a discount every time he walks through your door!

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It doesn’t have to be that way. Let the car dealers cope with the stress and worry of plummeting profit levels. You can be holding firm on your prices and still close more sales. How? By offering your customer options.

Let me explain. Say you’ve gone through the

entire anatomy of the sale — you’ve romanced the product, you’ve asked the right questions, you’ve educated the customer when needed — and now you’re ready for the close. But his response to your one-carat diamond for $6,950 is “That’s a lot of money.” Rather than panic and negotiate on price, imagine that you had answered in the following manner:

You: “Sir, how much were you wanting to spend?”

Him: “I don’t know, but that’s just a lot of money.”

You: “Well, this diamond is $6,950, but what we can do is take out this carat diamond and put a half-carat in for $3,950.”

Him: “No, I don’t want a half-carat. I’ve got about $4,900 to spend on a one-carat diamond.”

You: “Well, we can put in a diamond with lower clarity or color, and you’ll still have a one-carat.”

Him: “No, no, that’s the diamond I want.”

You: “Sir, this one is $6,950.”

Now, what have you done? You’ve proven the value of the diamond and maintained your integrity of price. You gave your customer options to meet his price demands. And, you found out that he really wants that diamond. The next time this customer comes in, he will know not to negotiate — your prices are as rock-solid as they can possibly be. This builds trust and helps you to establish a personal trade. You maintain your price and profitability, and yet you still close customers because you give them options. In other words, you let them choose what’s more important to them: price, size, or quality.

This is not to say that you should begin your presentation by asking a customer how much he is planning to spend. In fact, that’s a cardinal sin of selling. The customer is usually willing to spend double whatever he tells you, so don’t even ask. Furthermore, if he’s with his girlfriend or wife, it could embarrass him to give you a price range. You should only broach this subject if he says, “That’s more than I wanted to spend.” Or, if the sale is going great but he rejects your close, you can ask him if he’s comfortable with the price. However, the best strategy is to head this off at the pass by asking the right questions throughout your presentation regarding size, shape, clarity, and color. His answers should tell you where to go on price.

So what’s it going to be? Continue to cave in to customers as you helplessly watch profits dwindle? Or stand up for the integrity of your store and your prices? Let your customer know there’s no wiggle room, but give him the options he needs. He’ll leave feeling great about the value of the jewelry he bought, you’ll have a new customer for life, and your bottom line will look a whole lot cushier.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: This column originally ran in the November 2004 issue of INSTORE.

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